The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife sponsors about 70 basic hunter education courses, serving an average of 2,700 students each year, of which more than 400 are 15- to 17-year-old minors. This study examined parent/guardian and youth participant attitudes toward a special youth hunt in Massachusetts and constraints toward participating in such a hunt. The study objectives were to: 1) determine the opportunities that would be important to both parents and youth for youth to participate in a specialized youth hunt, and concomitant differences in those perceived opportunities; 2) determine the extent of participation in hunting and shooting activities by both parents and youth who participated in the programs; and 3) examine the perceived constraints on youth in participating in hunting activities and the youth hunts. A total of 374 questionnaires were completed after three mailings. Because of the 30 percent response rate, a random sample of 150 subjects was selected for a short telephone survey from the 863 youth and parents who did not return a completed questionnaire, to test for non-response bias. The respondents indicated that parents and youth differed in their perceptions of opportunities and activities important in a youth hunt. An examination of the extent of participation in hunting and shooting activities by parents and the youth revealed similar patterns in hunting various game species. There were few social constraints on youth participating in hunting, but time constraints as a result of school, work, and sports prevented youth from hunting as much as they would like. Similarly, non-participation in a youth hunt was a result of a lack of time and opportunity rather than a result of social constraints. Parents and their children agreed on several points on what opportunities are important to them to be offered in a specialized youth hunt that could prove helpful to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and local sportsmen’s clubs in developing and implementing a specialized youth hunt program