If you have to have a "special" season, I'd rather see folks be able to take out an old hunter that would not be able to go on his own anymore or handle a deer if they got one. Same deal with a handicapped person.
Sorry folks, I do not see a reason to entitle children.

Zim

"Former Anchorage doctor sentenced to 51 years for child sex abuse, child pornography"

I remember when this guy used to bring children out here to mentor them. This is probably a con.

What he said !

I think its a good thing.
We teach Hunter Ed classes and the more
youth you can get interested the better
we're going to be. If we don't do something
to get kids outside doing hunting or trapping,
Its going to die. Trapping around here is about
a thing of the past. All kids want to do is be on a puter
or phone. Just my $.02 worth


Donnie

I have really enjoyed the youth seasons with my kids, and a few other peoples kids. The youngest is now 14 and only has a couple of years left to hunt the youth hunt, I guess I'll have to find somebody else's kids to hunt with. I have never put restrictions on any child as to what he can shoot, other than that it be a legal animal, and an ethical shot. I've never been much of a horn hunter myself, if big antlers had been my goal I would have quit deer hunting a long time ago. The people out hunting with there 4 and 5 year olds always frustrates me, but if they claim there kid can shoot well enough to hunt at five years old who am I to question them. Mine didn't participate in the youth hunt till they were at least nine, and the youngest had to wait an extra year. He couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, and I couldn't, with a good conscience take him knowing it would result in a long hard tracking job, or an unrecovered deer. That was a rough conversation to have with a nine year old with his hopes up but he has a better appreciation for the responsibility of pulling the trigger only when he can make a good shot. I am in complete support of the youth season even though it does have some drawbacks with unethical or unresponsable parents, but those people are going to do what they do anyway.

In arkansas youth hunt is free no license required and they can shoot anything they want. I'm agree youth season is a good thing. Gives em a better chance to get that first deer and have that once in a lifetime experience and fealing that they will always be looking for and want to experience again season after season counting the days down till next season.to me that right there is what makes a life time hunter.if there were no youth season here people would still take kids hunting but when a big 4 point walks out and the young un is so excited and then u haveto tell them that they can't shoot it because leagally his horns ain't big enough.now that's not good

If you have the deer go for it here it's a way to reduce the population and give the kids a chance to go on a deer hunt just for them.

What I don't like about the early season is the deer are not bulked up for winter so the flanks are thin, but now they moved the archery season up to Sept 1st so no clue how that became a good idea~

I just read through and there seems to be 3 cons
1- Dads are shooting the deer
2- I may have to wear my orange a few more days
3- let the disabled hunt

I am from KS so things may be different, but I shall reply to all
1- I didn't, and those that poach are already poachers. How many deer get shot from a vehicle with the wrong equipment during the other seasons? How many kids get to hunt this season that wouldn't because Dad isn't going to have a squirmy noisy kid in the stand to ruin his regular hunt?
2- I spend most of my time on private land and shouldn't have to worry about this anyway, but do as the above poachers are always around. Walmart and other places sell orange stocking caps and jackets fairly cheap at end of season every year, get one and put it on.
3- In KS our disabled persons are allowed to hunt at the same time as the youth. It seems to be a great time to get the folks like young kids that cant hunt by themselves and folks that cant get around as well as others, in the woods with less traffic. Is it unfair to those healthy folks or people old enough to hunt by themselves? Maybe, but a few of those people wouldn't ever hunt if they had to deal with the rat race that comes with the orange army. With the folks trying to get rid of hunting, trapping, and other out of doors activities, we should encourage folks to do these things all we can and build the numbers of outdoors men and women.

Other than that I will have to agree to disagree as trappers are some of the most hard headed folks I know.

The more opportunities to eliminate woods rats the better, I say.

Is it reaaaaaly about the kids?

Examples from here. Our winter subsistence moose hunt was pushed back to Dec 15 from Nov 1 because adults were trophy hunting big bulls when they were easy to find and kill.( most big bulls antlers drop by Dec 15) The youth hunt they set up; you guessed it; Nov 15 to Dec whatever. I guess it is ok to target big bulls during this time period as long as you bring a youth.

For years resident trophy sheep nuts have been trying to get a jump on non-resident hunters by having a resident only early season. They never could get it. Now they just created a youth hunt for sheep during the time slot that the residents were crying for over a decade. Grab a youth (17 year old) and now a resident gets what they been rejecting.

All pros, no con's, if you wish to perpetuate the traditions of hunting and trapping, the more kids get out the more likely our heritages will prosper and continue !

I agree with this ^. I know many youth hunter parents and the hunt is more for them then the child. I get a lot of pictures from the parents showing their child's kill. I am a strong believer in getting the young started but to have a special season I don't see it. The kids this year I have seen some of the trophy animals they got and this happens every year. I would dream of some of the once in a life time animals these kids are taking. I'm very happy for them but I can't see why one group has the advantage over the rest of the hunting population.

both my boys did it just like everyone else and i believe they are better hunters today cause they had to learn why,how and a bunch of stuff other than pulling the trigger.

only 2 deer from my property so far this year and both were by jr hunters that shoot bow better than me and their fathers.

