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5 deer permit areas · Central
Fillmore County Hunting
Everything a hunter checks before a Fillmore County trip: DPA designations and dates for 2026-27, CWD and feeding rules, bear and turkey permit areas, waterfowl lines, WMAs and other public ground.
Photo: Tony Webster (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Measured on Census maps, Fillmore County holds 861 square miles; Preston serves as the county seat. Its 2024 population estimate is 21,502 (+1.2% against 2020). For wildlife business it falls in the DNR Central Region, run from St. Paul. The DNR sets deer designations by permit area, and 647, 648, 655, 649 and 645 reach into the county. Public ownership by GIS measure runs near 17,926 acres, overlaps counted once.
Land area from the Census 2024 Gazetteer, population from Census Vintage 2024 estimates, region from the DNR county region list, DPAs from the DNR deer permit area layer, public acres from DNR, USFS and USFWS GIS layers (not official acreages). Checked October 28, 2026.
Fillmore County deer rules by permit area
By area the biggest permit area here is 647, about 47% of the county; 648 (38%), 655 (5%), 649 (5%) and 645 (3%) follow. Here is how the 2026 designations fall: 5-deer in 647, 648, 649 and 645; 3-deer in 655. Gun hunters here find the shorter Nov. 7-15 season in 647, 648, 655, 649 and 645. In 647, 648, 649 and 645 the Oct. 15-18 early antlerless window is open to licensed hunters. Southeast hunters in 647, 648, 649 and 645 have a second firearm window, Nov. 21-29. Statewide, a hunter may take 5 deer a year with no more than 1 buck, except up to 3 bucks in 647, 648, 655, 649 and 645. Filling the limit in one DPA no longer ends your season: move to another DPA and hunt under its limit (new this year).
| DPA | County share | Designation | Antlerless permits | Archery | Firearm | Muzzleloader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 647 | 47% | 5-deer | — | Sept. 19–Dec. 31 | Nov. 7–Nov. 15 | Nov. 28–Dec. 13 |
| 648 | 38% | 5-deer | — | Sept. 19–Dec. 31 | Nov. 7–Nov. 15 | Nov. 28–Dec. 13 |
| 655 | 5% | 3-deer | — | Sept. 19–Dec. 31 | Nov. 7–Nov. 15 | Nov. 28–Dec. 13 |
| 649 | 5% | 5-deer | — | Sept. 19–Dec. 31 | Nov. 7–Nov. 15 | Nov. 28–Dec. 13 |
| 645 | 3% | 5-deer | — | Sept. 19–Dec. 31 | Nov. 7–Nov. 15 | Nov. 28–Dec. 13 |
| Area | Series | Youth | Early does | Late season | CWD rule | Size, sq mi | Inside county |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 647 | 600 | Oct. 15–Oct. 18 | Oct. 15–Oct. 18 | Dec. 18–20 | Mgmt zone | 434 | 93% |
| 648 | 600 | Oct. 15–Oct. 18 | Oct. 15–Oct. 18 | Dec. 18–20 | Mgmt zone | 333 | 100% |
| 655 | 600 | Oct. 15–Oct. 18 | — | Dec. 18–20 | Mgmt zone | 386 | 12% |
| 649 | 600 | Oct. 15–Oct. 18 | Oct. 15–Oct. 18 | Dec. 18–20 | Mgmt zone | 499 | 9% |
| 645 | 600 | Oct. 15–Oct. 18 | Oct. 15–Oct. 18 | Dec. 18–20 | Mgmt zone | 335 | 9% |
DPA 647 · DPA 648 · DPA 655 · DPA 649 · DPA 645 · Permit area list · Lottery rules
Shares, designations and dates from the DNR deer permit area layer (2026 seasons) and the booklet DPA designation list; lottery quotas from the booklet lottery page; limits from the booklet deer rules. Checked October 28, 2026.
Fillmore County DPA harvest since 2017
County harvest is not something DNR publishes; the closest data are the DPA totals shown here, each for the whole permit area. 1,444 deer came out of the whole of DPA 647 in 2025, which put it 35th in that report. Bucks per square mile in 2025: 1.59 for DPA 647. Minnesota as a whole reached 186,368 deer in 2025.
