Eden Prairie middle school student Livia Fornetti, above, worked diligently this year with her mother to earn her firearms safety certificate. Her first hunting opportunity came on the second weekend of the deer season on 500 acres of land near Sandstone, Minn., owned by her grandfather. In her dad's deer stand with him by her side, Livia watched this seven-pointer step into a shooting lane. She took one shot with her .30-06 rifle, only to see the deer dart away. After a brief search, they found the deer dead in a patch of nearby grass.


Cade Wozney, 12, of Prior Lake, with the first buck of his life. He was with his father, Bill, in a heated stand in Buffalo County, Wis., when a doe stepped into a food plot. Cade waited and the buck followed. He dropped him with one 50-yard shot.
Cade Wozney, 12, of Prior Lake, with the first buck of his life. He was with his father, Bill, in a heated stand in Buffalo County, Wis., when a doe stepped into a food plot. Cade waited and the buck followed. He dropped him with one 50-yard shot.
Leah Blomquist, 14, of Plymouth, took three long-range shots and made each one count to harvest this buck during the second weekend of Minnesota’s firearm deer season. She was in St. Louis County sitting next to her father, Alan, on his birthday.
Leah Blomquist, 14, of Plymouth, took three long-range shots and made each one count to harvest this buck during the second weekend of Minnesota’s firearm deer season. She was in St. Louis County sitting next to her father, Alan, on his birthday.
This buck was moving through the pine trees near Rose City, Minn., when Lance Zemke, 14, of Baxter, Minn., took aim with a 12-gauge shotgun. It was the second buck harvested by Lance in his brief hunting career.
This buck was moving through the pine trees near Rose City, Minn., when Lance Zemke, 14, of Baxter, Minn., took aim with a 12-gauge shotgun. It was the second buck harvested by Lance in his brief hunting career.
Noah LaPorte, 13, of Baxter, Minn., was with his grandfather on private land near Crosslake, Minn., when this buck stepped out of a nearby thicket shortly after the two hunters made a racket getting to their stand. Noah’s first shot hit the deer’s leg, stopping him long enough for a second shot.
Noah LaPorte, 13, of Baxter, Minn., was with his grandfather on private land near Crosslake, Minn., when this buck stepped out of a nearby thicket shortly after the two hunters made a racket getting to their stand. Noah’s first shot hit the deer’s leg, stopping him long enough for a second shot.