Tori McCormick

With both Minnesota’s pheasant and ruffed grouse seasons running through Jan. 1, upland hunters still have a short, frosty window of opportunity to chase their favorite game birds.
Wildlife managers and hunters are hoping the season’s waning days provide better hunting than what most upland hunters have experienced throughout 2024 for the state’s most popular gamebirds. Several wildlife managers and hunters interviewed by Outdoor News for this story have characterized both seasons as average to below average.

After roughly a decade since the last examination, the Minnesota DNR will conduct a pheasant hunter survey beginning in the middle of January.
Dubbed a “mixed mode survey,” the goal is to survey 4,500 state pheasant stamp holders. The survey questions will focus heavily on hunter regulations, hunter satisfaction, and hunter economics. DNR officials stress that the online survey is about collecting facts surrounding state pheasant hunters, not necessarily making any regulatory changes.
“The regulation part is mostly what we’ve heard over time from hunters and DNR managers that they think will improve pheasant hunting.”