For four decades, Minnesota’s annual weekend deer hunts at Camp Ripley in Little Falls were considered the largest gatherings of archery hunters in North America.
Twice a season, the gates would open for 1,800 to 2,400 hunters to fan out across the installation’s 53,000 acres in pursuit of wild whitetails. Most dreamed of arrowing a trophy buck, but they also relished the camaraderie of overnight camping on the post’s perimeter.
There, amid tents and trailers jammed together along Camp Ripley’s surrounding roadsides, libations were shared, cameras clicked, faraway friends reunited, new friendships formed and tales were told of monster bucks.
“There was the perception (Ripley) was filled with big bruisers,” said Beau Liddell, who ran the hunt for many years as the area wildlife manager for the state Department of Natural Resources. “The way the hunters treated it, it was a rat race.”
Starting this season, the free-for-all is over and there’s no talk of bringing it back.
Liddell said military officials adopted a radically different format this season that opened the range to archery hunting on most days of Minnesota’s deer season — but capped participation at 150 individuals a day.
“It was a super-huge logistical challenge and we’d have to shut down all military training,” Jake Kitzmann, Camp Ripley’s natural resources manager, said about the old system. The post is operated by the Minnesota National Guard.
“The steady trickle is much, much easier to manage,” Kitzmann said.