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Soccer practice had been cancelled. With a rare couple of hours to spare, Lou Reda of Whitehall took his only son Louie, then 9, along on a turkey hunt.

"We found some feathers, but no turkeys," said Reda. "After a while, he looked up at me and said, 'Dad, it doesn't matter if we don't get anything. It's just good to be out here.' "

"I was so proud," said the elder Reda. "I said, 'You get it. That's what being a hunter is all about.' "

Little moments of family bonding, epiphanies about human interaction with the natural world, building maturity through the proper use of sporting arms ...

For a lot of Pennsylvanians, teaching kids to hunt has little to do with shooting.

Steeped in a hunting tradition that goes back hundreds of years, Pennsylvania offers two separate programs and lots of special seasons designed to teach children about hunting safety and ethics, and gradually get them into the field.

The family bonding is a bonus.

Hunting license sales are on the decline, and there's a nationwide slump in the number of children participating in outdoor recreation. It's no surprise the Game Commission is actively recruiting young hunters.

"The future of hunting and trapping is directly related to the continuing participation of young Pennsylvanians in our hunting and fur-taking seasons," said Pennsylvania Game Commission executive director Carl G. Roe, in a prepared statement. "The challenge is to successfully compete with all the other activities and recreational opportunities that vie for a young person's time. It won't be easy for the Game Commission or Pennsylvania's one-million-plus hunters. But the future of wildlife conservation, and the $4.8 billion economic impact hunters provide to the state annually, is directly related to hunter recruitment."

Junior hunters

Yesterday marked the start of a special six-day junior hunting season permitting youngsters 12-16 to hunt under degrees of supervision based on age. The season targets ringneck pheasants (bag limit two daily, four in possession, male pheasants only in some wildlife management units) and red, gray, black and fox squirrels (six daily, 12 in possession after opening day).

Junior hunters have to take a hunter-trapper education course and purchase a $6 junior hunting license. Kids 12 and 13 years old must be accompanied by a family member, those 14-15 can be accompanied by any licensed hunter 18 years and older, and 16-year-olds can hunt on their own. The adult supervisor must be close enough to issue verbal commands without use of an electronic device, and the adult and youth can each carry a sporting arm.

Pennsylvania offers many special seasons and opportunities for kids to hunt. Some require licenses, some don't, and all of them have special regulations. Check the Hunter's Digest or call a Game Commission regional office for details. Contact the Southwest Regional Office at 724-238-9523.

"One thing we always hear about is the competition for a person's time," said Game Commission communications director Jerry Feaser. "We want the youths to be out there when the adults accompanying them are focused on teaching them, to help them learn and understand hunting and firearm safety."

Mentored youths

Another opportunity for young hunters, the Mentored Youth Hunting Program, was introduced in 2006 to give children under the age of 12 the chance to hunt under more controlled conditions.

"The program increases hands-on use of sporting arms," reads a page of the Game Commission Web site (www.pgc.state.pa.us), "and can promote a better understanding and interest in hunting and wildlife conservation that will help assure hunting's future, as well as reinforce the principles of hunting safely through the close supervision provided by dedicated mentors."

While the junior hunting seasons set a minimum age, the Mentored Youth Hunting Program leaves that decision to the parents.

"There's no minimum age," Feaser said. "We didn't want to put a floor on it. There are some [kids] who are more mature and more prepared than others, but this allows the parent to make that decision as to whether the child is ready."

Feaser said he's already made that call in his family.

"I'm taking my 8-year-old son squirrel hunting," he said. "He's looking forward to it. I might even take him groundhog hunting. But I'm not taking him spring gobbler or deer hunting. I believe he's mature enough to go squirrel and groundhog hunting, but he's not mature enough to sit still long enough [for other types of hunting]."

The Mentored Youth Hunting Program sets additional restrictions on participating kids. No license is required, but the child must be accompanied by a properly licensed adult at least 21 years of age. The adult has to carry the youth's sporting arm in and out of the field, and may not carry another gun or bow.

"We're not just sending kids out with guns," said Feaser. "They're under close adult supervision and they're not holding the gun when they are moving."

The adult mentor must be within an arm's reach of the child. Mentored youths can hunt only for squirrels, groundhogs, spring gobblers and antlered deer (no doe) during the archery, firearm and late flintlock seasons.

"You'll notice with the species, none require a swinging action of the firearm," Feaser said. "Hunting for these species is generally from a seated location, unlike pheasant, waterfowl, rabbit or grouse where you have a swinging motion of the firearm. We did this to give youth a hunting opportunity from a stationary location without involving a swinging action."

Feaser said because of the one-on-one supervision and restrictions on the carrying of the sporting arm and type of hunting in the Mentored Youth Program, a hunter-trapper education course is not required.

"We rarely if ever hear of accidents involving the youth seasons," said Feaser. "A lot of that has to do with the focused time [the adults] spend with their children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Instead of hunting themselves, they're taking the time to teach about hunting."

The Youth Mentored Hunting Program sailed through the state house and senate last year almost unanimously, and was promptly signed into law by Gov. Ed Rendell. Pennsylvania isn't the only state that allows children to hunt. Some states have no minimum hunting age.

In the field

About 25 young hunters registered for yesterday's Bull Creek Rod and Gun Club Mentored Youth Pheasant Hunt. In its fourth year, Allegheny County's only mentored youth hunting event focused on hunter safety instruction, skeet shooting and a stocked pheasant hunt.

"In this day and age of computers and video games," said club president Randy Strzeszewski, "it gets back to basics and introduces [kids] to the outdoors. It's companionship with a dad or older brother taking [them] out in the field on a Saturday morning. The mentored program is like a Big Brother program."

Strzeszewski said two girls participated in the hunt. "Those girls are pretty doggone good shots," he said.

Louie Reda registered for Bull Run's structured hunt, but he and his dad have been sharing quality time outdoors for several years. The elder Reda said he's been taking his son hunting, "since he was 5 or 6."

"I made a little wooden gun for him to carry when he was little," he said. "When he got older he took a BB gun, and I made him point it in the right direction and showed him some gun safety and hunting ethics. Later, I got him a .410 [gauge shotgun]. I carried the shells and handed them to him."

This year, the Redas started bow hunting together.

"It's up to the parent," he said. "Some kids mature more than others. A parent should know. It's being together outdoors, growing in maturity. Shooting a gun is a really small part of it."

Now 13, Louie Reda says he hasn't given up on baseball and computer games, but he looks forward to the time he spends in the woods with his father.

"It's just fun to be with my dad, out in nature, up in the trees," he said. "If I go hunting, I tell [friends at school] what happened -- if a deer was coming under us, if I got a shot, how my heart was pounding in my chest."

Louie hasn't taken his first deer yet, but says that doesn't matter.

"It's just fun to be out there," he said.

About the Author: John Hayes can be reached at jhayes@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1991.