antler hunting causes every consumptive user of wildlife untold headaches. starting with failure to control deer populations and ending with paying to hunt antlers.

the modern emphasis on antler hunting fuels animal rights campaigns and will eventually make the united states look like England so far as animal welfare laws are concerned.

we should be encouraging young people to hunt fish and trap. not locking up vast tracts of land through leasing or telling kids that animals with big antlers are special and animals with small antlers are "inferior".

antler hunting makes us all look like fools whether we participate or not.

I used to teach hunter ed and we’d always have one ahead of youth hunt weekend. I’d ask the kids how many of them were going on the youth hunt and lots would raise their hands. I said that was great, this was their season. I then said “ Now don’t let dad or uncle do the shooting” and they’d look at their dad and boy, some of the dads had the weirdest look on their face. I’d tell them if an adult pulls the trigger that was poaching. I know for a fact that “ some” drag four year olds out here just so they can hunt an extra couple of days for “ their” buck. That being said, the youth seasons are great for what they are intended for if the adult that takes them is an adult. I often wondered how many kids sat in the blind with excitement and the rifle and right when the deer appeared the gun was taken from them. What a way to kill their spirit.

Well put Danny !

Spot on. Our youth season was yesterday. I bowhunted about 8 hours yesterday and heard a total of 4 shots. Every year I offer my land to coworkers and their children for youth season. It seems like our early youth season is cursed with bad weather, rain, wind, etc

For the DNR it's just all about license sales and the money.


Too much attention to the "hunt" marginalizes trapping interests.

I'm all for getting kids in the woods and getting them interested in the outdoors. But as stated earlier most kids that hunt youth weekend will also be hunting the regular season. It doesn't do much to recruit young hunters from non hunting families and at least in my area is the number 2 weekend next to opening weekend of deer gun season for big bucks to be killed and this picture pretty much sums up why.

We are dumbing down hunting in an effort to get nonhunters to become hunters.
Antler worship, tv hunters sitting in box blinds killing "trophies" from protected herds, crossbows in archery seasons, special seasons for youth, we seem set on taking the chalenge out of hunting.

We have many kids who have only experienced the outdoors by spending time sitting in a blind playing on their cell phone waiting for a living target to walk into a foodplot. They never actually get into the fields and forest.
If we want to grow life-long hunters we need to spend time getting kids to love all things having to do with the outdoors.

Once when I was in my late teens, I had a covering of soft melting snow to deal with, and you could walk silently. I got the bright idea to follow a deer track up wind, up a swale valley between ridges, and shot that deer 3/4s of a mile from my car. Dad was proud, and only said "now that's hunting". Out in the forest, no fields, no blinds, just stalking a track slow like.

Dump them deers to the bottom of the sea, nothing but trouble.

Kytrap, that's golden and should be part of the curriculum followed by, LE "might" not know but you and Dad will know.

I'd have liked to see the Dads climbing under their chairs lol.


We beat this to death (deer management) on the old Pa forums when Alt took charge. Not pretty.

horse is nice for hauling a dead deer a long ways. don't use your sisters horse if draping a gutted deer over it and leading the horse and balancing the deer. young girls get upset when they see dried blood on their horse. expect you to wash it.

two guys can carry one several miles if you cut it in half. after gutting you can cut the backbone with a pocket knife if you cut between the vertebrae. cut careful and the backstrap is fine. just have 4 instead of two. boning out and putting the meat in a plastic trash bag in a back pack works good. I think its lots easier to keep the meat clean though if you can leave the hide on and each guy carry a half.

a man that wont let his kid take the shot isn't going to let his kid take the shot in the regular seasons either. so why not let people who will do things right have their youth season? the people who will let the kid take the shot are in the majority. shouldn't punish them because a handful are boneheads

I am 100% in favor of youth hunts, if parents are slobs it does not change my opinion of the purpose. My own grandson would not be a hunter if he had started out in the cold of a November deer season, the milder weather is a lot more conducive to letting them enjoy it.

We need more youth hunting opportunities, just not on Sunday, and not around "my" deer lol.

I’ve asked several kids over the years that checked in deer about the hunt. What caliber they got it with or other little things about the hunt. Many of them look nervously at their dad and he starts answering for them. You can tell in about ten seconds if the youth took the deer or not. I have taken five different kids that got their first deer. Saw some misses too but they were proud of what they were able to do and don’t constantly have to go around fibbing for dad. One other thing, I think myself it’s far better to start them out squirrel hunting than to jump straight to deer or turkey. If you really want to get kids interested in hunting small game is where we used to start. Not looking for monster deer.

You do know those youth licenses run from a $1 for 10-12 year old and 6 dollars for 13-17 year old of which a dollar goes to the vendor. DNR is making huge money.......

yep,dad gets to shoot another buck for a buck.

Totally agree with Danny, we all don't have the money to lease or hunt where big bucks thrive. When the emphasis is on big bucks the whole population suffers if it's not done right.

In my case with my son, he did all the scouting and hung his own stand and chose his own weapon. Spine shot a 6 point at 6 yards with his bow, while I was in the tree right next to his without a weapon. One of the proudest moments of my life. Priceless!
Most "Mentors" don't do that. Should be at least suggested or even requiered so they learn how to read sign and learn the animals. Here the youth can use any weapon that fits them. In other words they can't use a 3" mag 12 gauge slug gun like "dad" does.
Its a tech world now, much different than when I was young, If a 2 day youth hunt gets kids in the woods and peaks a small perecentage of them to stay off the cell phone then I'm all for it. The smile on their face is pricless.
The socalled "Mentors" that kill the deer for the youth should loose the outdoors privileges for life!

I grew up hunting with my dad from the time I was old enough to legally hunt. The finest days we spent together over many decades.
I really enjoyed the excitement that dad was also nearby hunting and listened intently for that "first shot".

Maybe those days are long gone. Not sure, but the fact that I did or did not get a deer or pheasant are not the memories I cherish (heck I can't recall who shot what) but I sure was glad dad and I hunted together!

All hunting with family and youth is good but I hope dads and uncles and papas are also hunting with the youth together. Bonds for a lifetime!

I don't know how things are done in PA but I'd say that's rare around here during the youth season.

All positives. We need all the recruitment tolls we can get.
I'm also a fan of doe youth hunts such as in WV where we can convince kids its ok to shoot does.