The Minnesota Deer Hunters Association (MDHA) loved seeing all the smiles and success stories shared from this past weekend’s Youth Deer Hunting Season! There’s nothing better than seeing young hunters out in the woods, learning responsibility, respect for wildlife, and the traditions that make Minnesota’s hunting heritage so strong.
In Spring of 2025, massive wildfires threatened lives, rural communities, recreational property and forests in St Louis and Lake Counties in Northeast Minnesota. These catastrophic wildfires were fueled by a perfect combination of drought, unseasonably high temperatures (high 80s), low humidity (less than 20%) and extreme winds (25-40 mph) when the forest was just starting to green up over the opening weekend of the Minnesota fishing season.
For seasoned whitetail hunters, trail cameras are more than tools—they’re the backbone of pre-season scouting, early-season strategies, and real-time intel during the rut. Coincidence? Maybe. But if you’ve hunted long enough, you know coincidence doesn’t explain consistent patterns. Mature bucks don’t live five, six, or seven years by luck. They’re adaptive survivors, hyper-aware of change, pressure, and intrusion.
How much is your property worth?
This seems like an odd way to start answering the question, but it’s important to realize that a recreational property is often worth just as much as building a new house. Even a 40-acre tract with no access and no utilities in northern Minnesota is likely going to sell for $100,000. Would you build a house worth that much without a plan? Can you come up with an appropriate floor plan that will use every square foot of space efficiently? It’s too expensive to fix stuff after it’s built, and our deer hunting properties are no different. Respect your property for what it’s worth.
Most articles I read about stand selection are usually surface-level information. We get it by now—hunt funnels, set up downwind of trails, yada yada. What isn’t discussed nearly enough are the cornerstones and enhancers.
There are likely two types of hunters—those who have tracked a wounded deer and those who haven’t…yet. Sometimes, even a well-placed shot won’t drop a big buck immediately, so having some basic tracking skills and the right tool in your hand could mean the difference between going home empty-handed or going home with fresh backstraps. That’s why onX Hunt is a must-have when you’re on a blood trail.
460 Peterson Rd
Grand Rapids, Minnesota 55744
