Quite a dandy of a buck, and that is what Youth Hunting days should be about.

In VA, this is the first year that there was a youth hunting season, and it was the sat before bow season opened. It is either sex and any weapon of choice is allowed. Also in VA, any hunter who is under 16 can shoot a doe whenever they want (1 time a year) when the season calls for bucks only. By doing this it helps to increase the success rate of the younger hunters.

I am 100% in favor of youth hunting days.

Maine has a youth hunting only day the last saturday before our rifle season opens. Kids between the ages of ten and fifteen are permitted to shoot any deer on that day. The rest of the season is general law.

Here in the Buckeye state there are several opportunities for youth hunters. Waterfowl on Oct 3-4 15 and younger, smallgame on Oct24-25, and Oct31-nov1,deer Nov 21-22, turkey on Apr 17-18 , controlled hunts on some areas by application. all young hunters must be with an adult of at least 21 years of age. anyone under the age of 18 may purchase a hunting license provided they pass the state hunter safety course. first year hunter must be with an adult. Ohio does everything it can to provide opportunities for its young hunters. hopefully these oppotunities will turn into a lifetime of hunting in the Buckeye state

The earlier we get kids into the woods and fields the better. There is so much going on with extracurricular school activities. The older the kids get the less chance they seem to have for the outdoors. They often must make a choice, and missing a school or sport function is usually a big negative.

Michigan opens an early 3-day youth antlerless deer season each year for kids, 10-16. Kids under 12 can only use a bow.

This year the DNR/BOW (Becoming and Outdoors Woman) is sponsoring a family grouse and duck outing (actually starts today, 16Oct09). Kids have to be 10. It's a small event but a nice opportunity to get a family out together.

MB915 a fellow VA resident so you know this as well.

Also children / apprentice hunters have to be accompanied by a licensed adult Hunter/mentor.

I'm not sure about other states, but here in Illinois we have an apprentice program on top of our youth seasons that allows a first time hunter into the field for a season under the supervision of a fully licensed adult. On the one hand safety is the responsibility of the adult overseeing the hunt. On the other, young hunters get to go straight into the field to get first hand experience before attending hunter safety. The concepts taught in those classes stick in the minds of young people when there is a substrate for it to adhere to.

I like the idea of the youth season we have here in Michigan... I like the fact that it is in warm weather also, so the young kids dont have thier first taste of hunting during a November snow storm..

I do have a few things I dont like also... First in Michigan kids have to be 10 to hunt with a bow, 12 with a gun, and 14 to hunt with a gun on public land... I just think that some, if not most, 10 year olds are not strong enough to hunt with a bow... I have seen a numerous wounded deer on opening day of bow season which takes place about a week after the youth hunt... I know these deer were wounded in the youth hunt because there was no other hunting up untill that point...

Also, especially before baiting was banned in Michigan, ALOT of hunters were taking advantage of the youth hunt to harvest mature animals... they would start a bait pil on public land and on the first day of the youth hunt have thier choosen child shoot the buck for them..

Up untill the youth season started, bucks couldnt be shot with a gun untill November 15th... It is one thing to shoot a mature buck with a bow over bait but another to sit 75 yards away in a blind and shoot one with a rifle.. Before the youth hunt started, by the time Nov 15th rolled around the bucks had been hunted for a month and a half and have wised up to bait piles during daylight... But now a guy could start baiting in early September and go out and kill the buck the opening day of the youth season...

ALOT of big bucks were taken out this way... now i dont mind so much on private land, but on public, I just didnt think it was fair, since half the time the kid just ended up being a trigger puller for the adult...

Now dont get me wrong, I am not jealous that a kid gets first crack... but when baiting was legal the kid wasnt really learning what hunting was all about..

It took me 5 years of sitting in the cold Novemeber woods before I shot my first deer and I learned hunting wasnt easy... I also wasnt allowed to shoot does, and I hunt public land only, but still I perservered...

BUT now that baiting is gone, or atleast supposed to be gone, I dont think it is going to be that big of a problem... Atleast now the kid might have to learn what a deer trail looks like, or what kind of foods a deer eats... They wont just be a trigger puller for thier pops...

All that said, I cant wait until my nephews are old enough to hunt.. they are 7 and 5 right now.. .I am going to take them on stand with me bow hunting next weekend.. I will hesitate to shoot somethign though since I dont think the 7 year old is ready to see an animal killed... the 5 year old is a tropper though, and I think he would kill one himself if giving the chance lol...

I will make them wait on bow hunting untill they can saftley and cleanly kill a deer though.. if its at 10, good, if not they will have to wait...

I personally would rather see them be able to gun hunt at 10 and bow at 12 instead of the way it is now... and since we only have 10 acres, they wont be able to really hunt with a gun untill 14 since you have to be 14 on public land with a gun.. oh well

I hunt in Maryland and I don't think there are any rules. As long as the youth hun ter can pass the Hunter's Safety Class, they are free to hunt no matter what there age is.

You have to be 12 to hunt big game in Colorado, no age restrictions for small game - you just have to have a hunter education card. There are many cases where I think kids under 12 could hunt big game. I think it mostly depends on how proficient they are with the firearms/bow they are using to hunt with.

Here in Ala. the kids get to hunt the week before the fire arm season comes in it use to be the weekend before to be exact it still is they just give them an extra day or so to hunt they just change it this year they use to only get 2 days now they get a few more,my nephew hunts with me and my brother i will carry him one day then we will swap because its still bow season at the time the youth hunt is going on i think the state does a fine job with the youth when they can pull back a certain draw weight with a bow only then they can hunt theres no set age limit but every child under 16 has to sit with a licensed hunter which i think every child should till they get to the point where they can be responcible enogh
when they turn 16 they have to attend a hunter safety corse and pass to get thier license and there is no baiting allowed so the kids do learn how to actually hunt amd all the fundametals of hunting.the main thing i think where people go wrong with kids is not teaching them enogh safety and when they turn them loose at 16 they think one safety course and thier ready to hunt by thier selfs its not true in many cases i think they should make it alot harder and have to attend these classes for at least a couple of years before turning them loose thats the only complaint i have well good luck and be safe.

nice buck...this year is my daughters first year to hunt on youth day she is ten,we live in Maine and i just hope she bags the big boy behind the house,cant wait

Here in CO youth hunting (at least big game) also has a late season after all the regular hunting seasons where an unfilled tag can be used again. This is for Elk (in my experience). Another decent idea: any bull tag not filled can be turned in for a cow tag in the late season.

I think it is a great thing that kids are allowed to hunt at a young age. There is one thing that I dissagree with and that is the suspense of waiting until you trun 12 years old and waking up early that morning not knowing what your getting into. I loved every minute of my first day. Young kids hunting is a great thing but I think the suspense is a much better route to take.

Here in indiana we have a youth hunt weekend the weekend before bow season starts. any youth under 16 can use any weapon as long as they are with an adult of 18 years. The deer they shoot has to be antlerless but it is a great way for them to become active hunters and they can begin to apriciate the opportunity that alot of kids(and adults) never get. The future is in our youth lets teach them and let them learn what hunting is all about