PORT ANGELES’ JAY McIlwain is lucky. The outdoorsman recently had a front-row seat to witness the thrill and satisfaction of a successful first-time hunter when his granddaughter Kylie Bushnell, age 12, bagged a deer on her first-ever try.

The pair was hunting in the Black Diamond area near Port Angeles a few days after the modern firearm deer season opened.

But the outing was a long-time coming, according to McIlwain.

“She is 12 years old and thankfully enjoys doing the things her Grandpa does,” he said.

“It started with fishing years ago, and has moved on to target shooting and clay pigeons which we both really enjoyed.”

Bushnell, who lives in Poulsbo, travels to Clallam County for trap shooting lessons at Sunnydell Shooting Grounds with 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist Matt Dryke of Sequim.

When McIlwain noticed the youngster consistently outshooting him on the practice grounds, he asked if she was interested in hunting.

“She instantly agreed she wanted to,” McIlwain said.

Bushnell enrolled in an online hunter’s education course offered by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife — a mandatory course for any prospective hunter born after Jan. 1, 1972 — and had her field skills evaluated in a session offered by Sportsman’s Warehouse in Silverdale.

Good memories

“From the moment she agreed to go hunting the memories have been positive,” McIlwain said.

“The online hunter education program she was glued to until completion and the field training part she really enjoyed. The instructor was knowledgeable and patient and had her attention to the end.”

McIlwain said the instructor went so far as to wish her luck and express his hope that she continue hunting throughout her life.

Last month’s windstorm kept the pair from getting out on opening day, so they set out a day later and “were surrounded by does, but no horns showed.”

They tried one last time the next day and found success.

“Again lot of does, but lo and behold a spike came out at 40 yards and with one shot [she] dropped it where it stood,” McIlwain said.

Bushnell used a Savage .308 rifle to make the shot.

“Since the bark of that shot I do not think she has stopped talking about the whole experience,” McIlwain said.

“Bagging a deer was the highlight, but she talked about sitting and listening to what was around her, the squirrels, birds, frogs etc…

“Though the adrenaline rush is gone, and she has quit shaking from the shot, I instantly saw an added maturity level increase from this experience from the accomplishment of seeing it through.”

McIlwain said he hopes to see Bushnell’s trap shooting skills employed in a different manner soon.

“I’ve got to get her out upland bird hunting,” McIlwain said.

“She’s such a good trap shooter, she is coached by Matt Dryke, and that’s why she got into the hunting. She went from shooting shotgun to rifle and I’d say her favorite sport now is trap shooting.

“So, yeah, a little grouse hunting would be good and also get her out for pheasant and duck.”

Commission meeting

The state’s Fish and Wildlife Commission will hold a public hearing on proposed changes to sportfishing rules for the saltwater areas of Puget Sound and the coast during its public meeting Friday and Saturday in Olympia.

The commission also will take public comment on state recommendations to change the listing status for five protected wildlife species in Washington – bald eagles, peregrine falcons, American white pelicans, marbled murrelets, and lynx.

The commission, a citizen panel appointed by the governor to set policy for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, will convene in Room 172 of the Natural Resources Building at 1111 Washington St. SE in Olympia. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. both days.

An agenda for the meeting is available at wdfw.wa.gov/commission.

Fish and Wildlife is recommending 11 sportfishing rule proposals move forward for public comment.

The changes, which cover fishing seasons, daily limits and other rules, include proposals that would:

•Require fishing vessels carry a descending device when fishing for bottomfish or halibut in Puget Sound, which is defined as marine areas east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line.

The devices are used to return rockfish to deep water, reducing the number of rockfish deaths due to barotrauma, which occurs when rockfish are brought to the surface quickly.

• Make it unlawful to possess another person’s shellfish or food fish (including halibut, salmon and sturgeon) without written permission while in the field or in transit.

•Implement a 4 ½-inch minimum size requirement for Tanner (Bairdi) crabs harvested in Puget Sound.

•Prohibit shellfish harvesters from cooking oysters in the shell or using heat to open oysters on the beach.

•Allow squid harvest year-round, including the harvest of Humboldt squid, in Hood Canal.

For more information, or to review the proposed rules, visit tinyurl.com/PDN-WDFWRules.