Adult Mentored Hunting Program

Texas BHA has teamed up with Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and Texas Wildlife Association to develop the Adult Mentored Hunt Program (AMHP).  This new program was established to expand statewide efforts to increase hunter participation and to recruit conservation-minded hunters like ourselves to the hunting community.  Through this program, BHA aims to introduce adult Texans to the safe and ethical hunting heritage and further ensure the future of outdoor sporting and recreation.

BHA has designed this program to provide never-before or novice hunters with a one-on-one hunt under the guidance of a veteran hunter-mentor.  Adult mentored hunts are for individuals interested in learning how to hunt on their own, learning about the role of hunting in the North American Model of Wildlife Management and in funding wildlife conservation, and in ethically harvesting wild game to provide meat for the dinner table.

This program is open to any person 18 years and older.  Participation in this program entails 3 components: (1) a 3-4 hour classroom segment, (2) a hands-on weapon safety/handling/proficiency component, and (3) an actual mentor hunting component (generally at a 1:1 volunteer mentor to hunter ratio).  

Hunts will be hosted on both private and public lands.  Most hunts will target white-tailed deer, wild hogs, and turkeys, but we’re open to targeting any legal game and using any legal weapon; these details are generally decided by our volunteer Huntmasters and are included in the hunt descriptions found in our hunting schedule {ADD LINK}, along with the Hunt ID (which you’ll need when applying for the hunt of your choice). 

Adult Mentored Hunt Program events are conducted in a safe and supervised environment and provide participants with the opportunity to learn from well-skilled and experienced hunting mentors. Loaner equipment (including firearms) may be available and will depend on availability.  Participants will learn the basics of hunting and the necessary steps following a successful harvest, including:

• Firearms or bow safety
• Equipment needs
• Scouting
• Hunting
• Game care & processing
• Cooking

All hunts will be conducted in a manner that most effectively teaches participants the skills and techniques necessary to locate and efficiently harvest target species in as natural a setting as possible.  This means that our hunts will not employ artificial baiting (i.e., feeders). Although we recognize this practice is widely used in Texas, is a perfectly acceptable means of increasing harvest success, and is legal for most species, TX BHA feels that if we can teach participants how to successfully hunt wild game without the use of baiting, then participants can easily incorporate baiting into their hunting routine if they desire, whereas the reverse scenario is not likely to be true.  In no way whatsoever should this policy be interpreted as TX BHA taking a stance against the legal use of feeders or other baiting techniques.

The “classroom” component will touch on the basics of some of the following topics:

• The role of hunting in wildlife management/conservation
• The North American Model of Wildlife Management
• The food component of hunting
• How to be a critical participant in the hunting community
• Technology: GPS units, In-Reach, OnX, Google Earth
• Fair chase, hunter ethics, and public perceptions & influence on hunters and hunting laws/policies

Program Goals:

• Recruit and educate participants on matters relating to the skills, values, techniques, ethics, and responsibilities associated with becoming a conservation-minded hunter
• Instill a basic understanding of practical conservation measures in newly-recruited adult hunters
• Teach basic skills, values, techniques, and responsibilities involved in hunting and the use of harvested game afterward
• Maintain & grow public support of hunting
• Increase the state’s hunter participation rates among Texans