Saturday marked the beginning of firearm deer hunting in Minnesota, and while seasoned hunters are well aware of the rules, there are some new ones to pay attention to before going on a hunt.

More than 400,000 hunters this weekend are expected to grab their firearms and try their luck at securing some deer.

Some new regulations, however, will need to be followed as they hit the field.

Blaze orange is now a requirement for all fabric blinds when hunting on public land, and deer heads being transported into Minnesota from out of state will need to head to a licensed taxidermist within 48 hours of crossing the state border.

That same rule is required for heads being transported out of a Minnesota Chronic Wasting Disease zone.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) says more than 200,000 licenses have been sold for the season so far. They also say the deer population numbers are on the rise again after taking a hit during consecutive years of extremely harsh winters.

Officials say last year’s mild winter helped repair some of the damage done in previous years, with about 160,000 deer expected to be harvested this year.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS spoke with a family who says coming out on opening day is a tradition.

“I love the outdoors, love Mother Nature, being outside, being with family. And, if we get a deer, we get a deer,” said Dave Nieman.

“It’s just the adrenaline rush. And when you see something like this morning, me and my son were sitting in the blind and we seen his doe come out right by us and walked in front of us… it’s a rush. It’s so awesome,” added Scott Nieman

The Minnesota DNR emphasizes hunters should sport lots of blaze orange and anyone in need of a license to hunt can still get one through their website.

Additional information on this year’s deer season can be found HERE.