Dove Season
The Shooting Sports Outreach Program got off to a great start this fall, coordinating and facilitating dove hunts for shooting athletes on a number of high school shooting sports teams.
With the support of local conservation groups, generous land owners, and the shooting sports coaches, and KDWPT, we sent 11 teams into the field the first weekend of season with a total of 81 participants and volunteers.
We are excited to get many of these teams out in the field and continue to provide other hunting opportunities for them. We’re working on setting up pheasant, deer and waterfowl hunts for high school trap teams across Kansas!
The Wichita Delta Waterfowl chapter helped host 2 dove hunts, one for the Valley Center High School Trap Team on opening day and one for the Maize South High School Trap Team the following evening.
The ICT Delta Waterfowl chapter hosted a youth waterfowl day in early October for these athletes to participate in. Many of the youth on the Maize South team had their father figure/mentor accompany them on their hunt this weekend. Many of these young athletes looked forward to sharing this experience with them.
The Ringneck Rustlers Pheasant Forever Chapter hosted the Maize High School Trap Team at Irish Creek Outfitters.
Last June, the Maize High School Trap Team placed 33rd at the National High School Trap Shoot.
The Bluestem High School Trap Team enjoyed a hunt on private property south of Haven, thanks to Alan Howard with Results Realty.
For those of you not familiar with Bluestem High School, they not only have a trap team, but a fishing team also. They are doing a great job getting more Kansas youth outdoors!
Pass It On - Outdoor Mentors also helped facilitate dove hunts for kids on the Piper High School Trap Team, partnering with the Jayhawk QUWF chapter in Lawrence.
Piper had 4 athletes compete at Nationals in which they shot perfect score during their practice round.
We will continue to partner with QUWF for hunting opportunities in the future for St. James Academy, Eudora, Baldwin, and Rock Creek shooting sports teams!
In Western Kansas, we helped the Goodland High School Trap Team coach put together a dove hunt for his team on the KDWPT Veterans Wildlife Area. This was a great opportunity to educate these young athletes about walk in hunting areas (WIHA).
The Wheat Country Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever chapter took Wellington trap team out Sunday for an evening hunt. They finished the hunt with a total dove count of 32!
Volunteers from the Union Sportsmen's Alliance and local IBEW and Sheet Metal Workers Union stepped up to take kids from both Maize high school and Valley Center high school out on a dove hunt. Many thanks to Irish Creek Outfitters for hosting us again. As we all know, it takes a village!
The Ringneck Rustlers Pheasant Forever Chapter hosted the Kapaun Mt. Carmel high school trap team during the third weekend of season. Though they didn’t hit their limits, they all had a blast shooting and learning about dove flight patterns!
4-H also has a growing shooting sports program. Austin Waite, helped lead a dove hunt for the kids from Cowley County 4-H Shooting Sports team.
If you would like to get involved or have a team that is interested in participating, please give Brittany a call at 620-682-0617.
