Adults double their pleasure while taking a youth hunting and scouting for regular season
PRATT — The 2009 upland bird hunting forecast is one of the best in the past 20 years. Wherever hunters and others connected to the land meet, conversation revolving around pheasant and quail hunting is animated, and that's good news for Kansas youth. The pheasant and quail youth season — Nov. 7-8 — is a premier opportunity to get youth outdoors in a high-quality setting. Public wildlife areas and Walk-In Hunting Access areas are uncrowded, and young roosters are less wary.

The youth season (pheasant and quail only) gives the first shot at this year’s crop of roosters and quail to youth age 16 and younger accompanied by an adult 18 or older. The adult may not hunt. No licenses are required for the adults or youth younger than 16, but youth age 16 need a current hunting license and hunter education certification. Daily bag limits during the youth season are two pheasants and four quail, half the regular season bag limit.

Preparation for the hunt can be almost as much fun as the hunt itself, and it's not too early to take a prospective youth hunter out to review safe gun handling rules and practice shooting clay targets. A little advance training and planning will make the hunt more enjoyable. It is also wise to take the hunting dog out for some fitness training.

Kansas is blessed with great outdoor opportunities. Make sure a young hunter doesn't miss this one. Whether you're a father, mother, brother, sister, friend, or next-door neighbor, if you're 18 years old, you may supervise a youth hunter. In addition to the satisfaction derived from teaching a beginner how to handle something new, the adult gets to scout areas for the regular season opener just one week later on Nov. 14.
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