By John S. Adams, USA TODAY
HELENA, Mont. — When Knox Semenza headed into the Highwood Mountains of north central Montana with his father last month, he had visions of shooting his first mule deer buck.
Knox, 12, a first-time deer hunter from Great Falls, Mont., took advantage of the state's first youth-only hunt, a special two-day deer season open only to hunters ages 12 to 15 who had passed a hunter safety course and were accompanied by an adult mentor who is not hunting.
A few minutes into the hunt, he stumbled upon his chance to shoot a "monster buck."
"We came over the hill, and there was a huge buck down in the coulee, so we waited until I got a shot at it," Knox said.
His father, Dirk, at his side, Knox squeezed the trigger on his new 7mm-08 Remington rifle and downed the 160-pound animal with a single shot.
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"I think I was more excited than he was," Dirk Semenza said. "It was amazing."
Wildlife managers across the country hope to replicate experiences like that as more states add youth-only seasons to their hunting calendars.
Thirty states — including Vermont this year — have passed youth-friendly hunting legislation since 2004, according to National Shooting Sports Foundation spokesman Bill Brassard. Families Afield and the sports foundation began lobbying states in 2004 to create more opportunities for young hunters. Some states, including Montana, already had some form of young-hunter program, Brassard says.
Families Afield's latest report showed that since 2005, more than 418,000 apprentice hunting licenses for deer, upland birds, turkey and waterfowl have been sold in the USA. The report was based on 24 states and found an increase of 100,000 apprentice hunting licenses in 2009.
"Most people today in (state) departments of conservation and wildlife and parks realize that youth are the future of our sport," says Jack Moore, president of the National Youth Hunting Association. "They are truly the future of wildlife and habitat conservation in America."
Some wildlife advocates argue against sending younger children out in the field.
Joe Miele, president of the Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting based in Las Cruces, N.M., opposes the idea because he says it encourages youth to take part in an inherently violent activity.
"These youth hunts are a part of the violent culture that we don't need to be breeding," Miele says. "It's unnecessary violence in every case. The world is already a very violent place."
Miele says he has collected and analyzed media reports of hunting-related accidents for the past six years, and during that time, the number of reports involving children 17 years old and younger hasn't significantly increased.
Megan Sewell of the Humane Society of the United States' Wildlife Abuse Campaign, maintains there is the potential for problems.
"Lowering the minimum hunting age places children and those hunting with them in unnecessary danger," she says.
Among the states that have added or increased special youth hunting seasons and regulations:
•Nebraska discounted youth hunting license fees this year to $5 to further encourage youth participation, says Kit Hams of the state Game and Parks Commission.
•Kansas expanded its youth big-game season this year from two to nine days, says Mike Miller of the state Department of Wildlife and Parks.
•North Dakota changed its youth hunting rules this year to allow 12- and 13-year-olds to hunt does during the youth-only season.
A deer hunting season for 14- and 15-year-olds has been in place since the late 1990s. More than 2,000 youngsters participate each year, says Randy Kreil, chief of the Wildlife Division for the state's Game and Fish Department.
"The goal of the program was to introduce young people into the sport of deer hunting in a non-competitive and relaxed situation where the adult mentor isn't hunting and can focus their full attention on helping the young person learn," Kreil says.
Dirk Semenza says Montana's youth-only season was a great opportunity to introduce his son to the sport in a safe, non-competitive environment.
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