Deer Hunting Stories from Minnesota

Everyone remembers their first time shooting a Buck. Please share your stories and pictures of your first Deer.

I shot my first Deer in November of 2004. We were hunting private land in Pine County, MN and it was freezing outside. Swede and I were stand hunting and after sitting for about 2 hours in 12 degree weather, I was frozen. I hadn't seen nor heard a thing except for the farmers donkey, when i heard that " Snap". I looked behind me and there was a nice 9pt just walking along, smelling the rut, without a care in the world.

I slowly turned, raised my 30.06 and fired.....CLICK! My rifle misfired, so i quickly rechambered my bolt action, raised my rifle and ClICK!...Another misfire. This happened 2 more times, before I had to completely reload my rifle. Surprising, the Deer didn't even noticed me. It continued to slowly walk, it's nose to the earth, completely oblivious to my frantic attempts to get my damn gun to fire.

So, now i have reloaded my rifle and sure enough, I cant see the deer anywhere. Looking through my scope, I final catch a glimspe of its tail through the woods. My first shot misses and yet the deer doesnt run. I reload and fire again....BANG and the Deer disappears.

At this point, I am crushed as I figured there was no way that I had hit the deer. I climb down from my stand and walk in the general direction of where I think the deer was standing. As I approach, I see it laying on the ground...No blood nothing...I had hit it in the spine and dropped it where it stood. The Deer never knew what hit it

Minnesota Deer Hunting License bill on track in House

ST. PAUL (AP) - Despite resistance from a powerful hunters' group, a bill that would tack an extra dollar cost onto deer hunting licenses remained on track Monday in the Minnesota House.

The Environmental and Natural Resources Committee approved the surcharge on a 10-5 vote. The money it would raise each year - almost $500,000 - would repay meat processors who turn donated deer into venison for food shelves.

R. Jane Brown, executive director of the Second Harvest Heartland food bank, said finding enough butchered venison is a continual challenge.

"Deer meat is highly desirable because it is abundant and nutritious and high in protein, which is in short supply among donated food products," Brown said in an e-mail to lawmakers....

Complete Story Click Here

Source: http://www.kstp.com

Hunters against Hunger supports the Field to Fork Program

Hunters Against HungerHunters Against Hunger is a program dedicated to providing quality venison to food shelves in the state of Minnesota. It is designed to follow all of the rules and regulations set forth by Minnesota's Department of Agriculture (meat quality regulation) and Department of Natural Resources (big game hunting regulation).


Hunters Against Hunger is run by volunteers from Minnesota Deer Hunters Association and funded by participating chapters and the state office.

How and where can I donate?
A hunter can donate an entire deer or a portion of a deer. Click here for full details on donating.

MDA Approved Processors
Click here for a list of Minnesota Department of Agriculture approved processors

Participating Food Shelves
Find a local foodshelf. When contacting a local food shelf, be sure to ask if they accept and pick up donated venison from MDA approved processors.

DNR Field to Fork Brochure
Download the PDF: HAH-DNR_Field_to_Fork_Brochure.pdf

Deer Harvest exceeds ten-year average

Area 2006 deer harvest exceeds ten-year average

The total number of deer taken during all 2006 deer seasons (firearms, archery, muzzleloader) for a several-county area of southwest Minnesota is up from both the 2005 harvest and the average of the previous 10 years, according to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) wildlife office at Windom.

Those permit areas (454, 455, 456, 457, 458, and 459) are located primarily in Murray, Nobles, Jackson, Cottonwood and Martin counties.The total number of deer harvested in these permit areas jumped 11 percent from both the 2005 season and the ten-year average while the archery season harvest increased 13 percent from 2005 and 31 percent from the ten-year average.

Muzzleloader harvest was up 3 percent from 2005 and 128 percent from the ten-year average. Firearms harvest was 13 percent above the 2005 total and remained close to the ten-year average.The overall adult buck harvest was up 3 percent from 2005, but down 2 percent from the ten-year average although both muzzleloader and archer hunters saw a decrease in the buck harvest from 2005.

Overall, 45 percent of the deer taken in these six local permit areas were adult bucks, compared to 48 percent in 2005.According to the DNR, the total state deer harvest for 2006 was the second highest on record. Nearly 270,000 deer were taken by nearly 500,000 hunters. Firearms hunters took 229,000 deer while archery and muzzleloader hunters harvested 25,000 and 13,500 deer, respectively.

The past four years have yielded the top four harvests ever recorded in Minnesota, according to the DNR.