Informal Survey: Young Hunters

Rick Kyte

Rick Kyte

Well-known member
The state of Wisconsin is currently debating a bill that would allow 10 and 11 year olds to hunt provided they are accompanied by a mentor who stays within arm's reach. If you are interestd in the details you can read it here http://www.rivervalleynewspapers.com/articles/2008/01/31/outdoors/01davis.txt

I'd be interested in getting some feedback from the DHBP members regarding this. It may be information that those of us from Wisconsin can use when contacting our legislators to support this bill.

1) Does your state allow hunting under the age of 12?

2) At what age did you start hunting (and for what game)?
 
Alabama has no lower age limit on hunting. If you can tote a gun & your parents will take you, you can hunt. I've heard of kids as young as 4-5 shooting deer and on dove hunts.
At 16, you have to buy a license and you have to pass a safety course to get one.

I grew up in PA, where you had to be 12 before you could legally hunt and 16 before you could hunt alone. When I moved to Alabama, I found it quite scary (and still do) that some folks think that 4, 5 & 6 year olds are mature (physically & emotionally) enough to handle a loaded gun, even under close supervision. Maybe some 5-6 year olds are but I've seen very few that I think are.

My son will be 8 next month and I will think about letting him start shooting this summer, if he matures a little more. Right now, he's not ready.
 
Michigan just lowered small game hunting age to 10 and deer hunting with gun to 12. I think this past season was the 2nd year. Haven't heard anything negative. The idea behind the change was to get the youngsters interested in hunting (buying licenses) @ an early age so they will continue to do so until they are very old. I guess they thought that by age 12, some kids have already stopped wanting to spend time with their dads.

Sorry I don't have any more specific info, you could check Michigan DNR website (GOOGLE it).

I know I sure did enjoy having my 10 yr old son in the duck blind with me last year, it was a really big deal for him.

Hope this helps!!

Donivan
 
PA just started the mentored hunting with no minimum age this year. I think it's great. It's very controlled. The adult has to carry the gun to and from the stand and be within arms reach at all times. It's only for spring gobbler, deer, and groundhog. I wish it was for waterfowl, but on the other hand I can see how that would be hard with all of the other activities such as calling, etc.

I took my 11 year old deer hunting, and he loved it. He's gone probably a hundred times before, but this was his first time carrying a "real" gun.

Kirk
 
In Arkansas there is no lower age limit. My 13 year old son and 17 year old daughter both started hunting at age 8 for ducks. they were going at 5 and 6 with pellet guns (plinking decoys) or just to be with Dad. They both got their first ducks at 8 and my son got his first deer at 8. Pics of that were on the old site.

To hunt alone, they have to have passed Hunters Ed. I can't recall if they have to be 16 to be alone. I won't let them until then anyway, so that is a moot point. I probably won't let them period as it is too much fun to be with your kid hunting. I don't care if I get any ducks or deer as long as they do. Time spent in the blind and on the stand just passing the time of day and letting them talk is wonderful. I'm surprised everytime I do by what they know and talk about. I haven't gotten a deer in 5 years, but my son has gotten one each year with me as his "guide". (he doesn't give his "guide" any credit for putting him in the right spot though when talking to his buddies, LOL) I just hope they will cart me around, put out out my decoys, and clean my ducks when I'm old enough that I can't. Just like Rick Peirce wrote about with his dad the other day and like I do with my dad.

The future of hunting is at stake! It doesn't hurt the family unit either.
 
Michigan was already covered so I'll just talk about me. I was probably just out of diapers when my dad would take me rabbit hunting....funny thing...I can still remember him shooting and getting all excited about it..I can also remember watching him clean rabbits. I started carrying his 22 auto with 2 shells in it when I was about 7 but we shot a lot before that.At 11, I got my first "real" gun, a Savage 22/410 ou that I use with my grandson now.I can vividly remember the first rabbit that I got with it and dad saying "great shot!". I was about 9 when I went deer hunting and carried a gun(that same 22 auto with 2 shots in it) and before that all us kids,cousins and brothers, were driving dogs for the Dads. My first license was at 12 for deer....you had to be 14 but I was big for my age and dad filled out the license so I didn't screw up the birthdate..got my first deer that year "Up North". If your kid shows ANY interest at ANY age, you OWE it to whomever got YOU started to take the kid with you and make it fun. I think most kids that get turned off are hardnosed out of it. It takes a man to make it a great experience for a child...it takes a selfish dickweed to spoil it for them by not paying attention that the child is freezing or has to poop.
 
