RALEIGH, N.C. (Sept. 13, 2022) – The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has designated Saturday, Sept. 24 as Youth Deer Hunting Day for 2022. Youth Deer Hunting Day was established in 2015 by the Wildlife Commission to increase interest in deer hunting among youth, seeking to increase their success at hunting and highlight the need to engage youth in hunting.

On this day, youth 17 and under may use guns or any other legal hunting equipment to hunt deer; anyone 18 and older may only use archery gear. Hunters 17-years-old and younger may also hunt deer of either sex and are not required to be accompanied by an adult if they have completed a hunter education course. All deer hunters must wear blaze orange on the 24^th, even if using archery equipment, and the use of dogs is allowed in areas where hunting deer with dogs is lawful. 

During the remainder of the hunting season, youth 17 and younger are required to use the legal hunting implement for the open season in the area where they are hunting.

Hunters 16 and older need to purchase a license with a Big Game Harvest report card by:

• Going online to ncwildlife.org,
• Calling 1-888-2HUNTFISH (1-888-248-6834), or
• Visiting one of more than 1,000 Wildlife Service Agents located across the state. 

License-exempt youth must obtain their own Big Game Harvest Report Card at no cost from a wildlife service agent or by calling the 888 number.  License-exempt cards are not available online. 

Information about hunting in North Carolina is available on the agency’s website, ncwildlife.org/hunting.