Kids and gun hunting

[hvymax]

As said before, it depends on the kids' maturity and mental capacity ( this goes for the parent as well ), which age he/she is ready to be a gun user. I was in the woods by myself with my own single shot gun at the age of 7 or 8. I grew up around hunting and guns and I was taught deep respect for them early. Some kids don't ever need to be near guns, and some kids need some serious training.

I would never push or impose a gun on any kid. Let the kid prove he/she is serious about it and let them prove the interest is there. Otherwise the Parent is basically making the kid do something they are not old enough for. Sort of like the dad who wants his kid to be a sports star when the kid prefers ballet.

If the kid has the interest, expressed interest, then do it. The younger the better. The younger they are the more they learn and the more they remember for life.

I didn't get serious about guns and hunting with my nephew until he about 10 years old. He got to the point of constantly bringing it up and hounding me about shooting and hunting. I knew at that point... he is now ready.

Just because he jumps up one day and says, "I wanna go hunting" does not mean run right out and buy the kid a gun and take him hunting.

Exactly. It was 3 years before I would let my son hunt deer. My standard is all shots in 4" at 50yds. It took me 3 years to figure out that he couldn't focus on normal open sights past 25yds and needed an aperture. ( my kids don't get optics yet) Remember there is more to hunting than taking a gun in the woods. You have to be able to humanely harvest Gods creatures we owe them that.

 

[Vandy]

It all depends on the kid and the parent, their experience, maturity, etc. I started shooting with my dad when I was 5. Went hunting for the first time at 15. My dad was always very serious about teaching me how to shoot and gun safety, malfunctions, etc.

Unfortunately, a hunting teacher he was not. He took me to the property for the first time the day before opening day and he picked a spot. The next morning at 5 am he said go ahead and find your spot and I will get you later. Not the right way to do it. Learning on my own, it took me around 10 years to really figure out how to hunt. I took one deer my first ten years. In the ten years since I have averaged about 3 a year - same piece of land.

I will want to hunt with my son under my supervision for at least two seasons before he goes on his own. Whether that means he is 12, 14, or 17 will be determined later.

 

[alucard0822]

Different cultures, different maturity levels.
Around here 12yo seems to be the norm on family owned property where kids grow up shooting. about 6-8 is where most start shooting, and go hunting with a parent or mentor. At the clubs around here I've met and shot with some even younger that would embarrass most adult shooters back in MD. At Hopewell, most working the clays range are under 16, and some actively helping the club are as young as 12. There is no reason a responsible kid, with probably years spent in scouts, learning to shoot, and often times volunteering at their local club couldn't take game. PA has a junior hunter mentor program to preserve our heritage, and grow the sport, it's basically up to parents to determine when their kid is old enough to take them hunting as it should be.

Junior licenses can be had from 12-16, reduced cost, but with one they can hunt alone if the parents allow it, 16+ is a full license. Friends of ours have 2 daughters, 9 and 11, both have been along deer hunting with their father, and have taken small game, the oldest will probably take a deer this year. In working at my club, young hunters aren't a problem, most are mature beyond their years. It is adults, who grew up without firearms or guidance, and who just got into shooting with the skills of a 5yo and confidence that can only come from a stack of 12th place trophies and too many hugs that tend to need the most "coaching" from ROs, and are most likely to do something stupid.

 

[Kimerazor]

If you pass the hunter ed course in MD no matter your age, you can hunt alone EXCEPT on youth days when the youth must be accompanied by a licensed adult.

DNR has ingrained this into the instructors, I'm one, because people will put their 6 or 7 year old in a location by themselves to hunt. DNR states that the you MUST pass the test on their own because of this. (AND it's the right thing to do). They have seen some very "iffy" situations.

I'm glad everyone here is discussing the issue and uses common sense. Now, who among you will run for office? We need some common sense right now.


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[wilcam47]

If I were the president of a hunt club I'd have to know the kid personally before I ever let him step foot in the woods by himself.

