Associated Press Writer

By BLAKE NICHOLBy BLAKE NICHOLSON

More people than ever before applied for a deer gun license in North Dakota this year, and the number of hunters using a computer to apply also set a record.

The firsts came on top of yet another record announced earlier - 148,550 deer licenses being made available in North Dakota this year.

"We won't complain about that," said Greg Link, assistant wildlife chief for the state Game and Fish Department. "We want to get those (licenses) used."

The Game and Fish Department has been trying to reduce deer numbers in the state for years, after a series of mild winters boosted the deer population. Last year, hunters killed more than 100,000 of the animals in North Dakota- yet another record.

"We are kind of turning the corner in a couple of areas in the state, the northwest and the southeast," Link said. "Through central North Dakota and the northeast, we just continue to see expanding populations."

This year's first license lottery application process - deer gun, muzzleloader, youth and landowner - drew 94,000 applicants, 3,000 more than in 2006, said Carrie Whitney, licensing supervisor for the Game and Fish Department. Successful applicants will get their license in the mail in a couple of weeks.

Link said it is not surprising that a record number of people applied.

"As licenses have been abundant and deer have been abundant, more people have entered the sport," he said.

Fifty-one percent of the applications came in online, the first time more than half the applications were filed through the Internet, Whitney said. Last year, about 46 percent of applications were filed online.

"Our Web numbers are going up every year," Whitney said.

More than 60,000 antlerless deer gun licenses are still available, along with 31 white-tailed buck licenses in a unit in far southwestern North Dakota.

A second lottery drawing will be held later this summer for hunters who were unsuccessful in the first lottery. A third lottery will be held for hunters who have not yet applied for a 2007 deer gun license and for those seeking additional licenses. After that, any remaining licenses are dealt on a first-come, first-served basis.

This year's deer gun season begins Nov. 9 and ends Nov. 25.