Deer Permit Area 249, Minnesota
Unit info
- Game species
- White-tailed Deer, Ruffed Grouse, Wild Turkey, Black Bear
- Group
- Zone 200 — Central Minnesota
- Area
- 723 mi²
- Public land
- N/A
White-tailed Deer — season & harvest
- Reported harvest
- 3,131
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. Ruffed Grouse, Wild Turkey, Black Bear also occur here — that data can be added as the community contributes.
About this unit
AI-compiled · sourcedDPA 249 covers southern Crow Wing, northern Morrison, and northwestern Mille Lacs counties in central Minnesota's Zone 200, a classic forest-agriculture transition zone where mixed aspen, hardwood, wetlands, and bogs give way to productive farmland. Significant public land exists through the Mille Lacs WMA complex (~43,000 acres), county forest parcels, and scattered WMAs, though the majority of the landscape remains private agricultural ground. Deer numbers are solid thanks to the agricultural food base, and the same mixed-forest habitat supports ruffed grouse, black bear, and wild turkey on the forest-farm edges.
Transition zone between northern boreal forest and central farmland; rolling terrain with mixed aspen-hardwood forest, tamarack and spruce bogs, wetlands, and agricultural fields. Mille Lacs WMA area (eastern portion) is more than half forested with extensive wetland complexes and ~100 miles of internal roads and trails.
moderate
White-tailed deer are the primary target with above-average body weights due to the agricultural nutrition base. Ruffed grouse populations are strong in the aspen-forest portions, particularly around Mille Lacs WMA where staff conduct formal grouse surveys and manage habitat with prescribed burns. Black bear are present, especially in the forested wetland complexes of the eastern WMA lands. Wild turkey have expanded into the farmland-forest edge habitats throughout Zone 200 and are huntable in spring and limited fall seasons.
Hunter-choice base license covers one buck or one antlerless deer with no application required. Additional antlerless tags available via fall lottery for those who declare DPA 249 by the early September deadline. Proximity to the Twin Cities (~90 miles) draws weekend hunters to public WMAs, but large blocks of private ag land insulate pressure on much of the unit. Mille Lacs WMA is one of Minnesota's premier multi-species public hunting complexes.
Questions, tips & discussion
Ask anything about Deer Permit Area 249— 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 249.
Be the first — ask a question (“Best public access on the north end?”) or share a tip (“Glass the burn scars off the main ridge at first light”).
Boundaries: MN DNR official Deer Permit Areas. Community info last updated 23d ago.