NO. WAIT... let me try this again...

If I were the president of a hunt club I'd have to know the know the kid or adult personally before I ever let him step foot in the woods by himself.

I don't give a damn how old you are. If I don't know you, or your hunting experience, you ain't a hunting with, or near, me period. Age, nor Hunter course certificate, means not a thing to me. I know guys who have been "hunting" their whole adult life and it amazes me they are not dead or haven't killed someone else.

Did you miss post #16 Wil ? LOL

yeah I did but I agree lol I got an idiot 19yr old running around the woods here...I got him on game camera and I had to call his step-dad to tell him to stay off my property cuz it would have been a bad day if he messed up my wifes deer hunt!! according to the 19yr old he was getting his dog which is over 1/2 mile from my property...I might have some target practice on a dog if it keeps up...

 

[SOMDSHOOT]

Regarding a young person hunting, say under 12, how do you account for some of these issues that may not have been experienced by them:
1- malfunctions
2- trespassers who end up on your property (all types)
3- dirt in end of barrel

Any other gifts from Mr. Murphy.

The opportunity to teach is missing if they are alone.

#1 & #3 should have been taught at the point where they first got a gun in their hands. I also want to make sure that the Kid / Adult should have already taken the HSC, which, covers these items in text.

2 - Trespassers should somehow come in to the game at some point, but, I don't think that is something they should be taught in lesson.

You have a very valid point, but, the problem is the person with them may not know either. I deal with trespassers on a case by case basis. That requires hands on experience and not lessons.

 

[TxAggie]

I agree with what most are saying: there is not set age. That being said, about 8 is the earliest is would go for an actual firearm (.22 or higher)

BB or pellet, a little younger is fine. I've got my 7 year old started on Airsoft. Se'll need a LIT more time before I let her try a .22

 

[SOMDSHOOT]

Exactly. It was 3 years before I would let my son hunt deer. My standard is all shots in 4" at 50yds. It took me 3 years to figure out that he couldn't focus on normal open sights past 25yds and needed an aperture. ( my kids don't get optics yet) Remember there is more to hunting than taking a gun in the woods. You have to be able to humanely harvest Gods creatures we owe them that.

Another example is my Nephew who got a Bow for Christmas 2011 and then stated that he could be ready to hunt by September. I said, "you think you so." I have not taken him yet and it has been almost 2 years, this season, since he got that bow. He is 15 now and I still do not trust his bow hunting skills. Shooting a paper target is one thing, but, you're not slinging lead. or especially an arrow. at my Deer. unless I know you and your abilities. And just is not quite there for Bow hunting to me.

 

[hvymax]

It all depends on the kid and the parent, their experience, maturity, etc. I started shooting with my dad when I was 5. Went hunting for the first time at 15. My dad was always very serious about teaching me how to shoot and gun safety, malfunctions, etc.

Unfortunately, a hunting teacher he was not. He took me to the property for the first time the day before opening day and he picked a spot. The next morning at 5 am he said go ahead and find your spot and I will get you later. Not the right way to do it. Learning on my own, it took me around 10 years to really figure out how to hunt. I took one deer my first ten years. In the ten years since I have averaged about 3 a year - same piece of land.

I will want to hunt with my son under my supervision for at least two seasons before he goes on his own. Whether that means he is 12, 14, or 17 will be determined later.

Youth Hunt day is a perfect opportunity to get that quality time. It is the peak of the rut as well. My son's first hunt lasted 15min. We worked our way to the stand and as soon as he was situated I threw a nice long bleat. Within seconds a nice 8 pointer came bounding straight for us. About 30yds out he paused and my son shot. Dead right there 2' off the trail. Pulled the 4wheeler right up and right onto the rack. Too bad it never works like that for me.

