Youth quota, too young

[KayakMacGyver]

tl;dr where's the line between getting kids into the woods, and scamming the system?


Here in GA the rule is the kid has to carry the gun. The idea is to limit people from using their three year old to get a permit for an adult to use. This past week my 14yo son and I went to S FL for a quota turkey hunt. It took a few years to draw.

(Long story short, he missed because he took an extremely close range shot instead of letting it walk off. I guess having an Osceola spit and drum in your face affects judgement. :thumbs up: )

I think about half of the permits were drawn by preschoolers. Seeing a kid seat on the back of an e-bike tripped me out. I started taking my kids to the woods very young, but we weren't seriously hunting and no permits were necessary. We went turkey hunting with homemade calls and toy guns.

Nobody believes your toddler is going to blast a gobbler with a shotgun. One tried to complain to me his 3yo wouldn't hunt much.

My complaints:
1. This creates the incredible pressure that makes FL turkey hunting more a challenge than it would be.
2. These dads are stealing their kids' points. Imagine being a kid and realizing you can't draw the tag you want because dad burned your points while you were still wearing pull-ups.
3. I can't think of a good solution.

I think, probably, the minimum age should be when old enough to actually remember the hunt when older. 7yo is about right?

I'll bite, as an "offender" to your complaint, coincidentally sitting in South Florida with my 9 year on day 3 of his turkey hunt. It's a single bird hunt, so just call me his Sherpa.

To be clear, I don't hunt on my kid's youth tag. That's not legal or ethical. Based on the date, it seems like you were hunting one of the regular quota hunts.

1. Florida has a very generous guest system. It may be the most generous in the country. With two young kids, my wife and I have been able to hunt better places, more often, with our kids due to the liberal guest rules. I have no shame in taking advantage of it, nor should anyone. Biologists factor in the added pressure of guest hunters, and for the most part this actually works in a hunter's favor because many people dont bring a guest. So, for example sake instead of issuing 20 permits, they only issue 10 (assuming 10 guests). Sure, less permits are available, but Florida isn't Arizona when it comes to tag supply/demand.

My kids weren't shooters until they turned 7, and could aquire a target and hold the gun up on their own. Lot's of safety lessons too. This meant for several years they were towed around the woods with us for "on the job training". Our kids were by our sides for most hunts the last 7 years and you probably understand that kids can significantly handicap hunt success.

In addition to the fringe hunting benefit we've received from mooching off our kids (ironically), as a family it's meant that we've spent more time in the outdoors together. This, at the end of the day, is what it's all about. More tags = More time spent with my kids doing what we love.

2. "Stealing" my kids points is laughable. When they start developing application strategies, applying by deadlines and working out logistics planning for hunts, I will concede my control over their points. Until then, dad and mom will cartilage in hunts of our choosing.

I have two incredible hunting partners as the biggest benefit from the deal. At 7 and 9, they push me harder on every hunt and have been there for alot of really incredible moments that I would have otherwise experienced alone. Now, they're enjoying the fruits of their labor as Dad is just their guide for the foreseeable future. Thanks to the intel we've gained by hunting places more often, they're having success and beg to go every chance they get.

3. The solution is to just stay in Georgia.

 

[cgasner1]

I was thinking about this subject this morning and my boy is no where near ready to take a big game animal in his skill level. He has been with me on multiple occasions when I have taken game and it has gone from he won’t touch it to playing/helping me break the animal down. It kinda makes me wonder if I’m failing him to some degree because he has 3 years till he can pack his own rifle and in the back of my mind I know he needs to be ready by then and we have plenty of time. If he was able to hunt this fall I’d be putting in a lot more effort to get him ready.