Deer Permit Area 644, Minnesota
Unit info
- Game species
- White-tailed Deer, Wild Turkey, Ruffed Grouse
- Group
- Zone 300 — Southern Minnesota
- Area
- 190 mi²
- Public land
- N/A
White-tailed Deer — season & harvest
- Reported harvest
- 1,121
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, Ruffed Grouse also occur here — that data can be added as the community contributes.
About this unit
AI-compiled · sourcedDPA 644 lies in southeastern Minnesota's driftless bluff country — a CWD management zone where limestone ridges, oak-hickory hardwoods, and crop-field valleys produce some of the state's largest-bodied, heaviest-antlered whitetails. Public access is anchored by the Whitewater WMA (27,400 acres across Winona, Wabasha, and Olmsted counties) and scattered Richard Dorer Memorial Hardwood State Forest parcels. Mandatory CWD testing applies on firearms opening weekend, and carcass movement restrictions are in effect for the full season.
Driftless-zone bluff country missed by glaciation — steep limestone ridges with 400-500 ft elevation relief, mixed hardwood forests (oak, hickory, maple, basswood), bluff prairies on south-facing slopes, trout stream valleys, and interspersed crop fields (corn/soybeans) in the bottoms and upland flats
moderate-high
White-tailed deer are the primary target with exceptional genetics; wild turkey populations are strong throughout the bluff country hardwoods; ruffed grouse present in younger forest successional areas; pheasants sparse (terrain not suited to pheasant core range); no bear or moose present in SE MN
Among the best whitetail habitat in Minnesota — driftless terrain grows deer with body weights and antler quality rivaling Iowa; no three-buck limit restriction that applies to neighboring DPAs 643 and 645-649; Whitewater WMA is the largest public hunting block in SE MN; late CWD management hunt (Dec 19-21) allows up to 5 deer; new state law allows rifle hunting in Winona, Wabasha, Olmsted, Goodhue, Fillmore, and Mower counties as of 2026
Questions, tips & discussion
Ask anything about Deer Permit Area 644— 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 644.
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.