All experienced hunters have one thing in common: We all had good teachers and mentors who showed us how to start down the hunting trail.
Dads, granddads, uncles and other family members usually took us to the woods and showed us the dozens of things we needed to learn as hunters — everything from how to sight in a rifle to field dressing a deer that they happily passed on to us without a second thought.
Times change, and today the problem is many young people don’t come from a hunting family or background. There are a lot of potential young hunters who would love to have someone show them the ropes of the outdoors world, but they just don’t have that someone to show them the way.
This picture sometimes seems pretty bleak as there is always a shortage of hunters willing to step up as mentors. Recently, though, I saw a big ray of sunshine on this in the form of a special event hunt.
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Section, the DNR police officers, have held many special event hunts for young hunters who would have had no opportunity for the hunting experience had it not been for these hunts and the officers’ guidance. This particular antlerless deer hunt was done in partnership with the Mountaineer Challenge Academy located in Montgomery, about a half-hour southeast of Charleston.