Hunters in Minnesota registered more than 68,000 deer during the first three days of firearms deer season which began Saturday.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says the number of deer registered this year in Minnesota is up 6.3 percent from this time in 2014. The number of male deer hunted is also up 8.5 percent.

The total firearms harvest was up 5.9 percent in western, southern and west central parts of Minnesota, which include St. Cloud. The DNR is setting the harvest between 140,000 and 155,000 deer in 2015.

The total number of deer hunted last year during firearm season was just over 139,000 in 2014.