How young is too young to hunt.

[SCliving Outdoors]

I killed my first deer when I was 12 I think, but all my friends that were from hunting families had already killed deer. I know guys that killed their first deer at 5 or 6. Obviously, they were sitting with a parent. All of them still hunt to this day and are good outdoorsman. Kids start shooting guns with their dad's from the time they can walk down here. I think it depends on the kid and the parent. Things are just different in the deep south. I don't have any kids, but if I ever do and that kid expresses interest in hunting they'll be out there with me hunting as soon as they can say “Can I go?" Heck, they'll probably be out there before that, lol.

 

[CPAjeff]

Good question!

To echo what others have said, it depends. Guns and hunting are just part of what we do, so my kids have been raised with nerf guns, bb guns, 22s, etc. We've had some pretty awesome adventures over the years.

What started off like this:




Has turned into this:



He started hunting small game with a shotgun at age eight. He started hunting big game at age nine. BUT, all of this started when he was young - understanding all the gun safety and ethics behind shooting/hunting.

He turns 11 in a few short months, and I'd rather hunt with him than pretty much anyone else. He just gets it.

 

[R.K.]

If they believe in Santa Claus, they are too young- that handles a bunch of this discussion right out of the gate. If they can’t safely carry the weapon, they are too young. If they can’t load, aim, or operate it safely on their own, they are too young. If they don’t understand death, they are too young.

While development is a spectrum, and people are allowed to raise their children as they see fit- we have collectively decided that there are certain things requiring a certain age or associated level of maturity typically attained by then, and certain ways of raising children that are unacceptable to the point of being illegal. And to be perfectly blunt, I don’t trust the majority of people to responsibly raise a child, let alone teaching them how to safely and ethically hunt.

There are age restrictions on driving a vehicle, for example. Age restrictions on holding a job. We collectively decided that hunters education needed to be mandatory. And in some states, age restrictions on big game hunting. A big part of that is the safety regarding using a rifle.

With that said- Having a 6 year old shooting a deer is insane. 12 is a decent age. 10 is highly variable. So to be safe- 12. Small game? Fine. Small calibers, limited range, less pressure to fill a tag and do something stupid. Marching your kid out to a heated stand to pull the trigger on a crossbow you pulled back, set into a rest, had to click off the safety, and told them where to shoot, is more about stroking your own ego rather than responsibly raising your child to be an ethical hunter. I see it as a worse version of a child beauty pageant.

It is appalling what these rednecks think is appropriate, and I’m against it- for the good of the kids, and the good of the sport.

 

[Doublecluck]

Totally depends on the kid. In general I’m in the get em out hunting as young as possible group. With 6 daughters I’ve seen it all over the board. Some wait till 10-12, others as young as 6. I was gonna post a thread on this deer “Jordyns deer”. She’s been out hunting with me since she was 4. At 8 she can hit steel with my 6 creed at 600 yards. 2 of my older daughters passed on this buck this season. About second week of the season I take Jordyn out after work one day. She spotted this deer with binos coming out of private on to public. She said hey dad there’s a deer. I told her oh it’s that buck your sister passed on yesterday, it’s a young buck. She looks again through the binos and says no dad it’s a big buck, and proceeded to count the points, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. Lol. I say no Jordyn your sister will get mad if we shoot that deer. She looks at me straight in the face with an attitude from her mothers side and says “Dad every time I go hunting with you we don’t get anything”. Lol. Ok at that point I’m half convinced. So I say well if we shoot that deer your gonna have to help me skin him and quarter him and pack him out. She says “I will, I will” with the most excitement I’ve heard from any hunter in a long time. FFS, I range the deer, dial to 3.0, for a moment I thought maybe I could get out of this by shooting over it, telling her I missed, nothing but Montana prairie out there. Nah that wouldn’t be right. Ok Jordyn you know there are bears out here and it’s getting dark? “I’ll watch for bears while you put him in the pack”. Lol, my finger is touching the 1.5 lb tt at that point. Then she starts coaching me, “come on dad you can do it” A moment later the sound of the 156 eol passing through the suppressor, followed by a thump. “You got him dad, you got him, he’s down”. I don’t think me or her will ever forget that moment.


There is zero doubt in my mind we could have gotten within 200 of that stupid mule deer. I’m confident at 8 she could have made the shot. Montana says 10 so is what it is.

 

[np307]

For those saying it needs to be 12 to shoot a deer, does that change in your mind for small game? If so, why?

