Deer Permit Area 118, Minnesota
Unit info
- Game species
- White-tailed Deer, Black Bear, Ruffed Grouse
- Group
- Zone 100 — Northern Minnesota
- Area
- 1,445 mi²
- Public land
- N/A
White-tailed Deer — season & harvest
- Reported harvest
- 408
Draw odds for White-tailed Deeraren't on file for this unit yet. Check your state wildlife agency website for current draw statistics.
Season & harvest data is published for White-tailed Deer so far. Black Bear, Ruffed Grouse also occur here — that data can be added as the community contributes.
About this unit
AI-compiled · sourcedDPA 118 lies along the Canadian border within the Superior National Forest in Cook and Lake counties, with approximately 50% of its 1,220 square miles falling inside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. This heavily forested, predominantly public-land unit is managed bucks-only due to depressed deer populations driven by severe winters and wolf predation pressure. It offers some of Minnesota's most remote and challenging deer hunting alongside excellent black bear and ruffed grouse opportunities.
Heavily forested boreal landscape of 1,220 sq mi along the Canadian border, dominated by coniferous and mixed forest (83% woody cover, 15% open water). Deep snow and long cold winters are the defining ecological forces. Low-lying wetlands and numerous lakes and waterways characterize the interior, with the BWCA wilderness comprising roughly half the unit.
low
Deer: Bucks-only (one-deer limit) for 2025, a designation maintained since 2022 to rebuild a population suppressed by severe back-to-back winters in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and sustained wolf predation. All legal firearms permitted. Seasons: Archery Sept 13-Dec 31, Youth Oct 16-19, Statewide Firearms Nov 8-23, Muzzleloader Nov 29-Dec 14. 2024 total harvest was 403 deer (397 adult bucks). No CWD detections. Bear: Present at high densities; requires a drawn tag with preference points (northern MN bear zone). Grouse: Ruffed grouse are abundant in aspen regeneration areas; OTC license, no draw required. Turkey: Not present — unit is outside the turkey range in Minnesota.
Roughly 50% of the unit falls within the BWCA wilderness, offering true backcountry solitude. Superior National Forest roads between Ely and Isabella provide road-accessible hunting in young aspen cuts. Extremely low hunter density at approximately 2 hunters per sq mi. 2024 firearm hunter success rate was 16%. Cook County holds some of Minnesota's highest black bear densities. World-class ruffed grouse habitat in young aspen regeneration areas.
Questions, tips & discussion
Ask anything about Deer Permit Area 118— or drop a tip or trick: access points, where game holds, glassing spots, conditions, crowding, gear that worked. This is where the unit's species-specific intel gets built, hunter by hunter.
Nothing posted yet about Deer Permit Area 118.
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Boundaries: MN DNR official Deer Permit Areas. Community info last updated 23d ago.