We do not have a minimum age up here. And not until a few years ago did we have a hunter education requirement. Actually we still don't have a real hunter ed requirement since it only applies to 5 units where there are large populations. If you are in a remote area you don't need it. I wish it was required for everyone since most of the kids killed by guns accidents happen in the Bush. the funny thing is that if were born in 1986 or after, and you come in from say Bethel, and want to hunt with me in unit 14 here, then you will need hunter ed, which you don't need to hunt back home.

If you are 15 or younger you have to be accompanied by a licsensed adult (anyone over 16 is an adult). You will need a licsense if you are 16 or older. If you are 11 or older you need your own harvest tickets/ stamps. If you are 10 or younger any game you take is part of the bag of the adult you are with.

However, when I was little we lived in Brookings, OR and I had to do the hunter ed class there as part of my 4H rifle team class. I think I had to wait until I was 12 to go deer hunting.

My first time ever hunting was when I was 9 in Nevada going after rabbits and gophers with a .22. This was back in the early 1970's and I don't remember Dad every mentioning much about the laws.
 
In California there is no age limit. As long as the kid can pass the test and convince the instructor that they are mature enough then they can get a license. To hunt big game, they must be 2.
 
Thanks for your responses.

I've been fortunate to live on the Wisconsin-Minnesota border so that I could take my kids hunting in Minnesota until they turn twelve and qualify for Hunter Ed. Very few of their friends hunt, so if I don't take them out, they would probably never get introduced to the sport by someone else. And by the time they are in their teen years, most of their activities are guided by what their friends are doing. So I believe, as many other Wisconsin hunters do, that we could recruit more young hunters with the revised law.

I figured that most of the guys who frequent this site began hunting when they were 9 or 10 years old, and so far that seems to be the case for most of you. I began hunting ducks at age 9 with my grandma's .410, which I still recall as the sweetest shooting gun I've ever used. I started hunting deer at age 12 with my dad's 32 Winchester, which he got new for his 12th birthday, and which he just gave to my oldest boy this fall. So far, Ian's been shooting just like I did with that gun, which is too bad.

Rick
 
You may not hunt in MA until you are 12 years old. You still have to hunt with an adult at that age. I think if a kid is mature enough at 10, 11 or whenever the child's parent/guardian thinks the child is mature enough to hunt than they should be able to do so before age 12.

Personally, I didn't start hunting until age 18.

In a time when children are not taking up hunting like they once did I think the states should ease some of these restrictions to allow more kids to get into it.
 
Hi,

As far as I know Washington does not have a legal minium age, but you do have to pass a hunters ed class if you were born after a certain year. I took hunters ed and started hunting deer and grouse at age 9.

My best,

Don Shearer
 
South Carolina has no lower limit, why would they? Usually the kids around here have been pretty well exposed by the age of ten. SC has a take one, make one program that has helped to steer young people in the right direction.
 
I don't know if NC has a mimimum age. I started at 11(47 yrs ago) but was big for my age and could hunt with a 12 ga. Yeah I did plenty of stupid stuff but never hurt anyone. I did shoot up a mans decoys one time but that's another story.

Glad they are letting youngsters hunt in MA.,
Harry
 
Connecticut's:

[font=Verdana,Arial,Geneva]Hunting by Minors - a person must be 12 years of age or older to hunt. Persons 12 through 15 years of age must be licensed and accompanied by a licensed hunter 18 years of age or older while hunting. A person may not supervise more than 2 minors at one time while hunting. Minors are entitled to their own bag limits.

