The annual hunt is an opportunity for those age 15 and younger to get out when deer are less pressured and learn from experienced mentors.

For all hunters younger than 11 years old or hunters between ages 12-15 who have not completed hunter education, the mentor must be at least 18 years old, be a hunter education graduate, hold a current hunting license and always remain within arm’s reach of the youth hunter.

For hunters ages 12-15 who have completed hunter education, the mentor must be at least 18 years old but does not need to be a hunter education graduate or a licensed hunter. The mentor must always be in both visual and voice contact with the youth hunter.

One mentor may not accompany more than two youths at the same time. Check out https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/hunt/youth for all the details.

With the exception of waterfowl hunters, all others hunting any species next weekend must comply with the blaze orange or fluorescent pink clothing rules.

Through the weekend, Brown County hunters had registered 188 whitetails so far in the bow and crossbow seasons, including 60 bucks and 45 antlerless in the Metro Subunit. The numbers in the rest of the county were 32 bucks and 51 antlerless.

Next up, there’s a disabled deer hunt on private land Oct. 3-9, and on any open private or public land in conjunction with the youth hunt Oct. 10-11.

New this year, the gun deer hunt for hunters with disabilities will be statewide the same weekend as the youth deer hunt. During those two days, eligible hunters can hunt on public land or a property they have permission for without the need to have the land enrolled in the program. The other seven days (Oct. 3-9) will still need to be done on a property that is sponsored and enrolled in the program.

Pheasant cuts

Due to budget constraints, the Department of Natural Resources will be stocking about 10,000 fewer pheasants over 82 state-owned properties this fall.

As always, some sporting clubs will also be stocking birds on private and public land thanks to the state’s day-old chick program. Clubs get the newly-hatched birds and raise them until just prior to the opener (this year Oct. 17).

There have been no resident hunting license or stamp fee increases since 2005. Meanwhile, program costs have increased by about 65 percent over that period. It costs the state about $10 per raised and stocked pheasant. About 65,000 DNR-raised birds are scheduled to be stocked over a six-week period.

You can learn more about the state’s pheasant stocking program at https://apps.dnr.wi.gov/pheasantstocking/Index.aspx.

Get the lead out

I’d like to see the National Shooting Sports Foundation and other groups stand up for and encourage the use of lead alternatives.

Waterfowl hunters are already required to use non-toxic shot, and there are a number of federal properties where no lead shot is allowed. Some states also have specific conservation and wildlife management areas where non-toxic ammo is required.

More hunters are voluntarily making the switch to non-toxic ammo for deer hunting. The higher cost of copper ammo is negligible in the overall hunt cost picture. On the other hand, lead fragments in gut piles consumed by bald eagles and other scavengers can be lethal.

Southern zone opens

The southern zone duck hunt opens Saturday, a week after the northern opener. The open water zone is closed until Oct. 17.

See all the hunting options available and find a link to rules and regulations at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Hunt.

DNR Open House

The DNR’s annual Open House at the Kewaunee Anadromous Fisheries Facility will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 10. Visitors can learn about the salmon spawning process and take part in a number of family-friendly activities.

Trees and shrubs

Landowners can begin ordering trees and shrubs for spring planting from the DNR at 8 a.m. Monday using a new online storefront. Get all the details at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/treeplanting/order.