 

[SOMDSHOOT]

I agree with what most are saying: there is not set age. That being said, about 8 is the earliest is would go for an actual firearm (.22 or higher)

BB or pellet, a little younger is fine. I've got my 7 year old started on Airsoft. Se'll need a LIT more time before I let her try a .22

Yes sir I agree with that. I know a few young boys myself who think playing video games with guns is teaching them how to hunt. I'm sorry, but, because you have mastered all levels of Cabela's Big Game Hunt YOU ARE NOT GOING TO SHOOT REAL AMMO AT MY REAL DEER.

Those are the kids I worry about when it comes to interest in real guns whether it is hunting, target shooting, or just plain being a house with one.

They think video games make them highly trained snipers and they prove to be very dysfunctional around real guns.

However, I'm not against the idea of putting a kid right in to a small youth .22 versus a BB gun, airsoft, or a pellet gun. Personally I think most kids only view those as "Toys" when they should be taught that ANY gun is dangerous to begin with, so, if they have interest in hunting, or just serious paper-punching, you may as well "teach them in the car they will driving, so-to-speak.

With that said, I also understand the use of the :toy" guns in teaching handling, safety, and whatever else those "guns" might provide in training. The problem is that the parent needs to be there to teach and train. The biggest mistake parents and people in general make is just letting a kid wave any kind of gun around like it's all good. Both sides of my family would slap you up side the head for pointing a pop cap gun at each other. We never had "toy" guns, all we ever owned were real guns.

You let a kid witness a Winter time slaughter on the family farms... they ( I ) will never point a gun at another human. I don't care if it's a rubber band gun, spit ball straw, or marshmallow shooter. They won't aim a thing at anyone again unless they plan to eat it or make sure it gets eaten.

 

[SOMDSHOOT]

Youth Hunt day is a perfect opportunity to get that quality time. It is the peak of the rut as well. My son's first hunt lasted 15min. We worked our way to the stand and as soon as he was situated I threw a nice long bleat. Within seconds a nice 8 pointer came bounding straight for us. About 30yds out he paused and my son shot. Dead right there 2' off the trail. Pulled the 4wheeler right up and right onto the rack. Too bad it never works like that for me.

LMAO that poor kid is going to hate life when he has to set there for hours on days and not see a single Deer. My nephew has a real impatience issue. I have taught him some patience in Deer hunting by taking my sweet time to get to the stand to pick him up at the end of hunts. He use to get very frustrated with not seeing anything for weeks. I can't imagine going in the woods and shooting a Deer in a few seconds and leaving in no time at all. well that's just no fun a'tall LOL

Someday I'll explain to him that Hunting was invented by Cavemen who had really bad marriages...

 

[TxAggie]

Yes sir I agree with that. I know a few young boys myself who think playing video games with guns is teaching them how to hunt. I'm sorry, but, because you have mastered all levels of Cabela's Big Game Hunt YOU ARE NOT GOING TO SHOOT REAL AMMO AT MY REAL DEER.

Those are the kids I worry about when it comes to interest in real guns whether it is hunting, target shooting, or just plain being a house with one.

They think video games make them highly trained snipers and they prove to be very dysfunctional around real guns.

However, I'm not against the idea of putting a kid right in to a small youth .22 versus a BB gun, airsoft, or a pellet gun. Personally I think most kids only view those as "Toys" when they should be taught that ANY gun is dangerous to begin with, so, if they have interest in hunting, or just serious paper-punching, you may as well "teach them in the car they will driving, so-to-speak.

With that said, I also understand the use of the :toy" guns in teaching handling, safety, and whatever else those "guns" might provide in training. The problem is that the parent needs to be there to teach and train. The biggest mistake parents and people in general make is just letting a kid wave any kind of gun around like it's all good. Both sides of my family would slap you up side the head for pointing a pop cap gun at each other. We never had "toy" guns, all we ever owned were real guns.

