Trinity Martinez, 13, of South St. Paul, gave a thumbs-up to celebrate this trophy deer she bagged after striking out in each of her first three hunting seasons. The 15-pointer from Houston County in southeastern Minnesota was a mighty payoff for her patience. She was hunting with her father, Justin, when the buck walked within 20 feet of their ground blind. It was only the second shot she fired in her first four years of hunting. "I was pretty proud of her that she stuck with it and toughed it out,'' her father said.

Aaron Sundberg, 14, of Minneapolis, with his first deer. He shot this yearling buck shot with a .30-30 rifle on land owned by his grandfather and uncles near McGregor, Minn.


Gavin Moss, 11, of Cottage Grove, was hunting with family members on public land in St. Louis County when he harvested his first deer with a single shot. The buck was 35 yards away when Gavin shot it through the heart.

The deer gods smiled on Emmett Franzwa, and he smiled back in a pose with this 8-pointer. The 13-year-old from Ramsey bagged his first buck by his family's cabin near Hackensack, Minn.

Logan Percy, 14, was hunting on his grandparents' farm near Ogilvie when this 10-pointer tried to sneak out of a nearby field 100 yards away. It was Logan's first deer, and he was hunting with his dad and aunt. His first shot with a .243 rifle left a groove in one antler, but Logan aimed true on his second shot and dropped the deer in its tracks.