 

[buckbull]

I started my kids at 12 just like my dad did for me. But times are different. Youth sports in my day were playing at the rec league. Now its consumed by "select" teams and year round play. If your child wants to play sports in high school it is mandatory in my area for your child to have multiple years of select play. First day of high school soccer tryouts, coach divided the kids by the club's they played for and didn't bother to even look at the kids who didn't have select experience. They were sent to JV or the freshman team. My daughters dance team was the same way, if the girls didn't belong to a studio no chance of making the team. So there are alot of challenges for parents these days to get their children interested in hunting and fishing. We had kids sports every weekend for years. I loved every minute of it but it did diminish how much time we spent afield. Maybe having them actively participate in a hunt at age 10 is appropriate prior to increasing demands on their time? I do believe if a child can't pass a hunter safety course they shouldn't be pulling the trigger on an animal.

 

[Nick87]

I started my kids at 12 just like my dad did for me. But times are different. Youth sports in my day were playing at the rec league. Now its consumed by "select" teams and year round play. If your child wants to play sports in high school it is mandatory in my area for your child to have multiple years of select play. First day of high school soccer tryouts, coach divided the kids by the club's they played for and didn't bother to even look at the kids who didn't have select experience. They were sent to JV or the freshman team. My daughters dance team was the same way, if the girls didn't belong to a studio no chance of making the team. So there are alot of challenges for parents these days to get their children interested in hunting and fishing. We had kids sports every weekend for years. I loved every minute of it but it did diminish how much time we spent afield. Maybe having them actively participate in a hunt at age 10 is appropriate prior to increasing demands on their time? I do believe if a child can't pass a hunter safety course they shouldn't be pulling the trigger on an animal.

Man some of these guys i work with the traveling league sports. I have no idea how they afford it. Every Single weekend. I woukd say at least two to three of those weekends are out of town for enough they have to get a hotel. I mean how in the hell do you afford a hotel and eating out for 6 days a month plus gas every month? That's just for one kid.

 

[buckbull]

Man some of these guys I work with and my sister and her daughter with the traveling league sports. I have no idea how they afford it. Every Single weekend. I woukd say at least two to three of those weekends are out of town for enough they have to get a hotel. I mean how in the hell do you afford a hotel and eating out for 6 days a month plus gas every month? That's just for one kid.

I knew families that did it. A soccer girl in my sons class played on a national team and they traveled the lower 48. My sons soccer team only did 2 "away" tournaments a year, one to memphis and the other to kansas city so that was easily doable. My daughter wasn't on a competive dance team so no traveling for that.

 

[Nick87]

I knew families that did it. A soccer girl in my sons class played on a national team and they traveled the lower 48. My sons soccer team only did 2 "away" tournaments a year, one to memphis and the other to kansas city so that was easily doable. My daughters wasnt' on a competive dance team so no traveling for that.

One guy at work does softball for his daughter one tournament a month around home otherwise it's Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida. Like man I hope she gets a hell of a scholarship or something.

 

[npaden]

I also like the idea of being able to pass the hunters education class with the in field part as a prerequisite to them being able to hunt.

For my son that was 9. That year he dove hunted with me with a single shot .410 (man those shells are expensive).

He shot his first deer at 10 and that was right about where it seemed he should be from a maturity standpoint.

 

[ThunderNocked]

I have introduced my kids to hunting, and have tried to take them out some as they have gotten older. My older three are 12-14 and they all just passed their hunters education. My plan was to take them on a Winter Caribou Hunt one at a time but that hunt has remained closed.
I wish I had started younger - growing up my dad gave me my first 22 and allowed me to walk the farm land he was working on, or the neighbors with their permission, and shoot ground squirrels. I wish I had done something similar here in Alaska - maybe started them with Grouse or Ptarmigan as you can get close and have time to take good shots. Teach them the basics and then when they were older - say 10-12 have them take hunters ed and then go get their first big game animal the following year. My kids are currently sharing my old Ruger American and a Ruger American their Grandparents bought them. And I have told them all that if they serisouly get into hunting I'll help them all buy their own 'quality' rifles.
I also just gave them each their own .22lrs as my father just gave me 7 22s including my Great Grandfather's Winchester (no kids are not getting that one or my first one) and so now they each have 'their own' so I can teach them to shoot, clean, maintain that gun.
I don't know if there is too young of an age, I know up here lots of folks younger then my kids with caribou tags notched to help feed the family.

 

[TimeOnTarget]

If they believe in Santa Claus, they are too young- that handles a bunch of this discussion right out of the gate. If they can’t safely carry the weapon, they are too young. If they can’t load, aim, or operate it safely on their own, they are too young. If they don’t understand death, they are too young.

