Deer estimated to be around 300 pounds harvested during youth hunt

Contributed photo
Halen Keating lays next to the massive 10-point buck that was estimated to weigh around 300 pounds during the youth deer hunt in October. She harvested the deer near East Leaf Lake.

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

In just her third year of hunting, Halen Keating has had the kind of luck seasoned veterans can only dream about. 

Two years ago the Fargo area resident, who hunts on Bill Keating’s land near East Leaf Lake, was only able to go deer hunting for a limited amount of time due to dance practice. In just about 20 minutes the young hunter shot a doe, which happened to be her first-ever deer.

The following year she once again had a limited amount of time to hunt due to previous commitments and once again bagged another deer, this time a bigger six-point buck to add to her collection.

This year Bill Keating asked his nephews daughter Halen if she thought she would get another deer after shooting both a doe and buck in previous years. Confidently, the young hunter said she was going to get a big buck this time around.

“I asked her this year, do suppose you will get a buck and she said, ‘yep I am going to get a big one,’” said Bill.

Little did any of the hunters realize just how big of a buck the young hunter would get during the annual Minnesota Youth Hunt, which was held over Education Minnesota Week in the middle of October. 

Early in the morning during the youth deer hunt Halen and her father saw a massive 10-point buck just out of their range and right before the start of hunting in the morning. The buck laid down, and with poise and patience, Halen waited four hours before the deer stood up, got within range and fired a shot. 

Halen shot off one of the legs of the deer, which fell down and five minutes later took off running. The pair eventually found the deer laying in the woods and what they found was a buck so big that pictures were needed to verify its size. The buck was 10-points and weighed approximately 300 pounds. The buck happened to lay deep in the woods of Bill Keating’s property as both Halen and her father hauled it nearly 400 yards back to the road where they could pick it up. 

Bill said his nephews daughter was all smiles when they got back to his house as they dressed and made sure to snap several pictures of one of the heaviest deer he has seen on his property. 

While the Minnesota youth hunt was held in October, the rifle season kicks off on Saturday morning across the state.