Looks like my unit in Mn has went to lottery this year. This means I have to apply for both rifle and muzzleloader tags. I can still buy the archery tag over the counter. What I’m unclear on. Am I limited to one deer for all three tags?
http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/recreation/hunting/deer/2015-season-faq.pdf
If someone has already clarified with the DNR great. Otherwise I’ll give them a shout.
I saw it on the tv the other day, you are allowed to harvest only one deer in Minnesota for the 2015 season. They did not mention anything about intensive harvest or managed areas.
A lottery zone or a hunters choice zone:
A hunter can take an animal with a bow, rifle, or muzzy license.
No deer can be tagged with a management tag (Doe tag). ONly the main “Buck” tag can be used.
Once you’ve tagged any deer in a lottery or hunters choice zone your “Buck” tag is burned for all lottery or hunters choice zones. Your DONE hunting all lottery or hunters choice zones with exception of party hunting.
You can however use your hunting license and go buy management tags and hunt either management or intensive areas.
Example: Use bow to shoot doe in lottery zone. Tag with main tag. The only other deer you can shoot with your bow license is in a management or intensive area and it must be a doe, since you already used your “Main”/”Buck” tag in a lottery zone.
You could also grab your rifle license and go buck hunting in a mangement or intensive harvest zone and harvest a buck or doe. Then there are bonus tags beyond that.
Lottery zone and hunter choice zones = 1 deer total in all zones combined.
Managed zone = 2 deer total in all combined management zones.
Intensive zone = 5 deer total in all combined intensive zones.
State wide limit of 5 deer total.
State wide limit of 1 buck.
I’ve played the game the last several years hunting both lottery and managed through all 3 seasons.
Bow is either sex in lottery zones BTW….Only reason i bow hunt is to tag a doe in a lottery zone without a doe tag.
I play the game when bow and rifle hunting too. For bow I hunt in the Metro zone which is unlimited doe tags, so I buy bonus permits. I shoot a doe in the metro zone and use my rifle tag for a buck in the lottery zone I hunt.
Thanks for confirming my thoughts.
Example: Use bow to shoot doe in lottery zone. Tag with main tag. The only other deer you can shoot with your bow license is in a management or intensive area and it must be a doe, since you already used your “Main”/”Buck” tag in a lottery zone.
You could also grab your rifle license and go buck hunting in a mangement or intensive harvest zone and harvest a buck or doe. Then there are bonus tags beyond that.
This is not entirely true. If you use your main tag to take a doe, you can no longer take a buck unless you are party hunting. Even if you take a different license(rifle or muzzy) you can only use one of the 3 possible main tags to tag a deer. The only tags you can use in this case would be a bonus tag for a doe or someone elses main tag if party hunting. Using your main rifle tag after you have used your main bow tag will be illegal.
Using your main rifle tag after you have used your main bow tag will be illegal.
I entirely disagree…
Your main tag must be used in a lottery zone or hunters choice zone or on a buck in any zone. However there is absolutely nothing illegial about using the main tag from all 3 licenses…
Main tag on doe with bow in lottery zone.
Main tag on buck with rifle in managed zone.
Main tag on doe with muzzy tag in managed zone.
That’s a legal season.
Then you could use bonus tags (You have no main tags left) in Intensive harvest zones for doe.
@sticker1
Please show me via the rule book how this is not legal Stick.
I think I’ll stick to high energy particle physics or string theory. It’s a lot less complicated than MN deer hunting rules. Yikes!
SR
If you use your main tag to take a doe, you can no longer take a buck
Unless you aquire another main tag through another season type. Like a rifle or Muzzy and as long as you are withing the legal limits of that zone type. Lottery & hunters choice = 1. Managed =1. Intensive = 5. Combined <=5
I think I’ll stick to high energy particle physics or string theory. It’s a lot less complicated than MN deer hunting rules. Yikes!
SR
Yep. It’s pretty complicated these days. It’s almost like they WANT you to give up and skip deer hunting. I miss working at the hardware store. I used to read the regs book front to back about six times. And even then, I barely understood all the #$%^@ info. 
I saw it on the tv the other day, you are allowed to harvest only one deer in Minnesota for the 2015 season. They did not mention anything about intensive harvest or managed areas.
There’s still plenty of areas in the state you can harvest 2 deer, and a few you can harvest 5 (or 10 if you hunt the early antlerless season in those areas).
This is not entirely true. If you use your main tag to take a doe, you can no longer take a buck unless you are party hunting. Even if you take a different license(rifle or muzzy) you can only use one of the 3 possible main tags to tag a deer. The only tags you can use in this case would be a bonus tag for a doe or someone elses main tag if party hunting. Using your main rifle tag after you have used your main bow tag will be illegal.
The rule is that you can’t use another “main (archery, rifle, muzzy) tag” in another lottery area. If you use your archery tag in a lottery area on a doe, you can still use your gun main tag in a Managed/Intensive area on a buck or doe (but not in a lottery area, you’ve used your quota for lottery areas).
I stand corrected, sorry about that. I am glad this post got put up and you corrected me. I can benefit greatly from this, thanks.
I just got confirmation from the DNR that if I buy an archery, rifle and muzzleloader tags(which I always do) I can fill one of the tags at the farm(hunter choice) and the other 2 tags at home (601 metro unlimited) That is great news. Only one buck, but I am fine with that. Thanks for setting me straight!!!
Is it necessary to have a lawyer on retainer when you hunt in Minnesota?? 
That’s the only time the lawers come out of the city…The same time the orange army comes to town 
There’s just a lot more options than there were years ago which complicates things moreso than before.
If you want to make it simple. Just go buy 1 license type and read that license type’s regulations and go hunting.
Really not that complicated unless you want to play the game and hunt all 3 seasons and in multiple zone classifications and shoot multiple deer. Even then folks, just read the words in the regulations book carefully. It is all spelled out.
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