special youth firearms season

[Danny]

wait till the next generation when the present "entitled" generation starts having kids... god bless us all

[gfdeputy2]

how long is this special season?

NH has had a youth weekend for Spring Turkey & deer Firearm for many years

More hunting accidents & wounded deer during regular season then Youth season

I have taken my daughter for youth weekend since she was 10 years old. Isn't this what everyone Preaches

"Take a kid hunting" they are & should be the future of this sport & should have a time in the woods to learn the ropes without a million idiots out there just my thought on it & am glad NH has done it for years. My daughter is one of the most ethical & Responsible hunters I have ever hunted with.  

[Five Seasons]

I neer heard a shot on that weekend last year. i hear many many more shot near me during the early goose season.

 

 

I hear more shots throughout the summer of people just target shooting......more so the day or two before gun opens.

 

i agree, but somehow you have to admit that they do know when there's shooting, and whne they're being shot at. big noise, no stink in the woods? no bid deal.

[Cabin Fever]

This is how you start kids with the outdoors and hunting...not a special season.

Great pic phade!! 

 

This was my son 18 years ago....

 

[Five Seasons]

Last year shouldn't be a measuring stick. It was hastily put through and poorly communicated/advertised per the DEC itself as quoted saying so. The other thing, as we all know, was that weekend was HORRIBLE weather in some parts of the state, constant rain and wind. I remember sitting in that weather thinking there's no way kids will want to be in this stuff the first time out.

 

I doubt the impact will be huge, but, I don't think last year was a good representative of what every year will be like.

 

that's the same argument i've used before, only to be told it was a beautiful weekend... so it depends on the part of the state i guess.

[phade]

Nice pic CF!

 

It'll be interesting to see how this season's weekend plays out.

[Five Seasons]

My son has already grown out of 3 sets of realtree cammo outfits.

 

a version of this also sits above his crib

[Dinsdale]

how long is this special season?

NH has had a youth weekend for Spring Turkey & deer Firearm for many years

More hunting accidents & wounded deer during regular season then Youth season

I have taken my daughter for youth weekend since she was 10 years old. Isn't this what everyone Preaches

"Take a kid hunting" they are & should be the future of this sport & should have a time in the woods to learn the ropes without a million idiots out there just my thought on it & am glad NH has done it for years. My daughter is one of the most ethical & Responsible hunters I have ever hunted with.  

 

 

Part of the backround for trying in NY was because of other states successful programs.

 

Great to hear your example of its rewards.

[Cabin Fever]

Nice Belo! Future hunters of tomorrow! 

[Doc]

how long is this special season?

NH has had a youth weekend for Spring Turkey & deer Firearm for many years

More hunting accidents & wounded deer during regular season then Youth season

I have taken my daughter for youth weekend since she was 10 years old. Isn't this what everyone Preaches

"Take a kid hunting" they are & should be the future of this sport & should have a time in the woods to learn the ropes without a million idiots out there just my thought on it & am glad NH has done it for years. My daughter is one of the most ethical & Responsible hunters I have ever hunted with.

Wait a minute .... those "million idiots out there" are all part of what you are hoping to introduce them to......deer hunting. Are we trying to fool them into thinking hunting only occurs in nice warm weather and only when the woods are nearly empty? Also, are we trying to deprive them of hunting and sharing the camaraderie of the hunt with other family friends and relatives, or the experience of hunting camp? If that's all true, then some trumped up bogus "special" season is the best way to do that. But exactly when do you propose to spring the realities of deer hunting on them? But if the attempt is to honestly portray (and sell) hunting to a new crop of hunters, nothing will be equal to that opening day and all the excitement and reality of what that really is in the company of other hunters.

However, the thing I never understood is, we don't seem to be able to get parents and relatives or other hunters to take new hunters under their wing during regular hunting season, so what makes us think that simply creating some special season is going to make some mythical hoard of hunting mentors appear where they never have before? Especially using a season that occurs long before most hunting parents and potential mentors are even thinking about hunting. And then just in case we might be able to scrape together a few volunteers, let's make sure we plunk it right during bow season so we can exclude those mentors who would really rather be out there bow hunting. Good planning, DEC.

