Youth Big Game Hunt: An Opportunity For Young Hunters In New York
October 12th through the 14th, 2024, young hunters and their adult mentors will be able to participate in a special youth firearms big game hunt, according to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar.
Hunters between the ages of 12 to 15 may participate - both resident and non-resident - but those ages 12 and 13 can only participate in New York State counties that have passed a local law allowing them to hunt deer with a firearm.
The NYS DEC provides a map of participating counties, which covers all of the Southern Tier, Finger Lakes area, and most sections of the state. Restrictions are in Wildlife Management Units where only bowhunting is allowed or where big game hunting is prohibited.
The Youth Big Game Hunt provides an opportunity for youth hunters to become familiar with big game hunting under the supervision of a knowledgeable and experienced adult mentor. By participating in this special hunt, youth hunters are able to experience all of the benefits of big game hunting, which in turn can spark a lifelong passion for hunting and conservation, helping to grow the next generation of environmental stewards. - New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar
The NYS DEC notes that youth hunters will need to have completed a course in hunter education, purchase a New York State hunting license, and be accompanied by a parent, legal guardian, or an adult mentor who is 21 years old or older.
The supervising adult mentor needs to have at least three years of experience hunting big game with a firearm, a New York State hunting license, and be able to maintain physical control over the youth hunter at all times while hunting.
The adult mentor will need to complete and carry in the field, a Mentored Youth Hunter Permission Form needs to be completed and carried in the field whenever a youth hunter is mentored by an adult hunter who is not their parent.
All hunters, no matter the age, will be required to wear fluorescent orange or fluorescent pink visible from all directions. Hunting will only be allowed at ground level.
According to the NYS DEC, during the big game hunt, youth hunters may harvest one deer and one bear if the youth hunter is 14 or 15 years old, or one deer if the youth hunter is 12 or 13 years old.
For more information and forms, visit the NYS DEC website on the October Youth Big Game Hunt.
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