UNDATED -- Minnesota hunters have harvested more deer in the first three days of the firearms season compared to last year.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says 68,401 deer were registered so far this season, a 6.3% jump from 2014 numbers. The buck harvest numbers are up 8 1/2% from last year, in part, because of a conservative number of anterless deer permits issued this season.

The DNR is projecting the 2015 deer harvest to be between 140,000 and 155,000 deer. A conservative 2014 season had a harvest of just over 139,000 deer.

The firearms deer season runs through Sunday, November 15th for most of Minnesota's deer hunting zones.

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