[G-Man]

i gladly give up a weekend to take a youth out, special season especially. the problem is when i was a kid i could walk out the back door and go hunting anytime i wanted. season or no season, there was something around to shoot pigions in barns,starlings,blackbirds,frogs, turtles and just tin cans, old bottle dumps.: . a lot of oldtimers were brought up same way. age limits hunting courses were non existant. todays kids live in subburbs deer and turkey are about all the big game they have chance for and everything is well regulated today. just get them use to warm weather? we use to be able to walk down the street with our bb guns, and shoot turtles,and frogs in creeks ditchess and ponds to our hearts were content in summer. now the damn swat team would be called out and media would make it seem like kids were part of a zombie apocolipse. this is a good idea, as is taking them out opening day. opportunities are limited for kids to just go plink these days so give em a day or two to hunt legally.

[Arrow Flinger]

I do agree that if that's what it takes to get you and you're kid involved in hunting, there's a much bigger problem.......my son was tagging along and freezing his ass of with me for a few years before the youth hunt opened up, deer and turkey alike. It was nice to get out there before the crowds and spend quality time with him while the woods were quiet.

I agree. If you want your kid to love the outdoors, take them out with you during bow season and let them see how its done before they are old enough to hunt. I did this with my son. From the time he was 8 he was sitting in a treestand with me during bow season. The first time he saw me shoot a deer he was hooked!

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I know when folks get as old as you Doc you have to take advantage of every possible day of hunt because who knows?  JK.

 

Seriously though, I know there are hunters out there (let's call them those slob gun hunters) that will be more likely to take their kid out if it doesn't run into conflict with their hunting. I was lucky, I went with my father in the small game and deer woods since i was 8 years old. Not everyone is lucky enough to have that offered like my father did for me. I know just what DOC is talking about wit the whole deer camp experience becasue I remember those times and stories today much more than the actual hunting that took place. I now probably most on here are like that too. For us it just dooesn't seem possible that there could be kids out there that have an interest and don't get a chance. I hope this is a first step into allowing younger hunters into deer season at a younger age. I hope it is a pilot program. I would like to see it open at 12 years old across the board.

 

I now this is going to sound like a plug...well....it is. For those of you out here in Western NY, please scratch your heads and see if you know of a youngster that may have an interst in hunting but will not get an opportunity to do it. Get involved and do it. If you can't then please get the information that GRST QDMA has posted on this site for the youth hunts. For us this is step one and we are also working on youth mentor programs that we hope to get off the ground in the future. Taking a kid out for a couple days and then just turning them back to their routine will do little. We need to find the ways and time to make the difference.

[cdmckane]

all bowhunters better be wearing blaze orange underwear

What difference does it make if my 14 yr old cousin is hunting deer with my 220f or if I'm hunting squirrels with my .22? We'll both be in the woods during bow season with firearms.

[RobC]

Lot of good points floating around in this thread. I have to agree that some parents would be more likely to take a youth hunting if it isn't conflicting with their hunting time. I personally wouldn't want to take my son opening day of shotgun just because of the fact that I've been nervous going out and 2 mins before sunlight the woods sounds like a civil war. Ill take him bow hunting a few times and take him out during the week or during muzzleloader. My problem with the youth hunt is that it falls in the middle of bow seasaon. why not tack it on the last weekend in the season or move opening day of shotgun back to mon. As far as illegal activity like someone else pointed out, if someone is going to break the laws there going to do it no matter what the season is.

[Two Track]

Where I grew up, we would go spend weekends at my grandparents farm.  We would go rabbit hunting with my dad's cousins and uncles that had rabbit dogs at least twice during the season and some days it was just me and my dad.  Would go out a couple times to keep dad company for deer season until I was old enough to deer hunt.

 

The farm was sold off long ago, and I live in a different state in the 'burbs now.  Less opportunities for my son to get out hunting when he is not busy with school projects and college prep tests.  There is no "lets go out the backdoor and hunt for an hour before dark" for us when I get home from work - we have to load up the car and then drive to public land. The opportunities are less for persons in live in some areas - is not same as living the more rural areas.

 

If you live in 'burbs, and have limited/no places to hunt because of opening weekend for gun deer season is assigned spots, if you get one. If you are not lucky to get one, it takes out the whole weekend to get a kid out to gun hunt deer.  In my family school comes first, so they are not missing school to just go out and hunt. 

