Murray County Hunting

With Slayton as its seat, Murray County takes in 705 square miles of the prairie pothole farmland and the Minnesota River Valley. Roughly 8,044 people lived here in 2024, 1.5% down on the 2020 base. Its DNR region is the South Region; staff there work out of New Ulm. 4 deer permit areas split the county: 295, 294, 237 and 238. GIS layers count close to 16,991 acres of state and federal ground within the line.

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.

Seasons that reach Murray County

WMAs, state forests and private land share these dates in Murray County; refuges, state parks and special hunts add their own rules.

Lottery DPAs need an antlerless permit for does in the firearm seasons; the DPA pages list the 2026 quota.

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.

WMAs, forests and refuges of Murray County

Open ground in Murray County spans 80 records: 64 wildlife management areas, 12 waterfowl production areas, 1 aquatic management area and 1 state parks with hunt. WPAs add near 3,077 acres of prairie wetland ground. Special hunts are the only way into most state parks.

• Wildlife management areas, 64 listedTalcot Lake Wildlife Management Area (5,319 ac*), Dovray Wildlife Management Area (999 ac), Lake Maria Wildlife Management Area (951 ac), Shetek Wildlife Management Area (731 ac), Badger Lake Wildlife Management Area (618 ac), Budolfson Wildlife Management Area (617 ac*), H.C. Southwick Wildlife Management Area (570 ac), Buffalo Lake Wildlife Management Area (567 ac), Shetek Inlet Wildlife Management Area (542 ac*), Klinker Wildlife Management Area (532 ac), Fenmont Wildlife Management Area (517 ac*), Beaver Creek Wildlife Management Area (513 ac), Skandia Wildlife Management Area (499 ac), Chandler Wildlife Management Area (409 ac), Irruption Wildlife Management Area (341 ac), County Line Wildlife Management Area (322 ac*), Great Oasis Wildlife Management Area (320 ac), Ruthton Wildlife Management Area (294 ac*), Plum Creek Wildlife Management Area (283 ac), Hjermstad Wildlife Management Area (266 ac), Peters Wildlife Management Area (206 ac), Nelson Wildlife Management Area (198 ac), Lowville Wildlife Management Area (194 ac), Shelburne Wildlife Management Area (162 ac*), Stoderl Slough Wildlife Management Area (160 ac), Leeds Wildlife Management Area (154 ac), Schoeberl Wildlife Management Area (150 ac), Tutt Wildlife Management Area (149 ac), Henry Vos Wildlife Management Area (140 ac), Gallinago Wildlife Management Area (139 ac), 34 more listed
• Wetland management districts, 1 listedWindom Wetland Management District (17,029 ac*)
• National wildlife refuges: 1Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge (6,030 ac*)
• Waterfowl production areas, 12Big Slough Waterfowl Production Area (812 ac), Slaughter Slough Waterfowl Production Area (641 ac), Mason Waterfowl Production Area (436 ac), Giese Waterfowl Production Area (317 ac), 5-Mile Corner Waterfowl Production Area (244 ac), Devils Run Waterfowl Production Area (156 ac), Talcot Lake Waterfowl Production Area (156 ac), N/A Waterfowl Production Area (150 ac), Iona Waterfowl Production Area (81 ac), Buffalo Lake Waterfowl Production Area (80 ac), Dovray Waterfowl Production Area (79 ac), Lake Julia Waterfowl Production Area (64 ac)
• State parks with hunts, 1 listedLake Shetek State Park (821 ac)
• Aquatic management areas, 1 listedButtermilk Run Aquatic Management Area (28 ac)

* Acres for the whole property, which reaches into another county.

Walk-In land

The 2026 atlas lists 12 sites and roughly 1,126 acres of Walk-In Access in Murray County.

• WIA #144
• WIA #146
• WIA #148
• WIA #150
• WIA #160
• WIA #397
• WIA #614
• WIA #770
• WIA #893
• WIA #1037
• WIA #1038
• WIA #1039

Special hunts here

Walk-In Access (WIA) Program

Skip Lundblad Prairie Scientific and Natural Area, Shetek Lake FMA and Shetek Rearing Pond Aquatic Management Area: they are closed to hunting by rule or by the managing agency.

Public land hub · WMA index · Walk-In Access page · WPA 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.

Murray County legal hunting light

Legal light for deer at Murray County brackets sunrise and sunset by 30 minutes; ducks and geese open 30 minutes before sunrise and stop at sunset.

Clock time includes Daylight Saving Time until Nov. 1.

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.