Ohio’s youth deer-gun hunting season will be held Saturday and Sunday, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.

“The youth deer-gun hunting season provides young hunters the chance to experience the challenge of hunting and enjoy the outdoors with their families,” said David M. Graham, chief of the division.

Young hunters killed 9,852 deer during last year’s two-day season. The Division of Wildlife anticipates more than 40,000 young hunters will participate in the upcoming hunt.

Hunters can share photos of their success in the field online by visiting wildohio.com and clicking on Photo Gallery. The photo submission process is easy and posted photos may be emailed to a friend.

The youth deer-gun season is open statewide to hunters 17 years old and younger. Hunters may take one deer of either sex during this season, in accordance with existing bag and deer-zone limits. Plugged shotguns, muzzleloaders, handguns and bows are legal. All participants must wear hunter orange, possess a valid Ohio hunting license and a $12 youth-deer permit, and must be accompanied by a non-hunting adult in the field.

All other regularly scheduled hunting seasons will continue during the two-day youth season. However, other hunters, including deer-archery hunters, are required to wear hunter orange during this period.

This year, Ohio’s deer-gun season runs Nov. 30 through Dec. 6, and the weekend of Dec. 19-20. Details regarding Ohio’s various hunting seasons, including those exclusively for young hunters, can be found in the 2009-10 Ohio Hunting Regulations or by visiting wildohio.com.

Youth hunters that want to donate venison to the needy can do so at no cost. The Division of Wildlife is collaborating with Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry (FHFH) to help pay for the processing of donated venison. All hunters who donate their deer to a food bank are not required to pay the processing cost as long as funding for the effort lasts. More information about this program can be found online at www.fhfh.org

The 2009-10 licenses will not be printed on weatherproof paper. Sportsmen and women should protect their licenses and permits from the elements by carrying them in a protective pouch or wallet.



Plan of attack

Hunters should consider these thoughtful actions during this beautiful time of year when we enjoy the companionship of family and friends in the outdoors and the riches that nature provides for us. Each one of these actions reaffirms the value of hunting on a personal level and reminds us of our obligations toward wildlife and our fellow hunters.



Hunt local

Although it may appear to be a current movement, living an eco-friendly lifestyle is not new to hunters, who have always relied on renewable resources to provide nutritious food for their families, good locally acquired and unfettered by hormones or processed feed. Eighty-four percent of us hunt exclusively in our home states. Only 5 percent never hunt locally. Compared with consumers of U.S. supermarket food which routinely travels as much as 2,500 miles from source to table, we are model locavores.



Take a youth hunting

Nearly 300,000 apprentice hunting licenses have been put to use thanks to legislation passed in 29 states that allows a youngster to try hunting with a licensed adult mentor.

Youth who are introduced to supervised hunting at an early age tend to stick with it, while children introduced in their mid-teens are often diverted by video games and organized sports. Check your state hunting regulations to see if the opportunity exists to take a youth hunting.



Be a conservationist

Learn about the critical role hunters have played in protecting wildlife and wild places. Join a conservation organization that helps protect the species of your choice.

Now may be a good time to explain to youngsters how as hunters they are part of a community that helped save the white-tailed deer, wild turkey and Rocky Mountain elk. Teach them how they can carry on the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt and Aldo Leopold.



Be ethical

Unwritten rules also exist among hunters that must be followed, such as agreeing not to take an excessively long shot, using inadequate equipment and preparing properly for the hunt. Those who violate these unwritten rules should be corrected. Your state fish and wildlife agency (find them at www.wildohio.org) or the International Hunter Education Association (www.ihea.org) can assist with hunter education courses and resources to find material on ethical hunting practices.



Be safe

Hunting season is always a good time to take stock of how safely your firearms are stored in the home. Proper storage of firearms, with ammunition stored separately, can help prevent firearms accidents, particularly among children. You can learn about safe storage of firearms in the home at www.projectchildsafe.org.



