RJ
11-17-2008, 04:37 PM
New Jersey's Firearm Youth Deer Hunt is this Saturday, November 22. This is a great opportunity for parents, friends and mentors to help young hunters have a deer hunting experience they may never forget. If you doubt that, check out page 23 of the current edition of the Fish and Wildlife Hunting Digest to see the story of Tyler Mealy's 2007 youth deer hunt.
Tyler, with his father's help, scored a beautiful buck on his first deer hunt, ever. The same thing happened for Samantha Pankow in 2006 (see page 25 of the 2007 Fish and Wildlife Hunting Digest).
The youth deer hunt is not only about the increased opportunity to harvest big bucks before the other firearm deer seasons occur. It's more about the opportunity for parents, friends and mentors to give their undivided attention to a young hunter to teach them and help them have a memorable day in the field. The value of that one day can't be underestimated. It may turn out to be the experience that will lead to a lifetime connection to the outdoors for that young boy or girl who sat quietly to learn from you the ways of the woods and deer.
Any youth who possesses a valid youth firearm license can hunt for deer on November 22. They may hunt either with a shotgun or muzzleloader and must also have a valid rifle permit if hunting with a muzzleloader. They must be under the direct supervision of a properly licensed, non-hunting adult 21 years of age or older.
Direct supervision is defined as both the youth hunter and parent/guardian set up together at the same location, hunting as a unit, not hunting independently. The adult CANNOT hunt or possess a firearm or bow. The adult may grunt, call or rattle for the youth.
The youth hunt bag limit is one deer of either sex. No special season deer permit is required and regardless of their harvest on youth day, youth hunters may still harvest two antlered deer during the Six-day Firearm Season.
Youth hunters must tag their deer with a homemade transportation tag, or cut out the deer transportation tag provided on page 35 of the Fish and Wildlife Hunting Digest. Homemade tags should say "Taken during the Firearm Youth Hunt" and contain Conservation ID number, sex of deer, number of antler points, date, zone, county and township from which the deer was taken.
If finding a place to deer hunt is a limiting factor for taking a young hunter out on youth day- Don't let it be! There are over 750,000 acres of public land open to deer hunting and now it's easier than ever to find some quality public deer hunting land.
Visit http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/hunting_publicland.htm (http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/hunting_publicland.htm) where there is a wealth of information on public hunting lands, including mapping.
Tyler, with his father's help, scored a beautiful buck on his first deer hunt, ever. The same thing happened for Samantha Pankow in 2006 (see page 25 of the 2007 Fish and Wildlife Hunting Digest).
The youth deer hunt is not only about the increased opportunity to harvest big bucks before the other firearm deer seasons occur. It's more about the opportunity for parents, friends and mentors to give their undivided attention to a young hunter to teach them and help them have a memorable day in the field. The value of that one day can't be underestimated. It may turn out to be the experience that will lead to a lifetime connection to the outdoors for that young boy or girl who sat quietly to learn from you the ways of the woods and deer.
Any youth who possesses a valid youth firearm license can hunt for deer on November 22. They may hunt either with a shotgun or muzzleloader and must also have a valid rifle permit if hunting with a muzzleloader. They must be under the direct supervision of a properly licensed, non-hunting adult 21 years of age or older.
Direct supervision is defined as both the youth hunter and parent/guardian set up together at the same location, hunting as a unit, not hunting independently. The adult CANNOT hunt or possess a firearm or bow. The adult may grunt, call or rattle for the youth.
The youth hunt bag limit is one deer of either sex. No special season deer permit is required and regardless of their harvest on youth day, youth hunters may still harvest two antlered deer during the Six-day Firearm Season.
Youth hunters must tag their deer with a homemade transportation tag, or cut out the deer transportation tag provided on page 35 of the Fish and Wildlife Hunting Digest. Homemade tags should say "Taken during the Firearm Youth Hunt" and contain Conservation ID number, sex of deer, number of antler points, date, zone, county and township from which the deer was taken.
If finding a place to deer hunt is a limiting factor for taking a young hunter out on youth day- Don't let it be! There are over 750,000 acres of public land open to deer hunting and now it's easier than ever to find some quality public deer hunting land.
Visit http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/hunting_publicland.htm (http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/hunting_publicland.htm) where there is a wealth of information on public hunting lands, including mapping.