Getting Youth Involved in Pheasant Season

Getting Youth Involved in Pheasant Season

By Jacob Dean

In Iowa, our season is getting ready to open up, before the season begins, we have a few days set aside for youth to go out and try their luck pheasant hunting. Some days might be better than others while out in the field. When you take your kid, or maybe a kid hunting, you for sure want to put them in a position where they get a good impression of the sport. You want them to see birds, but yet you want them to have a realistic impression too. You want them to know there is work that goes into hunting. You don’t see birds every time you go out, you don’t get every bird that flushes. However, by doing some prep work before the season begins, you will be on your way to a fun, and more importantly safe hunt.

Iowa’s Youth Season – Pheasants
Iowa’s youth pheasant season is a residents-only event that gives Iowans 15 and younger the chance to hunt rooster pheasants without having to buy a license, habitat fee, or take hunter education. However, they must be accompanied by an adult who is 18 or older and has a valid hunting license and habitat fee. The adult is responsible for supervising the youth hunter. Only the youth can shoot the pheasants, and they are limited to one rooster per day. The youth-only season gives young hunters the opportunity to experience the first cackle and flush of the year without the pressure of competing with other hunters. This year, the season is October 19-20.

Gun Selection
One of the first things you will want to do before hitting the field is getting a gun picked out. Depending on the age and size of the youth, you will want to bring them into the store to determine what fits them best. Consider what action type and the placement of the controls and safety will be easiest for them to manipulate. It should be easy and instinctive for them to use the safety selector, and if equipped, hammer, slide release, bolt release or break action lever. They will be growing, but you don’t want to get something too heavy that would discourage them from a full day of hunting. Depending on the frame of the shooter, you might consider a sub gauge or youth model as many manufacturers offer this as an option to their line of shotguns. Recently 12, 20, 28 and .410 full lineups are common.

Practice
If you have a kid in mind that is 15 or younger, before the season opens take some time to invest in some basic ground work. Safety in the field and while practicing should be emphasized as the most important aspect. As with handling any gun, always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. Make sure the safety is on the gun until the kid is ready to shoot in the field and on the range. It is a good idea to get some clay targets and have a practice session or two before October 19th arrives. This will give the kid a chance to handle the gun (safely), load and unload the gun, and practice taking the safety off and shooting the gun. While practicing, try to encourage good habits. While practicing, you will want to have the kid wear eye protection and ear protection. Not only does it provide basic safety, but it will keep the kid from developing a flinch or reaction to the sound of the shotgun. You will also want to make sure they have a good orange vest that fits well. Trust me, it’s not fun when the vest is too big ang falling down your arms.

You might introduce some basic drills to help the youth get on the birds. You can coach the youth into keeping their eye on the leading edge of the target. a successful shotgunner is actually pointing a shotgun while focusing his or her eyes only on the moving target. always focus your eyes on the leading edge of any moving object. You can train your eye to focus on the leading edge of everyday objects, and that will create a habit of focusing on the leading edge of a flushing pheasant. This drill helps train your eyes on the correct point to concentrate.

There are several methods for shooting a crossing target; “the swing through method” is pretty popular and works well. Proper swing for this method involves first pointing the gun behind the target, then swinging the barrel faster than the target is flying to “catch up” with it. As you swing past the target pull the trigger. It is imperative to follow through.

Make it Fun
Depending on the youth, your might not hunt as vigorously as you do with your buddies, or while hunting solo. Take into account the child’s size and physical shape. They tend to wear out faster than we do. Stop for some breaks and make sure you, the youth, and the dogs are all hydrated. Don’t focus too much on getting birds, but rather the other things we enjoy, like the sunrise, the view, the overall hunt.

Hopefully, you have run through a couple drills with your dogs before the season has opened. Drills help hone in on their skills, give us a chance to reward good behavior, and stop bad behavior before hitting the field. Running some drills also helps get your dogs conditioned and in shape for the season. You will want to run through your basic commands you will use in the field.

Get your dogs in shape before season with daily exercise routines and proper nutritional adjustments so their health doesn’t suffer. If you need some ideas of some drills, Kyle Dana usually has a few in the Gundog corner throughout the year.

Scout
Begin scouting properties before the hunt. Public or private, things change from year to year. Food plots change, food sources that border the properties you hunt change, property owners change agricultural uses of the land from time to time and weather can play an important role in how the habitat looks from year to year.

Identifying locations of cover, like native warm season grasses, can help you find good spots to target in the mornings. Take a drive and bring the kid along if you can, go to the field and take a walk one morning. You can coach them in listening for a pheasant cackle, show them different structures and cover, and see where food plots are. This may also help ease the nerves of the kid as they will be more familiar with the terrain when it is time to hunt.