While development is a spectrum, and people are allowed to raise their children as they see fit- we have collectively decided that there are certain things requiring a certain age or associated level of maturity typically attained by then, and certain ways of raising children that are unacceptable to the point of being illegal. And to be perfectly blunt, I don’t trust the majority of people to responsibly raise a child, let alone teaching them how to safely and ethically hunt.

There are age restrictions on driving a vehicle, for example. Age restrictions on holding a job. We collectively decided that hunters education needed to be mandatory. And in some states, age restrictions on big game hunting. A big part of that is the safety regarding using a rifle.

With that said- Having a 6 year old shooting a deer is insane. 12 is a decent age. 10 is highly variable. So to be safe- 12. Small game? Fine. Small calibers, limited range, less pressure to fill a tag and do something stupid. Marching your kid out to a heated stand to pull the trigger on a crossbow you pulled back, set into a rest, had to click off the safety, and told them where to shoot, is more about stroking your own ego rather than responsibly raising your child to be an ethical hunter. I see it as a worse version of a child beauty pageant.

It is appalling what these rednecks think is appropriate, and I’m against it- for the good of the kids, and the good of the sport.

I know plenty of 40+ grow men that are way more unsafe and have way less respect for the game we hunt that my 6 year old does.

 

[WildWill]

If they believe in Santa Claus, they are too young- that handles a bunch of this discussion right out of the gate. If they can’t safely carry the weapon, they are too young. If they can’t load, aim, or operate it safely on their own, they are too young. If they don’t understand death, they are too young.

While development is a spectrum, and people are allowed to raise their children as they see fit- we have collectively decided that there are certain things requiring a certain age or associated level of maturity typically attained by then, and certain ways of raising children that are unacceptable to the point of being illegal. And to be perfectly blunt, I don’t trust the majority of people to responsibly raise a child, let alone teaching them how to safely and ethically hunt.

There are age restrictions on driving a vehicle, for example. Age restrictions on holding a job. We collectively decided that hunters education needed to be mandatory. And in some states, age restrictions on big game hunting. A big part of that is the safety regarding using a rifle.

With that said- Having a 6 year old shooting a deer is insane. 12 is a decent age. 10 is highly variable. So to be safe- 12. Small game? Fine. Small calibers, limited range, less pressure to fill a tag and do something stupid. Marching your kid out to a heated stand to pull the trigger on a crossbow you pulled back, set into a rest, had to click off the safety, and told them where to shoot, is more about stroking your own ego rather than responsibly raising your child to be an ethical hunter. I see it as a worse version of a child beauty pageant.

It is appalling what these rednecks think is appropriate, and I’m against it- for the good of the kids, and the good of the sport.

I wish there was a thumbs down emoji.

 

[rogerthat]

Man some of these guys i work with the traveling league sports. I have no idea how they afford it. Every Single weekend. I woukd say at least two to three of those weekends are out of town for enough they have to get a hotel. I mean how in the hell do you afford a hotel and eating out for 6 days a month plus gas every month? That's just for one kid.

Credit cards? Rack it up. Don’t pay it off. Claim hardship bankruptcy etc. rinse and repeat. Living the American dream

 

[R.K.]

I know plenty of 40+ grow men that are way more unsafe and have way less respect for the game we hunt that my 6 year old does.

I do not doubt that. But how do you keep that idiot grown adult from being dangerous out there with his 6 year old?

 

[WildWill]

I do not doubt that. But how do you keep that idiot grown adult from being dangerous out there with his 6 year old?

And a 12 year old with the same idiot instructor will be any safer? That's the point it has more to do with the kids upbringing and role models then age.

 

[woods89]

I know plenty of 40+ grow men that are way more unsafe and have way less respect for the game we hunt that my 6 year old does.

This is true, but......

Don't parents usually overestimate their children's abilities a bit? I mean, I have 4 kids too, all well above average, of course.......

 

[R.K.]

And a 12 year old with the same idiot instructor will be any safer? That's the point it has more to do with the kids upbringing and role models then age.

Yes, because they will have had other role models at that point, including Hunter education.

 

[Nick87]

Credit cards? Rack it up. Don’t pay it off. Claim hardship bankruptcy etc. rinse and repeat. Living the American dream

Yah I guess.

 

[WildWill]

Yes, because they will have had other role models at that point, including Hunter education.

Assuming those role models where a positive influence and the kid had to do in person hunter safety maybe. But what if his main maybe only role models were that idiot dad and his friends most numbskulls aren't hanging out with Enlightend deep thinkers they hang with other idiots on their level. Also in my state and many others sense covid hunter safety can be done 100% online. You think those kids are retaining most of that as they google the answers? If a parent isn't doing it for them. Depending on the situation that kid could be far more dangerous at 12 then 6.