Once again in 2025, young people will be able to hunt deer with an adult in a number of state parks during several application-only special youth deer hunts. These hunts offer more individualized experiences in unique places, and often on different dates than the statewide youth deer season.
“The special youth deer hunts create positive experiences and also help state parks manage their deer populations,” said Paul Burr, acting big game program coordinator with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “Youth who apply can explore new places to hunt in state parks with great opportunities to see and harvest deer and make great hunting memories.”
These firearms hunts are for youth who are ages 12-15 at the time of the hunt and are accompanied by an adult. Hunters can apply for a limited number of permits through Friday, Aug. 15.
Young hunters can also participate in special youth archery opportunities. Sand Prairie Wildlife Management Area in Sherburne County is open only to youth archery hunters ages 10-17 during the regular archery season. Camp Ripley in Morrison County offers a special youth archery hunt for ages 12-17.
Special youth deer hunts are different from the statewide youth deer season, which takes place Oct. 16-19 and does not require an application. More information on special hunts is available on the DNR website (mndnr.gov/specialdeerhunts). For more information on the Camp Ripley youth archery hunt, contact Jan Ekert, Minnesota State Archery Association, at jancrs1@gmail.com or 320-339-9927.
In most instances, hunters may only possess and use nontoxic ammunition when participating in a special firearms hunt in a Minnesota state park. However, nontoxic ammunition requirements do not apply to special youth hunts in the shotgun-use area if hunters remove all parts of harvested deer from the field, including the entrails.
Where nontoxic ammunition is required, bullets, slugs, muzzleloader ammunition and other single projectiles must be made entirely of nontoxic material approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. For deer hunting, this typically means copper ammunition. More details about nontoxic ammunition can be found on the DNR website (mndnr.gov/specialdeerhunts).
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