Governor Gianforte Celebrates Winners of Inaugural Youth Hunting Story Contest at State Capitol

HELENA, Mont. – Honoring Montana’s hunting heritage, Governor Greg Gianforte today celebrated ten winners of his inaugural Youth Hunting Story Contest in a ceremony at the State Capitol.

“We started the Youth Hunting Story Contest this year with a simple purpose: to celebrate our hunting heritage in Montana,” Governor Gianforte said. “After receiving and reading over 200 stories, I was proud to welcome our top ten winning hunters to the State Capitol today. Hunting is a proud tradition in Montana, and every youth hunter in Montana should be proud of their part in preserving it.”

Governor Greg Gianforte this fall created the Youth Hunting Story contest for Montana youth and apprentice hunters between the ages of 10-17.

To enter the contest, resident hunters had to submit a story of no more than 500 words and a photo from their hunt. Eligible entries included the harvest of any legal game, furbearer animals, or birds in Montana.

The governor recognized the ten winning hunters in the State Capitol this afternoon. Winning hunters received prizes from Stone Glacier, Vista Outdoor, Sitka, J2 Taxidermy, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

“With such great prizes on the line, this contest had some stiff competition,” the governor said. “I thank Stone Glacier, Vista Outdoor, Sitka, J2 Taxidermy, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation for their generosity and helping us celebrate these young hunters.”  

The winning hunters are below, and their stories can be viewed here.

-Brynlee Epperson of Lewistown (15 years old) for the story of her mule deer hunt.

-Emaline Musson of Belgrade (12 years old) for the story of her whitetail deer hunt.

-Grayson Fulton of Colstrip (10 years old) for the story of his whitetail deer hunt.

-Greyson Garza of Belt (14 years old) for the story of his whitetail deer hunt.

-Jack Heicher of Townsend (11 years old) for the story of his Canada goose and pintail duck hunt.

-Jaeger Tombre of Savage (15 years old) for the story of his mule deer hunt.

-Jason Michalsky of Billings (16 years old) for the story of his elk hunt.

-Lilly Ebert of Whitehall (12 years old) for the story of her elk hunt.

-Mika Smith of Charlo (10 years old) for the story of his duck hunt.

-Ruthy Vinson of Manhattan (14 years old) for the story of her coyote hunt.