why are you wanting to have the youth season taken away? it is only 2 days long anyways.

I totally agree and I am a big bowhunter. Give the young ones a chance in advance. It is the future of our sport. Youth season pumps my son up. He is 10 this year. You can still bow hunt. It,s not like managed land permits are not shooting early either.

they are not wanting to take it away they want to make to whole month of october youth season and bow season at the same time

Please read the whole petition, we are not opposed to youth season as it currently is, they are trying to amend it to include the entire month of october. Currently the kids have the last weekend of october and the weekend after the general season ends in january. We feel letting youth season into october will eventually opent the door for dishonest adults to use thier kids tags and poach in october, not to mention scare all the deer up for all the honest hunters who wait until november.

Each year there are fewer and fewer sportsmen (and women) taking to the field both with bows and guns.  I am both a bow and gun hunter.  If it will get a few more youth into the field to enjoy the sport (and help protect the rights of us who still do), then I'm for it.  As far as adults using their kids tags, well that's an issue of enforcement.  Although I'm sure it would be done to some extent, I don't think it would be pervasive enough to measurably change conditions for the bow hunters.  Individual ranches and deer leases can set their own rules about means and methods during which times, if they want, as long as they are within the boundaries of what is legal.  Just my 2 1/2 cents!

Sorry, I'm all for youth hunting...period.

I hate to say it, but there's some sense of elitism and arrogance in the bow hunting community towards gun hunters and this just echos the us vs. them theme.  We need to work together, and anything we can do to enable young people to get in the woods I am for.  

"We feel letting youth season into october will eventually opent the door for dishonest adults to use thier kids tags and poach in october, not to mention scare all the deer up for all the honest hunters who wait until november." 

I don't think that's the stance for the most part.  Bowhunters simply don't want the competition.  It's funny, people are free to bowhunt during regular gun season, but start letting youth gun hunts get into October and all of a sudden we need a petition to stop it?

Hardy this will probably not negatively affect guys like you who hunt on large ranches, but places in the state like east texas where the land is fragmented and public land would be disastrous to bowhunters, we begged bargained and paid for the archery only season with the archery stamp, IMO if they do change this regulation we should no longer be forced to pay for an archery stamp because there won't really be an archery onlyl season anymore.  I will also say this I have NEVER been on a lease where at least one adult didn't take advantage of youth season and use some of their kids tags. How about this proposal to make it fair to both gun and bowhunters since they want to give kids an extra month, us bowhunters give up the last two weeks of october and gun hunters give up the first two weeks of november for youth only, I would be ok with this.

Waco, I am curious if you have ever turned any of those adults in who used their kid's tag?

Yes I reported them.

point well made waco.  I understand where you're coming from. 

As far as the last 2 weeks of Oct/first 2 weeks of Nov. idea, I'm all for it. 

I don't think either regular gun or bow has to "give up" that time...just share it, but if the gun season didn't open until the 10th-14th of November, it wouldn't bother me at all.

The gun season is plenty long.

I would like to see a youth Mule Deer season for kids in the panhandle region.

I hope all of  October gets opened up to youth.My son already sits in a stand with my wife and hunts hogs(with a gun). I bow hunt 200 yards away and it hasn't hurt my hunting in three years.And if your hunting East Tx like I do theres guns going of year round.I've read on several bow hunting forms the whining and crying about no draw weight kids will wound deer,cross bows aren't archery, Grayson county doesn't need a gun season theres not enough deer, gun hunters wound more deer taking long shots,bla bla bla. It's getting old.

I'm not too clear on what the youth can harvest during the gun weekend with the current law.  Like in lee/bastrop county, we can shoot does during bow season but not in gun season--I'm not sure if the youth could shoot these also during the youth hunt weekend.  I'd say that if it were extended to the entire month of october, it would be good if there were by county regulations to make this a "herd management" activity.  This way the little ones can get their chance and we can all benefit by their harvesting of deer that would best serve the herd locally in that county--spikes/does/bucks whatever makes sense in that county. 