 

Remember, not every youth has the opportunity learn archery skills and a place to practice them to go out in archery season - please don't say, just practice in the back yard.   I am in-town and my neighbors are a LEO and a judge.  Imagine if their dog got loose and got skewered while practicing archery in my yard.

 

The closest place to hunt by me is closed to hunting for half the fall turkey season.  There are lots of trails that people use for experiencing fall foliage and the like. So they delay the hunting season for safety concerns for the hikers.  The second closest is a night-mare to draw a spot for opening weekend. 

 

A youth hunt almost guarantees a spot for kids in my area to be able deer hunt without the madness of opening weekend if all you have access to is public land.

 

Now just have to see if I can get my daughter out with me for small game to get her started.

[gfdeputy2]

Wait a minute .... those "million idiots out there" are all part of what you are hoping to introduce them to......deer hunting. Are we trying to fool them into thinking hunting only occurs in nice warm weather and only when the woods are nearly empty? Also, are we trying to deprive them of hunting and sharing the camaraderie of the hunt with other family friends and relatives, or the experience of hunting camp? If that's all true, then some trumped up bogus "special" season is the best way to do that. But exactly when do you propose to spring the realities of deer hunting on them? But if the attempt is to honestly portray (and sell) hunting to a new crop of hunters, nothing will be equal to that opening day and all the excitement and reality of what that really is in the company of other hunters.

However, the thing I never understood is, we don't seem to be able to get parents and relatives or other hunters to take new hunters under their wing during regular hunting season, so what makes us think that simply creating some special season is going to make some mythical hoard of hunting mentors appear where they never have before? Especially using a season that occurs long before most hunting parents and potential mentors are even thinking about hunting. And then just in case we might be able to scrape together a few volunteers, let's make sure we plunk it right during bow season so we can exclude those mentors who would really rather be out there bow hunting. Good planning, DEC.

OK Doc I guess I don't understand how NY state works as far as the youth program

Here in NH Youths can hunt all season as long as long as they are with a licensed hunter over 18 my daughter hunts with me all rifle season the youth weekend just gives them a little extra chance  Not trying to fool anyone & I am sorry if I don't understand how the system works in NH if land is not posted it is legal to hunt. I have rifle hunted western NY public land & switched to bow season when you have idiots running YES Running through public land firing their rifles in the air with no concern for anyones safety just to push deer to their buddy I will say I don't want to be around let alone my daughter

so maybe they cant hunt all season in NY but here my daughter since 10 years old has hunted in 70 to -10 degree weather with me. My word Doc in no way am I trying to be disrespectful but it is one weekend

it is still bow season here youth weekend & doesn't seem to bother anyone or the deer.If I am not mistaken isn't a lot of different gun seasons in NY during bow season there if not someone better call DEC because I still hear a lot of shots at waterfowl, turkey, small game & upland birds going off on the public land. I will gladly put my bow up to spend a weekend hunting witth my kids Could care less if I ever shot a deer again I cant take back the time I dont spend with my kids in the woods

Edited August 7, 2013 by gfdeputy2

[Doc]

Times have changed .... dramatically. For me, it was no big deal to take the kids out hunting. When they were small, it was squirrel hunting and rabbit hunting. When they got old enough, they were familiar with guns and hunting and while we all went out hunting together, there was no interference or imposition or big hardship involved. It was simply more hunting partners. It really was no big deal and certainly required no "special" season or any need to push our way into other seasons. My gosh, have hunters become so damn selfish that they can't share the woods with their own kids at a time when both kids and parents are eligible to harvest game? Is scheduling so tight these days that nobody has time for small game hunting with their kids to introduce them to the sport of hunting? Really ... I am having a hard time understanding any of this nonsense. All of a sudden we need some special season early on so that they don't get cold, and we want to shield them from the realities that there actually are other hunters out there and that they do have to concern themselves about aspects of safety involved in hunting in a woods full of hunters. If these kids are traumatized by such things, there is no special season that will make that go away when they have to participate for real.

