STAMFORD – Junior hunters were in the woods last weekend with adult mentors, to hunt big game in New York State. Licensed 12 to-13-year old hunters may only take deer with a firearm in counties that participate in the youth pilot program. Most of the state's counties do participate. They may only take one deer during the Youth Big Game Hunt, of any sex, with no antler criteria.
The purpose of the youth hunt is to spark an interest for the sport of hunting with the number of hunters dwindling. Hunting game is the best way to control wild deer and bear populations, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
The youth hunts, which include both small game and big game seasons, allow the youth a kind of "head start" on the season, working with an experienced adult who has a valid hunting license. The intent is to instill the importance and ethics of hunting and to develop a love of the sport. The age limit for hunting big game used to be 16.
I have never killed an animal while hunting, but I enjoy the sport. Both of my parents hunted and my father served as the family scout. He would go to some of his favorite spots or he would notice a key spot to get permission to hunt. Then he would scout the area, looking for signs of the game.
There were many weekends during the hunting seasons, the Pages hunted with firearms or bows, along with family and friends. The large kitchen table at our house would be surrounded by several generations. Some actively hunted while others were put afield without bows or firearms to drive the deer.
It was fun, it was good exercise and it also had social aspects. The social aspect was the large kitchen table surrounded by hunters, set to eat piles of mom's pancakes, hear hunting tales and telling jokes. I remember my sides aching sometimes from the laughter and tall tales. It brings a smile on my face just thinking about it.
My father loved to hunt, it wasn't just for necessity. He instilled that love in three of his four children. However, mom was the firearms instructor. For her, safety was paramount in handling firearms.
What prompted this story is how much the hunting season demographics has changed over the 40 years I have been a reporter with the Mountain Eagle.
There are no longer pages of Conservation Blotters, listing the indiscretions of those hunting over bait piles, traveling with loaded firearms, hunting with spot lights, failing to use their hunting tags, using the hunting tags of another and lending their tags to another. The laws are still there, but there are many fewer hunters to break them.
The Mountain Eagle always put out special hunting tabs, with maps and hunting guidelines. The tabs were popular and we had a hard time keeping them stocked. There was small game season, followed by big game season. We no longer do the hunting tabs and there is almost no mention of any hunting season, except for a picture here and there of a successful hunter. We would interview local hunters and Region 4 biologists to get the scoop on the prognosis for hunting each season.
Hunters moved into the area big time for the firearms portion of Big Game Hunting Season. They came from downstate and out of state to fill hunting camps, hotels and motels, as they moved in over the weekend to be ready for the opening day, which back them, was always the Monday before Thanksgiving. You encountered hunters in the grocery stores, sport shops and gun shops, gas stations, local bars and restaurants. It brought a lot of revenue to the region.
There were big buck contests, visits from the DEC commissioners, and photos of the big racks. It was not uncommon to see deer slung over the hood or fender of a vehicle. There were deer check stations at various locations and along the Thruway, where biologists aged the deer and recorded biological data. Deer were seen hanging in back yards and processing venison was big business. Now you have to look far and wide for a venison/bear butcher and ther