YOUNG GUNS CALIFORNIA DFG PROGRAM SHOWS YOUTHS HOW TO HUNT GAME BIRDS IN SAFE FASHION.

Byline: Bill Becher Special to the Daily News

Ten-year-old Ryan Davis, her shotgun ready, watches as Duke, a German shorthaired pointer, casts about trying to catch the scent of the pheasant hidden in the brush. Duke stops and locks on the bird - one paw up in the classic pointer's pose.

Duke's handler, Larry Felt, flushes the pheasant. Blam! Ryan shoots the bird out of the air, her first ever. Ryan's father watches as Duke retrieves the pheasant. Dennis Davis grew up hunting pheasant in South Dakota, and he's beaming at his daughter's success.

The Davises, from Stevenson Ranch, are at the Youth Hunt at Peace Valley, near Quail Lake. The hunt is part of the Game Bird Heritage Program sponsored by the California Department of Fish and Game. The hunt is free to participants - funds come from the fees paid by hunters for Upland Game Bird stamps.

Licensed hunters send in an application for a random drawing to win a spot in the family, youth or woman's hunts. As a recent Hunter Education Program graduate, Ryan received a certificate entitling her to participate in the hunt of her choice without having to enter the drawing.

Scott Sewell, the DFG wildlife-habitat specialist in charge of the hunt, first briefs the 142 young hunters. Volunteer dog handlers serve as guides and teachers.

``Safety first, then fun,'' Sewell said. He reminds the hunters to wear safety glasses and don their hunter orange. He tells them blue sky behind means a safe shot, and no bird is worth endangering a human or a dog.

``The one-to-one hunter-to-mentor ratio is really important,'' said Sewell, an energetic hunting enthusiast. ``I hate to force-feed safety, but that's the name of the game.''

The hunters, ages 8 to 15, first demonstrate they can handle a gun safely by shooting at clay pigeons. Then they team up in pairs with a dog handler for the live hunt. Two birds are planted for each hunter. Parents go along, too, but they don't get to hunt.

The Santa Clarita chapter of Quail Unlimited provides volunteer help and sponsorship. The club helped develop an evaluation card, filled out by the dog handler-mentors, to identify the areas where the youthful hunters might need some improvement. The results are discussed with the hunters and their parents after the hunt.

The birds, bought by the DFG from a breeder in Lancaster, are Chinese ring neck pheasants. All roosters, they are raised in flight cages so they are better fliers, according to Sewell. He inspects the birds' beaks, tails, and talons carefully for signs of infection before they are released. ``They are going to end up on people's dinner tables,'' Sewell said.

After the birds are planted, pairs of young hunters and their parents go with the dog handlers to one of the 10 fields at Peace Valley or nine at nearby Davidson Ranch. Mike Sprague, 10, and his father Robert Sprague, from Camarillo, are here after Mike took the DFG Hunter Education Course and passed his Hunter Safety test.

Ryan Davis and Mike Sprague and their fathers are assigned to dog-handler Felt, a retired airline mechanic, who has brought three of his German shorthaired pointers.

A coin toss decides who will shoot first. Mike Sprague wins the honors.

Mike hits his bird on his first try. It's a light-colored pheasant.

Felt explains the dogs catch the scent of the pheasant's breath in the wind, so wind direction is an important consideration. He tries to make sure the hunters will be safely positioned when a dog finds a bird.

Ryan Davis is up next. That's when she shoots her first pheasant.

Ryan's elated, though she gets some kidding about her fast reflexes.

``It blew up,'' Ryan said. She nailed the pheasant when it was only a few feet from the muzzle of her single-shot 20-gauge. Felt gently suggests next time she should wait a bit before she shoots.

Ryan takes her time on her second bird and hits it cleanly.

As they walk back, Dennis and Ryan Davis discuss Ryan's first hunt. You get the sense this conversation will be repeated many times in the future. He said watching his daughter brought back memories of his first hunt in South Dakota with his mother.

``I'm proud of her,'' Dennis Davis said. ``A perfect shot. A safe shot, too.''

IF YOU HUNT

Family, junior and women's game bird heritage hunts are sponsored by the California Department of Fish and Game with assistance from local sporting organizations. The hunts are available at no charge to licensed hunters, except in the Imperial and San Jacinto Wildlife Areas, where a fee for adults is charged.

Most of this year's hunter slots have been filled, but spots are available for the women's pheasant hunt in San Diego in November.

The DFG also is offering a free combined quail and dove hunt Nov. 16 and 17 in San Diego. Deadline for applications is Oct. 29.

Information: [phone].

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2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Ten-year-old Ryan Davis, left, and her father, Dennis Davis, admire Ryan's first pheasant shot at the youth hunt at Peace Valley.

(2) Kids and their parents get a lecture on bird hunting during the youth hunt hosted by the DFG Game Bird Heritage Program.

Bill Becher/Special to the Daily News

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IF YOU HUNT (see text)