I just applied for the FWID for myself and my son today after a realizing my Resident Hunter Number Card has been replaced with the new system (I've been inactive for many years). I plan to take my 14-year-old son out on some snowshoe hare and some grouse hunting when the season opens later this year. However, in the meantime we plan to improve our shooting skills by hunting some Schedule C wildlife like gray squirrels and rabbits.

Since I haven't had a hunting license for long time and certainly "fewer than 3 of the license years preceding the current license year" that means I cannot buy a youth license for my son according to the regulations. Can someone confirm this?

So, if he goes out with me and he hunts only Schedule C (no hunting license required), he will be legal if he hunts eastern cottontail and European rabbit, but no snowshoe hare, right? He has a minor's POL so he knows how to handle a firearm. I wonder how a CO would be able to tell the difference between our selected quarry if we're just walking together in the woods.