Youth weekends

Heather Poginy
Special to the Critic


A sure sign that summer is over and Autumn will soon turn to Winter is when the hunters begin to break out their rifles, bows, and shotguns for the many hunting seasons in Vermont.

With the two-week-long moose season just finished, deer season starts this Saturday, Nov. 8 with Youth Deer Weekend. There are a few youth hunting weekends in which the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, and by far this weekend is the most popular youth hunting weekend. People of any age are considered youth hunters if they are just beginning.

Experienced hunters are encouraged to seek out youth hunters in order to teach them a thing or two about the ropes of hunting in any season.

“I used to participate in those [Youth Weekends], but now that I’m in college, I only go with my brothers when I have time,” says Paxton Pennington, a long-time hunter from Holland. “It’s really a good way of bonding, makes everything more interesting too.”

The purpose of these weekends is essentially to recruit young people to hunt when they are adults, keeping the hunting numbers up will keep the animal populations where they should be to maintain the proper balance in Vermont’s habitat. When deer population is too high, crops that are important to Vermont’s economy are ruined, and there are more car accidents involving deer.

“My entire family hunts: moose hunting, deer hunting; that’s it, mostly,” says Pennington. “They used to do it for food; my parents did before I was born. Now it’s mostly for sport to keep extra meat in the freezer. It’s sort of a novelty now.”
Hunting season in general is well on its way. Black Bear season, which started on September 1 and ends on November 19, is the first season to start. This week from November 1-9 is Turkey Shotgun Season.

Hunting is allowed in Vermont from the beginning of September until the end of March. Many animals are hunted and trapped from raccoons and otters to bobcat and several types of waterfowl.