There were hunts in the late heat of summer. There were hunts in the cold of winter. There was even one time it snowed during a spring turkey hunt.

I have hunted a lot of places with a lot of people, but none of the hunts were more memorable than those I have had with my sons, Tristan and Thomas.

Even though both are grown men today, I would still like hunting with them. The only difference between now and when they were little is I don’t have to buy their gear anymore.

I started hunting with my dad back in the 1950s. I guess a better description would be, I started as a bird boy on some of his dove hunts.

My two started the same way until they got old enough to carry a gun and then they started dove hunting, turkey hunting and progressed into deer and waterfowl.

While I didn’t need encouragement to take my kids hunting, others have. For the 1997-98 hunting year, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department established a youth-only fall hunting weekend for deer, turkey, quail and ducks. Eventually quail were dropped from the list, but the tradition of an early youth weekend has endured and an extended late youth deer season added.

This year’s early season for deer, turkeys and ducks is Oct. 25-26 for all of the state except in the High Plains Mallard Management Unit of the Panhandle where the duck season will be Saturday and Sunday.

Ages for youth able to participate are a little confusing. To hunt deer and turkey, youth may be 16 and under. To hunt ducks, however, they must be 15 and under because of federal rules that require hunters 16 and older to have a federal waterfowl stamp. Texas regulations don’t require a state waterfowl stamp until age 17.

No one has ever been able to quantify what impact the youth-only weekend has had or how many participate each year. About the only number to look at is license sales and in the year before the first youth-only seasons, Texas sold 93,000 resident youth licenses. Last year that number was 155,000.

I have always liked the idea of the youth hunts for one simple reason — the kids are the only ones allowed to carry a gun. Just like training a young hunting dog, it is hard to concentrate fully on the youth when you are trying to hunt, too.

Catering to a young hunter can be different than hunting on your own. Some may have nothing but a go gear and never slow down. Others, especially young ones, may need a different pace that includes less time sitting in a blind and more time walking or driving the lease.

I have known parents who have used just about every trick in the book from deer stand tea parties to books and video games to keep a young hunter entertained long enough to have a deer walk up. I know some who took kids straight out of bed and made a pallet on the blind floor so they could sleep long enough they wouldn’t be worn out by the time the feeder went off.

Everyone has their own idea on what type of deer to let youth hunt when they are beginning. My philosophy is simple and never wavered. A doe should be their first kill.

To a beginner, any deer is a trophy. More importantly it leaves them somewhere to go as they continue to hunt. It creates challenges and goals. I have seen too many youth take big bucks the first couple of times they hunted, and then quit because it seemed too simple.

The other thing about taking a doe is that it sets them on the road to knowing what management means and what is required to produce quality bucks.

The important thing is to keep it fun. Take the youngsters’ favorite foods. Slow down on the drive out and sightsee. Spend time looking for arrowheads or fishing in a stock tank.

 

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