Minnesota hunters lock horns with DNR's proposed youth-only deer season

​In order to get more youths involved, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is considering four-day statewide youth-only deer season in October, a couple weeks before start of the regular season. Kids between the ages of 10 and 17 would be allowed to kill one deer, either a doe or a buck.

"We're seeking public input at this point," says Jay Johnson, a DNR recruitment and retention coordinator. "One of the best things you can do from a recruiting and retention standpoint is providing a positive introductory experience for first-time hunters. That's the goal here."
The proposal is getting some push-back from experienced hunters, who maintain that additional would further already dwindling deer numbers in the state.

"We do not support the idea," says Mark Johnson, executive director of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association. "We're getting a lot of hunters calling us urging us to oppose it. If we don't have deer numbers to support additional harvest, the public naturally wonders why there's a need for it."