Youths take part in Youth Hunter Education Challenge

LAKELAND — Shooting arrows, firing shotguns, navigating with compasses, venturing into natural Florida: a day full of learning hunting safety and traveling without a GPS.

The National Rifle Association and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Youth Hunter Education Challenge (YHEC) took place Sunday afternoon at the Tenoroc Shooting Range in Lakeland.

YHEC is a free, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission program for hunter safety course graduates, 18 and younger, to learn more about leadership, ethics and safety while also developing conservation, target shooting and hunting skills. The programs are sponsored through grants from the National Rifle Association.

Twice a month, some of the 65 YHEC team members get together for practice at the Tenoroc Shooting Range. The meetings are to learn about the outdoors and outdoor sports while also participating in regular invitational archery and shooting tournaments, the next of which is scheduled for Nov. 3.

Coordinated by Jason Tackett, Wildlife Commission regional hunter safety and public ranges coordinator, the youths are divided into three groups: tracking skills, archery and shotgun clay shooting.

Tackett, who has worked for the Wildlife Commission for three years, said youths come from across Central Florida — Lakeland, Lake Wales, Bartow, Tampa, Clearwater and Orlando, for example — to participate. There were also six members of the Melbourne/Palm Bay Sharp Eyes Shooters 4-H Archery Club from Brevard County attending.

Tackett said the goals of the YHEC events are a focus on hunting safety and respect for the outdoors.

“It's also to give them actual skills in shooting and hunting sports so they can use them later in life as adults,” said Tackett, who lives in Lake Wales.

Following a classroom introduction to the day by Tackett, the 40 participating youths and some parents were divided into the three groups and headed outside. Some brought their own archery and shooting equipment; others borrowed weaponry supplied by the Wildlife Commission.

At the archery range, Tom Lockton, YHEC team archery coach, taught eight members the basics of bow and arrow shooting. In front of a range with targets and faux game animals lined up, he showed themhow to determine their “shooting eye” and the 11 steps of archery shooting, including stance, how to nock arrows and finger and arm placement.

“I want your hand to go toward your heart,” he said, drawing the bow string back. “Relax your fingers, jelly fingers. They don’t need to be on the bow.”

After about 20 minutes, the students took turns shooting, with Lockton individually coaching them.

“The goal is to teach them the basics on how to shoot bows and arrows properly, to shoot straight, stay focused and have fun” he said following the clinic.

The Wildlife Commission Youth Hunting Program of Florida holds adult-youth hunting outings statewide throughout the year, including at the Ocklawaha Prairie, Guana River and the T.M. Goodwin/Broadmoor Marsh; on the Caravelle Ranch, Ross Prarie and Jennings Forest and the Camp Blanding and Blanding Wildlife Management Areas.

After archery portion, it was time to move to the compass and tree-stand safety area, along a trail behind the Daphne Flowers Wood and Charles Martin Wood Education Center. Prior to going outside, Tackett explained some trail skills, such how to get directions with a compass and map and how to get compass bearings.

“Look out for fake critters in the bushes and on the trail and see if you can identify them; they’re hidden places they would normally be in the wild,” he said.

Once on the trail, the students practiced, using their provided compasses before Lockton gave a demonstration on how to safely use a hunting tree stand. He showed them safety and haul lines, the harness, vests and linemen’s rope for getting into a hunting stand in a tree.

For each rotating group, the Youth Hunter Education Challenge concluded at the gun range, where Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Sporting Clays Manager Michael Boire gave instruction on how to use 12- and 20-gauge shotguns. Prior to making station rounds, Tackett presented some YHEC team members with ribbons from a shooting competition at a Florida Frontiersmen on Oct. 6 in Homeland.

While their son, Brenden Wren, 11, and daughter, Veronica Wren, 6, stood at the archery range, John and Kimberly Wren of Lake Wales watched and snapped a few pictures. John Wren, who hunts, called the YHEC staff instruction “phenomenal” and the Education Challenges a good way to give his children an outdoor activity option other than team sports.

“We want them to learn safety, to shoot proficiently, learn ethical hunting responsibility,” he said. “The staff really makes time to make sure they’ll help, the children make some good friends and they all encourage one another.”

Each YHEC tournament costs team members between $7 and $20 each.

For information, see Facebook "Florida Youth Hunter Education Challenge" or call Hunt Florida, 850-488-4676.

Paul Catala can be reached at paul.catala@theledger.com or 863-802-7533. He can be reached at Twitter @pcat0226.