Submitted photoBrady and Connor Lagendyk harvested their first deer with their dad, Michael. 

Have you ever been deer hunting? Sometimes it’s hard to find a deer, especially a buck. But there are no limits on what a kid can do given the proper training, equipment, and place to hunt.

While we have a short youth deer season before the regular season begins, some hunters think every day is youth day and they focus on getting deer for the kids.

I don’t believe in putting limits on what a kid can do. If they want to do it, I say give them a chance. You’re never too young to go hunting if you have the desire and opportunity. That’s where adults come into the picture. If you want to make a difference then you must step up to the plate and give them an opportunity, whether it be your own children or a neighbor’s child.

Brothers Brady and Connor Lagendyk joined their dad, Michael, on a successful hunt with Lamar Arrington this week and both killed their first deer. Brady got his first doe and Connor killed his first buck, a fine 8-point. There’s nothing quite like shooting your first deer, except maybe guiding that young hunter to his first kill. There’s just a special feeling you get when you’re able to help a kid.

Lamar Arrington and his dad, George Arrington, have helped many children, including their own, get their first deer over the years and that’s a special thing indeed. Not many people can do that, or would do it, but the Arringtons enjoy spreading their passion for the outdoors.

Joey Daugherty has also helped quite a few kids shoot their first deer and some good bucks to boot. This year his children have had success – getting some mighty fine bucks, too.

Daugherty’s 14-year-old son, Lane, has become quite the expert hunter and rarely misses. Last year he missed on a nice 9-point and now he’s glad that he did. Lane recently killed a fine 12-point buck that grew a little bigger and put on a few pounds and points. It’s rare to miss a buck one year and then kill him the next, but that’s just what Lane Daugherty did, and his success made it even sweeter this year. Daugherty’s accomplishment came while using his Remington .308.

Daugherty’s stepson Hayes Nance has also killed a couple deer this year. His best came this week and it was a fine 11-point buck that would be the envy of many a hunter, regardless of age. Nance shot the buck with his Savage Axis 7mm08.

“Hayes was a little disappointed that we didn’t have a buck on our game cameras that he wanted to shoot,” Joey Daugherty said. “But after he killed the 11-point he now knows that the bucks will travel during the rut and you don’t really know what’s going to show up while you’re hunting. That buck never appeared on our game cameras and was obviously just traveling through looking for a doe.”

When it comes to sound deer management kids have really helped grow those big bucks by killing their share of the does and antlerless deer, also. To have the proper buck to doe ratio and to keep the herd down it’s imperative that we killing a few does each year and kids are more than willing to do so. It’s fun and provides succulent venison for the table in addition to being a sound deer management tool.

Nathan Hodgins also killed his first doe last week on a trip to Jasper County. Hodgins shot his deer with a Browning .308.