You let a kid witness a Winter time slaughter on the family farms... they ( I ) will never point a gun at another human. I don't care if it's a rubber band gun, spit ball straw, or marshmallow shooter. They won't aim a thing at anyone again unless they plan to eat it or make sure it gets eaten.

I like the BB option here as we can shoot in the backyard.

I didn't realize what he was doing at the time, but the first two years my dad took me deer hunting, my "gun" was a cap pistol. Once he knew I understood the rules I got the BB gun for plinking cans and he taught me to shoot turtles with a .22.

I never thought much of it, but apparently hitting a water moccasin swimming in the water at 20-30 yards is a fairly mean feat.

 

[Kimerazor]

The limited bullet points offered were a few scenarios that could happen. We know that learning about malfunctions in no way replaces real world experience. Having the youth deal with it in the presence of an adult is a must.

Two weeks ago at the county range, I had to guide some older experienced shooters to the line because they were staggered. One of the gentleman's guns wouldn't fire so with his right hand , he pulls it down and rotates it lest to get a better view. He was pointing it at his friends.

With the number of creeps and volatile people today, why would you subject an. 8- year-old to a potential trespasser? Just because the youth has a firearm doesn't mean the trespasser is not going to approach the youth.

Kids need instruction and need to be directed. They don't need an overview and then the room to figure it out. Of course is they are older, then it will be different.


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[SOMDSHOOT]

The limited bullet points offered were a few scenarios that could happen. We know that learning about malfunctions in no way replaces real world experience. Having the youth deal with it in the presence of an adult is a must.

Two weeks ago at the county range, I had to guide some older experienced shooters to the line because they were staggered. One of the gentleman's guns wouldn't fire so with his right hand , he pulls it down and rotates it lest to get a better view. He was pointing it at his friends.

With the number of creeps and volatile people today, why would you subject an. 8- year-old to a potential trespasser? Just because the youth has a firearm doesn't mean the trespasser is not going to approach the youth.

Kids need instruction and need to be directed. They don't need an overview and then the room to figure it out. Of course is they are older, then it will be different.

Well, I guess what I mean is, and like I said before, dealing with those trespassing situations on a case by case basis, is simply because you never know who is going come tromping through the woods and when and what their intentions are, etc, etc. My Nephew has his cell phone with him. He knows how to use it. There's not much else you can do these days besides call someone and say hey there's someone in here.

Besides, like you stated, With the number of creeps and volatile people today, I'd feel safer taking my chances with a kid in the woods possibly dealing with a trespasser than them being at school, the mall, a military base, or out in public in general. Just watch the news. I don't know that a trespasser bothers me hardly as much as the rest of the world. Kids have more things to concern themselves with than a trespasser in the hunting woods these days. Ok, that's enough of that subject.

 

[Kimerazor]

I see your point. Maybe I have had more run-ins than normal.


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[SOMDSHOOT]

I see your point. Maybe I have had more run-ins than normal.

In my 4 Plus decades of growing up on the family farms I can only recall two situations where there was "trespassing". Years ago some ding dongs that were hunting Myrtle Grove had popped up a tent inside the woods on the edge of the field off of the PEPCO powerlines. Police were called. Issue resolved.

The second incident was many years ago when I walking the edge of the field coming back from a morning hunt and there was human pumpkin standing on the field at the corner near the powerlines and we slowly made our way towards each other and the fella exclaimed, "Man I don't know who's property I'm on, but, can you please tell me where in the hell I am ?" This fell had found his way from Myrtle Grove and ended up about 3 miles in the wrong direction on the powerlines. I explained to him just how far away he was from MG and I offered the fella a ride back to his truck. No harm. No foul.

There's been a ton of 4 wheelers and dirt bike problems on the powerlines and they are kids back there shooting guns they don't own, drinking, tearing properties up and Maryland DNR and The Charles County Sheriff's Office both have full rights to prosecute on the PEPCO lines. ( and they use handcuffs very well )

Different situations require different resolves. You just can't "teach" for these issues.

