http://myfwc.com/education/outdoor-skills/youth-hunter/
My 15 year old son Casey was lucky enough to be chosen to take part in a weekend hunt with the Youth Hunting Program of Florida (YHPF) which was being run by the Gator Gobblers, a Gainesville chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) and the FWC too. The volunteer property landowners were Alachua County & SJRWMD and the properties included the Riverstyx, Balu Forest and Mill Creek properties (Thank you!!). Cost was $75 per youth and it included everything, food, support, guide, deer cleaning (taught to hunters), education, etc.
Over the weekend three hunts took place; Saturday morning, Saturday evening and Sunday morning. In between there was training & educational programs that included Hunter Safety, a deer biologist presentation, an FWC Officer spoke, and interactive games related to hunting to include a blood trailing exercise and a game that taught game stainability concepts.
Using photos here’s how the weekend went for eleven (11) lucky youth……….
Youth Hunting Program of Florida (YHPF)
Gator Gobblers (Gainesville Chapter of NWTF)
Friday evening: Check in and paperwork, followed by individual range time for each youth hunter and their long rifle.
Check in
Final paperwork
(L to R): Youth hunters Casey & Ethan
Firearm Safety, range time, and “where to place your shot” training
Aliyah on her rifle
(Front to Rear): Ryan and Caleb sighting in with NRA Instructor Mr. Steve overseeing things
Dinner of Cowboy BBQ and beans with desserts
How these hunts would work was that each youth and a parent was assigned a guide which would take them to the blind and remain with them throughout the hunt thereby giving hunting guidance. Each youth hunter would hunt a different blind for each hunt. Youth could take any sexed deer (following FL regulations) as they had doe tags for each of the three properties. For Saturday morning’s hunt Casey drew a slip of paper that had him assigned to a River Styx blind #2.
Saturday am hunt:
In place by 0540 hours Casey & I sat in a well-placed large popup blind sitting amongst an oak hammock with a few shooting lanes and small clearings….a beautiful stand! The temperature was perfect for hunting at a cool 52 ˚F.
Casey ready
At 0700 hrs a large bodied deer walked through at 80 meters away but we couldn’t tell if it was a buck or not. At 0720 hrs three does came in from left-to-right and feed through for about 4 minutes right around 60 m. Since it was the first hunt (of 3) Casey was holding out for a buck……. Forty minutes after these does walked off two deer came from right-to-left. We both saw them at the same time and I told Casey that the first one was a buck and Casey (on the scope said it was a spike). Casey could only get glimpses of the second deer which he stated was a fork. Looking ahead we could see an opening it would go through so I got out a grunt call (thank you Win) and did 3 grunts just as it hit the opening (the first two it didn’t hear). With the third grunt it stopped and I believe it looked towards us then Casey shot. The buck immediately jumped straight up and at the top of the jump it kicked its hind legs out, then running off with the spike. I thought they both circled around running but in hindsight I only saw one deer circle.
As instructed, we waited in the blind for the end of the hunt and for other youth hunters to come to our area for a blood tracking lesson. Once everyone arrived Casey lead them to where the deer was standing (66 m away) and it was obvious as to where the deer was standing as there was significant blowout from the 270 (Hornady 140 gr
bullet).
Mr. Winfield Scott teaching blood tracking techniques
Sign of initial hit
Good sign
It was obvious the shot placement was good and the deer was likely not too far off. As the youth hunters tracked the deer they were given tips as they progressed along the blood trail. They worked the trail and found the buck about 50 yards away from where the initial shot happened.
Casey’s 5 pointer (his largest buck to date)
Draggin’
Harley & Casey with their deer with 9 of the 11 youth hunters
Casey starting to field dress
Instructional deer field dressing & butchering
That afternoon before the evening hunt there was a program given by a deer biologist (very cool addition!).
Deer Biologist speaking about deer age & growth
Saturday evening hunt:
Hunting a different stand we had a doe come in from 80 m and worked its way towards us to ~ 20 yards. We watched her the whole time but Casey did not want to take a doe just yet (cool). At the end of the hunt a cold front was coming through and it started sprinkling. The radar showed a large swath of rain was coming our way. Two other deer were taken on this evening hunt giving a total of 4 deer taken for the first 2 hunts. By the time to hit the tents a light rain had been falling and it would last all night.
Saturday night dinner after the hunt
Sunday morning hunt:
By 0430 hrs the rain had stopped and as we organized for blind placements we all hoped this would make the deer move. Hunting a new stand Casey & I did not have any deer come through but it was still an awesome morning to be out in the woods. Right before shooting was to stop one of our youth hunters in our group took a shot and Robert was pleased to get his first deer! In total, for this hunt five youth hunters took deer so relatively speaking the deer were much more active after the front.
L to Right: Robert with his first deer (Harrold Scott as his guide)!
Back in camp:
Four of the 5 hunters that took deer (with their guide & parent)
Without a doubt this hunt was rewarding for all that were involved: from the youth hunters, their parents, and those who helped make this event happen!
Two of the young girls I spoke with who hunted during this event are a great example of how this program is perfectly suited to helping youth hunters become hooked on hunting; one girl had deer hunted with her father for 3 years but had yet to get a deer and also Aliyah, who had never hunted before but was so proud of taking her first deer. Of the eleven youth hunters that participated, nine of them got a deer! They’ll all never forget this weekend!
This is what it’s all about!!
Group photo of youth hunters, guides, parents, and support staff!!
What a great event hosted by a great group of caring people dedicated to promoting hunting to our next generation of hunters!!
Hoo Yah!!
Brian
