Questions on MN OTC tags

[Treerooster]

Can you buy an OTC tag at any time? Even after the season starts?

Is there a cap on the number of these tags? In other words if they sell so many, then no more are available.

Is one tag good for the whole state or are they unit specific?

[charlie elk]

It is my understanding the last days May 7-30 of the season you can buy OTC permits at anytime assuming you have not hunted previously with a drawn tag (you can hunt your 5 days and no more).
One of our MN resident experts will be by to clarify more...

[turkey junky]

yes charlie is correct the last 4 time periods in MN are OTC tags & unlimited in number no need to apply & they are good for either a 5-7 day hunt depending on what WK u choose to hunt... you just cant draw a tag & then go buy one of them unlimited OTC tags later but charlie said that...

yes as long as the season you want to hunt has not started you can go buy a OTC tag even after the season has started MN has it set up like each hunt period is basicly a new group of hunters opening day... 8 opening days sound better to me??? even if you want to hunt a time period & it has opened already i beleave you can still go buy a tag & it becomes valid after 24-48 hours but on a 5-7 day hunt that would not make sense but you can do it if you want...

the units were changed last yr & are huge you want to be in our SE corner of minnesota the unit is huge from just south of the twin cities a little ways all the way to the iowa border!!! but wear you really want to be treerooster is down in the SE corner wear you can go buy a leftover wisconsin tag in SW WI after you tag a MN turkey... in both regions with a short drive from one another you can be in on some great mississippi river bluff country public land turkey hunts that hole drift-less region is beautiful as could be & holds turkeys some places hold more then others like any wear but WI dose rule the roost... MN has the same habitat & thus dose hold good birds in areas as well its well worth a border jumping trip... great trout fishing as well in both states & in early to mid may middle of the week you have a great chance of having a hole peace of public land to your self... just hope the morel mushroom hunters are not in full force like last yr!!! lol

i am also thinking of adding NE IA to the mix but with the price $$$ of that non resident tag & i have to apply that state can wait but that region of IA is top notch as well...

i doubt you will need any help but if you want a heads up of wear in SE MN is better then others PM me & ill try & point ya in the right direction... im still learning WI & i want to go back & duplicate what i did there last yr & once i do then ill be more confident in wear is better then wear else... but do your public land homework for both regions & it will pay off well many in both regions just hope they get a bird each yr & dont really work at it if you do things like roost birds & maybe just watch em 4 a day then go or even find hard to get to spots or peaces of land I.E. WI wear all the other guys walk & call you will be on birds... im going to do some more MN public land scouting this YR thats the only real good i see that came from the new units MN created last yr we can explore more terrain if need be & i love to explore new areas as well so it fits kinda...

you will love the area very much like the ozarks if you have ever been

[turkey junky]

also if you look on-line at the MNDNR treerooster there may be some left over tags for a 2nd or 3rd hunt period hunt & they first are only available to guys that sent in & did not get drawn then if there are any left overs still remaining after them guys then they are open to anybody reguardl-less of if you entered the draw or not so keep that in mind also???

i would do the WI 1st then MN thing as our MN season last longer all threw may so???

[dewey]

I would normally reference what I am posting with websites but I am doing this from a phone. The MN season is broken into 8 time periods, A-H, starting in mid April and going through late May. The time periods are roughly 5-7 days long. The OTC tags are for season E-H only and as far as I know you can only buy them if the season hasn't started yet. Minnesota is broken into 12 zones, I believe, and you can only hunt in that zone for your specified time period, unless you are bow hunting. Minnesota has a very diverse turkey hunting land varying from the bluffs in southeast MN to the forests north of I-94 to the Minnesota river valley.

Check out the MnDNR website on wild turkey hunting and feel free to let me know if I can help at all.

Dewey

[Gopherlongbeards]

Dewey and TJ have pretty much summed it up for you Treerooster. those last four periods are all OTC, unlimited tag numbers. Hunter pressure during the late season is generally very light, as you can only get 1 tag per year in MN, and most people have already hunted by then. There is a good amount of public land available, but don't discount private land. Landowners are generally happy to have you hunt turkeys, especially late in the season. I hunt down in the SE corner of the state (Rushford, Houston, Caledonia areas), if you'd like a heads up on those areas shoot me a PM.

[turkey junky]

no turkeys live in houston caledonia guys rushford is your best bet... lol to any on-line scouters lol

[charlie elk]

no turkeys live in houston caledonia

Yeah, they were all shot out shortly after the limited stocking effort and due to extreme hunting pressure the area remains devoid of turkeys.

[dewey]

Dang you guys are sneaky. (Shaking my head)

Dewey

[dewey]

Treerooster here are some links that will help you if you want to hunt Minnesota.

MnDNR wild turkey hunting website.
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/hunting/turkey/index.html

Here is a link to the zones, dates, fees and other spring hunting legal stuff.
http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/recreation ... g-hunt.pdf

Here is a link to the Mn hunting regulations.
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/regulations/ ... index.html

Good luck if you choose to come to the Viking state.

Dewey