| DPA | Share | Area here | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Bucks per sq mi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 647 | 47% | 93% | 1,247 | 1,358 | 1,444 | 1.59 |
| 648 | 38% | 100% | 1,669 | 1,789 | 1,763 | 2.58 |
| 655 | 5% | 12% | 431 | 459 | 451 | 0.67 |
| 649 | 5% | 9% | 3,383 | 3,455 | 3,806 | 3.38 |
| 645 | 3% | 9% | 1,499 | 1,627 | 1,722 | 2.15 |
Age and sex split, DPA 647
| Season | Bucks | Buck fawns | Does | Doe fawns | All |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 690 | 130 | 531 | 93 | 1,444 |
| 2024 | 690 | 112 | 457 | 99 | 1,358 |
| 2023 | 606 | 121 | 423 | 97 | 1,247 |
| 2022 | 584 | 108 | 416 | 88 | 1,196 |
| 2021 | 640 | 109 | 424 | 84 | 1,257 |
| 2020 | 662 | 112 | 512 | 81 | 1,367 |
| 2019 | 706 | 124 | 452 | 98 | 1,380 |
DNR 2025 registered deer harvest report and earlier yearly reports (2017-2024); statewide totals from the DNR deer harvest statistics. Checked October 28, 2026.
Fillmore County dates from September to May
Deer dates in Fillmore County follow its deer permit areas (647, 648, 655, 649 and 645), not the county line. The 52 rows below come from the 2026-2027 DNR booklet.
| Game | Season | Unit | Begins | Through | Right now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White-tailed deer | Archery | All DPAs here | Sep 19, 2026 | Dec 31, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Early antlerless | DPAs 645, 647, 648, 649 | Oct 15, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Youth deer | All DPAs here | Oct 15, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Firearms (200 series) | All DPAs here | Nov 7, 2026 | Nov 15, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Late southeast | DPAs 645, 647, 648, 649 | Nov 21, 2026 | Nov 29, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Muzzleloader | Statewide | Nov 28, 2026 | Dec 13, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Late CWD season | All DPAs here | Dec 18, 2026 | Dec 20, 2026 | |
| Black bear | No-quota area | No Quota Area | Sep 1, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 | |
| Wild turkey | Fall | Statewide | Oct 3, 2026 | Nov 1, 2026 | |
| Wild turkey | Spring archery-only | Statewide | Apr 14, 2027 | May 31, 2027 | |
| Wild turkey | Spring period A | Statewide | Apr 14, 2027 | Apr 20, 2027 | |
| Wild turkey | Spring youth | Statewide | Apr 14, 2027 | May 31, 2027 | |
| Wild turkey | Spring period B | Statewide | Apr 21, 2027 | Apr 27, 2027 | |
| Wild turkey | Spring period C | Statewide | Apr 28, 2027 | May 4, 2027 | |
| Wild turkey | Spring period D | Statewide | May 5, 2027 | May 11, 2027 | |
| Wild turkey | Spring period E | Statewide | May 12, 2027 | May 18, 2027 | |
| Wild turkey | Spring period F | Statewide | May 19, 2027 | May 31, 2027 | |
| Pheasant | Regular | Statewide | Oct 10, 2026 | Jan 3, 2027 | |
| Ruffed and spruce grouse | Regular | Statewide | Sep 19, 2026 | Jan 3, 2027 | |
| Hungarian partridge | Regular | Statewide | Sep 19, 2026 | Jan 3, 2027 | |
| Woodcock | Regular | Statewide | Sep 19, 2026 | Nov 2, 2026 | |
| Mourning dove | Regular | Statewide | Sep 1, 2026 | Nov 29, 2026 | |
| Rabbits and hares | Regular | Statewide | Sep 19, 2026 | Feb 28, 2027 | |
| Jackrabbit | Regular | Statewide | Sep 19, 2026 | Feb 28, 2027 | |
| Squirrels | Regular | Statewide | Sep 19, 2026 | Feb 28, 2027 | |
| Crow | Crow segment | Statewide | Sep 1, 2026 | Oct 31, 2026 | |
| Rails | Regular | Statewide | Sep 1, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 | |
| Snipe | Regular | Statewide | Sep 1, 2026 | Dec 16, 2026 | |
| Canada Goose | Early geese | Statewide | Sep 5, 2026 | Sep 20, 2026 | |
| Snow, Blue and Ross's Geese | Early geese | Statewide | Sep 5, 2026 | Sep 20, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Early teal season | Statewide | Sep 5, 2026 | Sep 9, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Youth days | Statewide | Sep 12, 2026 | Sep 13, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Regular ducks | North Zone | Sep 26, 2026 | Nov 24, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Regular ducks | Central Zone | Sep 26, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Regular ducks | South Zone | Sep 26, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 | |
| Canada Goose | Regular geese | North Zone | Sep 26, 2026 | Dec 25, 2026 | |
| Canada Goose | Regular geese | Central Zone | Sep 26, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 | |
