MADISON — The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) encourages anyone interested in giving hunting a try to consider purchasing a mentored hunting license.

The Mentored Hunting law allows new hunters of any age to pair up and hunt with an experienced mentor before completing a Hunter Safety course. The two hunt within arm’s reach of each other, allowing the mentee to learn and ask questions while enabling the mentor to keep a close eye on safety and provide guidance as the hunt unfolds.

A mentee may be either:

● Any person under age 12, regardless of whether they have completed a required hunter education course

● Any other person who has not completed a required hunter education course, and is not exempt from the hunter education requirement

A mentor is an individual who meets all of the following requirements:

● Age 18 or older

● Is the mentee’s parent or guardian, or has the permission of the mentee’s parent or guardian. This does not apply if the mentee is age 18 or older

● Has completed a required hunter education course, or is otherwise exempt* from the hunter education requirement

Mentors with the appropriate license and harvest authorizations may carry a firearm and hunt alongside their mentee.

Mentees must stay within arm’s reach of their mentor. Mentees under 18-years-old are not allowed to possess or use handguns for hunting.

Both mentor and mentee must comply with all hunting laws, including season, bag limit and weapon regulations; and proper hunting approvals such as license, permit and harvest authorization must be acquired for the season.

A complete list of mentored hunting program rules are available on the DNR website.

Those interested in mentored hunting must purchase a mentored hunting license through the DNR’s Go Wild online license portal. The cost for a mentored hunting license is the same price as a regular hunting license.