Youth seasons beneficial

This is the third of a multi-part series about the upcoming hunting seasons.

A relatively recent development, within the past several years, is a series of youth hunts have been listed in the hunting regulations. These hunts are designed to provide hunting experience for our youth, those hunters under 16 years of age. The youth must be accompanied by an adult at least 18 years old who is not hunting.

The job of the adult is to advise and teach the youth about the minute-by-minute happenings during this hunt. There will be youth with no hunting experience. In this case the adult will be expected to, again, teach the youth about hunting, such as decoy setup, bird identification, when to shoot, calling the birds to the decoys, etc.

Some youth will have had years of experience in the blind or walking the field, with a father, or uncle or grandpa. Some families allow youngsters, some very young, to hunt along side the adults, while carrying a BB gun. This will allow the adult to teach muzzle control and other necessary hunting skills.

These hunts are a welcome and valuable part of a youth’s beginning into hunting life. Youth hunts include Sept. 21 and 22 for pheasant, Sept. 28 and 29 for California quail, chukar and gray partridge (those birds we call Huns). Youth can hunt ducks and geese on Sept. 21 and Sept. 28. There is also a spring turkey hunt for youth only, which takes place a week or so before the spring general season.

All of the youth hunts are available and free, so mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles and family friends should take advantage of the opportunity. Plan the hunt and make it a pleasant, educational and a hunt the youth will remember forever.

Turkey

The fall turkey hunt should be considered a chance/opportunity to provide quality hunting for our youth, but also older hunters with little experience.

Yes, there are older, inexperienced hunters, who are anxious to learn hunting skills, too. These are hunters who have never had the chance to go hunting. These are men, women, sisters, mothers, uncles, fathers, etc. The fall turkey hunts are a perfect opportunity to provide such experience.

My hunt area has a season of Sept. 1 through Dec. 31 and a limit of two beardless and two either sex turkeys, this equals four turkeys total. This translates to a bunch of hunting experience for the season.

The outdoor experience is enhanced with the inclusion of youth hunts, plus hunts increasing the number of birds allowed to be tagged.

Next week: Hunting seasons ready to begin.