With the exception of ruffed grouse hunters, fewer game bird hunters took to Minnesota's fields and forests in 2014, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources annual small game survey.
In 2014, the number of pheasant hunters was 57,590, representing a decrease of 7 percent from 2013.
An estimated 75,170 people hunted ducks, a decrease of 2 percent from 2013.
Ruffed grouse hunter numbers were estimated at 83,020, an increase of 11 percent from 2013.
Statewide estimates show small game hunters harvested about 152,800 pheasants (down 10 percent), 699,620 ducks (down 11 percent), and 301,190 ruffed grouse (up 4 percent) in 2013, with margins of error in the results of between 10 and 14 percent, which means there has been no statistically significant change in these numbers since last year.
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Individual hunter success rates were comparable to 2013. Pheasant hunters harvested an average of 2.7 pheasants in 2013, which was the same as 2014. Duck hunters harvested an average of 9.3 ducks in 2014 compared to 10.2 in 2013. Ruffed grouse hunters harvested an average of 3.6 grouse in 2014, which was also unchanged from 2013.
The DNR annually surveys small game hunters to make estimates of both hunter numbers and harvest trends. For the 2014 season, 7,000 small game license buyers were surveyed of which 3,451 surveys were returned and usable.
Visit www.mndnr.gov/publications/wildlife for the complete report.
