Free Deer Hunting Lunar Calendar
Here’s your 2023 hunting calendar for Minnesota, Wisconsin seasons
DULUTH — The nights have been sticky and the days hot for much of summer, but August will fly by quickly, and, in just a few weeks, as the weather cools and the leaves change color, the army of camo- and orange-clad hunters will be back in the woods and fields across the Northland.
If you haven’t already, it’s time to start planning your 2023 fall hunting seasons.
Again this year, the News Tribune has compiled a calendar of important hunting dates to remember, and some permit application dates are coming up quickly.
Minnesota bear hunters who entered the lottery for bear hunting licenses should check to see if they were selected for a license, with the deadline to buy that license Aug. 1. Lottery winners should have received a postcard notification, but you can also check dnr.state.mn.us/hunting/bear/index.html . Any leftover licenses go on sale Aug. 4. Permits for no-quota bear hunting zones are on sale now.
Bailey Petersen and her Llewellin setter, Hatchet, get ready to move in on a ruffed grouse that Hatchet pointed in the shaded woods northwest of Two Harbors last autumn. Grouse hunting season starts Sept. 16 in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
John Myers / 2022 file / Duluth News Tribune
Minnesota 2023 hunting seasons
Aug. 1: Deadline to purchase bear permitAug. 1: Deer hunting licenses go on saleAug. 11: Bear baiting beginsSept. 1-Nov. 29: Mourning doveSept. 1-Oct. 31: CrowSept. 1-Oct. 15: BearSept. 2-6: Ducks, teal only, statewideSept. 2-17: Canada goose early season, statewideSept. 7: Deadline to apply for antlerless deer permits and special hunts (where available)Sept. 9-10: Youth waterfowl, statewideSept. 16-Jan. 1: Ruffed grouseSept. 16-Dec. 31: Deer, archery and crossbowSept. 16-Oct. 22: Sandhill crane, northwest zone onlySept. 16-Nov. 29 : Sharp-tailed grouse, northwest zone only (closed in east-central area)Sept. 16-Feb. 29: Squirrel and rabbit, including snowshoe haresSept. 23-Nov. 6: WoodcockSept. 23-Nov. 21: Ducks, north zoneSept. 23-Dec. 22: Geese, north zoneSept. 23-Oct. 1: Ducks, central zoneSept. 23-Oct. 1: Ducks, south zoneSept. 30-Oct. 29: TurkeyOct. 7-Nov. 26: Ducks, central zone, second seasonOct. 7-Nov. 26: Ducks, south zone, second seasonOct. 14-Jan. 1: Pheasant, statewideOct. 19-22: Minnesota school breakOct. 19-22: Youth-only (ages 10-17) firearms deer, statewideOct. 15-March 15: Fox and raccoonNov. 4-19: Deer, firearms, 100-numbered areasNov. 4-12: Deer, firearms, 200- and 300-numbered areasNov. 18-26: Deer, firearms, 300-numbered permit areas, second seasonNov. 25-Dec. 10: Deer, muzzleloader, statewide
For more information, check a hunting/trapping regulations booklet available free wherever licenses are sold or go to dnr.state.mn.us/hunting/seasons.html and click on the species you are interested in.
Naomi Finstad, left, hunts with her father, Erik Finstad, near Gordon during Wisconsin’s 2018 gun deer opener.
Clint Austin / File / Duluth News Tribune
Wisconsin 2023 hunting seasons
Sept. 1-Nov. 29: Mourning doveSept. 1-9: Early teal-only seasonSept. 1-15: Early goose, statewideSept. 6-Oct. 10: Bear (dates vary for baiting and use of dogs)Sept. 16-Dec. 16: Goose, north zoneSept. 16-17: Youth waterfowl hunt, statewideSept. 16-Jan. 7: Deer, archery and crossbowSept. 16-Jan. 7: Ruffed grouse, north zone (northern two-thirds of state)Sept. 16-Nov. 17: Turkey, statewideNov. 18-Jan. 7: Extended turkey season, zones 1-5Sept. 16-Nov. 16: CrowSept. 16-Feb. 29: Rabbits, north zone (there is no season or limit restrictions on hares)Sept. 16-Feb. 29: SquirrelSept. 16-Dec. 16: Goose, northern zoneSept. 23-Nov. 6: WoodcockSept. 23-Nov. 21: Ducks, north zoneOct. 7-8: Firearms deer, youth only, statewideOct. 14-Jan. 7: Pheasant statewideOct. 14-Feb. 15: Fox and coyoteNov. 18-26: Deer, firearms, statewideNov. 27-Dec. 6: Deer, muzzleloader, statewideDec. 7-10: Deer, antlerless only, statewideDec. 10: Deadline to apply for 2022 spring turkey, bear permits
For more information check a state hunting/trapping regulations booklet available free wherever licenses are sold or go to dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/hunt/dates.html and click on the species you are interested in.
Pheasant hunting season for nonresidents starts a week later than for residents in South Dakota.
Sam Cook / 2017 file / Duluth News Tribune
Sept. 30-Dec. 3: Nonresident ducks and geese, tentative (eastern goose zone ends Dec. 17.)Oct. 7-Jan. 1: Pheasant, tentative Oct. 21-Jan. 31: Nonresident pheasant
John Myers reports on the outdoors, natural resources and the environment for the Duluth News Tribune. You can reach him at [email protected].
