The following restrictions apply to youth hunters during any firearm deer season:

Youth under 14 years of age may hunt with archery and crossbow equipment on public or private lands or with a firearm on private or Commercial Forest lands only.

A public-land antlerless deer license is required to hunt antlerless deer on Commercial Forest land.

All hunters under age 17 must be accompanied by a parent, guardian or someone designated by their parent or guardian; additional qualifications apply with the apprentice or mentored youth licenses.

All hunters participating in a firearm season must wear hunter orange.

Apprentice Hunting License

A person who does not have a hunter safety certificate and is 10 years of age or older may purchase an apprentice hunting license. An apprentice hunter may purchase this license for two license years before he or she must successfully complete a hunter safety course. The apprentice hunting license is available to residents and nonresidents.

When afield, an apprentice hunter must be accompanied by someone 21 or older who possesses a regular current-year hunting license for the same game as the apprentice. For apprentices between ages 10-16, the accompanying hunter must be the apprentice’s parent, guardian, or someone designated by the parent or guardian. “Accompanied by” requires the accompanying hunter to be able to come to the immediate aid of the apprentice and stay within a distance that permits uninterrupted, unaided visual and verbal contact.

For hunting antlerless deer, the accompanying hunter needs a 2012 deer hunting
license that is valid sometime within the 2012 deer hunting season. A person may
accompany no more than two apprentice hunters while hunting.