Annual Montana FWP Youth Deer Hunt is This Week

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - The annual Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks youth deer hunt is this week.

I spoke to Vivaca Crowser, Education and Program Manager for FWP about the event that young hunters look forward to each fall.

“This week we have the youth deer hunt coming up,” began Crowser. “It is a little different than most years, where it coincides right with the beginning of hunting season. We have a week in between this year, just because we like that youth deer hunt to line up with the days that kids are out of school, so this Thursday and Friday, October 17 and 18th, is the deer hunt. It is available for those that are properly licensed, 10 to 15 year olds.”

The Annual FWP Youth Deer Hunt is This Week

Crowser provided more details on the annual youth deer hunt.

“That may mean that if you're a 10 or 11-year-old, you would be out there hunting as an apprentice hunter,” she said. “So all that information on what it means to be an apprentice and what it means to be a mentor of an apprentice is on the Fish, Wildlife and Parks website. It'll walk you right through that. Or you could be just a regular hunter out there 12 to 15 years old, and again, there are specific requirements, so make sure you check that out only for deer and you do have to be with someone 18 or older.”

Hunter Safety Classes Are Available Throughout the State

Crowser said hunter safety classes are available throughout the state.

“Hunter safety is required for anyone born after January 1 of 1985 in Montana,” she said. “The reason for that is because it is just such an important program to go through all the basics of firearm safety, hunter ethics, wildlife management, animal ID, and regulations. There’s a lot of important curriculum in there, but first and foremost, those rules of firearm safety, because we want to be safe out there for ourselves and for others that are around us.”

FWP Encourages Youth to Participate in the Apprentice Hunting Program

Crowser provided more important information about the apprentice hunting program.

“The Apprentice Hunting Program does allow you to hunt with a mentor for up to two seasons prior to taking Hunter’s Education,” she said. “We always encourage folks to get in a hunter education class if they can, even if they are hunting as an apprentice. But it does provide that tool. There are stricter guidelines for that very reason, and we want everyone to be safe out there, but just know that there is another avenue if you haven't gotten hunter education this season.”

Get more details on the annual youth deer hunt here.