Minn. hunters take 85,163 deer on opening weekend

Deer hunting
Bill Kinnunen of Grand Rapids, Minn. moves through the woods Saturday Nov. 6, 2010 while making a drive near his family's deer camp northeast of Grand Rapids, Minn. Hunters are taking to the woods and fields Saturday for opening day of Minnesota's firearms deer season. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources expects nearly a-half million people to take part in this year's season. The DNR expects good hunting this season. Last year the harvest was 194,000 deer, with a success rate of 32 percent.
AP Photo/The Duluth News-Tribune, Clint Austin

Officials say many Minnesota deer hunters had a good opening weekend.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says firearms hunters registered 85,163 deer on Saturday and Sunday. That's 89 more than on last year's opening weekend.

The DNR said Tuesday the early numbers suggest the overall harvest will be somewhat higher than last year, when hunters took about 195,000 deer.

But Lou Cornicelli, the DNR's big game coordinator, says it's difficult to make precise comparisons. Unlike past years, when hunters took their deer to registration stations, 54 percent of this year's hunters registered their deer by phone or online.

The regular firearms season continues through Sunday for most of the state.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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