Deer Permit Area 156, Minnesota
Unit info
- Game species
- White-tailed Deer, Black Bear, Ruffed Grouse
- Group
- Zone 100 — Northern Minnesota
- Area
- 828 mi²
- Public land
- N/A
White-tailed Deer — season & harvest
- Reported harvest
- 1,899
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 156 is a 829-square-mile northern Minnesota deer unit in the Aitkin/Carlton County area, part of the East Central Uplands block. The unit is dominated by mixed boreal and hardwood forest interspersed with wetlands and offers solid big-woods whitetail hunting with roughly 17% public land. Antlerless permits are issued by lottery, making this a conservative, buck-focused area most years with lower hunting pressure than southern farmland zones.
Mixed northern forest of aspen, birch, pine, and spruce interspersed with lowland bogs, beaver ponds, and wetland complexes typical of the East Central Uplands. Rolling to gently hilly terrain with numerous lakes and drainage corridors across Aitkin and Carlton County.
moderate
Deer season structure: Archery Sept. 16 – Dec. 31; Firearm (Zone 100) Nov. 4–19; Muzzleloader Nov. 25 – Dec. 10. All legal firearms permitted. Bag limit is 1 deer (Hunter Choice); antlerless-only permits available by lottery. Black bear season runs Sept.–Oct. by lottery permit. Ruffed grouse season Sept.–Jan., no permit required, excellent habitat in the aspen regeneration areas. Wild turkey not well established in this northern unit.
Classic big-woods northern Minnesota whitetail hunting in the 100-series zone. Antlerless permits are lottery-issued, so most hunters are limited to one legal buck under the Hunter Choice designation — this keeps harvest conservative and allows bucks to reach older age classes. Ruffed grouse and black bear hunting also available in the same landscape. CWD surveillance zone — check DNR requirements for carcass transport.
Questions, tips & discussion
Ask anything about Deer Permit Area 156— 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 156.
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Boundaries: MN DNR official Deer Permit Areas. Community info last updated 23d ago.