Brother, sister share young hunters' thrill of first deer

Both siblings got their deer, but in different ways.

By DENNIS ANDERSON, Star Tribune

Last update: November 10, 2009 - 11:23 PM

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Dominic Becker and his sister, Laura, scored a sibling deer-hunting rarity: He took a buck with his bow Friday morning, and she downed a buck Sunday afternoon with a shotgun.

Dominic, 16, is in his first year of hunting with a bow. He has pursued deer with a gun but has never been successful. But the first time he drew back his bow and released an arrow at a deer, he scored, making his killing shot of a 4-point buck from 30 yards.

Laura, 13, hunted this year for the first time. She and her brother live on the family farm near New Auburn, west of the Twin Cities. Like her brother, she was hunting on the home place when she took her buck, a 10-pointer.

They have an older brother, Brandon, 18, who has not yet gotten a deer, and a younger brother, Thomas, 12, who is also still looking. Their parents, Wendy and Brian Becker, credit the kids' uncle, Jason Frauendienst of New Auburn, for instructing the kids, and credit also "the wonderful volunteers who teach the firearms safety and bow safety classes."

"This has been a wonderful learning experience for the entire family," Wendy Becker said.

DENNIS ANDERSON