2010 Deer Gun Season

Article by Brian Chepulis

When the first Friday in November rolls around you can count on two things: First, hearing “Da Turdy Point Buck” by Bananas at Large on the radio. Second, not being able to go anywhere without seeing blaze orange.

With the start of the 2010 deer gun season fast-approaching, hunters can only hope for a better season than last year.

It’s no secret that North Dakota saw a drop in deer hunting success rates during the 2009 season. Overall hunter success was 59 percent, down from 70 percent in 2008.

From the North Dakota Game and Fish website: Bill Jensen, big game biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said the deer population was down from previous years because of the severe winter of 2008-09. “We were issuing record to near-record licenses for a number of years because of the high deer populations,” Jensen said. “After the severe winter, the drop in the population was noticeable.”

Bismarck, North Dakota residents saw one of the worst winters in recent memory, as they received 100.3 inches of snow during the 2008-09 season. Snow accumulation in Bismarck was only 1.3 inches shy of the record set during the infamous winter of 1996-97.

Roughly 116,000 deer gun licenses were allocated for the 2010 season. Many hunters have taken notice of a major reduction in the amount of antlerless deer licenses given out this year over previous years. These reductions should promote deer population growth in the affected units, according to the NDGFD.

If this season goes well, license numbers are expected to increase to 124,800 for the 2011 season.

Deer gun regulations have gone unchanged since last season. Proclamations outlining the rules and regulations of the deer gun season can be picked up at any sporting goods store.

Hunters: best of luck to you all and above all, be safe.

The deer gun season opens Nov. 5 and runs through Nov. 21.