Across the state of West Virginia this weekend, you'll see the first hints of blaze orange dotting the woodlands of the state.  However, they'll be coming in pairs.  The first of three youth antlerless hunting days is set for this weekend.  The other two days are between the Christmas and New Year holidays.

"Originally this started out on a permit basis, and now it's open to youth between 8 and 14 in any county that has a firearms deer season," said Biologist Jim Crum.

It's the 12th year for the youth antlerless hunts in West Virginia.  The idea behind the days is to give young hunters an opportunity to hone their woodsmanship skills while taking advantage of light pressure on the deer herd.   

The young hunters must be accompanied by a licensed adult hunter over the age of 21.    It's important for that adult to offer basic guidance and help the child learn along the way.   Crum says there are two key lessons for the kids to have ingrained into their minds.

"I think safety is number one," Crum said during a recent appearance on West Virginia Outdoors. "Followed with a little bit of appreciate of nature itself.    They need to understand the relationship of the nature and how to hunt deer.  They need to understand where you hunt deer and why those deer are going to be there."

Chances are pretty good for a youngster to score a doe on the youth day.   Biologists say they are plentiful in most areas of the state, especially on private land.    It's another season of opportunity for the state to cut into the numbers of antlerless deer and hopefully lower the population.  However, the impact of the youth seasons is still minimal in the overall harvest of deer each fall.

The idea of the season is more of a training period rather than an actual management tool for the DNR.    Crum says many times parents or mentors miss the point.  He says he's a perfect example.

"You don't want to make it a bad time for them.  Don’t' make it an ordeal," said Crum. "I made that mistake myself with my daughter.  I wasn't thinking.  I was geared on the idea of success being the end product and I don't think that should be the goal."

The older hunter needs to be close enough to render advice to the youngster, but is not allowed to participate in the hunt itself.    Since it's a firearms season, both must wear the required blaze orange apparel.