Thanks to a new hunter education deferral program, young and novice hunters in Louisiana can hunt with an adult mentor before completion of a hunter education course.

Through the program, new hunters who purchase a hunter education deferral license can go hunting for 30 days with a licensed hunter who is age 18 or older. The deferral license can be purchased once, after which novice hunters must complete a hunter education course to become fully licensed.

Mentored hunting and reducing and eliminating age barriers that prevent people from hunting are key components of the Families Afield program. A partnership of the National Wild Turkey Federation, the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, Families Afield uses data from the Youth Hunting Report to help remove youth hunting barriers across the nation.

"Allowing young people to safely experience hunting with a mentor is the best way to make them appreciative of the hunting tradition," said Rob Keck, NWTF CEO. "Getting them interested in hunting at an early age will not only prepare them for hunter education courses, but lays the foundation for being good conservationists."

The Youth Hunting Report, written by Silvertip Productions, USSA and Southwick Associates Inc., found that some states experience better recruitment and retention of new hunters than others. They do so by permitting parents to decide when their sons and daughters are ready to hunt, and allow potential hunters to try hunting under the watchful eye of a mentor before completing a hunter education course.

The Youth Hunting Report also shows youth hunters are the safest hunters in the woods when accompanied by an adult. The findings were peer reviewed for statistical validity by the Triad Research Group. For more information on hunting safety data and the Youth Hunting Report, log on to www.familiesafield.org.

To date, Families Afield legislation and regulations have been approved in 12 states. In addition to Michigan, Ohio also established an apprentice hunting program. First-year results appear extremely promising. Combined, more than 28,000 apprentice hunting licenses have been sold in the two states since the programs began in 2006. These 28,000 new hunters suggest a 26 percent jump in the two states' combined population of hunters age 15 and under.

The 12 states that have changed laws and regulations to create additional hunting opportunities for youth and novice hunters are:

• Florida
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Tennessee
• Utah