Take a kid hunting – it is very important to the future of hunting

My wife Ginny and I always look forward to Michigan’s special Liberty Hunt, when our home literally becomes “deer camp”, which entails a festive atmosphere and taking kids out deer hunting. The recruitment of young hunters into hunting is very important regarding the future of hunting, especially in today’s high-tech society where kids can be easily drawn to multiple interests other than the outdoors. This is why I strongly supported lowering the age to allow kids to go hunting, and then finally having a certain age requirement being dropped entirely was a definite no-brainer for me.

I fully support the “Mentor” hunting license which allows kids age nine and under to be able to hunt with adult supervision, and without the requirement of a Hunter Safety Certificate. Being mentored by a knowledgeable and responsible adult into hunting has been taking place for eons and is quite frankly the natural process of passing on passion, knowledge and skills to the next generation. I’m also a firm believer that it should be up to the parents or guardians to determine as to whether a child is ready and willing to go hunting.

This does not mean I don’t support Hunter Education, which I consider to be very important because it has created a much safer hunting atmosphere today. The Mentor Hunting License for kids nine and under requires them to be fully adult supervised – it is how I learned to hunt long before Hunter Education, and being a farm kid, I was hunting responsibly with a firearm when I was only 8 years old (which kids could do back then for small game hunting on family farms). If a kid wishes to continue hunting, Hunter Education eventually becomes a requirement to purchase a hunting license.

I also fully support all the special youth hunts because I consider them to be a necessary jumpstart to provide kids with an ideal, and uniquely their own, atmosphere to venture into hunting. When the first youth deer season came into being, I felt blessed to be able to take my youngest son Joe out and truly work with him one on one because I wasn’t allowed to hunt (the only hunting tools I carry are a binocular, deer calls and a field-dressing kit). This meant I was solely the hunting guide and mentor, which sure worked for me. I didn’t have this unique opportunity with Joe’s two older brothers, Jake and Josh, when kids had to be age 14 and have a Hunter Education Certificate to be able to hunt deer with a firearm, and truthfully, they were more than ready to start at a much earlier age.

A young Dale Skinner was very proud of his Liberty Hunt 4-point buck he shot using a .44 Magnum Henry Carbine. The buck was called into range by Dale’s mentor, Tom Lounsbury.

I truly appreciate the atmosphere of placing my entire focus on the kid while in the field and find it quite rewarding. When Joe became too old for the special youth hunt, I made a point of “adopting” kids who really wanted and needed someone to take them hunting. The kids were in a Hunter Safety Class and were there to earn a certificate but had no one to take them hunting. Mentoring them is what I call passing it on, a very important aspect of hunting.

I’ve heard pretty much all the reasons the naysayers have about the “special youth deer season” as well as about kids nine and under being “too little” and I fully disagree with them. A main gripe most of them have is that they never had such an opportunity, so the kids shouldn’t have one either. Well, folks, when is it wrong to wish something different and better for the younger generations?

There are also some who believe the kids have an unfair opportunity to bag “vulnerable” big bucks which, sadly, won’t be available for the naysayers when the regular seasons come about (the youth deer hunt accounts for less than one percent of the overall annual deer kill statewide which certainly isn’t an astronomical figure). And there are others who claim the parents are out there to bag the big bucks while having the kid along allows them to do so.

Well, folks, all I have to say is there isn’t a deer running around with my private brand on it, which belongs to whoever legally and ethically tags it. I always tell a kid under my wing that he or she can shoot any deer they wish, big or small, buck or doe, because it is their call to make. Whatever makes them happy makes me happy. My only part is to make sure it is an ethical and safe shot according to the kid’s capabilities. I’m very pleased kids can still harvest a buck during the Liberty hunt this year, which is a great incentive, and kids I’ve mentored have been happy with any deer, buck or doe. Also, if they bag a dandy buck, none who I have mentored expect that has to be the way it is all the time, and all have remained to be avid deer hunters.

As for adults using kids to be able to violate and bag big bucks for themselves, I highly doubt it happens anywhere near as rampant as the rumor mill claims. Yep, there are lowlifes out there and they have always been around because you can’t change stupidly. Personally, if I ever encounter any of those idiots, I will turn them in, instead of only wringing my hands and complaining.

A 9-year old Hugh Walker was glad when the Mentor hunting license first became available in 2014 and he was able to shoot a 3-point buck using a .50 caliber muzzleloader. His grandfather, Bob Walker of Kingston, was his mentor.

Bob Walker of Kingston and I share a lot in common, which involves family sharing a quality experience in the outdoors. We both learned to hunt from older hunters, well before Hunter Education requirements, and we didn’t have any special youth hunts while growing up. Bob can readily remember when his two sons Ryan and Lane had to wait until they were 14, as we did also, before they could hunt deer with a gun, even though they were ready to do so at a very much younger age.

With grandchildren now in the picture, Bob is really pleased with the Mentor hunting licenses as well as the special youth deer season, and both boys and girls get into the act on a level playing field. They look forward to the Liberty Hunt to thoroughly enjoy their own family “deer camp” involving the kids.

On a personal level, I’m really looking forward to mentoring my 9-year-old grandson, Ben (who will be using his new rifle in .350 Legend), during the Liberty Hunt, as well as we have other grandchildren who will be coming to enjoy our family deer camp.

Yep, folks, allowing kids to have a jumpstart into hunting thanks to the special youth hunts and the Mentor (and Apprentice for age 10 and above) hunting licenses are a very good and positive matter regarding the future of hunting.

Take a kid hunting, because there are plenty out there who need and are looking for an adult mentor.

Author
Recent Posts

Tom Lounsbury

Tom Lounsbury has been an outdoor writer and photographer for more
than 40 years and has had his weekly radio show, “Tom Lounsbury
Outdoors” for more than 20 years. Tom grew up on a farm in
Michigan’s Thumb, and it is where his first outdoor adventures began
as a kid accompanying visiting pheasant hunters into the field during
the “pheasant hunting heyday” of the 1950’s and 1960’s. It is a passion
he still has to this day and being the 4 th generation to own the family
farm, he has put most of it into conservation programs with a focus on
wild pheasants, which in turn helps all wildlife.
Being an outdoor communicator, Tom appreciates all the outdoor
adventures he experiences in different places, and especially the
people he meets in which to share them.