 

[SRD]

I started when I was 8 (alone at 9-10) my Son started shooting at 6-7 but had no interest in hunting until he was around 12 (when he took hunters safety).I would have turned him loose with a .410 at 8 if he wanted,on private property of course.Just repeating whats already been said,each child is different.

 

[Mooseman]

As has been said here by almost everybody, it depends on the kid. My sister is 52 years old and I'm not sure she would be ready.

 

[sxs]

If I were the President of a Hunt Club I would be pretty concerned with the safety of the other members and would likely require the young hunter to be with another member until about 16 or 17 depending on the consensuses of the group.

Depending on how long the young hunter was a member, he may have already made a solid impression on the rest of the club and I think that would be the deciding factor. If all of the members can speak to his character then I wouldn't see an issue with maybe a little younger.

That's how my hunt club handled it...you can hunt with a parent or guardian (in one member's case, his nephew) until you turn 18 for free (since you're both hunting in one area of the property together), then the 18 year old is expected to pay to belong to the club. FYI, my son has been shooting since 6 yrs old with .22s and air rifles...then later with a 20 ga and a .243. That said, my son started hunting at 11 yrs old right beside me...either on stand for deer or sitting in a field for dove. By the time he was 14, I would leave him alone for a few minutes or so at a time (bathroom break, return to vehicle or other such reason). A couple years ago (just before he was 16) I put up another ladder stand about 100 yds away to cover some game trails and hunted from it for part of a day on occasion. We had our zones of fire all preplanned and I could see him fairly well...so I could monitor him. He never really ever did anything actually stupid anyway. I guess the worst was when he shot his first dove (after being skunked on his 1st 2 outings even though he shot a lot, lol). He was just 11 and sitting near me when he made the shot and the bird folded, he started to jump up and down yelling I got one!! I had to quickly remind him don't jump around with a loaded gun. Only other thing I ever saw him do was on stand with me, I saw him watching his shooting lane through a scope without otherwise looking around. I didn't jump him but definitely reminded him about the limited field of view a scope provides and that he needed to look around with either his unaided 2 eyes or a scan with binoculars as someone could (even though it was unlikely in our area), walk up and you wouldn't see them until they entered your scopes field of view. He took both instructions well and I never saw him repeat either behavior. In short, while he still had to deer hunt in my area by club rules (when deer hunting), by the time he was 16 or 17 I had total trust in his judgement while hunting and I didn't mind leaving him temporarily while dove or small game hunting.

 

[sxs]

Youth Hunt day is a perfect opportunity to get that quality time. It is the peak of the rut as well. My son's first hunt lasted 15min. We worked our way to the stand and as soon as he was situated I threw a nice long bleat. Within seconds a nice 8 pointer came bounding straight for us. About 30yds out he paused and my son shot. Dead right there 2' off the trail. Pulled the 4wheeler right up and right onto the rack. Too bad it never works like that for me.

LMAO that poor kid is going to hate life when he has to set there for hours on days and not see a single Deer. My nephew has a real impatience issue. I have taught him some patience in Deer hunting by taking my sweet time to get to the stand to pick him up at the end of hunts. He use to get very frustrated with not seeing anything for weeks. I can't imagine going in the woods and shooting a Deer in a few seconds and leaving in no time at all. well that's just no fun a'tall LOL

Someday I'll explain to him that Hunting was invented by Cavemen who had really bad marriages...

- at the highlighted...

My son had to endure a few 'deerless days' before killing his first. I thought I lost him on that one cold morning when he complain 2 or 3 times that he was cold...then complained a bit later that he was cold AND bored! Anyway, he has gone with me every year until this one although he was usually limited to just 2 or 3 days a year. Now, since he is now over 18, and in college, I am not paying a membership for him to hunt just 1 or 2 days at most. We are however, going to take a friend up with an offer to go goose hunting and I've thought we might do one of those game farm hunts I usually do every 2 or 3 years.