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Cool, wet weather greeted hunters at the second two-day hunt held Oct. 29-30 at Camp Ripley near Little Falls, with archers harvesting 135 deer, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Those deer, coupled with the 287 taken during the Oct. 20-21 hunt, represent the eighth best harvest at Camp Ripley. Although the harvest during the second hunt is about 5 percent below average, the four-day total of 422 deer is 33 percent above the long-term average harvest of 316 deer for the two-hunts.
“The excellent hunting conditions helped hunters achieve another strong harvest and to take about 10 bucks that weighed more than 200 pounds,” said Beau Liddell, DNR Little Falls Area wildlife manager. “The overall harvest is well above average, and administration of the hunt went well too.”
A total of 5,000 permits were issued for both two-day hunts, with 4,305 hunters participating. Hunter success was 13 percent during the first hunt (3 percent above average), and 6 percent during the second hunt (2 percent below average). That is a success rate of just above 6 percent for the two hunts combined (3 percent below the long-term average of 9 percent).
For the eighth year running, hunters at Camp Ripley were allowed to take up to two deer and to use bonus permits to increase harvest of antlerless deer.
“We’re very pleased with the results the past eight years,” Liddell said. “Although Ripley bow hunters are known to be selective for bucks, we have seen increasing proportions of does and fawns taken in recent years to help control the population.”
The proportion of antlerless deer taken at Camp Ripley was 1 percent higher than last year and much higher than the long-term average (55 percent), with about 64 percent of this year’s harvest comprised of does and fawns.
The largest buck taken on the second hunt, which weighed 215 pounds, was taken by Timothy Bilek of St. Paul.
Other hunters who harvested large bucks during the second hunt include:
- Richard Heintz, New Richmond, 210 pounds.
- Andrew Breth, Holdingford, 204 pounds.
- Jeffrey Gertken, Richmond, 204 pounds.
The archery hunt at Camp Ripley is an annual event. The DNR coordinates the hunt with the Department of Military Affairs, which manages the 53,000 acre reservation.
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