Minors need own pheasant stamps and hip if they are going to hunt pheasants and migratory birds.

Personally, I started hunting when I was attending the U in New Hampshire. A couple of Scuba Club buddies were willing to put up with me tagging along back in 1977. Took the required hunter ed class up there.

Scott
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i think vermonts is similar to conn. im not sure about the minimum age limit but our youth seasons end at under 16. you must have a hunters ed course and buy a license. i dont think you have to have duck stamps until 16.

personally i think age 12 is about the right age for a youth to start hunting, at least for all the youths ive encountered. i started at 12 or 13 i cant remember it was 7th grade. my hunter ed instructor was a weird old man who had shot half his own foot off some how. it was example A on what not to do with a gun i suppose. i shot my first deer the year after and didnt start duck hunting until a friends dad took me my sophomore year in hs. i had been shooting squirrels and feeder birds with a bb gun for a few years before i took hunters ed.

imo hunters in vermont at least should be required to take a hunter ed course every seven or so years. we've had quite a few hunter killed people lately over absolute stupid things. when we went to an antler restriction meaning you have to stop and count points on the antlers and make sure that both on one side were over and inch long we had more shooting deaths then the past 5 maybe 6 years. one guy shot his friend walking in a field after shooting hours. this old man watching a field was shot in his tractor by some kid that thought it would be funny to shoot out the windows of this tractor. this year a man was shot at by his friend twice mistaken for a coyote the first shot missed the second killed him dead. theres no doubt that stupid people "hunt" and im not saying we should have to pay the full amount each time we have to take the course but theres folks that got away with the "do not have to take born before a certain date"rule that are not fit to be in the woods.

i realize that may take a few hunters out of the woods but most likely the ones that leave would be the ones that werent safe to be there in the first place.

eddie
 
Scott F is correct in his info on CT but I would like to add that the state also sponsers some youth hunter training days where only the youth can hunt and carry a firearm on these days. They do it on a day before the season starts for the rest of us so it gives the youth a good opportunity to hunt game that has not really been pressured yet. They do these hunts for Turkey, Pheasant, Deer and Waterfowl. I believe the state is also giving season permits to some state lands for youth hunters this year where the rest of us have to apply on a daily basis.

Personnaly I think we need to reach out to kids beyond our own if we are to keep Hunting for the next generation. The easiest way to do this is to invite your kids friends to go with you so they are introduced to the sport. In CT there is only a very small percentage of the population that hunts so most kids will never have the opportuninty to be exposed to it in a positive light.

I took three kids hunting this year and only one of them was mine. The other two were friends of his from non hunting familys that also belong to our Scout Troop. I took them all on seperate deer hunting outings and of the three - two of them bagged deer. All three are hooked and want to be in the woods any chance we get. Turkey season is coming and I'm hoping to have a boat for next year so I can get them on Ducks!

PASS IT ON
Patrick
 
Alabama has no lower age limit on hunting. If you can tote a gun & your parents will take you, you can hunt. I've heard of kids as young as 4-5 shooting deer and on dove hunts.
At 16, you have to buy a license and you have to pass a safety course to get one.

I grew up in PA, where you had to be 12 before you could legally hunt and 16 before you could hunt alone. When I moved to Alabama, I found it quite scary (and still do) that some folks think that 4, 5 & 6 year olds are mature (physically & emotionally) enough to handle a loaded gun, even under close supervision. Maybe some 5-6 year olds are but I've seen very few that I think are.

My son will be 8 next month and I will think about letting him start shooting this summer, if he matures a little more. Right now, he's not ready.
Click to expand...

I agree.

There was an interesting post on another forum about MD (which currently has no minimum age) recently proposing to make it 12yo.

Some of the discussion is that this is a hunting prohibition, and this has raised some hackles.

In NC minors are supposed to be accompanied by an adult, but last year a local child (under 12) was allowed to leave a hunting party alone and accidentally discharged a shotgun into his chest while crossing a fence.

