How long before you leave your kid alone to hunt?

[jvanhoy]

My son is 10 and killed 2 with me sitting with him. How long before you left your kids 100 yards or so away? He does great with the gun 7mm08 but it just seems a little to young. Im pretty sure i was 12 when my dad let me sit alone. Thanks guys.

 

[schmalts]

When you are both comfortable with it.

 

[Gunner46]

You know your son better than any of us. Age has less to do with responsibility & safety than maturity. I know that sounds odd considering a 10, or 12, or 18 yr. old, but that is the fact.

I was "Free Ranging" at 13, mostly because I wanted to hunt d@mn near every free minute I had and my dad & uncle just didn't have that much time to Not go to work.

When you are comfortable with your sons conducted afield, then allow the young man some grace to earn some confidence & respect in himself. They can't Fly until they Try.....

 

[480/277y]

^^^^

 

[tarheel]

I was roaming the woods and fields with a shotgun when 11; not a dove, quail, rabbit or squirrel was safe. Most mornings during squirrel season I was in the woods and sitting a likely oak or the edge of a slough hoping to get the chance at a hapless wood duck before hustling back to the house to catch the school bus.

 

[jvanhoy]

Thanks guys he is very safe and mature for his age. Just wondering others experience.

 

[MJE2083]

In Pennsylvania, by law, a kid under 16 is not allowed to hunt alone. Under 16 an adult must be within sight and have physical and/or verbal control. Radios do not count as "verbal control".

However I think this rule is frequently broken. A year or two ago there was even an article in the local paper where they interviewed a young hunter about shooting his first deer and the kid basically admitted that he and his adult chaperone had violated this rule. I often wonder if a WCO paid a visit after hearing about it haha.

 

[7mm08mo]

You know your son better than any of us. Age has less to do with responsibility & safety than maturity. I know that sounds odd considering a 10, or 12, or 18 yr. old, but that is the fact.

I was "Free Ranging" at 13, mostly because I wanted to hunt d@mn near every free minute I had and my dad & uncle just didn't have that much time to Not go to work.

When you are comfortable with your sons conducted afield, then allow the young man some grace to earn some confidence & respect in himself. They can't Fly until they Try.....

+++ 2

 

[bobbydean]

Depends on your son. If he is mature and responsible and you are secure in the same, go for it.

I was an adult onset hunter. My first hunt is was 19. I hunted alone and feel sure your son was more prepared than I was. That hunt produced my biggest deer in my hunting career.