| Canada Goose | Regular geese | South Zone | Sep 26, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 | |
| Take-a-Kid weekend | Take-a-Kid | Statewide | Sep 26, 2026 | Sep 27, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Regular ducks | Central Zone | Oct 10, 2026 | Nov 29, 2026 | |
| Canada Goose | Regular geese | Central Zone | Oct 10, 2026 | Dec 30, 2026 | |
| Raccoon | Hunting (north) | North furbearer zone | Oct 17, 2026 | Mar 15, 2027 | |
| American Badger | Hunting (north) | North furbearer zone | Oct 17, 2026 | Mar 15, 2027 | |
| Ducks | Regular ducks | South Zone | Oct 17, 2026 | Dec 6, 2026 | |
| Canada Goose | Regular geese | South Zone | Oct 17, 2026 | Jan 6, 2027 | |
| Raccoon | Hunting (south) | South furbearer zone | Oct 24, 2026 | Mar 15, 2027 | |
| American Badger | Hunting (south) | South furbearer zone | Oct 24, 2026 | Mar 15, 2027 | |
| Bobcat | Hunt and trap (north) | North furbearer zone | Dec 12, 2026 | Jan 17, 2027 | |
| Crow | Crow segment | Statewide | Dec 15, 2026 | Jan 15, 2027 | |
| Bobcat | Hunt and trap (south) | South furbearer zone | Jan 2, 2027 | Jan 17, 2027 | |
| Snow, Blue and Ross's Geese | Spring light goose | Statewide | Feb 18, 2027 | Apr 30, 2027 | |
| Crow | Crow segment | Statewide | Mar 1, 2027 | Mar 31, 2027 |
From the 2026-2027 Minnesota Hunting and Trapping Regulations booklet (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources) and the DNR deer permit area map, checked October 28, 2026.
Disease rules and legal deer guns, Fillmore County
647, 648, 655, 649 and 645: CWD management zone, where carcasses of all deer, fawns too, must be disposed of the approved ways. The zone also allows disease management permits on top of the regular limit. A late CWD season, Dec. 18-20, reopens 647, 648, 655, 649 and 645; those deer sit outside the statewide limit. Fillmore County is one of the 37 counties under the deer feeding and attractant ban, which covers urine-based scents too. Rifles are legal for deer in Fillmore County: it kept no shotgun-only rule after the 2025 repeal. Deer hunters in a ground blind on public land must also show orange or pink on the blind. Register deer and bear within 48 hours, turkeys within 24, after validating at the kill site.
CWD record
| Season | What DNR found | Cases |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 positive adult bucks in Fillmore County near Preston (DPA 603 created). | 3 |
| 2018 | 16 wild positives in Fillmore County and 1 in Houston County. | 17 |
| 2025 | Winter: 1 sick deer in DPA 604. Fall: first detection in DPA 285; 122 more in management-zone DPAs 604, 605, 643-649, 655, 666, 671, 684 (first in 644 and 655). | 124 |
CWD zone and sampling · Law page · Licenses
CWD zones from the booklet CWD page and the CWD rules; history from the DNR CWD page; shotgun ordinances from the booklet firearm page; orange from the booklet clothing rule; registration from the booklet registration page. Checked October 28, 2026.
Fillmore County beyond whitetails
Bears
No-quota bear hunting covers all of the county. The bear season is Sept. 1 through Oct. 18, with registered baiting from Aug. 14.
Fillmore County wild turkey
Spring and fall turkey numbers for Fillmore County sit under permit areas 501 (95%) and 503 (5%). DNR lists 2,341 spring birds for area 501 in 2026. Hunters declared area 501 on 9,310 spring permits in 2026. Archery-only and youth spring licenses run the whole Apr. 14-May 31 window.
| Area | Share | Spring 2023 | Spring 2024 | Spring 2025 | Spring 2026 | Fall 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 501 | 95% | 2,530 | 2,782 | 2,565 | 2,341 | 90 |
| 503 | 5% | 1,568 | 1,745 | 1,635 | 1,397 | 76 |
Duck zone lines
DNR splits waterfowl seasons at two highway lines (MN 210/23/39 in the north, US 212/I-494/I-94 in the south) and publishes no county list, so match your Fillmore County spot to the zone map. The North and South furbearer zones meet along I-94 and US 10.
Bear area rules · Spring and fall turkey · Zone descriptions · Game refuges
Bear areas and permits from the 2026 bear regulations; BMU harvest from the DNR bear status report; turkey areas and harvest from the DNR turkey harvest reports; elk from the DNR elk page; prairie chicken from the DNR prairie chicken page (map-read); waterfowl lines from the DNR waterfowl page; refuges from the booklet refuge table. Checked October 28, 2026.
