How young is not old enough???

[BAK]

I recently read an article in a local newspaper written by a regional outdoor writer.   He went into great detail on how he was setting up his 10 year old daughter to get her first black bear.

Maybe this is just another one of the generational differences I see today, as I frequently read on this site where the prowess of someone’s child is praised.  I only know that in my generation, being allowed to hunt deer was almost a right of passage.  It wasn’t for children, it was for those who had shown they could be trusted with weapons, and whose judgment would allow them to survive in the bush if worst came to worst.  Oh, we could go out rabbit or squirrel hunting on our own, but going out for big game was for adults, and you knew it.  You strived to show your maturity to be allowed that right.

To me the idea of taking a 10 year old out and putting him/her on a bait site is ridiculous.  It smacks of sensationalism.   It’s like parents who want their child to be the youngest to sail the Pacific, or fly a plane.  Why can’t they just let them be kids while they can?  I don’t argue the point that the future of hunting is in our youth, but have some common sense when defining it.    In my opinion the  idea of putting pre pubescent children in the big woods to hunt as adults is wrong and should not be promoted.

[KodiakMag]

My question was the parent there with her? If the adult is there with her then I don't have a problem with it.

[BigCountryOK]

It all depends on the situation and the kid. Every situation is different and every kid is different.

[Bjorn]

Local laws can differ too, some places have a minimum age for big game.
People stretch stuff all the time and having a 10 year old boy or girl killing bears with a bow (if that is what we are talking about) is really marginal; but they teach archery and skiing to the blind-so why not-right?

[Pon]

it was kind of like a right of passage for me too! I was more excited on going on my first deer hunt than to get a driving license!

I do agree every situation is different

[stevewills]

daughter just killed her first deer last weekend during the youth season here in in.she is 12,and thats the age i started my journey bowhunting.i told her she cant bowhunt yet cause she pulls right at 35 lbs.and she only has a 23in draw.but she shoots indoor spots and has won local 2nd at state 2 years in a row and 5th in the nationals,she can shoot..told her if she can pull about 40 id let her try next year..i can only support what she wants to do when it comes too hunting....

[ron w]

Local laws, a kids maturity, and a parents mind set all come into play. Some kids can understand whats involved, some can't yet. I see no reason to rush a child into the adult world......it comes fast enough as it is! I introduced my daughter to shooting and archery, she got her hunters safety certificate and then proceeded on to other things. Now she just has no interest in hunting. Every kid is different!

[Bill Carlsen]

Too many kids today have "nature deficit disorder". They know little or nothing about nature, where food comes from or in some cases what real food really is. I am all for kids being in the field as observers or hunters if they want to be and are ready. My wife happens to do the web site for Hunter's Point Guide Service. If a kid qualifies and holds a youth hunting license and an adult brings them along on a paid hunt the kid gets to hunt for free. It has been great to see kids get their first bear. I don't think you can start them too early. Here's a pic of me and my two grandsons with last Spring's turkey. Now they know when we have turkey, chicken, venison, etc. that meat actually comes from a living creature. And whether or not it has to do with hunting they love the woods and streams/ponds in particular.

 

[Mike Vines]

So then in your eyes me taking my soon to be 8 year old (birthday this Friday) hunting in Texas for hogs this November would be irresponsible?

I begged my dad from age 6 to take me hunting with him.  He got me a Red Rider to shoot in the yard.  When I was 10 I begged my dad to take me hunting with him and my Grandpa.  He said this is "Man Stuff" and they went squirrel hunting without me.  When I was 14 I begged my dad to take me deer hunting and was told I was to young.  I finally got my license at 16 and if I wasn't in school, I was in the woods.  I only hunted 2 times in my life with my dad and never with my grandpa.  I do regret that.  

I graduated school joined the Army (Military Police) traveled the world protecting the country, got out started my own business which I operated for 13 years then moved on to a more stable career and a family (I only mention this to show that I have responsibility ingrained in me).

 Both of my son's have asked to hunt with me since age 3, and they have been in the woods on a limited basis ever since.  My son told me he wanted to go hunting with me this year, so I got ahold of a friend in TX and set up the hunt.  

I will be with him the whole time and vowed to not shoot anything till he puts some bacon in the freezer.

There is very little in this world we can change, but there are so many areas we can improve.  I will not allow my son to not be able to do something because it is just for "Men", in someone elses eyes.

Maturity does come into play here, and my boys are better behaved at 6 and 8 than the 20,000 Twenty year old "Kids" I have to deal with on a daily basis.

To each their own, but me and Mine are going huntin'.