[Doc]

OK Doc I guess I don't understand how NY state works as far as the youth program

Here in NH Youths can hunt all season as long as long as they are with a licensed hunter over 18 my daughter hunts with me all rifle season the youth weekend just gives them a little extra chance  Not trying to fool anyone & I am sorry if I don't understand how the system works in NH if land is not posted it is legal to hunt. I have rifle hunted western NY public land & switched to bow season when you have idiots running YES Running through public land firing their rifles in the air with no concern for anyones safety just to push deer to their buddy I will say I don't want to be around let alone my daughter

so maybe they cant hunt all season in NY but here my daughter since 10 years old has hunted in 70 to -10 degree weather with me. My word Doc in no way am I trying to be disrespectful but it is one weekend

it is still bow season here youth weekend & doesn't seem to bother anyone or the deer. I will gladly put my bow up to spend a weekend hunting witth my kids Could care less if I ever shot a deer again I cant take back the time I dont spend with my kids in the woods

So I guess what you are saying is that NYS gun season is not something you want your child to be exposed to because participants are not capable of conducting themselves safely. So then I have to ask what the hell you want to conduct a special youth gun hunt for? You want to introduce them to something you consider not suitable for them to participate in? If you think that bowseason is the only deer hunt that is safe to participate in, then I guess I don't understand why you are even worrying about a special introductory gun season for deer.

[gfdeputy2]

Doc I see your points. & we have just as many idiots here TRUST ME. most of these people do not take their kids out or they have already shot one before the season. If these kids are taught right to be responsible & ethical hunters gun season will change for the better it will take time but it will be safer for everyone. YES. In NY would be scared as hell  to take my daughter on public land during reg gun season & would not do it.  Private land is a different story

All I can say is here in NH I have seen the change in the hunters ethics. I do believe that the youth program here has helped that dramaticly. I am 99% sure more good then bad will come with a Youth "weekend"

continue to bowhunt during youth weekend Doc & if it makes you nervous set that tree stand a little higher  (J/K)

As I have no intrest in NY youth hunt I will not voice anymore on this matter unless asked to do so

Just hope we can all share the woods. Most of us sportman & sportswomen are all out there for the same reasons

 

[Doc]

Doc I see your points. & we have just as many idiots here TRUST ME. most of these people do not take their kids out or they have already shot one before the season. If these kids are taught right to be responsible & ethical hunters gun season will change for the better it will take time but it will be safer for everyone. YES. In NY would be scared as hell  to take my daughter on public land during reg gun season & would not do it.  Private land is a different story

All I can say is here in NH I have seen the change in the hunters ethics. I do believe that the youth program here has helped that dramaticly. I am 99% sure more good then bad will come with a Youth "weekend"

continue to bowhunt during youth weekend Doc & if it makes you nervous set that tree stand a little higher  (J/K)

As I have no intrest in NY youth hunt I will not voice anymore on this matter unless asked to do so

Just hope we can all share the woods. Most of us sportman & sportswomen are all out there for the same reasons

Actually, I can forgo that weekend of bow hunting. I just get a bit nervous about people hunting deer with guns while I am dressed in camo. Besides, the bowseason is plenty long and I will not miss those days. However, my objections have always been about the fact that people have satisfied themselves with the idea that now that a special season has been established that somehow something has been accomplished and that somehow somebody will take over the responsibility of taking our kids under their wing. I think the effort should be focused toward more educational efforts aimed at parents and established hunters trying to get them to take on the responsibilities of recruitment. But you don't see any of that do you? This special season is more of a "feel-good" kind of window dressing and now everyone is content that we have done something. For one thing, those kids that are willing to participate in special seasons are most likely kids that were on their way to becoming hunters already. They are kids that already had an interest, and already had some kind of support structure (mentors) in place that was moving them toward becoming hunters anyway.

 

There are so many things that relate to hunter population decline that I think it needs a good serious effort that relates to the whole way that hunting is viewed. What is really needed is an over-all culture change that makes outdoor activities "cool" again. I think that the DEC has to become more involved in schools in a much more visible and effective way. I think that parents have to become more involved in all outdoor activities like camping, hiking, fishing, etc., which will automatically elevate hunting as a viable pastime. I believe that there needs to be a "sales pitch" to parents to bring attention to all involvement in nature so that they can become the catalyst to solving hunter recruitment. That is the key, not some feel-good program that is aimed at those that are already going to be hunters anyway. The problem is not with the kids, but it is with the parents and hunters (potential mentors) who are dropping the ball when it comes to steering the interests of the kids. That is what has to change. But that is not anything that anyone is talking about is it? Instead we are relying on these so-called solutions that simply make us feel like we have done something substantive.

 

Oh well, it's time to get off the soapbox. Things are what they are, and people always look for easy one-liner solutions. Nothing will ever change in that regard.