Where the public may hunt around Fillmore County
23 public hunting units on our Minnesota list reach into Fillmore County; Richard J. Dorer Memorial Hardwood State Forest is the largest at 48,840 acres. Forest land is a big share here: 8,500 acres of state forest units. Park land is open to hunting only through special hunts.
- State forests in Fillmore (1)Richard J. Dorer Memorial Hardwood State Forest (48,840 ac*)
- Wildlife management areas, 14Choice Wildlife Management Area (1,664 ac), Yucatan Wildlife Management Area (967 ac*), Schueler Wildlife Management Area (896 ac*), Beaver Creek Wildlife Management Area (781 ac), Rush Creek Woods Wildlife Management Area (367 ac*), Seven Springs Wildlife Management Area (340 ac), Goethite Wildlife Management Area (304 ac), Dr. Johan C. Hvoslef Wildlife Management Area (295 ac), Chosen Valley Wildlife Management Area (197 ac), Nosek Wildlife Management Area (141 ac), Upper Iowa River Wildlife Management Area (131 ac), Spring Valley Wildlife Management Area (81 ac), Cherry Grove Wildlife Management Area (78 ac), William Pease Wildlife Management Area (64 ac)
- State parks with hunts, 1Forestville Mystery Cave State Park (3,343 ac)
- Scientific and natural areas, 2Rushford Sand Barrens Scientific and Natural Area (214 ac), Pin Oak Prairie Scientific and Natural Area (183 ac)
- Aquatic management areas, 5Etna Creek Aquatic Management Area (63 ac), Gribben Creek Aquatic Management Area (26 ac), So. Fork Root River Aquatic Management Area (25 ac), Torkelson Creek Aquatic Management Area (5 ac), Shattuck Creek Aquatic Management Area (3 ac)
Special hunt list
| Type | Area | No. | Dates | Bag |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Late CWD land | Rushford Sand Barrens SNA | — | — | No |
| Late CWD land | Pin Oak Prairie SNA | — | — | Yes |
Units in bordering counties
- LLEIF's Land Wildlife Management Area14 miles distant · 147 ac
- Vermilya Wildlife Management Area17 miles distant · 198 ac
- Coolridge, Hemmingway, PineCreek Aquatic Management Area17 miles distant · 4 ac
- Coolridge Creek Aquatic Management Area17 miles distant · 49 ac
- Ferndale Ridge Wildlife Management Area21 miles distant · 658 ac
Within the county, Bear Creek Aquatic Management Area, Big Springs Creek Aquatic Management Area, Blagsvedt Creek Aquatic Management Area, Camp Creek Aquatic Management Area, Camp Hazzard Creek Aquatic Management Area, Canfield Creek Aquatic Management Area, Cherry Grove Blind Valley Scientific and Natural Area and Deer Creek Aquatic Management Area and 19 more stay shut to hunting.
Land by type · Wildlife management areas · Walk-In Access · Forest index
Units from our Minnesota land list (DNR WMA, SNA, AMA, forest and park pages, USFWS and USFS records); acres by kind from the DNR management units layer, the USFS ownership layer and the USFWS interest layer (GIS measures); Walk-In Access from the DNR Walk-In Access program; special hunts from the booklet special hunt tables. Checked October 28, 2026.
Who Fillmore County hunters call
Where Fillmore County lacks a shop of some kind, we fill the gap from the next county over.
DNR people for Fillmore
Region 3 headquarters in St. Paul answers at (651) 259-5635. Area wildlife staff for Fillmore County: Rochester.
Meat processing
Taxidermists
Hunting shops
Offices from the DNR wildlife area offices and DNR regions pages; processors from the MDA venison donation list, the DNR CWD partner list and directories; shops from directories and store locators. Checked October 28, 2026; call ahead. All Minnesota hunting services.
Home bases in and around Fillmore County
Open a town page in Fillmore County to rank nearby public land by distance.
- Prestonseat of government · 1,316 people · 4,359 ac of public land near
By the Census adjacency file, Fillmore County has 4 Minnesota neighbours and Howard (IA) and Winneshiek (IA) out of state.
Towns from the Census 2024 Gazetteer and Vintage 2024 estimates; adjacency from the Census county adjacency file.
Fillmore County: ranges, lanes and trap fields
4 ranges are on file for Fillmore County, from sportsmen’s clubs to indoor lanes and archery.
