A mud-caked buck appears out of nowhere, his legs stained from the bog. The deer scans its surroundings. He’s an old deer that knows just how perilous life can be outside the security of his swamp.

Last season’s warm winter helped the deer population, and that bodes well for firearm hunters anticipating the Nov. 9 opener, especially in parts of central and southern Minnesota. As many as 400,000 ...