There are few experiences in life like those spent with your children in the outdoors.   I fondly recall the first time all three of my kids caught a fish.   I will also remember forever watching the first deer my boys killed fall to the ground and hopefully will see my daughter do the same sometime in the future.  

This weekend is an opportunity tailor-made for dads to spend a quality outing with a youngster.    Saturday, any child between the ages of 8 and 14 will be allowed to hunt for antlerless deer with a gun in any county that is open to a firearms hunting season for deer.   The hunt is on private land, 47 WMA's and 3 state forests.    The youth hunt is NOT permitted on national forest lands.  I'm told this was a compromise to accommodate fall turkey hunters.  

I strongly encourage you to take your children on a hunt somewhere.   If your children are past that age, take your grandchildren or a neighbor's child.   The more youngsters we have learning the enjoyment and the necessity of hunting, the more likely we are to continue the activity we love well into the future.  

I would advise against putting any great emphasis on killing a deer.  Certainly that is a goal, but it shouldn't be the primary goal.   If you make killing the deer the part that defines success, you could shatter a child if by chance he or she misses the shot or doesn't see a deer at all.  That is possible.  

I try to make the trip one of education as well as intent.   This year, Hank and I will hunt the youth day on a piece of property neither of us has ever hunted.  We scouted out the land a few weeks ago.  We discussed the mast conditions and considered the likely spots we'd spy deer---chances are they'll be in the open fields at least in the early morning and late afternoon hours.     We also walked a ridge line finding a few acorns and a recently used trail.   We surmised the deer are probably bedding in that area and traveling to the fields below to feed.    I let hang make the decisions on stand positioning and allowed him to explain why he chose his spot.  I'll let you know how it goes.

I always spend a lot of the time we're in the woods together trying to teach.  We always play the tree identification game.  We pick nuts up from the ground to determine where squirrels are feeding.    I'm forevermore getting a wind direction check and inquiring about various obstacles.   I've shown them how to look for scrapes, rubs, and the various other subtle pieces of evidence which help put together a successful hunt. 

I know the boys are learning while were out there--and whether they kill a deer is largely up to them.   However, it's not the end of the world if it doesn't work out.   That's the way I like it and apparently the kids have no complaints either.  They have the date marked on the calendar months in advance.