Fillmore County has no public range within 60 miles of its centre on this list; club memberships fill the gap. DNR Range Finder
Fillmore County shoot dates
| Date and shoot | Category | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 19-20, 2027 | Gun show | Details |
Ranges from the operators’ pages and directory listings, checked October 28, 2026. The DNR Shooting Range Finder could not be read.
Fillmore County legal hunting light
Pheasant hunting starts at 9 a.m. and runs to sunset, early teal runs sunrise to sunset, and big game gets the half hour on each end.
| Day | Hunt | First sun | Last sun | Big game window | Bird window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 19, 2026 | Archery and grouse opener | 6:51 a.m. | 7:14 p.m. | 6:21 a.m. to 7:44 p.m. | 6:21 a.m. to 7:14 p.m. |
| Sep 26, 2026 | Duck opener | 6:59 a.m. | 7:01 p.m. | 6:29 a.m. to 7:31 p.m. | 6:29 a.m. to 7:01 p.m. |
| Oct 10, 2026 | Pheasant opener | 7:15 a.m. | 6:36 p.m. | 6:45 a.m. to 7:06 p.m. | 6:45 a.m. to 6:36 p.m. |
| Nov 7, 2026 | Firearms deer opener | 6:51 a.m. | 4:53 p.m. | 6:21 a.m. to 5:23 p.m. | 6:21 a.m. to 4:53 p.m. |
| Nov 28, 2026 | Muzzleloader opener | 7:18 a.m. | 4:35 p.m. | 6:48 a.m. to 5:05 p.m. | 6:48 a.m. to 4:35 p.m. |
| Dec 31, 2026 | Archery close | 7:42 a.m. | 4:40 p.m. | 7:12 a.m. to 5:10 p.m. | 7:12 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. |
| Apr 14, 2027 | Spring turkey opener | 6:29 a.m. | 7:49 p.m. | 5:59 a.m. to 8:19 p.m. | 5:59 a.m. to 7:49 p.m. |
Hours rule from the DNR booklet shooting hours page; sun times calculated for the county centre (NOAA method, Central Time), checked against U.S. Naval Observatory tables; checked October 28, 2026. Legal hours for every county.
Dates already set across Fillmore County
Checked October 28, 2026: 1 upcoming event, covering NWTF chapter banquet.
Booked dates
| Held on | Event | Where held | Link | Checked at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 13, 2027 | Rush Creek Longbeards Banquet, an NWTF chapter banquet | Rushford | Buy tickets | Source |
Chatfield and Spring Valley hosted 3 DNR safety classes in 2026; instructors usually post the next round on the DNR calendar each spring. Every 2026 class.
Hunter questions on Fillmore County permit areas
Is there early teal hunting in Fillmore County?
Yes, Sept. 5-9, 2026 statewide, sunrise to sunset.
Which deer processors serve Fillmore County hunters?
Valley Venison, Golden Hawk Farms LLC and Big Valley Meats, ranked by straight-line distance from mid-county.
Is Fillmore County in the antlerless permit lottery?
No. None of its permit areas is a lottery area in 2026.
Can I use deer urine scent in Fillmore County?
No. Urine-based attractants fall under the county feeding and attractant ban.
Are deer rifles allowed in Fillmore County after the zone repeal?
Yes. The shotgun zone was repealed in 2025 and the county has no shotgun-only ordinance.
What was the 2025 deer harvest for Fillmore County?
DNR gives no county figure. DPA 647, the largest area here, registered 1,444 deer in 2025 across its whole area.
Do I need a lottery permit for bear in Fillmore County?
No. The whole county is in the no-quota area, where licenses are sold over the counter.
How fast must I register a turkey in Fillmore County?
Within 24 hours of harvest.
Can I leave a stand overnight on a WMA in Fillmore County?
Generally no: portable stands and blinds come down daily, with a northwest exception Nov. 1-Dec. 31.
What is the DNR wildlife office for Fillmore County?
Rochester Area Wildlife Office in Rochester, (507) 206-2858.
Answers from the 2026-2027 Minnesota Hunting and Trapping Regulations booklet, the DNR deer permit area layer, DNR harvest reports and the sources above. Checked October 28, 2026.
Checks before driving to Fillmore County
Ask permission before hunting private land in Fillmore County, and know the county firearm ordinance.
Sources: 2026-2027 Minnesota Hunting and Trapping Regulations, DNR hunting, Census and the agencies linked in each section. Checked October 28, 2026.
Other photos on this page: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Public Domain Mark 1.0); USFWS Mountain Prairie (Public domain); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Public Domain Mark 1.0); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Public Domain Mark 1.0); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Public Domain Mark 1.0); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Public Domain Mark 1.0).