what is the percentage of being chosen for YOUTH HUNT

[USPENAMC]

on july 1st im taking my brother to apply for the youth special hunt i was wondering how many have kids that have applied and have you been chosen. im applying for the st croix, and for the camp ripley since they are the ones that have the most permits. one is firearms the other is an archery hunt. are there probabilities you will get chosen for both??

[lcornice]

Quote:

---

on july 1st im taking my brother to apply for the youth special hunt i was wondering how many have kids that have applied and have you been chosen. im applying for the st croix, and for the camp ripley since they are the ones that have the most permits. one is firearms the other is an archery hunt. are there probabilities you will get chosen for both??

---

2006 odds can be found here: Youth odds

Ripley archery was 58%, St. Croix was 52%. Odds of drawing both would be .58 * .52 = 30%. If you're willing to travel, there are hunts with much better odds. I wouldn't use permit numbers as the indicator of application success.

Good luck!

[USPENAMC]

thanks for that great information

[USPENAMC]

another question the whitewater it says its both archery and firearms does it count as two entries or only as one

[jlm]

As a sure option, take a look at the special NW MN youth hunt! No application needed, just register over the counter. Tons of state and county land in that vacinity as well. Good luck!

[lcornice]

Quote:

---

another question the whitewater it says its both archery and firearms does it count as two entries or only as one

---

Just one. You're just allowed to use bows at the Whitewater hunt if you want.

[lcornice]

Quote:

---

As a sure option, take a look at the special NW MN youth hunt! No application needed, just register over the counter. Tons of state and county land in that vacinity as well. Good luck!

---

Kids won't need to register this year. They can just go. The only difference is the legislature enacted that hunt and the age is 12-14, NOT the standard 12-15 DNR uses for youth hunts. I can't tell you why they did that.

[jlm]

There you go, what a great option! Pack the camper or stay in a hotel, they are cheap in that neck of the woods!

[USPENAMC]

thanks for some reason thursday night friday morning i had problems getting to the dnr website but ill look into the NW hunt thanks.

[USPENAMC]

I went to Gander in Eden prairie we walk in and ask to sign up for the youth special hunt. the person (young kid) told me not until the regulations come out? Am I wrong or was he wrong. I said thanks and walked out thinking if I was wrong on the date?

[lcornice]

Quote:

---

I went to Gander in Eden prairie we walk in and ask to sign up for the youth special hunt. the person (young kid) told me not until the regulations come out? Am I wrong or was he wrong. I said thanks and walked out thinking if I was wrong on the date?

---

You don't need to sign up this year for the NW youth hunt. That was put in place for a couple of years to track numbers. The authorization was actually free. This year, if the kid is 12-14 they can just go. The 2007 book should be out around 8/1 but if the NW regs are the same (except for the date) as last year so you can look at the 2006 book.

As for applying for ELS hunts, you can't do that until the 8/1. Heck, you can't even buy a deer license until 8/1 so the Gander kid was technically correct.

[USPENAMC]

this is what is posted on the DNR website it says that special youth hunt applications are being taken as of july 1st

DNR taking applications for special youth hunts beginning July 1 (2007-06-26)

Four state parks, two military reservations, two refuges and a nature preserve will provide high quality deer hunting opportunities for 475 young hunters this fall. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is offering ten special youth deer hunts in 2007, at locations with high deer populations that need to be trimmed.

Applications for the special youth deer hunts will be accepted beginning July 1 at any DNR Electronic License System (ELS) vendor, or at the DNR License Center. The deadline for applications is Friday, Aug. 17. Successful applicants will be notified in early September.

There is no fee to apply, although successful applicants will have to purchase the appropriate deer-hunting license prior to their hunt. The youth individual firearms and youth individual archery license costs $14, and are available to residents age 12 to 17.

There will be four archery and six firearms special youth hunts in October. Eligible youth may apply for one archery hunt and one firearms hunt. Youth age 12 to 15 are eligible for the firearms hunts, and youth age 12 to 17 are eligible for the archery hunts. Youth who applied unsuccessfully in the past will have preference. There is a mandatory orientation session for each hunt, and hunters must be accompanied by a parent, guardian, or an adult authorized by the parent. All youth hunters must possess a valid Firearms Safety Certificate.

