Deer Permit Area 285, Minnesota
Unit info
- Game species
- White-tailed Deer, Wild Turkey, Pheasant
- Group
- Zone 200 — Central Minnesota
- Area
- 578 mi²
- Public land
- N/A
White-tailed Deer — season & harvest
- Reported harvest
- 1,012
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. Wild Turkey, Pheasant also occur here — that data can be added as the community contributes.
About this unit
AI-compiled · sourcedDPA 285 is a central Minnesota farmland deer permit area located in Meeker County, covering a productive mix of agricultural fields, wetlands, oak savanna, and scattered woodlots typical of the Big Woods transition zone. Deer populations are healthy and the area supports a two-deer limit designation, with antlerless harvest managed through a lottery permit system. The Greenleaf Lake State Recreation Area provides notable public access, and the unit falls within a CWD surveillance zone requiring mandatory testing during firearms season.
Gently rolling to flat agricultural landscape in Meeker County, central Minnesota. Habitat is a mosaic of row-crop farmland (corn and soybeans), wetland basins, oak savanna remnants, brushy shelterbelts, and woodlots characteristic of the Big Woods transition zone. Greenleaf and Sioux lakes anchor the landscape with riparian corridors and wetland edges that concentrate wildlife.
moderate
White-tailed deer are the primary big game species with strong population density supported by corn and soybean agriculture. Wild turkey are present and huntable with Greenleaf Lake SRA noted for an abundant turkey population. Ring-necked pheasant occur in the agricultural uplands and are huntable within the unit. Ruffed grouse are not a target species in this farmland unit. Bear and moose are not present.
Productive agricultural deer unit in the heart of central Minnesota's farmland zone. Healthy deer herd with a two-deer bag limit designation. Antlerless permits awarded via lottery — hunters must apply by the September deadline and declare this DPA when purchasing their license. Mandatory CWD testing required on deer harvested during the first two days of firearms season (CWD surveillance zone). Greenleaf Lake SRA offers publicly accessible mixed habitat with deer, turkey, and pheasant. Good agricultural edge hunting with food sources abundant throughout the season.
Questions, tips & discussion
Ask anything about Deer Permit Area 285— 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 285.
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.