The Division of Fish and Wildlife will offer its very first Youth Deer Bow Hunting Day on Saturday, September 24. Young hunters with a valid youth bow hunting license and proper adult supervision can hunt statewide for one deer on this day as part of the "Take A Kid Hunting" program.

This is the first time a special Youth Deer Bow Hunting Day is being offered in New Jersey. Young archers will have the chance to share a hunting experience with a parent or mentor in a setting that reinforces the principles of responsible, ethical and safe hunting.

Like the waterfowl, pheasant and wild turkey youth days, Youth Deer Bow Hunting Day is intended for young hunters who have successfully completed a hunter education course and obtained a youth license.

The youth hunter must be under the direct supervision of a person who is at least 21 years old and who has a valid bow license. Direct supervision means that both the youth hunter and parent/guardian are set up together at the same location hunting as a unit, and not independently. The adult cannot hunt or possess a bow. However, he or she can grunt call or rattle for the youth.

Successful hunters must tag their deer with a homemade transportation tag and take it to the nearest official checking station. The tag must include the youth hunting license number, sex of the deer, number of antler points (if any), date, zone, county and township from which the deer was taken, and must state "Taken During the Fall Bow Season Youth Hunt." A supplemental tag will not be issued when the deer is checked.

The bag limit is one deer of either sex. Youth hunters may still harvest one antlered deer during the Fall Bow Season.