According to Ryan Bronson, the hunter recruitment program supervisor for DNR, special youth hunts are a part of expanding efforts to get more kids involved in the outdoors.

"Competition for families' limited leisure time is a big obstacle to participation in hunting, and having special events like these outside of the regular hunting season provide an extra opportunity for families to make time for each other," Bronson said. "Plus these controlled hunts enable us to safely trim deer populations on chunks of public land that are not normally open to deer hunting. We get both conservation and recreation benefits."

Camp Ripley and The Nature Conservancy will host archery hunts in Morrison County on Oct. 5 -7. The Arden Hills Army Training Site will host two bowhunts over the Education Minnesota school break, Oct. 18-19, and Oct. 20-21. The Minnesota State Archery Association and the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association help sponsor the hunts.

The Whitewater Wildlife Management Area refuge will allow youth gun hunters over the entire Education Minnesota school break, while Rydell National Wildlife Refuge, Lake Bemidji State Park and Buffalo River State Park will be open Oct. 20-21. Savanna Portage State Park and St. Croix State Park will welcome youth hunters on Oct. 27-28. The Bluffland Whitetails Association and the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association sponsor the hunts.

All of the hunts have a bag limit of one deer of either sex, with the exception of Lake Bemidji State Park, which has a bag limit of five antlerless deer. There is no party hunting, so individual youth must tag their own deer, however they may purchase and use bonus permits for antlerless deer.

Deer harvested during the special youth hunt count against the yearly state bag limit of five deer.

[lcornice]

My bad. My brain was thinking youth hunts and my fingers were typing regular special hunts, which are 8/1. Apps for youth hunts are being taken now. Sorry about that. Vendors should have an orange legal-sized sheet with all the youth special hunt information. It'll give you all the information you need to apply.

[USPENAMC]

i went to gander again in eden prairie and again walked in and at first they plain out told me they werent out yet. i very politely asked if they could check because i just got the info from the dnr. They found the sheet but they couldnt find the sheet with all the codes so they told me to go back either thursday or friday.

[lcornice]

Quote:

---

i went to gander again in eden prairie and again walked in and at first they plain out told me they werent out yet. i very politely asked if they could check because i just got the info from the dnr. They found the sheet but they couldnt find the sheet with all the codes so they told me to go back either thursday or friday.

---

That's insane. It's an electronic application so there's nothing coming out beyond the instructions! Here's the DNR link to application instructions. The deadline is 8/17 so there's no great rush. I'd suggest either a new store or a chat with the manager. Youth deer application instructions

[USPENAMC]

Actually i got attended by let me count in my head 6 persons at the front desk and they were kind of baffled. I am thinking since this is the first hunting season for that gander since it was built this year maybe they just arent getting the material they need. I dont blame them i just wish i could get my brother registered. ON THE OTHER HAND i am glad this tells me at least for now my brother is the 1st to be registered at this certain store. i have to keep thinking the glass is half full. im thinking of doing the arden hills A archery and then the st croix firearms registration. any info on any of these two would be great

[lcornice]

Quote:

---

Actually i got attended by let me count in my head 6 persons at the front desk and they were kind of baffled. I am thinking since this is the first hunting season for that gander since it was built this year maybe they just arent getting the material they need. I dont blame them i just wish i could get my brother registered. ON THE OTHER HAND i am glad this tells me at least for now my brother is the 1st to be registered at this certain store. i have to keep thinking the glass is half full. im thinking of doing the arden hills A archery and then the st croix firearms registration. any info on any of these two would be great

---

I've heard Arden is a good hunt but I don't have any specific information. St. Croix is a really nice park and there's no shortage of deer. My daughter drew last year and we had a great time. For whatever reason, the overall hunt success was very low that weekend, I think they only killed 10 or so deer. The year before it was almost 50% success. The regular hunt usually kills 250-275 deer with 550 hunters. I'd definitely do St. Croix, although there's a good chance you won't draw the first year.

[USPENAMC]

i figure there are alot of misses on their targets. like you said its probably not because of a shortage of deer