Youth Recruitment - TradGang

[Avalanche123]

I copied this from TragGang. Great example of Youth Recruitment! This camp took place in the US. Sure sounds like it was fun.

"Joe was at archery camp from Fri till today, what a great way for these young people to get there bowhunter safety course. They were kept busy for the entire time, all the training was hands on. They were instructed in shooting, blood trailing including the use of deer search, the kids had a chance to make their own arrows, they used a climbing treestand and harnesses, they were taught how to navigate with a compass. The boys slept in tents and the girls slept in a tee pee, Joe had a blast, he said the one night they cooked some back straps on the campfire, they even had instruction on what to do with a deer from field dressing to cooking, there was a deer taken on a nuisance tag just for that instruction. Their alarm clock was a black-powder cannon fired off in the morning, they set the thing off today before the chicken BBQ, it was loud enough to wake up the dead. The kids walked away with well over $100 worth of donated merchandise packed in a nice duffel bag, the cost of this event was zero, the instructors were volunteers, my hat is off to all of them."

[The Hermit]

Cool! Here is a picture of the kid-contingent at this year's TBBC Rendezvous at Keremeos! They all had a blast too!

[huntwriter]

What a great way to get young hunters into our ranks.
The Americans do a lot more than we do to recruit hunters. I am involved with Hunters Helping Kids Inc. They have chapters in New York, Virginia, Michigan and North Carolina.
Each year we get about 200 young hunters into spring turkey and fall deer hunting camps where they learn different hunting skills. At the end of the three day course each kid gets to hunt with a bow, rifle or muzzleloader. All the hunts, educational material and license fees are donated by sponsors. This spring each kid harvested a turkey under the watchful eye of a volunteer instructor. Very few of the children that take part come from a hunting background.
I am deeply honored to take part in these camps as a hunting strategy and deer/turkey calling instructor. Just seeing the happiness of these children and the eagerness with which they learn and hunt makes all the hard work worthwhile.


It really makes me wonder sometimes why the BCWF or any of the other organizations have not started such a program here in British Columbia. Yet they loudly complain about declining hunter numbers.

[c.r.hunter]

It really makes me wonder sometimes why the BCWF or any of the other organizations have not started such a program here in British Columbia. Yet they loudly complain about declining hunter numbers.

No doubt. By the looks of the banners hanging, most if not all of those sponsors sell product into B.C. I'm sure they would like to see their future sales maintained & grow. It would take someone with time and determination to organize such a camp. The BCWF would be the ideal candidate.

[Avalanche123]

It would be interesting to see how many of these kids actually get out and hunt? Either way, it is a foot into the door for these young people.
Good turnout at the Keremeos shoot too. I have seen some respectable turnout in this area by children at the local 3D shoots as well.

[huntwriter]

It would be interesting to see how many of these kids actually get out and hunt?

Not many. That’s one of the reasons why Hunters Helping Kids started to take the children on actual hunts. We found that if we take kids hunting they are more likely to get into it than if we only hold an instructional / shooting camp. You should see the children’s faces when they harvest an animal and have their picture taken that they can take home together with the meat and show off to everybody.

According to the participants response we get about 55% to 60% of them choose to become hunters. This is one of the highest recruiting numbers in the USA. We believe the reason for this is because after the kids learned the skills they can go on a hunt and use what they learned. Instant gratification.