Introducing a young person to hunting and the outdoors is a vital part of passing on the hunting tradition and training the next generation of conservationists. New York, it seems, is well on its way to enjoying a generation of successful young hunters, according to numbers recently released by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and reported in Outdoor News.
“DEC figures showed New York’s first ever youth deer hunt, held over the three-day Columbus Day weekend for 14- and 15-year-olds, resulted in a total kill of 1,411 deer, including 744 bucks… About 7,800 youths – 61 percent of eligible junior hunters – took part in the hunt, which DEC Commissioner Joe Martens labeled a success.”
Young hunters weren’t the only ones finding success in the field. Overall, hunters harvested 242,957 whitetails — the highest since 2003 when 253,088 were taken — and the buck kill was the best since 2002, when 128,292 were harvested.
Photo by: Mikayla Sears