There are enough deer in the world that I think its hilarious an adult worries about a kid killing one.

Antlers are good for flint knapping, make pretty knife handles, cool buttons, neat looking lamps for a fishing shack, can even be sold. Sometimes for a LOT of money to somebody not smart enough to know they are only good for stuff like: flint knapping, make pretty knife handles, cool buttons, neat looking lamps.

It wouldn't be the complicated seasons and regs shying youth away? Naw coulldn't be, only takes an adult 40 hrs and a paralegal to figure out MOST of them here.

Take a look at our bear season.
https://www.pgc.pa.gov/HuntTrap/Law/Pages/SeasonsandBagLimits.aspx
Does this need to be this complicated to manage some bears?

Exactly!
Some of my best memories are when I sat beside my dad hunting squirrel long before I could hunt myself. He taught me to sit still and be quite listening for rustling leaves and squirrels barking and cutting in the oaks and hickories. He'd shoot a couple and tell me to remember where the fell and let me go pick them up after he shot a couple.
Dad also took us fishing, mushroom hunting and just out into the woods for long walks.

I count myself and siblings very lucky to have had a dad like him and he was happy that I did the same things with my boys. I sure miss him and my mother.

I'm like most of the people on this site, live and breath the outdoors. I'll give my 2 cents without youth opportunities I doubt my kids would hunt and fish today. I put then in for youth tags here in Nevada, they have to draw just like adults but get an either sex tag and its good for all 3 seasons archery muzzleloader and anyweapon (rifle). That tag may or may not be for they same unit I drew. Those hunts where we drew the same unit were the best times we can remember, but I liked the times the kids were the stars the best. Gained points for everything they could but guess what happened they grew up and went to college and started their lives, no hunting because of out of state costs etc. Now as my kids are 25 and older I'm getting the dad can I tag along on your hunt, can I get a shotgun for a few ducks even. They remember those days and its not about killing anything its about showing youth what the sport/family is all about. Without a chance to experience hunting/fishing/trapping with me thru youth days/tags 4 less hunters. They will pass this on to their kids.
And personally ive never meet an old timer that wouldn't give up their time And or tag to a kid let alone thinking that they some how should be the ones to get an extra opportunity. If no kids are hunting whos going to take that old timer hunting or pack out his game.

Oklahoma youth weekend is going on now, I been trying to get my daughter to shoot a gun but she just want to shoot her bow. We watched two big buck walk by this morning that she could have killed with a rifle. Guess the neighbor will get them.

I have a daughter that rarely kills an animal. She will help butcher, load one in a pickup, cook and eat them. She doesn't like being the one to do the killing though. She can out shoot probably 80% of the people reading this. Drove my grandsons to check traps. Just doesn't want to shoot animals.

I believe what kytrapper said earlier. Start them out hunting squirrel and rabbit and other small game that can offer them more shooting opportunities and more action than just sitting in a box being bored and playing on thier phone waiting on a deer that thier dad may or may not let them shoot, either because ''it's just a doe'' or not a ''big enough buck'' or its "too big of a buck for a kid" and dad takes the shot. In my opinion starting kids out hunting on deer turns more young hunters away from hunting than it recruits into hunting because it is cold and boring and disappointing. Where as small game hunting is far more hands on and offers them many more opportunities to actually get a shot at something and get to come home with something except "we saw 15 deer but none were big enough." Most people that I know that consider themselves "serious deer hunters" wouldn't hunt small game if you paid them much less eat it when they killed it. The only time they shoot squirrel or rabbits is when they "wanna see what a 300 win mag will do to one. They have no desire to hunt anything that doesn't have antlers and they teach thier kids the same way if thier kids even keep hunting. I have taken some young people on the trapline with me because they were interested in trapping and as you talk to them you learn that they have been "hunting with dad" for 3 or 4 years but the only thing they have killed is maybe 1 or 2 deer. Most of the time this conversation ends with us in the woods killing squirrels either by still hunting or over a dog. And to top it off you have to teach them how to aim and shoot a rifle with open sights because "dad never let's me shoot anything except a deer rifle with a scope!" One young man that went out with me and shot his first ever squirrel and his first rabbit on the same hunt went home so happy he couldn't sit still. His mother called me a few days later and thanked me for taking him and told me that he had not stopped talking about his squirrel and rabbit hunt since he got home and had called all of his grandparents to tell them about it and had been telling anyone else who would listen about it. She said "he has been hunting deer with his dad for 3 years now and has only killed one but it was a giant buck that we had mounted, but he never was as excited about it as he was that squirrel and rabbit!" That is the kind of excitement that we need out of New hunters in my opinion.