Crossbows attract youth and women to archery deer hunting in Minnesota

“The benefits of R3 really seem to be there with this regulatory change,” she said.

In the hunter survey, 11% of archery deer hunters indicated they would not have participated in the deer archery season if the legislative change had not occurred. Regarding retention, 62% of crossbow users who responded to the survey indicated that they are more likely to continue hunting deer because crossbows have been legalized without age or disability restrictions.

In 2023 and 2024, firearms deer season license sales fell below the five-year average of 422,000. At the same time, total archery license sales for the season increased compared to the five-year average. In 2023 and 2024, deer archery license sales averaged 109,000, up 6.5% from the five-year average.

The report said the highest relative growth was among young female hunters, whose license sales increased by 43 percent, while deer archery license sales for young male hunters increased by 10 percent.

The overall deer archery season in Minnesota is a growing factor in the antlerless deer harvest, important for keeping deer populations in check.

Minnesota is one of several states where wildlife managers want a greater harvest of female deer. In 2024, 52% of deer harvested with bows in Minnesota were antlerless. Additionally, archers were responsible for a quarter of all antlerless deer taken throughout the year. A continued increase in the number of deer archery permits would contribute to this trend.