Roasting Marshmallows around the campfire from deer camps past. Youth hunters Chad Nichols, Brandon Heck, Mitchell Lundy, and Jason Bass around 1997.
Pictures from Halloween sure would’ve been boring when I was a kid if youth deer season and trick-or-treating fell on the same day. I would have dressed up as a deer hunter every year! Of course there wasn’t a youth season back then anyway but I can picture it now…Dracula in hunter orange, Frankenstein in hunter orange, wolf man in hunter orange, and so on, year in and year out. And can you imagine if you actually got a deer the day of Halloween? In my mind I can picture the fight right now - mom telling me I have to wash the blood stains off my hands because ‘it’s gross and unsanitary’ and me appealing to dad. Dad, in his usual manner, shrugs and says to ‘obey your mother.’ What a waste of a good prop! Youth deer season and Halloween, what an exciting combination!
This year at our house we will have two new youth hunters gearing up for the big weekend. For safety purposes, my youngest son and my daughter, Coleman and Ashley, will stay on the ground in a ground-blind with me. With our blind positioned to cover two food plots we will comfortably watch for deer as Coleman consumes enough snacks and soda to keep him bouncing from house to house trick-or-treating all evening long. Ashley will be observing this year because it is her first year ever to be exposed to hunting but she really wants to go. For an adult taking beginning hunters on their first hunt there are two very important rules to which to adhere. The first is, for the very young hunter, to bring a few items to keep the youngster’s attention during the lull times. I like to bring hunting magazines and play educational games with the young hunter as we wait. As they flip the pages I will ask them to point to the correct aiming point for each deer we come across in the articles. And second, for all young hunters it is very important to maintain comfort. Warm and comfortable clothes, dry and warm ground blinds, tasty snacks and warm drinks are all great ways to maintain comfort for the beginning hunter.
This year, the first weekend for youth deer season in Missouri is Saturday, October 30th and Sunday, October 31st. The second weekend is Saturday, January 1st, and Sunday, January 2nd. Halloween and New Years deer hunting – what a concept! For me as a kid the anticipation of trick-or-treating was so overwhelming it took forever for the day to pass before the darkness of evening brought out the ghouls and goblins. Nowadays I wouldn’t even think about candy until the last instant of shooting light had disappeared. And if I hadn’t harvested a deer, my demeanor would’ve fit well with my wolf man or Frankenstein costume!
In Missouri the youth hunter must be at least 6 years old and no older than 15 on opening day of season. If the youth hunter is not yet hunter-ed certified then they must hunt in the direct presence of properly licensed adult who is hunter-ed certified. Tags for a youth hunter are now the same tag as purchased for an adult but for youth the tag is discounted to $8.50 for the initial any-deer permit and $3.50 for a bonus antlerless-only permit. The 4 point antler restriction in place in over half the state does not apply during youth season so the rookie hunter is eligible to take any buck or doe with their tag. However, the youth hunter is allowed to take only one antlered deer during the year, regardless of the portion of the season hunted. Also, the youth hunter is allowed to harvest only one deer during the first hunt on October 30th and 31st. Any remaining tags must be used during a later season.
There’s a Spiderman Outfit somewhere under all those hunting clothes. Youth hunter Alex Stephens at camp.
Remembering back over 35 years ago I hesitate to guess where my most urgent interest would have been between costumes and candy versus deer hunting. I am quite sure Dad would have had very little tolerance for leaving the woods for Halloween. You’re either a deer hunter or Spiderman but not both I imagine he’d say. Well, times have changed and I fully anticipate taking a Spiderman, or Frankenstein, or Dracula dressed up as a deer hunter to the woods this fall. As a matter of fact I can’t wait! I hope you take your little goblin to the woods too. What a memory. So says the One-Eyed Hillbilly.
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