ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Good weather and Veterans Day falling on a Friday are being credited for improved hunter success after a slow start to Minnesota’s firearms deer season.

The Department of Natural Resources says hunters have harvested 143,000 deer so far this season, down only 7 percent from the same point in 2010.

Wildlife research manager Lou Cornicelli says Veterans’ Day gave many people another day to hunt. And he says winds were more favorable than on opening weekend, when they were blamed for a 19 percent harvest decline.

Cornicelli said he expects a final harvest comparable to last year’s 207,000 if the weather cooperates.

The DNR also says none of the 1,300 deer tested in and around the Chronic Wasting Disease management zone in southeastern Minnesota have shown signs of the disease.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)