Question for the Minnesota guys...

[Trr15]

So there's a decent chance that I am going to be relocating to Minnesota, specifically the Minneapolis area. I'm torn, because I waited my entire life to move "out west" and having the opportunity to live and hunt in Wyoming for the past 7 years has been incredible, but the opportunity I'm being presented with is simply one that I can't pass up. With that said, I know next to nothing about hunting in Minnesota. Any info you guys can share would be appreciated. Also, any suggestions on the best places to live near Minneapolis would be appreciated as well. Thanks in advance.

 

[StrutNut]

Well, I live in Blaine which is a northern suburb of Minneapolis. I have worked in both downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul, currently in downtown Minneapolis again. I take the bus in, way better then driving. The northern suburbs are cheaper but a little farther out. Stay out of Hennipen County, the love their taxes. Commutes in MN are terrible especially in bad weather so depending on exactly where you are working, I would look for something fairly close or rely on public transportation. As far as hunting, we have descent black bear hunting with both over the counter and draw opportunities. Moose, well, not so much. The population is on the decline and they closed down the season. We also have a limited draw elk hunt but very hard to draw as it is basically hunting two smaller herds. We do have descent deer hunting. This year the season is restricted more then it has been for a while do to bad winters and predation. We have plenty of wolves and coyotes. Unless you have deep pockets you will find yourself hunting away from the metro for deer. There is a lot of public land in Northern MN. There are spots all over the state but SE MN seems to be really good for bigger bucks but a lot harder to hunt. There is also quite a bit of public land down there as well. We have fair pheasant hunting, mostly in the west/sw part of the state. The grouse hunting is pretty good depending on where they are at in the cycle. Northern part of the state as well as the SE part. Waterfowl is on the decline but still offers good canada goose hunting and good duck hunting but you have to work for it. Lots of lakes so its not bad finding places to duck hunt but there is also a lot of duck hunters on those lakes. We have very good fishing here. All in all, hunting wise, you will not like it here vs Wyoming. MN just does not have the big game numbers and variety and our seasons are very short. You wont have a problem finding people who hunt as well as the anti's. They are here too. I can be emailed if you need more info. My wife is a real estate agent and can help you there as well if you need it. Bottom line, I wish I was living in Wyoming!

 

[Trr15]

Strutnut - thanks for all the info. I appreciate it. If/when I make the move, I'll be working in Bloomington. My understanding is that Eden Prairie would be a decent place to live and a relatively short commute....looks like I'll be making an annual pilgrimage to WY based on the info you provided. Thanks again and I might reach out when I start house shopping.

 

[extreme minnesotan]

I am from central Minnesota so I don't know the Twin Cities area very well. I think StrutNut wrapped it up pretty good for the hunting. Whitetail hunting is the biggest hunting for Minnesota and there are state lands that offer great hunting opportunity. I think the archery season is the best because it starts middle of September and runs through the end of December, nice long season. I grew up on a farm so always hunted my dad's land. Depending on the area hunting private land could be difficult.

 

[StrutNut]

East or West Bloomington? Eden Prairie isnt bad. Its expensive but not bad. that whole SW corner of the metro is pretty expensive but very nice. Lots of urban deer down that way. If you are a bowhunter there is an organization that offers bowhunts on metro park deer. Minnesota Bowhunters Resource Base or MBRB.org
Small annual fee $15.00. If you get drawn another $10 typically. You do have to have completed a bowhunter education course and pass a proficiency test. The hunts are pretty good. Some real bruisers running around but a great chance to see and harvest some dumber deer. Not bad for filling the freezer. Lots of things to do outside of hunting in that area. Not a bad place to live. Hunting wise, your in one of the best parts of the country so its hard to compete with WY.

 

[fulldraw1972]

I grew up in west central Mn. The hunting is ok but In 07 I moved onto greener pastures. I still hunt sw Mn some for whitetails but its not very often.
The fishing is great. In my younger days I guided on Ottertail lake. So if you have any fishing questions I can help you out.
If your a waterfowler the canadian season is pretty liberal but it seems it can be hard to get on ground if it holds candians. For ducks you can get some good hunting on any of the little slews in west central Mn. For wood ducks you will have to hit them the first two weeks of season. After the first cold snap there gone. The pheasant hunting can be ok in the sw part of the state as well. If your a coyote caller its tuff in mn. For some reason they dont call easy in daylight. Alot of guys call on full moon cycles in the winter. (spot lights only for shotgun)

 

[mikkel318]

I lived in Minnesota my whole life, grew up in Southern MN, lived Saint Paul for 8 years and now I live in South Central MN. The traffic is pretty miserable in the metro area. The Southern and SW suburbs are all pretty nice. I will just echo everyone else, but we have great fishing and the Boundary Waters Wilderness is a gem. Turkeys and Whitetails are good hunting depending where you go. Don't count out being pretty close to South Dakota. I have taken some decent mulies with a bow and the drive isn't bad.

I would gladly help you out with some area specific bowhunting areas within an hour drive of the metro if you are willing to give some guidance on Wyoming. I have been building points up and any advice would be great. Shoot me a pm if you are interested.

 

[Trr15]

Thanks a lot guys. I really appreciate the info. Should know within the next 2 weeks if this is really going to happen.

Strut - I'm not sure yet if the office is in east or west Bloomington.

Mikkel - I appreciate the offer. I'm happy to share what I know about Wy regardless of whether or not I relocate. But if I do move to MN, I'm definitely going to take you up on the offer. Feel free to pm me with any questions and I'll try to help,

Thanks again guys.

 

[handwerk]

Although I live 5 hours north of mnpls. if you're willing to get off the road a bit you can find good hunting for ducks/upland birds and the deer hunting can be quite good. As you go north you can find lots of public land, just get back in a bit and you'll loose sight of people pretty quick. Having said that I sure enjoy my hunting trips out west every year.

 

[Forestryguy]

I live in NE Iowa just South of the boarder a bit. The deer hunting here is about the same as it is in the SE corner of MN. If you are willing to walk into the more remote public areas and climb the bluffs it can be good hunting. If you want to spend the money and put in for the NR draw in Iowa I would be willing to show you places to hunt down here. I think I am 4 or 5 hours from Minneapolis.

 

[MAT]

The nice part about the Twin Cities is you are a 5 hour or less drive from IA, ND, SD, WI, IL and Ontario so you have plenty of other hunting opportunities for big and small game. And they have the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. If you like fishing this is your Wyoming!

Ask questions about traffic when looking at housing down in the SW metro area, that's the worst place to be at rush hour. I live in WI and work in St Paul which is nice.