Youth Firearms Big Game Hunt is this weekend
Photo courtesy of NYSDEC New York state requires mentors. Both hunter and mentor must wear required fluorescent clothing, and the young hunter must remain at ground level.
Illustration courtesy of NYSDEC The 2026 Youth Hunt runs Oct. 10-12 for hunters ages 12-15. For 12- and 13-year-olds, New York's youth deer hunting pilot program allows them to hunt deer with a rifle, shotgun, muzzleloader or crossbow while under the close supervision of an experienced adult mentor in participating counties. Erie County is now among those counties.
Photo courtesy of NYSDEC New York state requires mentors. Both hunter and mentor must wear required fluorescent clothing, and the young hunter must remain at ground level.
Illustration courtesy of NYSDEC The 2026 Youth Hunt runs Oct. 10-12 for hunters ages 12-15. For 12- and 13-year-olds, New York's youth deer hunting pilot program allows them to hunt deer with a rifle, shotgun, muzzleloader or crossbow while under the close supervision of an experienced adult mentor in participating counties. Erie County is now among those counties.
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For generations, deer hunting in New York has been about more than filling a tag. It is about sitting quietly in the woods, learning to read the wind, understanding the habits of wildlife and, perhaps most importantly, sharing time with someone who cares enough to teach you.
This fall, New York's Youth Firearms Big Game Hunt will give thousands of young hunters that opportunity again -- including young hunters in Erie County, where sportsmen’s conservation organizations helped make a long-sought change possible.
The 2026 Youth Hunt runs Oct. 10-12 for hunters ages 12-15. For 12- and 13-year-olds, New York’s youth deer hunting pilot program allows them to hunt deer with a rifle, shotgun, muzzleloader or crossbow while under the close supervision of an experienced adult mentor in participating counties.
Erie County is now among those counties.
That didn’t happen by accident. Sportsmen's conservation groups worked with legislators and DEC to advocate for Erie County's participation, recognizing that young people in Western New York should have the same opportunity to learn the hunting tradition close to home as youngsters in other parts of the state.
The effort is about much more than one weekend in October. It is about making sure the outdoor traditions of today have a future tomorrow.
The numbers show just how many families are embracing the opportunity. According to the NYSDEC 2025 report, 12,632 youth hunters ages 12 and 13 participated in the program and harvested 2,398 deer. Just as important, 90 percent of the young hunters and 94% of their adult mentors reported being moderately or greatly satisfied with the experience. Behind those numbers are moments that can’t be measured in a harvest report.
One mentor described the youth hunt as an opportunity for "family bonding and passing on traditions to the next generation at an earlier age."
Another said the time spent hunting with his daughter, disconnected from the distractions of the modern world and immersed in the outdoors, was "priceless."
That may be the greatest value of the youth hunt.
For an experienced deer hunter, becoming a mentor can be as simple as sharing what someone once shared with you: how to sit quietly, how to identify tracks, how to handle a firearm safely, how to respect the animal and the land -- and how to appreciate a morning sunrise even when no deer appears.
The state requires mentors for 12- and 13-year-old hunters to be at least 21 years old, have three years of deer-hunting experience with a firearm or crossbow, hold the appropriate big game license and maintain physical control of the young hunter. Both hunter and mentor must wear required fluorescent clothing, and the young hunter must remain at ground level.
Those rules provide the framework. The mentor provides the heart. New York’s hunting tradition will only continue if experienced hunters are willing to open the door for the next generation.
This weekend and this fall, an older hunter may have the chance to do just that -- not simply by taking a young person hunting, but by helping create a lifelong connection to wildlife, conservation and the outdoors. Sometimes the most important thing brought home from a deer hunt isn’t the deer. It’s the tradition.
SIGHT-IN SUNDAY
The Bear Lake Rod & Gun Club at 4391 Cassadaga Stockton Road in Stockton is conducting a pre-firearm season target practice event for shotguns and rifles with paper targets and gongs at 50, 100, 150 and 200 yards. For handguns, they have a challenging dueling tree. Rimfire shooters will have many targets inside 100 yards plus the "know your target" challenge. The club has new benches, new targets, 22 ammo, prizes for challenge winners, all free to the public on this day. Bring a friend and firearms, don't forget your hearing and eye protection. For more info, call Don Campbell at 716-338-2050.
Gotta love the outdoors.
CALENDAR
Oct. 10: NYSDEC Trapper Ed Course, Bear Lake Rod & Gun Club, 4391 Cassadaga-Stockton Road, Stockton, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Gary Dudek; register at: https://decals.events.east.licensing.app/em/events/513, or call 585-226-5463.
Oct. 10-12: NYS Youth Hunt, junior hunters (12-15 years old) may take deer under youth and mentor rules.
Oct. 11: Firearm Sighting-In Day, Bear Lake Rod & Gun Club, handguns 10 a.m., rifles/shotguns, noon. Paper targets at 50, 100, 150 and 200 yards. Info: Don Campbell, 716-338-2050.
Oct. 11: Sunday 50s Trap Shoot, Celoron Rod & Gun Club, 210 Livingston Ave., Celoron, registration 9-10 a.m.; Info: Jerry Martin: 814-688-9209.
Oct. 13: Children in the Stream Youth Fly Fishing/4-H Program, Fly tying/fly fishing classes, 7-8:30 p.m., free, Costello Room, Rockefeller Art Center at SUNY Fredonia, For info: email Alberto@albertorey.com.