[MACHINIST]

I cant believe some of the responses here.I feel this is a great thing.Most kids in a hunting family wont need a "special" season to get in the woods and get hooked,but some kids that have never had the opportunity to hunt,maybe who parents or family hunts will capitalize on this and that's what its about.This sport that we all love so much is attacked every day in our schools,news and all around and the majority of what I see here is attacking the next possible generation of hunters that will be defending OUR rights for it.Why do any of you care if a kid gets a break,I am sure the majority of us would take a rebate on a product that we buy that didn't have a rebate offered 20 years ago,so how is this different.I would have never posted this if I thought this would get turned into such a hurtful thing toward future hunters.Everyone is entitled to their opinion,but I cant see attacking the next group of hunters in line because they have a opportunity you didn't when you were up and coming.Go ahead bash me all you want but this type of thing does nothing but hurt our sport.

Edited August 7, 2013 by MACHINIST

[Five Seasons]

i gladly give up a weekend to take a youth out, special season especially. the problem is when i was a kid i could walk out the back door and go hunting anytime i wanted. season or no season, there was something around to shoot pigions in barns,starlings,blackbirds,frogs, turtles and just tin cans, old bottle dumps.: . a lot of oldtimers were brought up same way. age limits hunting courses were non existant. todays kids live in subburbs deer and turkey are about all the big game they have chance for and everything is well regulated today. just get them use to warm weather? we use to be able to walk down the street with our bb guns, and shoot turtles,and frogs in creeks ditchess and ponds to our hearts were content in summer. now the damn swat team would be called out and media would make it seem like kids were part of a zombie apocolipse. this is a good idea, as is taking them out opening day. opportunities are limited for kids to just go plink these days so give em a day or two to hunt legally.

 

while i've grown up with seasons, i can surely relate to shooting barn birds, walking through the woods and plinking stuff at the old dump. It is important that a young hunter have the ability to just simply "hike" in the woods when they're young. That's how I fell in love with nature, the fact that all the male figures in my life didn't hurt to push me towards the sport, but I also fell in love with it on my own.

 

I have a friend that I think would love hunting, and I've taken him out a few times. But his father didn't hunt and he had nobody to draw him to the sport when he was younger. Again, I'll contest that it's less about the temperature, the season etc. And more about who is around you when you're young and impressionable. But that's also what's wrong with a lot of society. Poor parenting, both parents working and latchkey kids. I hope and pray to not be that kind of parent.

[Five Seasons]

Lot of good points floating around in this thread. I have to agree that some parents would be more likely to take a youth hunting if it isn't conflicting with their hunting time. I personally wouldn't want to take my son opening day of shotgun just because of the fact that I've been nervous going out and 2 mins before sunlight the woods sounds like a civil war. Ill take him bow hunting a few times and take him out during the week or during muzzleloader. My problem with the youth hunt is that it falls in the middle of bow seasaon. why not tack it on the last weekend in the season or move opening day of shotgun back to mon. As far as illegal activity like someone else pointed out, if someone is going to break the laws there going to do it no matter what the season is.

 

last weekend of bow? that's prime time

 

 

.Most kids in a hunting family wont need a "special" season to get in the woods and get hooked,but some kids that have never had the opportunity to hunt,maybe who parents or family hunts will capitalize on this and that's what its about.

 

Not sure I understand this? So most hunting families wont need the special season? But kids with parents who don't hunt will benefit? How will these kids get into the woods if their parents don't hunt? Why would a friend or family member who hunts not just take them with them opening day like the rest of us started?

Edited August 7, 2013 by Belo

[G-Man]

Biggest complaint I see here is its during bow... it would be before bow season except for the change last year to oct 1st last year in southern zone(not familiar with northern but I believe season was open then already). seem archers give up (not really cause they can hunt) 3 days and got 11 more... hmmm . pretty good trade and they still have first shot at their buck for 11 days before the youth can take their deer...lol  oh well. 5-6000 kids across the state estimated to participate and most on private land... come pare that to 150000 goose/duck hunters and 100000 or more small game hunters out there same time ..but gunshots will scare the deer? no one seems to worry about that when the week before gun starts it sounds like a battlefield with everyone sighting in guns...let alone slamming car doors, dogs and wood smoke and fire wood cutting going on that week and previous weekend...