With fall creeping closer and hunters across Minnesota already eyeing the woods, the state has rolled out its 2026 hunting and trapping regulations, and this year's booklet comes with some of the biggest changes hunters have seen in a while. For Deer Hunters, A New Four-Year Plan for CWD TestingThe DNR is shifting to a four-year statewide rotational surveillance plan for chronic wasting disease, dividing Minnesota into four quadrants. Remember: The Statewide Shotgun Zone Is GoneThanks to a 2025 law change, Minnesota's old statewide shotgun zone for deer hunting has been eliminated. Waterfowl Rules Have Been Moved Into the Main BookletDuck and goose hunters, take note: the waterfowl regulations have been folded into the main hunting and trapping booklet this year. Minnesota's 2026 firearms deer season opens on Saturday, November 7, which gives hunters a few months to get squared away.