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    OSAKIS, Minn. – Justin, 11, and Lynnea Maus, 14, went hunting with their dad, James, for Minnesota’s deer opener Nov. 7, hoping to shoot a couple nice deer. They were not, however, expecting to all shoot a deer in the same day. By the end of the day, they had cleaned six deer between them and the rest of their hunting party of 11.
    “It was amazing,” Justin said. “I got to gut another deer.”
    The Maus family owns and operates an 88-cow dairy farm near Osakis. Lynnea helps feed the calves and prepare the parlor for milking, as well as manages her chickens, rabbits, ducks and cats. Justin helps scrape out the barn, milk cows and feed calves.
    The day they went hunting, the family started chores a half hour earlier in the morning. James got all the outside chores done and his wife, Jenn, finished up the milking and cleaned up the parlor so that James, Lynnea and Justin could go hunt. In the evening, they quit hunting by 4 p.m. so they could get chores started on time. They finished up chores by about 6:45 p.m. and were processing their deer by 7:15 p.m.
    James has hunted since he was 12 years old, the first year he could hunt. His dad took him hunting, and he wanted to do the same with his kids. Now, the family hunts together every year since the kids are old enough.
    “It is fun to be hunting with them,” James said. “It makes a guy feel like a proud dad when they get their deer.”
    This was Lynnea’s sixth year hunting and Justin’s second year hunting with their dad, and it was the second time shooting a deer for both them. Justin got his first deer, a seven-point buck, during the youth season this year, while Lynnea’s first deer was a big doe she shot last year.
    Come deer opener, the three went out together and walked away with a doe shot by Justin, a four-point buck shot by Lynnea and two fawns shot by James.
    “This was my first buck so it was really cool,” Lynnea said.
    Justin got his doe when they were pushing woods and his dad took a shot at it, but missed. James yelled to Justin to get the deer and he did.
    “The deer came running straight at me, and I shot it in the chest,” Justin said.
    Lynnea got her buck on another occasion when they were pushing woods. She was walking outside the woods by the river bottom near her grandparents’ house, and the deer came running out of the woods. She shot at it, but it kept running so she continued to shoot. The deer eventually made its way up to her grandparents’ house where it left a large blood spot in front of their garage. It went between the buildings to the back corner of the lawn where they eventually found it.
    “We didn’t even know we got it until my grandparents called,” Lynnea said.
    James got his two fawns when their group was pushing the woods on two separate occasions that day. He snuck up on them and shot them while they were laying down.
    “I had to ask my cousin across the river if it was cheating to shoot them while they were laying down,” James said.
    After Justin, Lynnea and James shot their deer for the day, they went home for their chores. Because it was a warm day, they cut up all of their deer that night. They will use the backstraps for steaks and cube up the rest of the meat to grind and use for jerky or summer sausage. By the time they were done for the day, it was almost 10 p.m.
    For James, Justin and Lynnea, the best part of hunting is being together and enjoying being outdoors with nature; but a day like that deer opener was one of a kind.
    “I just like getting out in the woods, exploring and seeing the deer run,” James said. “It is a time to get together with family and friends.”

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