How young is too young...

Michael McCord1 said:
@William Reinicke that reminds me of my son’s first duck hunt. He was 9 and had never shot his single shot 20 before. I gave him a 3” 1 oz load. Ducks came in, he fired, and fell over backwards into the brush… but he got a drake green wing!
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Thats awesome. Honestly, it wasnt the recoil that scared me so bad, it was the shell hitting me in the face. That scared the living snot out of me. All I saw was bead, then bang, and then the gun felt like it was falling apart and this brass was coming at me like a rocket. I still remember all of it like it was yesterday. It happened all in a second but it felt like it was slow motion when it happened. It traumatized me for sure. I guess, that gun still does, as it sits perfectly clean, and unfired since that day lol. I always say im going to grab it and take it along for coyotes, as its light and little and convenient. When it comes time to grab a shotgun.... I always just grab my O/U instead.
 
I took my daughter on a dove hunt at 14 mo. Just 30 minutes in the back yard but she watched me shoot 2 doves and saw the dog fetch them. At 16 months she was in a backpack on a pheasant hunt. At 18 mo. she spent the morning in a pickup with two buddies at the edge of a corn field watching the action as I guided two kids on a junior goose hunt. Shot her first bird at 4, a pigeon on the ground with a .410. First duck was at 8 on a nasty rainy day. Then an elk at 12. Start EARLY! But make it fun and more about getting them out than trying to get your llimit.
 
When my son was 6 I told him we were getting our Boykin. He quiet then started crying. I was shocked- what kid doesn’t like a puppy?

He had always been my dove fetcher and thought I was taking the dog instead of him.
 
10yo (with supervision until 16 and completion of Hunter Safety) was the law in Maine back in 70's. My daughter never hunted so I don't have a dog in the fight. 10 was a long time waiting for me, I do recall that. I wish there was a national minimum age requirement so the states would all be the same. Not sure if small game and big game should be different? Thinking the smaller caliber rifles nowadays probably recoil a lot less than a .410 so that's why you see more younger kids shooting off a bi or tripod after big game or turkeys, than we'll say waterfowling where they need to be bigger and stronger to effectively get on target with a shotgun. I guess the bottom line is that these kids, no matter the age, are outside in the woods and fields enjoying time with family and carrying on traditions of our elders.
 
Michael McCord1 said:
When my son was 6 I told him we were getting our Boykin. He quiet then started crying. I was shocked- what kid doesn’t like a puppy?

He had always been my dove fetcher and thought I was taking the dog instead of him.
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That's a good story. Dogs are such an important part of bird/duck hunting. I don't want to hunt anymore without mine. Every kid should grow up with a dog, I bet your son became best buddies with the dog? And to Dave's point earlier in the thread, nothing teaches a child more about life than when they lose their buddy. It's a tough life lesson the first time it happens, and never gets easier. It breaks the stone cold heart of a killer, speaking from experience.
 
Kevin Layne said:
I took my daughter on a dove hunt at 14 mo. Just 30 minutes in the back yard but she watched me shoot 2 doves and saw the dog fetch them. At 16 months she was in a backpack on a pheasant hunt. At 18 mo. she spent the morning in a pickup with two buddies at the edge of a corn field watching the action as I guided two kids on a junior goose hunt. Shot her first bird at 4, a pigeon on the ground with a .410. First duck was at 8 on a nasty rainy day. Then an elk at 12. Start EARLY! But make it fun and more about getting them out than trying to get your llimit.
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Curious, does she still enjoy hunting? My wife enjoys upland hunting, she loves to watch the dog. Duck hunting is too cold for her. My sisters hunted with my dad until he passed away, just because they wanted to be in the field with him.
 
Troy Fields said:
10yo (with supervision until 16 and completion of Hunter Safety) was the law in Maine back in 70's. My daughter never hunted so I don't have a dog in the fight. 10 was a long time waiting for me, I do recall that. I wish there was a national minimum age requirement so the states would all be the same. Not sure if small game and big game should be different? Thinking the smaller caliber rifles nowadays probably recoil a lot less than a .410 so that's why you see more younger kids shooting off a bi or tripod after big game or turkeys, than we'll say waterfowling where they need to be bigger and stronger to effectively get on target with a shotgun. I guess the bottom line is that these kids, no matter the age, are outside in the woods and fields enjoying time with family and carrying on traditions of our elders.
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Troy,

My read of the regs in Maine is there is no minimum currently. Is that yours as well? I know our neighbors take their kids as young as four, I don't know if they shoot. I like the lifetime licenses for kids, my buddy in CT has a son in ME with three kids under six, (yikes!) 😲 :) all of whom were bought lifetime licenses. I wish they would do that in every state, and sell lifetime licenses to folks of all ages. I'm 65 and would gladly pay $1,500 each for lifetime non-resident ME combo licenses for my wife and I. Right now we pay $150 each a year.
 
