I think we've been on 5 youth hunts, so I certainly don't have a ton of experience, but here's my 2 cents.

1) Hunt down between Auburn and Montgomery. Late in the year and crappy weather so hardly any birds. Hunted over "pulled" corn fields. They provided lunch for everyone. Plenty of field for the number of hunters. (2015)

2) Hale county hunt (state cattle ranch). Absolute barrel burner on opening day. No lunch, which was fine. Large crowd, but felt completely safe given the size of the field. (2016)

3) Up near Hazel Green second weekend of the season. Hardly any birds, but fields were properly prepped. They provided food and door prizes so that every child got a prize (box of shells, etc.) (2016)

4) Jackson County opening weekend. Hardly any birds as a cold front had pushed them a couple days prior. Corn field top sewn with wheat. Only a handful of people there, certainly not over crowded. We were told we could shoot until last legal light. (2017)

5) Hale count hunt (state cattle ranch), second weekend of the season. Not the best experience. I did get the feeling that the fields had been prepped for the first weekend, but not the second and they were just going through the motions. Wheat had started to germinate from previous broadcasting. Birds had started to fly good about the time they shut everything down (around 5:30pm). I contacted the state and had some email's back and forth with them. (2017)

Overall, most of my experiences have been good with the state youth hunts. I did notice they vary a good bit between sites, which is to be expected to some degree. I've yet to come across a hunt where I didn't feel safe and only one where I felt they didn't prep the fields well. Weather certainly affected some of the hunts, which has nothing to do with it being a state/private hunt.

Blackwater_Reb...we're going to be at the hunt in Cullman this weekend. That's where I grew up so I'm looking forward to it.