Recruiting Hunters With Hunter Education

When we first began planning a hunter recruitment and retention program, we tried to identify anything that could prevent a youngster from experiencing hunting. We made some assumptions, and one of those was that mandatory hunter education was a barrier. It stood to reason that 10 hours of classroom instruction over several evenings and a Saturday morning could be a time commitment that some youngsters wouldn’t make unless they knew they were going to enjoy hunting. However, early studies, comparing states that required hunter education with those that didn’t, showed equal youth recruitment rates. Even so, we changed our laws to make it easier on parents and kids to experience hunting. Currently, youngsters under the age of 16 don’t need hunter education certification if they hunt under adult supervision. Kind of a “try it before you buy it” situation. We also have a new delivery method that utilizes computers and the internet – something today’s youth are hooked into. The internet-assisted course allows students to complete one of the approved hunter education internet courses before coming to a field day. The first step is to pre-register for an internet-assisted course. You can find a list of course schedules on KDWP’s Hunter Education webpage. There are a couple of options to the internet course, which must be completed within 90 days prior to the field day. The internet course will require several hours of work. The field day is the fun part. After a short time in the classroom, students get outside. Most field days are divided among several stations, including live-fire, gun handling and a trail walk. Students will spend an hour or more at each, receiving hands-on instruction and walking-through field scenarios. After the stations are completed, students come back into the classroom to complete the final test and receive their certificates. Most students indicate they enjoy the field day immensely.

In fact, during a recent course in Pratt, the weather did not cooperate for the field day. It was cool, breezy and rainy, but the students were ready and willing. At the shotgun live-fire station, students huddled out of the wind waiting their turn, but all broke targets and had fun. Approaching lightning ran us inside several times, but we persisted. A couple of young ladies, who had not shot a shotgun before, showed particular promise, breaking targets and thoroughly enjoying the wingshooting despite the weather.

As the Pass It On program has evolved and partnered with the Hunter Education Program, I see Hunter Education as a key recruitment tool rather than a barrier. The field day experience can provide students with confidence that they can learn the outdoor skills necessary for hunting. Another young shooter last week assured me he would not break a flying target with a shotgun. He told me he’d tried before and just wasn’t good at it. Our instruction is designed for success, and I bet him he would break a target. He wasn’t convinced, and he missed the first two targets. However, after some instruction and encouragement, he broke the next eight targets we threw. After he broke a couple of more difficult crossing targets, I told him not only could he shoot but that he was good at it. He left the stand with a broad smile and new-found confidence. Experiences such as this convince me that Hunter Education can be a student’s initiation into hunting and start them on a life-long road of adventure and discovery.

ANTICIPATING FUN

Taking a child turkey hunting this spring is a big deal – both for you and for the youngster. I hope those making plans are looking forward to opening morning with anxious anticipation. In fact, the anticipation – looking forward to the hunt is almost as much fun as the hunt. Preparation for an upcoming hunt not only will make you and your young hunter more likely to be successful, but it is also a big part of the hunting experience.

Preparation should start now, and it can be as simple as an evening drive in the area you plan to hunt. Seeing a flock of turkeys feeding in a field is a great way to build confidence and excitement. Spring time is also a great time to see rooster pheasants boldly strutting and crowing along the back roads, waterfowl gathered in roadside potholes, and deer on the move.

Get your young turkey hunter a couple of turkey calls so he or she can start practicing now. The easiest to operate is probably the push-button-type call, but with a little practice, a box call is easily mastered. I still enjoy playing with – I mean practicing with my turkey calls, so imagine how a youngster preparing for his or her first turkey hunt will feel.

A short trip to the gun range to practice shooting at a turkey head target should be on the list. This will teach the shooter proper aim point, help select a good load and choke, and it will build confidence. Talk to the youngster about being in the right position to reduce movement. Have the hunter wear a hat, facemask and gloves, and talk through a likely scenario.

