1st-Time Deer Hunt
Phil Taunton
Friday, December 8, 2006
I went on my first deer hunt last Saturday.
It wasn’t so much my hunt as it was a special experience for young hunters sponsored by The Wolf Creek Nuclear Operation Corporation and the Wolf Creek Green Team, its mentors and volunteers.
And what a team of volunteers they have! In 1995, they won the Kansas Wildlife Federation Conservation Organization of the Year Award.
Some of the projects the Green Team has been involved in are: Development and maintenance of the Wolf Creek Environmental Education Area and Nature Trail, fishery management, peregrine falcon re-introduction, osprey re-introduction, habitat protection and reclamation and a youth turkey hunt. This year marks the sixth year the youth deer hunt has been offered.
Everyone should understand that deer hunting has a heritage and tradition all its own. Some communities close school so kids can be free to participate on the opening day of deer season. Solitude in the woods, as well as sharing the experience with family and friends, is what deer hunting is all about.
Hunting and harvesting deer also plays an important role in wildlife management practices. Workers at Wolf Creek traveling to and from their jobs in early dawn and at dusk have been involved in way too many vehicle-deer incidents, and something had to be done to control the resident deer herd to make the roads safe.
Getting young, first-time deer hunters involved in this process was a natural fit for the Green Team. Young hunters would be provided a quality deer hunt and, if successful, their efforts also would help thin the troublesome deer herd.
Along the way, the kids also would become more familiar with firearm safety rules and ethical deer hunting practices. Wolf Creek volunteer employees also were provided as guides. And each youth hunter brought along an adult guardian to share in this special hunting experience.
The Kansas Wildlife Officers’ Association bought either/or deer permits for all the participants. Doe harvest, in particular, was the objective. The harvest of does is a proven wildlife management tool. In the past, there was an average of 15 to 16 deer-vehicle collisions in and around the prime deer habitat on power plant land and the surrounding Coffey County Lake each year.
That number has really fallen off since the youth hunts began.
Twelve youth were selected by a random drawing for this year’s hunt. To be eligible, the young hunter had to be between the ages of 12 and 18 and had never harvested a deer.
Each had to possess a hunter education certificate and also participate in a pre-hunt safety seminar that was held Nov. 25 on the firing range at the Wolf Creek Generating Station. The range experience gave the kids an opportunity to shoot and sight in the rifles they were going to use during their actual hunt.
The importance of wearing blaze orange and the Kansas hunting laws pertaining to it while deer hunting also were stressed. Blaze orange hats on range day were provided by the Emporia Area Chapter of Quail Unlimited. Additional hats and blaze orange hunting vests were given to the youth hunters by the Wolf Creek Nuclear Operation Corporation.
Three of the six youth hunters that participated in the hunt I observed on Saturday harvested deer.
Frigid, 20-degree weather greeted the kids Saturday morning, but the skies were clear compared to the snow and sleet we had had a few days before.
What a beautiful winter morning it was!
We saw about 20 deer that first morning. Some of the more experienced guides and mentors felt the full moon allowed the deer to feed all night and not wander so much during the day.
I also was able to participate in a hunter’s lunch cooked and served in the reconditioned barn on the Environmental Education Area. A portion of the barn has been converted to a classroom area as an Eagle Scout project.
We feasted on grilled hamburgers, BBQ beans, potato salad and all the fixings. And goodness, did the stories fly around the table. They even let me chip in and help out by flipping some of the burgers.
Hopefully, next year one of the kids can show me how to clean a deer. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?
Successful hunters on Saturday were Ashley Cole, 16, Burlington; Robert Gooding, 17, Garnett; and Levi Lenard, Burlington. Ashley’s deer turned out to be a button buck, and she harvested it at 105 yards with her new Savage 243 rifle.
Helping Ashley with her hunt was her grandfather Chuck Dunbar and guide Matt Sunseri. Ashley was one of the fortunate kids able to take hunter education in school. She got her safety certificate for credit while attending physical education class during 7th grade in Burlington.
Robert Gooding was mentored by “Grandpa Lawton Boyer,” and guide Chuck Shedd. Robert used a 308 to harvest his mature doe at 40 yards.
These hunters had anxious moments in their blind before taking the shot. While the deer were approaching, a bird flew through the blind and knocked Robert’s shooting sticks over.
Levi Lenard, accompanied by his father, Lewis Lenard, was able to harvest a very impressive “trophy doe” late Saturday afternoon.
A tip of the hat to Dave Peavler, Daniel Haines and Dan Williamson, the entire Wolf Creek Nuclear Operation Corporation Green Team for providing the kids this wonderful opportunity.