Swift County Hunting

The county runs to 742 square miles of land and 10 square miles of water, with offices in Benson. Census staff put the 2024 head count at 9,666, close to 13 per square mile. Region 4 of the DNR, headquartered at New Ulm, oversees the county. Deer seasons and limits come from DPA 275, 282, 277 and 278, not from the county boundary. About 20,078 acres of public land show on the state and federal layers here.

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.

Every dated season covering Swift County

Deer dates in Swift County follow its deer permit areas (275, 282, 277 and 278), not the county line. The 50 rows below come from the 2026-2027 DNR booklet.

Moose, wolf, lynx and bobwhite have no Minnesota season.

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.

Mapped public acres of Swift County by kind

The map pins 51 units inside Swift County and 5 neighbours beyond it. About 8,735 acres belong to federal WPAs. State parks hunt only by special hunt or in listed open portions.

• Wetland management districts: 1 on fileMorris Wetland Management District (55,532 acres*)
• Wildlife management areas: 17 on fileLac qui Parle Wildlife Management Area (33,623 acres*), Danvers Wildlife Management Area (3,033 acres), Camp Kerk Wildlife Management Area (1,110 acres), Bench Wildlife Management Area (614 acres), Clair Rollings Wildlife Management Area (535 acres), Milan Wildlife Management Area (447 acres*), Persen Wildlife Management Area (227 acres), Byrne Lake Wildlife Management Area (217 acres), Monson Wildlife Management Area (209 acres), Jossart Wildlife Management Area (200 acres), Henry X Wildlife Management Area (194 acres), Ehrenberg Wildlife Management Area (168 acres), Hollerberg Lake Wildlife Management Area (160 acres), Sunburg Wildlife Management Area (109 acres*), Tjosaas Wildlife Management Area (98 acres), Shible Wildlife Management Area (47 acres), Hayes-myhre Wildlife Management Area (41 acres)
• Waterfowl production areas: 33Loen Waterfowl Production Area (1,056 acres), Welsh Waterfowl Production Area (900 acres), Svor Waterfowl Production Area (826 acres), Artichoke Lake Waterfowl Production Area (808 acres), Lynch Lake Waterfowl Production Area (767 acres), Appleton Waterfowl Production Area (556 acres), Lubenow Waterfowl Production Area (490 acres), Olson Waterfowl Production Area (449 acres*), Big Slough Waterfowl Production Area (427 acres), Lake Simon Waterfowl Production Area (357 acres), Welker Waterfowl Production Area (241 acres), Byre Waterfowl Production Area (229 acres), Bengtson Waterfowl Production Area (227 acres), Gilbertson Waterfowl Production Area (222 acres), Brady Waterfowl Production Area (196 acres), Spring Lake Waterfowl Production Area (174 acres), Westhausen Waterfowl Production Area (138 acres), Maki Waterfowl Production Area (138 acres), Swift Falls Waterfowl Production Area (121 acres), Fahl Waterfowl Production Area (121 acres), Hamann Waterfowl Production Area (119 acres), Benson Waterfowl Production Area (106 acres), Tolifson Waterfowl Production Area (89 acres), Loose Waterfowl Production Area (81 acres), N/A Waterfowl Production Area (80 acres), Hoffman Waterfowl Production Area (78 acres), Brenner Lake Waterfowl Production Area (77 acres), Monson Lake Waterfowl Production Area (76 acres), Rice Waterfowl Production Area (64 acres), Bowman Waterfowl Production Area (56 acres), 3 more

* Total acres; part of the property lies over the line.

Walk-In Access in Swift County

Walk-In Access adds 280 acres on 2 sites here; no landowner contact is needed, but no vehicles, trapping, dog training or camping.

• WIA #432
• WIA #699

Walk-In Access (WIA) Program

Over the Swift County line

• Chippewa River Wildlife Management Area11 miles from centre · 125 acres
• Hoff Wildlife Management Area12 miles from centre · 81 acres
• Rustad Waterfowl Production Area13 miles from centre · 147 acres
• Hassel Creek Waterfowl Production Area14 miles from centre · 56 acres
• Benderberg Wildlife Management Area14 miles from centre · 428 acres

Land statewide · WMA pages · Private land access · WPA pages

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.

Swift County legal hunting light

Deer, bear and elk may be taken from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset; waterfowl, turkey and small game stop at sunset.

Times are Central Time, with Daylight Saving Time until Nov. 1 and from March 14.

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.