Tips For Duck Hunting With Youngsters

Montana’s youth waterfowl season focuses on youngsters and their hunting. It enables adults to spend quality time with a young hunter to help them gain a solid foundation in waterfowl hunting.

Here are some tips for parents or hunting mentors interested in helping a youngster to prepare for and enjoy the youth waterfowl season Sept. 22-23.

·             Be sure to involve the young hunter in identifying hunting locations and going afield to scout the locations, including opportunities on state WMAs, federal bird refuges, small stock ponds and reservoirs.

·         Use a good map to identify ponds and other locations to scout for hunting opportunities, in the process demonstrating map-reading skills that the young hunter can use later.

·         A sk for permission to hunt on private land well in advance of the hunt

            and take the young hunter with you to gain experience in this important

            aspect of hunting.

·     Practice setting decoys in a field or back yard to help a young hunter gain experience handling decoys and setting up effective formations.

·     Practice calls with a young hunter in advance of the hunt. One of the big thrills of the hunt is producing a duck call that turns a duck.

·     Try to give a young hunter a taste of what it is to hunt with a dog. The youth hunt is also an opportunity for the hunting dog to warm up for the season.

By using some or all of these suggestions, a parent or mentor can make preparations for the hunt as much of a learning experience as the hunt itself.