Cool, sunny conditions greeted youth participating in the 13th annual youth archery deer hunt at the Camp Ripley Military Reservation north of Little Falls and the 11th annual youth archery hunt at nearby Lake Alexander Preserve over the weekend. Five deer were harvested at Camp Ripley and one at the Lake Alexander Preserve
for a success rate of 4 percent for the two-day hunt. At Camp Ripley, 134 hunters participated; 15 hunters participated at the Lake Alexander Preserve.
“Youth were paired with nonhunting mentors,” said Beau Liddell, Little Falls area wildlife supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “For some, this was the first time they had taken a deer.”
Logan Lunow of Belle Plaine harvested the first deer taken during the Camp Ripley hunt, a male fawn. Brent Waytashek of Holdingford took the largest deer, a 120-pound yearling buck. Joshua Monk of Maplewood took the only deer at the Lake Alexander Preserve, a 113-pound doe.
The Minnesota State Archery Association and the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association were the primary hunt sponsors. The Department of Military Affairs, The Nature Conservancy and the DNR provided logistical and planning support for the two hunts.
The Camp Ripley youth hunt was the first of its kind in Minnesota and it laid the groundwork for similar youth hunts now offered elsewhere in the state.