Considering hosting a youth or mentored hunt on your property.

Here’s the situation. I own a hunting-only farm 90 minutes from the Twin Cities.

The bottom line is that I feel I have too many deer and currently my own sons do not yet hunt, so there are only 2 of us hunting 120 acres and taking 2 deer a year does not even put a dent in the population.

Of course, I also enjoy and take great pride in the property and I think it would be fun to see others enjoy the opportunity to see dozens of deer in a weekend hunt and possibly take a deer of their own. Especially rewarding would be to have a youth hunt so they could take their first deer and enjoy a successful hunt early in their hunting career.

I am considering hosting a mentored hunt or allowing others to hunt the property on a one-off basis for 1 weekend of the year.

Have any of you hosted mentored hunts on your property?

Do any of you know of any organizations that might appreciate the offer of land use for young or new hunters? Metro or near metro based organizations would probably be easier for me to contact and the proximity of the land would probably have the most appeal to orgs in this area.

Pros / cons to hosting these types of hunts? Obviously, I know liability could be a concern, the property is fully insured including liability and I would have a release agreement in place. I’m thinking more along the lines of things that you didn’t anticipate.

Grouse

That’s a great idea Grouse. I have brought one additional kid hunting each year for 6 years now. It’s always been a child of someone I know personally. We practice shooting as many times as we can during summer/fall.
We’ve been fortunate to have 3 kids get their 1st deer and it’s awesome.
This is something I’d like to do more of and bigger scaled once I retire.
I think Randy does more of what you’re thinking with organizations.

I’ve hosted a few kids from our local firearms training instruction classes over the years. They may be a good source for you to consider.
Dad, and then me, have been volunteering as instructors for a combined 40 years. You get to know the kids pretty well towards the end of the course. So you get a good sense of which ones would benefit the most from it and which ones would be nothing but trouble. Have never had a liability issue but it’s definitely worth considering. Especially if you’re planning to host people you don’t know.

Things to consider. Make sure your stand(s) are accessible to a small person. Some of my tree stands had long steps. Make sure the stands are more comfortable than you’d expect for yourself. Make sure their equipment is in working order and sighted in, etc. They’re dressed appropriately for the weather, etc. Generally assume they have no idea what they’re doing and plan accordingly.

Grouse, I’ve been doing it for the last 6 or so years.

I do by recommendations only, youth that has never shot a whitetail, and set the expectations. That is both the child and the parent. Then reiterate the expectations again.

It has been so rewarding for me to share with the future hunters. I sit with them and call the shot. Every kid has sent me a thank you letter and I know they are genuinely grateful.

On cons have been 1 kid not ready. I didn’t let him shoot until later in the day when he was able to contain his excitement. Had him glassing deer all morning to get him to finally relax. Your the “professional, don’t let them shoot if they don’t have 100% control. Ya, in the moment your the bad guy. But they will thank you for it

You could contact the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association and get a list of their chapters near the property.

I would be conservative on the number of hunters allowed at any one time. In future years you can go up if need be but for now you need to see the pitfalls.

Also, be sure the DNR doesn’t consider you a hunting preserve in which case fencing and permits will surely be required.

Thanks for the replies.

I guess the issue is finding kids/parents who both deserve and appreciate the opportunity. Unfortunately, I have NOT found some of the organizations that say they support and promote youth hunting to be very welcoming. Not going to name names, but one particular organization begs on their website for qualified instructors (which I am, and I have all required current BG checks as well because I coach youth sports). They don’t even return my calls.

So the question is who and how to connect with an org. Guess I’ll have to keep digging.

Grouse

Grouse, spread the word through family and close friends. Someone you can trust will respond