Hunters prepare for Minnesota deer opener

(ABC 6 News) – This weekend marks the time of year that many hunters have been looking forward to, the Minnesota deer opener, and many different stores in our area are preparing for it.

At Scheels in Rochester, ABC 6 News spoke to Brandon Schaefer. He’s the handgun manager there and a hunter himself.

Hunting has been a part of his family for more than 30 years.

The weather is also expected to be warmer than usual, which can make it hard to find deer, but Schaefer says, that won’t stop people from hunting.

"I think you’re going to see a lot more participation. People are able to sit comfortably a little later in the day, as far as deer movement goes, I think it’s going to be a little more concentrated early and late. It’s been cold all week, a bunch of the local archery hunters have been seeing a lot of success in the colder weather, but with it warming up, deer tend to be active real early in the morning and late in the day," Schaefer said.

Schaefer says if you plan to hunt, to prepare accordingly.

"For those able to get the time off later in the week, with the temperatures dropping Wednesday and Thursday, that’s when I would be concentrating my efforts to sit all day long. Not just early, not just late, but put your time in and that’s when I would say would be the higher percentage times," Schaefer said.

The deer opener runs through this month.