Ryan Rothstein

By the time you read this, I probably will have a couple sits under my belt on new pieces of public ground that I haven’t hunted before. The main reason for this is because of not having a buck old enough to chase on the private ground where I have access.
I try to practice what I preach when it comes to deer management, so I would much rather pile up a few does with my tags than slap my tag on the first forkie that walks past. No judgment to those who do, but there are a few truths I know about whitetail ecology that stem from this.

Lately, I’ve been thinking we could be in for a tough deer season. If that sounds ludicrous on the surface, I agree.
Deer numbers in at least one-third of Minnesota are as high or higher than they’ve ever been, and populations elsewhere are rebounding. But the reason I think we could be in for a tough one has nothing to do with deer numbers.

You’ll have to pardon my oversight. The areas I hunt most aren’t under a feeding and attractant ban, so frankly, I haven’t had to think about this until now.

It’s been a while since I’ve been this excited in early June about an upcoming firearms season. No doubt, 2026 is going to be a historic season for many hunters in Minnesota, as it’ll be the first time in eighty-some years that a majority of deer hunters will be able to use centerfire rifles.
After my county voted to move forward with following the new state law, I had all the excuse I needed to buy myself a new rifle.