The special two-day hunt — for those ages 15 and under being mentored by an adult — is Oct. 11-12 and is an excellent opportunity to introduce youngsters to the exciting sport.
While there should still be lingering fall colors, strong winds and any heavy rain in the next 10 days could open up the forests a bit, offering better views and the makings for the “crunch-crunch-crunch” approach that gets a whitetail hunter’s heart pounding.
This is the final weekend to make sure youth are familiar with the firearm, and that any scopes are dead-on accurate.
Spending some time shooting and going over firearm handling and safety is a pre-hunt necessity. Gathering and organizing gear and preparing ground blinds or stand sites are also pre-hunt traditions that need some time.
Youths do need a gun deer hunting license. They’re allowed one antlered buck, and an antlerless deer if they have the proper authorization for the deer management unit and land type (public access or private). Additional antlerless deer may be taken per the junior antlerless deer harvest authorization, which is valid statewide regardless of land type.
The adult mentor may not hunt deer with a firearm that weekend, but can possess a bow, crossbow or gun for a game species that is open at that time, including bow or crossbow deer.
While it’s legal, I’d encourage adults to leave their gear at home, and focus solely on the young hunter. Mentors must be within arm’s reach of youth age 11 and under, or those age 12 to 15 without hunter education, at all times.
Any mentors born from 1973 on must be a graduate of a hunter education course, or have completed basic training with the U.S. Armed Forces.
Mentoring is best one-on-one, but it is legal for a qualified adult to mentor two kids ages 12 to 15 at the same time.
If the youth is 12 to 15 and has successfully completed hunter education, the adult mentor must at least be within voice and visual contact of the youth without the aid of a mechanical/electrical amplifying device (other than a hearing aid).
Saturday was National Hunting and Fishing Day, an annual celebration established in 1972 to remind hunters, anglers and the general public of the importance of the outdoor pursuits that connect people with nature and provide an economic benefit to states.
Support from hunting and angling groups helped pass the Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937 and its aquatic counterpart, the Dingell-Johnson Act of 1950. Through these landmark pieces of legislation, a manufacturers federal excise tax on firearms, ammunition, select archery equipment, fishing tackle and motorboat fuel has channeled billions of dollars directly into state fish and wildlife agencies for conservation and stewardship.
Thanks to these funds — and the licenses, stamps and other fees paid by hunters and anglers — our nation’s fish and wildlife populations are healthy, and there’s plenty of access to public lands and waters.
There are about 50 million anglers and 14.5 million hunters in the United States. The economic benefit is staggering, estimated at several billion dollars alone in Wisconsin. But it’s more than the money. Fishing and hunting often bring together family and friends to create forever memories.
Whitetails Unlimited, Inc., (WTU) of Sturgeon Bay is offering a free sight-in target kit as part of an initiative to help more hunters and shooting enthusiasts get dialed in safely and accurately.
The kit includes three 100-yard targets that measure 14 x 16 inches with 1-inch grids and a 6-inch center highlight ring and a 10 Commandments of Firearm Safety poster. To get yours, call (920) 743-6777 or email nh@whitetailsunlimited.com.
Hunting with bear hounds in Zones A, B and D ended Tuesday, but baiters in all six zones have until Oct. 7 to try to fill tags.
Meanwhile, the northern zone duck hunt got underway last weekend, and the southern zone hunt begins Saturday. A number of other hunting and trapping seasons begin Oct. 18.
The DNR begins taking online seedling orders Monday, Oct. 6. Orders can be made for a variety of tree and shrub species, with a minimum order of 300 seedlings. Learn more at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/treeplanting/order.
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