This preparation will make the young hunter feel ready on opening morning, and it’s guaranteed to be fun for both of you.

Why Hunt Turkeys?

I've said before that the spring turkey season could be the perfect time to introduce a youngster to hunting. I wrote about the pleasant weather, the safety aspect and controlled situation, as well as the fun of being in the woods on a spring morning. But I want to elaborate on why spring turkey hunting can be so much fun for kids. It's really a complete aural, visual, and adrenal experience. First you build excitement the night before by listening for gobbles in the area you plan to hunt. Hearing a tom gobble from the roost in the dark will make it hard to sleep and easier to get out of bed at 4:30 a.m. the next morning. And knowing where a tom is roosted will help you set up the following morning. On morning of the hunt, you'll hear more gobbles walking to your blind in the dark, which builds anticipation. Snug in the pop-up blind, it's time to watch the woods wake up, and this can be a great show. Birds noisily welcome the sunrise, and raccoons, deer, and maybe even a bobcat will sneak past in front. As the sun rises, toms will often gobble continuously, announcing their presence to any nearby hens. Now it's time to call, and letting the youngster scratch out some yelps on a box call is a great idea. But look out, when you call and get an immediate response from a gobbling tom, the excitement meter can peg. Then there's the adrenaline rush as the gobbles get closer and closer. Finally, silence. Where is he? He has to be close. Then a thunderous gobble right next to the blind, followed by the sound of spitting and drumming as a tom struts into view toward the decoy. If you're not shaking now, you don't have a pulse.

If you don't feel comfortable taking your youngster on a turkey hunt, look into one of the special turkey hunts where guides will assist. There's one at Council Grove and another at the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant near Parsons. Both are limited so don't delay. The youth turkey season opens April 1 and runs through April 12. Hunting pressure is light during the youth season, making it a great time to explore the hunting opportunities on public land and WIHA tracts.

Get Involved

In my last entry, I wrote about the Pass It On events that will be taking place over the next eight or nine months. Many of these events will be organized by KDWP staff -- wildlife area managers, game wardens, park managers and biologists. However, none of these department staff can conduct successful events on their own. All of them work with local volunteers, who are essential to a good program. Occasionally, I get inquiries from experienced hunters who want to know how they can help. The best way is to get involved with a local chapter of a conservation organization such as Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, the National Wild Turkey Federation, the Quail and Upland Wildlife Federation, the Kansas Hunter Education Instructors Association or others. All of these groups are actively involved in Pass It On events, and many organize their own. Being a part of a conservation organization is a great way to give back to the wildlife resources so important to our hunting heritage and can also be a way to get directly involved with passing it on.

They're All Good Kids

With spring-like weather on the way, Pass It On wingshooting events are being added to the calendar. The program has several part-time, trained wingshooting instructors who have considerable experience working with beginning shooters. From now through next fall, the guys will be on the road conducting clinics at outdoor skills events organized by KDWP staff, conservation group chapters, and other organizations. Each instructor has a fully-equipped trailer with portable target launchers, semi-automatic 20-gauge shotguns, shells, targets, and safety equipment. I usually get the chance to help with several clinics each year, and I've always enjoyed them. The minimum age is around 10 -- they need to have enough upper-body strength to hold and handle the shotgun safely. Over the past eight years, I've worked with hundreds of young shooters and to a kid, they've all been well-behaved, polite and respectful. I know these kids aren't all little angels, but in the brief time I've spent working with them, they've been a joy to be around. I believe it's because kids respond positively to the direct one-on-one attention we give them at the clinics. We're outside and doing an activity that is fun and exciting, so it's not hard to keep their attention. I believe there may be something to the "nature deficit disorder" theory Richard Louv writes about in his book Last Child In The Woods. I believe that parents who spend the time teaching their children to hunt and fish build healthy relationships with their children and those children have an advantage over those who don't get that attention. If you're interested in finding out about a Pass It On event near you, call me at 620-672-0765.