The hunting season in Minnesota presents the opportunity to hunt a variety of animals like deer, bear, wolf and a wide variety of small game.
There are resident and non- resident hunting licenses that are issued for all game and are varied in price according to season and animal. These licenses can be acquired from an agent of the Department Of Natural Resources. Furthermore, license lotteries are available for animals and game such as bear, turkey and deer.
Minnesota Bear Seasons:
The permits for bear hunting are available through lottery only. The applications begin around May. The baiting process for the bears begins in mid August.
The General Season begins from September 1 – October 15.
Minnesota Deer Seasons:
The deer hunting season in Minnesota is divided into four “series” based on location.
For archery the season stands from September 16- December 31.
For Early Antlerless Deer and Youth Hunts the season stands from October 19 – 22
For Firearm Hunters the season stands from November 4 – 26
For Muzzleloader Hunters the season stands from November 25 – December 10.
Minnesota Wild Turkey Season:
The wild turkey season for hunters in Minnesota stands usually in fall, from September 30 – October 29.
Minnesota Elk Seasons:
In Minnesota, Elk hunting is through permits only. The licenses are hard to acquire as there are few licenses which are available through a lottery system. The hunting season for elk is broken into eight seasons based on the zones with only two to three licenses available.
Minnesota Small Game Season:
There are a variety of small game available and the dates for the same vary accordingly.
The season for Rabbits stands from September 16- February 28.
The season for Prairie Chicken stands from September 30 – October 8.
The season for Raccoon, Badger, Opossum, Red Fox, Gray Fox stands from October 14 – March 15 in the North Zone and October 21 – March 15 in the South Zone.
The season for Squirrel stands from September 16 – February 29.
The hunting season for the weasel is open.
The bag limits, special seasons and hunting regulations for Minnesota Hunting Seasons vary based on animal and region.