Out Enjoying That Great Texas Countryside

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/newsmedia/releases/?req=20081110a

As a father of two young children I am all for youth programs and special youth hunts to give kids a chance to hunt without the pressure of competing with adult or more experienced hunters. I am not saying that children shouldn't have special time set aside for them, I am just saying that I think they could pick a better time to block for them. For instance .....January 5th, 2009- January 31st, 2009. Bucks still have antlers then and the does that are "supposedly" killed by children shouldn't be a number great enough to harm the future fawn crop.

I bow hunt, as a lot of you do, and I am spoiled to the fact that I don't have to share the woods(COE/public land) with people hunting with rifles. I have also had to buy a $7 bow stamp to be able to hunt earlier than traditional gun hunters.

So please read this information and if you don't agree with the state of Texas on the future of Bow Season go to the Petition website and sign it. And hopefully we will get enough attention that they will do something different for the youth that hunt in Texas.

http://www.petitiononline.com/bow2008/petition.html

Well,

I buy the super combo every year and I have to pay for the archery stamp which I do not use. I hunt with a crossbow in Grayson county during general season. SO should us hunters who buy the super combo who are not bow hunters, make a big stink and have that special tag removed from the super combo? Should we ask that it be by request only? I mean heck guys there are soo many arguements someone could make if they wanted too.

Let me get this straight. The 2 weekends are not enough for the youth to hunt? Aren't they already getting 2 weekends more than the adults? They can hunt during the general season too. Or do parents not want to be bothered during their season? Sorry guys, I don't like giving-up October. The deer rut in mid October in East Texas and that is prime time. This is why I bow hunt. I have no problem extending it out a whole week in October but not the whole month. I think it would be best to teach them to bow hunt. The close-up encounters are much more enjoyable than viewing from a distance. They lowered the minimum draw weight for bow hunting so even a 12 year old could pull a bow. If they can't a little exercise won't hurt them or the parent! Why teach these youngsters that hunting is as easy as point and click? Let them earn it with a bow and arrow IF they need to hunt all month. I failed many years before I got good at getting deer with mine. Teach these kids that it is OK to even fail as long as they don't give-up! It is not only a hunting lesson, it is a good life lesson.

GO CLIMB A TREE, TIM

My son bow hunts with me from the very start of season and prefers to leave his gun at home during regular season. We hunt on a 70 acre plot with gun hunters on all sides and have no problem with deer being spooked so there is no reason  the youth should not have an extended season and hunt with archers.

First off, I guess I don't entirely understand how the youth only season/time works, but my opinion is that this is hunting, not a sack race.  There really is no competition between youth and adults, unless parents are putting their desires ahead of their children's wishes.  A kid has just as good a chance hunting with his father/mother as I due of bagging a monster during regular season.  Why don't the parents take the kids out and give them a chance during the general season???  God forbid that they let the kid get a deer during general season, it may scare daddies/mommies wall hanger.  If parents feel strongly enough about their kids hunting, they will let the kids harvest the animal, and be happy their son or daughter had a successful hunt. 

If I am way off base with actual regs, I am sorry please let me know.  I do have very strong feelings about this issue, and have posted a very opinionated view, and if I have the facts wrong I would like to know ASAP.

Ok we're getting the same argument from both sides of this. Both sides are saying that "you can hunt this/that way during general season".

Why not just do away with all special seasons and just have a deer hunting season?   Do away with all of it, then nobody has to buy any special tags or permits. We all just buy our hunting license and hit the woods. 

Guns don't kill people....Its those pesky little bullets making lots of holes that all the blood leaks out of.

I HAVE TO AGREE WITH STANTON IF I AM IN THE WOODS MY 12 YEAR OLD SON IS WITH ME UNLESS I GET DRAWN FOR A HUNT THAT HE CAN NOT GO ON. WE TOOK TURNS ALL SEASON OF WHO GOT TO SHOOT FIRST. MY MAIN GOAL IS TO CREATE A LOVE AND RESPECT FOR THE OUTDOORS