Here are both my boys this past 4th of July.  My oldest can outshoot me, and this picture shows it.

 

[b.glass]

I like that picture Bill. If it wasn't for the fooler in his mouth he would look like a little man!

[Bill Carlsen]

He's only 2 and  his brother is 4. When he was about 3 Elijah, the oldest, would look out the back door across our pond and say, "Nana, can we go see the world,  now"? They love to shoot water pistols at frogs and bugs. Who am I to say "No"?

[longbowman]

PA passed the "Mentor Hunting" thing a couple of years back and just on it's face I'm dead against it.  That being said, if you have a kid that's less than 12 that is phyiscally big enough to actually load-unload, hold and aim a rifle on thier own then you have 1/2 the problem licked.  My biggest concern is the mental state when no 6-10 year old has the mental ability to process exactly what they are doing when pulling that trigger on a live animal.  Heck, I know a bunch of adults who mentally have no grip on the actual taking of an animals life and what that really means and the reverance it holds or should hold. No, when I see pictures in our local paper with 7 yr. old Suzie and her first deer kill and she's not as tall as her rifle she supposedly used I'm just not for it.
     I guess the Dad's and Mom's need to be patient and teach all the aspects of hunting until their kid is old enough mentally and phyiscally to grasp it and show the kids that patience too.

[joe ashton]

A couple of years ago I was dropping off an elk at the meat processors, an 11 year old was there also, he had shot an elk and he and his Dad were dropping it off. Always being an encourager of youth, I enthusiastically ask him what he got.  He pointed at the elk and said.  "I don't know, one of those".
Just my opinion,  he was to young.
A kid should be mature enough to know what they are really doing.  The animals we harvest deserve respect...

Every kid is different.

Joe

[Looper]

Joe is exactly right.

[Bob Palmer]

I'm with Mike....”to each their own, but me and Mine are going huntin”. My eldest (now 19) started joining me in the woods at 4. Every year we shed hunt, scouted, plant food plots, and he sat in the stand with me often!  He hunted small game at 7, deer and turkey with a gun at 10 and a bow at 11. My youngest, now 11, is following the same path. They both get to join me, my father, all my uncles and friends in the woods each year. It may not be their thing forever (my 19 year has found girls, sports, cars and college for the time being) but they will always remember the times we spent together in the woods....guaranteed!!

[Stiks-n-Strings]

I think it depends on the kid really
My oldest Daughter is 16. She took her first deer when she was 8.

 I never could tell her she had to stay home. I too only hunted with my dad a handful of times and my grandpa not once. I swore I would never let my kids wish I would have hunted with them more.

 If my girls want to go to the woods they know they have to pass a hunters safety class and all 3 have. They attend shoots with me anytime they want to go and they go to the woods with me anytime they want to go. They always get to be the shooter but during fire arms season it's all them. None of them bow hunt yet but have sat in a blind with me on many occasions.

 Luckily I have property for them to hunt on and don't have to worry about all the yahoo's running around. I teach them to be ethical and respectful and above all safe.

[GrnMtnTradNut]

I belive it should be up to the parents to decide. Both my kids were in the woods with me at a young age while I was hunting both saw me harvest a deer at age 5 with a bow. They both started hunting at age 8. Both of them (now 9 and 12) know more about hunting then alot of adults I know. They started to hunt when ages 7 and 8 because I thought they were ready and they told me they were ready. Please do not judge anothers decision most parents make the correct one.

[Benny Nganabbarru]

I just guided a worthy lad onto his first kill, a 60kg boar. It was also his first hunt, and one of the most memorable hunts that I have ever participated in. He killed it with a Ruger No.1 in .300H&H. Though young, he has the right attitude. I drummed the rules into him, and he observed them correctly. I was seven when I killed my first rabbit, with a Ruger 10/22 .22. If a kid has the right attitude, the sooner someone takes them out for a look, the better it is for the future of hunting.

[Izzy]

My oldest son at 11 is not eager to kill game yet and he may never be but Ill leave it up to him to let me know when the time is right. I think that this is more of a per case situation than any I can think of. Some people may not cherish the same traditions as you and your kin. I get offended when people tell me they dont like what I teach my kids, not that your post is attempting to do such but in essence it does. This is something to leave to the parents of said child. There are enough entities telling us how to live because it makes them more comfortable while disregarding the way we feel about the deal.  

[Jeff Strubberg]

I invited mine along from the time they were 6.  I wouldn't have let them shoot anythign at that age, but they were welcome to come along and spot, track, etc.  

Involving a kid in hunting and handing them a rifle are not the same thing.