Minnesota Deer & Turkey Classic

Overview

The Minnesota Deer & Turkey Classic held annually at Canterbury Park in Shakopee is a gathering of hunters celebrating the tradition of hunting in Minnesota. The Classic focuses on showcasing the successes in the field by the Minnesota hunter. This is a chance to show fellow hunters your trophy and possibly win some nice prizes and ribbons for the top finishers. This past March we had over 260 antler entries brought in for measuring by the Minnesota Official Measurers; they are volunteers with a passion for scoring these trophies which can be entered into the Minnesota Record book.

There are 40 scoring divisions with the top three finishers winning a ribbon and the first-place winner receiving a prize. There is also a drawing on Sunday for those hunters willing to leave their trophy on display for the entire weekend. The impressive Trophy Wall was full during the 2024 event. All trophies are guarded by Canterbury’s security detail along with security cameras covering the entire area.

The show has many features and attractions including the Wild Trails Kids Zone sponsored by the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association and include: Kids Archery Range, Rubber Band Shoot, Trout Fishing and a display of live Hawks & Falcons. The MN Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation has a BB gun shoot supervised by trained instructors; the first 30 kids to their booth each day will receive a slate call.

Our celebrity lineup will be at the show to meet and greet with attendees. We have a full line of seminars covering many topics that will improve your hunting success. Don and Kandi Kisky, hosts of Realtree’s Whitetail Freaks TV, will be headlining the event and will be at the Classic for a meet & greet on Saturday only at the Wildlife Research Center booth.. Melissa Bachman of Winchester Deadly Passions TV is back all three days. Daniel Schmidt, host of Deer & Deer Hunting TV, will be bringing years of hunting knowledge to the event all 3 days.

Other features include the Minnesota Legends Wall which is a large display of Record Bucks taken over the years in MN including the State Record Typical and Non-Typical bucks, this wall is a sight to see!