There's a fair amount of controversy these days about deer seasons and the mentored youth hunt. One side feels these hunts have been put in place for the DNR to make more money. The same groups insists mentored hunts affect deer herd numbers probably because the numbers of hunters in the field is increased making the likelihood for deer kills all that more possible.
Those on the other side argue it's a good thing to get kids out hunting even at an early age. They feel that all of the gadgets children are exposed to these days takes away from the outdoor sports and spending one-on-one time with a parent.
They don't agree these programs are in place to increase the coffers of the DNR arguing instead that those hunters that claim this or are concerned about the deer herd being decimated are themselves, selfish.
I come down on the side of the youth hunts. It used to be when I went out hunting with my dad and his bothers, I brought along a gun. It was my Daisy, Red Ryder B-B gun. I felt I was one of the big guys, a part of the hunt.
On these trips I began to learn and see how things were done in a safe manner. Critics will fire back (no pun intended) that a B-B gun is a far cry from a shotgun. True. But like other things in this world hunting has moved up a little.
The one part left out has been any form of hunter safety program now required of hunters. Somehow this needs to be integrated in the mentored program.
Not taking away anything that dads can teach children, a fresh set of instructions, preferably from someone who isn't a family member, seems to resonate better than if dad or mom are doing the instructing.
The program is in place. Now lets work to smooth it out. Fine tune it and move on.
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