SPRING GOBBLER MENTORED YOUTH HUNTS
For the first time under the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Mentored Youth Hunting Program, mentors may take youth under 12 years of age out to participate in either the "Spring Gobbler Youth Hunt" on April 21, or the general spring gobbler season, April 28-May 26.
While no hunting license is required for the mentored youth, the mentor must be a properly licensed adult age 21 years of age or older. Any gobbler harvested by the youth must be tagged by making and attaching a tag that contains the youngster's name, address, date, Wildlife Management Unit (WMU), township, and county where it was taken. Also, the youth must submit a harvest report card, which is available on page 33 of the 2006-2007 Pennsylvania Digest of Hunting and Trapping Regulations, within five days for any gobbler he or she takes.
The mentor-to-mentored-youth ratio is one-to-one; the mentor may not have more than one youth with him or her at any time while hunting. Also, the pair may possess only one sporting arm while hunting. While moving, the sporting arm must be carried by the mentor. When the pair reaches a stationary hunting location, the mentor may turn over possession of the sporting arm to the youth, and then must keep the youth within arm's length at all times while he or she is in possession of the sporting arm. The mentor and youth must abide by the fluorescent orange regulations for the spring gobbler season.
The youth does not need to take and pass the Game Commission's mandatory Hunter-Trapper Education, which is required for all first-time license buyers. However, it is the responsibility of the mentor to ensure that each youth is trained in firearm and hunter safety before heading afield. For additional information about the Game Commission's Mentored Youth Hunting Program, visit the agency's website at www.pgc.state.pa.us and click on "Mentored Youth FAQs" in the right column, or see page 15 of the 2006-2007 Pennsylvania Digest of Hunting and Trapping Regulations.