Big score

Over the years, I’m sure many of you have read the exploits I write as to Camp Camo and Hildy’s Hide-A Way and the Hildebrand bunch. Well why should this year be any different, we’re still at it and going strong.

The entire Pro Staff who are connected with Camp Camo do it non-gratis (for free) including me. We do it for the love of the sport and getting kids involved in it. It has to be one of the most gratifying endeavors I’ve ever been linked with in my life. Hence any chance I have to give them a little notoriety concerning their exploits I’m gonna do it.

Consequently, over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to profile the men and women of Camp Camo and they’re personal harvest sucesss stories. We had a great rut and these folks are awesome when it comes to hunting.

They are the best and I love each and every one of them for what they have done in the past and will do in the future to further Camp Camo’s efforts. Likewise, when it comes to the organizations that support Camp Camo in our endeavor to get kids involved our outdoor heritage. Without them, we’d have a rough row to hoe.

So, here we go, I’m tootin’ our own horn!



Richard’s fall rooster

Richard (Dick) Hildebrand, leader of Hildy’s Hide-A-Way and Camp Camo aficionado wasn’t real excited about archery season when I went up to see him on Oct. 10.

What he was cranked up about though was fall turkey. On the opening day of fall turkey season Richard left Hildy’s Hide-a-way at 6:30 a.m. and made his way to a spot where he had been seeing turkey since the beginning of bow season.

He had set up his blind a couple of days earlier about half way down the field right up against the edge of the wood line where he had basically patterned them almost every day since archery had started.



Clockwork turkey

Just like clock work at somewhere around 8 a.m. here they came. Three long beards were leading the way. Dick yelped a few times and they started towards the deaks but abruptly stopped out at 60 yards or so.

The long beards were looking but not liking what they saw. They fed around for 10 minutes or better going to the west end of the field in the direction of the hens that had appeared in the interim.





In turkey heaven

All total, there were 14 hens and 3 long beards. The head honcho of the Hildebrand clan was in turkey heaven. The birds were all bunched up and still feeding at 100 yards away. Richard started yelping and cutting at them and it worked.

He ticked off one of then hens and they started conversing back and forth, she’d give him a ration of grief and he’d give it right back to her.

Finally, the old boss hen couldn’t take it anymore and was comin’, comin’ to kick some decoy turkey tail! When they got within 50 to 60 yards Richard stopped calling. They were all still coming, right up to the point where they finally stopped within 10 yards of the decoys.



Lookin’ for long beards

Richard couldn’t move he was pinned down and looking for the long beards. There they are, 20 yards back, all bunched up and right on top of each other, no shot!

Finally one came clear of the rest, Richard took aim, squeezed the trigger on his H&R; 31⁄2” 12 gauge magnum and his bird flopped, twice, he was done. The rest of his band of comrades split up and took to the west end of the field disappearing back into the forest foliage.



Callin’ his posse

Dick tagged his bird, loaded up the 4 wheeler and pointed it towards home. His first call was to his son Bob ( Spittin’ Bob, who had arrowed a button head deer the week before, but I’m not allowed to say anything about that so forget I mentioned it) who in turn called his other son, Rick, who in turn called me.

The best description I can give to describe Richard (Dick) Hildebrand is that, “he is a turkey hunting fanatic!”



Richard’s stats

Richard Hildebrand bagged his fall turkey on Oct. 10, 2009 at 9:45 a.m. using an H&R; 12 gauge shotgun, hammering out 3 1⁄2 inch Winchester magnum #5 shot, with an Extra Full Undertaker choke at the end of a 28-inch barrel.

He shot his 91⁄2-inch, 20-pound long beard at 20 yards and he dropped right there. He was sitting in an Ameristep 1 man blind using 2 Bobble head and one B Mobil decoy.



Sunderlin is a freelance writer from Geneva. Reach him at djss@roadrunner.com.