SJ Fairbank said:
Troy,

My read of the regs in Maine is there is no minimum currently. Is that yours as well? I know our neighbors take their kids as young as four, I don't know if they shoot. I like the lifetime licenses for kids, my buddy in CT has a son in ME with three kids under six, (yikes!) 😲 :) all of whom were bought lifetime licenses. I wish they would do that in every state, and sell lifetime licenses to folks of all ages. I'm 65 and would gladly pay $1,500 each for lifetime non-resident ME combo licenses for my wife and I. Right now we pay $150 each a year.
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It is at parent discretion in Maine, so no minimum. 4 seems to be the youngest I've seen on social media, and that was a recent turkey hunt in NH. The lifetime licenses here in Maine are a great thing. I purchased both hunting and fishing for my daughter when she was born. She's never hunted a day in her life, but she does fish. I pay the same non-resident fees in NH every year, but it's nice being able to bounce between states.
 
In my family it had nothing to do with age, but responsibility and good judgement, those things are what determined hunting privileges. I think the first time I actually hunted with a shotgun was at 9, it was even on my own, but I'll bet dad and grandpa were watching me from the barnyard as I snuck up on some teal in the orchard slough. They knew there was no way I was going to get anything with my bolt action 410 with a poly choke, but I did get a teal and the bird was in flight. I was also driving a tractor by the age of 8 during pecan harvest, not driving mario cart on a game console.

It's a different world out there these days than in the late 60s. For me and my boys it was a choice I made based on each ones individual maturity. They started shooting pellet guns in an indoor range I made in my shop, never alone, I was always with them. They learned to shoot a shotgun with clay pigeons well before I ever let them carry a gun in the field. My dad was an absolute stickler for gun safety, it was the number one priority. Probably the only difference for me and my boys is I did more teaching in terms of respect for the animals we pursued and their absolute participation in the entire process of harvest, cleaning, cooking and eating what they killed. Hunting is far more than pulling a trigger and tailgate shots. My boys went along on hunts a lot before I ever let them shoot at game. They grew up different than most kids, I've worked at home their entire life as a wildlife artist, I wanted them to appreciate the outdoors far more than I cared about what they killed on a hunt.

My 10 year old grandson completed hunter safety this past summer, but both his dad and I determined he wasn't physically mature enough to control a firearm yet. He understood that and still made the 3 mile round trip hike to the blind without complaint and was completely enthralled with checking out each bird we got, comparing their bills and admiring the colors. We taught him to call with one of my Olt duck calls and he even called in a mallard on one hunt, my only regret is not shooting the mallard drake for him, but we just don't shoot mallards. When we got home after our last hunt, he wanted to try all three species we killed that day and appreciate how each one tasted. I was impressed with his maturity. I just feel like hunting is more something earned by respect and good judgment, not an age. I have 5 grandchildren and you will know which ones show good judgment and conscious safety regarding the way they conduct themselves. Accidents are going to happen, but we don't need to push kids into something we want before they are ready. I know a lot of 50 year olds who shouldn't be allowed to hunt or carry a gun because of their total lack of responsibility and safety.
 
I turkey hunted in the south once and I met a kid (8 yo, I think) at the lodge coloring in a seasame street coloring book. He killed his 8th and 9th turkeys that weekend. They hunted in a big blind and had the gun up on a tripod. The guide set the decoys, called in the bird and the killed pulled the trigger once the Dad lined everything up. I get doing things with your kids outdoors, but I'm not sure that was an accomplishment to brag about online or otherwise.

I've thought about posting a picture (on April 1) with a dead turkey with a sonogram along side it saying "Little man got it done!".
 
If they can't physically manipulate the weapon available, they shouldn't be touching that weapon. Other than that, I don't think the age of the child is as important as the effort the mentor is willing to commit. No child is mature enough to carry a weapon at first. That is why we have to be committed to being their shadow as we teach them.

You also have to baby step them. A child can sit under a tree with you and look for squirrels at a much younger age than they can wing shoot from a duck blind. They need to be older yet before they can maintain their position in line with other hunters in the brush.

Lastly, we must tailor the experience to their capabilities if we want them to enjoy it. Why expect a kid to sit still for six hours in a duck blind when they are toast after two hours in the squirrel woods? ...and don't get me started on sending little kids into the wet and cold with the most crap-tastic gear we can wad them up in. They don't need Sitka, but a camo Walmart raincoat doesn't cut it.

I tagged along with my Dad starting fairly early. Dad has chilled in his old age, but when I was young, he didn't go out of his way to accommodate kids. In his defense, he kept taking us anyway. I faintly remember trying to keep up as we busted brush behind the dog for pheasants when I couldn't have been older than five. It was pretty hard going. I had to wade through the briars he could step over, I couldn't see anything except walls of brush (much less the liver colored German Shorthair in front of us), and there were lots of cockleburs involved. My little brother was two years younger, but he and I were a matched set as soon as he was potty trained. If Dad took me, he generally took my brother also. I always had two years more maturity and firstborn confidence in my favor, so I was able to gut through with minimal drama. However, my little brother was that kid who overslept, wouldn't make sandwiches, couldn't keep up, lost his gloves, forgot his raincoat and went over the tops of his boots. In a stunning turn of events, he doesn't hate hunting, but he doesn't love it like I do.

