Pawlenty's deer hunt: 1 wounded

Gov. Tim Pawlenty shot a buck during the Governor's Deer Opener last weekend, but he and his hunting companions were unable to find it.

Pawlenty hunted near Thief River Falls in northwestern Minnesota on Saturday morning. The buck ran off into the brush after the governor shot it.

A spokesman for the governor referred calls to Mark Johnson, the head of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association and an organizer of Pawlenty's outing.

Johnson says Pawlenty was unable to stay with the search for the wounded deer because he had to leave to speak at a Republican fundraiser in Iowa.

Johnson says hunters in Pawlenty's party tracked the deer through Sunday. They didn't find it but saw signs it kept moving. He says he believes the deer survived.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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