We moved to Louisiana in 1984 and Dad struggled to adapt to how expensive hunting was there. He grew up where hunting was cheap entertainment. However, all the private land in Louisiana was leased up. We were very broke from 1982-1987 and couldn't afford a lease or extra guns, so Dad scaled back his (and therefore my) hunting pretty dramatically. I missed the entire 22 rifle small game experience. I inherited my Grandpa's 20 gauge 870 in spring of 1988. Dad joined a duck camp that fall after I turned 12. I've been hunting since.

My daughter turns six this summer. I am looking forward to getting her a 22, teaching her to shoot and learning to hunt rabbits and squirrels with her. While I'm doomed to be the "old Dad" at her graduation, I'm the perfect age to sit under a tree squirrel-watching with a child. It'll still be a couple more years until I take her to the duck marsh; those trips are too long, cold and wet for her until she is big enough to justify buying her some decent gear.

Nate
 
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SJ Fairbank said:
Curious, does she still enjoy hunting? My wife enjoys upland hunting, she loves to watch the dog. Duck hunting is too cold for her. My sisters hunted with my dad until he passed away, just because they wanted to be in the field with him.
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Yes she does. But it's limited now as she got married, moved to North Carolina where she doesn't know where to go, and has a new career and home to take care of.
 
Teach annually at a northern youth camp every summer that limits attendees based on age, 12-15. That has a lot to do with how the week will work with kids in residence learning many things, including firearms (bbs, then shotguns). Many kids come in with skills, some come in with ..none. Was at southern state meeting of a national waterfowl group where age and firearms was a topic of… many opinions - the poor fella who suggested 8 years was too young for shotguns …. Well it was a divided room pretty quick with people done talking for the rest of the weekend for the wrong sentiment. Have had couple grandsons turned away from shotguns for at least a few years based on what turned out to be poor choice of first gauge…tooo much boom for the body. Had a friend’s son that got hauled along for hunts in early yers that seemed to back off later, but two younger siblings got hooked on it into later years - different kid/ parent chemistry, maybe dad learned some new things…
 
I was killing ducks at 7 and killing deer by 9 but grew up the son of a GW and in the field ALL THE TIME. When I hear about a 3-6 year old killing a deer or turkey I KNOW they most likely didn't hold the gun or aim (less than you do on a video game) and to me that is not HUNTING. I don't point fingers because different strokes and all that but there needs to be some accountability.
 
I started shooting at clay birds at 8 years old. Went to the duck blind at 8 but didn't get to manage my ammo until I was 10. You earned that privilege. Today in Illinois you have to take a hunter Safety course and have to be 12 years old. I would take my boy with me when he was younger and would let him shoot a little. Gun safety lessons mostly. He took the hunter Safety course but by then he'd lost interest.
 
I carried a bb-gun for many years on hunting trips with my Dad. Once I was big enough (sizewise) to be able to hold the weight of the shotgun and reach the forearm and trigger properly, he started letting me shoot a shell or two before and/or after the hunt. A year or so later (I'd guess 8 or 9, I was a pretty small kid), he gave me a 20g A5, which I was allowed to carry (empty) while he hunted (we were primarily quail hunting in those years). He wanted to see that I could carry and handle it safely, and I carried it empty my first season. I was to act as if it were loaded and dry fire at every covey/single rise - and he wanted to be sure he heard the safety click off as it went to my shoulder and back on as it came away from my shoulder. He wanted to see me open the chamber everytime we stopped or crossed a ditch or crossed a fence. If I didn't, the next day/weekend I carried the bb-gun (or nothing). Carrying that gun was important to me, so I learned quickly to follow the rules. The next year, I got my first opportunity to use it at a couple dove hunts... and then during quail season. I seem to recall it being taken away again sometime that season for a minor infraction - but I learned that the only way I'd get to do what I wanted was by being focused and being safe. Those lessons stuck with me, and I repeated something very similar with my son. It's kind of funny - now that he's an adult and joins me on an annual S Texas dove hunt, we've both commented to each other about certain folks we won't hunt close to because they take the safety off when they see a bird, even if it's a hundred yards away, or because they don't break or open their gun when you walk by them.

Bottom line, I don't think age is relevant. Being physically capable of handling a gun and being mentally and emotionally capable of maintaining the discipline to do so 100% of the time are what matters. Shit happens even to the most capable and most disciplined - allowing a child who is neither is borderline criminal, in my opinion.
 
HenryHawthorne said:
I was to act as if it were loaded and dry fire at every covey/single rise - and he wanted to be sure he heard the safety click off as it went to my shoulder and back on as it came away from my shoulder
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(Proverbs 22:6 KJV) Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Right on! Probably the most neglected gun handling safety rule. Over the years I've encountered numerous individuals who insist on carrying a gun with the safety off when pheasant hunting to "save time." Incidentally, South Dakota ranks among the highest in per capita hunting accidents. Number one reason my wife and I hunt alone and not with a group. RM
 
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