The basic assumption with "mentoring" is that the mentor is qualified, mature, and able to make sound decisions. Obviously, this is not always a perfect system. And, I've been swept enough at the range and in the field to have serious concerns with other parents.

I think that too many fathers are far too anxious for their boys to grow up. Some live vicariously through their youngster's participation in a mature sport. Emotionally, who could blame them? Logically, well you be the judge.

Personally, I schooled my son from 2-3yo on muzzle awareness, and by the time he was 12, physically and emotionally ready in my opinion, I purchased a gun for him, took him to the range, and got an instructor to teach him to shoot skeet. When he was proficient, we went to the blind and I watched him like a hawk for three years before I relaxed.

At 19, he has a maturity beyond his years with a weapon. He has NEVER swept a hunter or dog. He works for a limit by selecting safe and high percentage shots on doves and waterfowl. And, I take pride in watching my young hunter (as opposed to a shooter) in the field. I am glad that I took my time to get him into this sport.

I don't wish to poke at southern traditions and hunting culture. But, I cannot believe a 4, 5, or 6 year old ready for the field with a loaded weapon. And, my experiences have taught me to get distance between myself (and my partners) and those who arm children.

I don't believe in legislating common sense. But, what alternatives are there when an adult uses emotion to decide on arming a child vs. logic, and a fatality occurs? Some of these parents would jump at the opportunity for a fist fight with anyone who was presumptious enough to bring to their attention that their "little man" swept them with a loaded weapon or peppered them in the dove field.

Kudos to the states with backbone to do what seems logical in MHO. A 12 yo still has a lot of life ahead of him to enjoy this sport.

Great thread.

Regards,

Bob
 
Florida does not have an age limit. My boys started going with me at age 3 and became shooters at 9 and 10 years old. They do not require a hunters saftey course till they are age 16 since they are not allowed to hunt without an adult till they are 16. My youngest, Austin, is never more that arms length from me with a loaded gun so I can keep track of his field of fire. I am not aware of any hunting accidents in Florida that involve a minor. Could be... I just have not read of any.
Austin turned 12 during the Wisconsin Waterfowl season and we were there the following day to hunt with a friend. That's when we got the bad news that he had to have a hunter sfatey card to buy his license. Oh well ... he had fun just being there any way. I don't understand states being so restrictive when it makes it more difficult to recruit new hunters. I introduced 2 new hunters to the sport this year. If we had laws like Wisconsin it would not have been possible. Florida now has a mentor license. You can purchase a license 1 time without the hunters saftey card you just have to hunt with an adult that has a card.
 
Michigan was covered so I just want to add a few things. Personally I started hunting around 10 years old for small game. At 12 or 13 I got the archery bug and started deer hunting. Did it on and off and then got serious again in my late 20's. A few years later got into duck and now am a duck hunting freak.

I remember vividly stalking squirrels with my younger brother in the local woods with 10 pump air guns.

I now am the father of 2. I will take them hunting in Michigan when they are old enough 10 years old. BUT I am sure there first hunts will be sooner in Ohio where they will be able to hunt at any age I feel they are capable. Another interstesting think is they will have to wait till they are 12 to turkey hunt in MI ( Its considered big game) Turkey hunting is a perfect type of hunting for introducing anyone to the sports. Its warm and something you move and stalk and sit and call. Its got it all. WHY WOULD YOU MAKE THEM WAIT TILL THEY ARE 12 !!!

Again a trip to Ohio will be in order. Not a big deal I dont mind spending time and money out of state to let me kids enjoy time in the outdoors.

I dont see them hunting before the age of 8 but its hard to say they might have to wait until they are 13 its all based on when they are mature enough. I too have stressed gun safty from the start with them.


Another note. Aparently the youth age being lowed and the aprentice ( any age) program brought aditional funds into the DNR budget this year. Something I would have not thought about but its good when our DNR is starving for funds as is the rest of the state.
 
interesting discussion....me being form the south and having hunted my whole life, it seems strange for states to have restrictions on age.guess its what you get used to.my biggest concern is kids having to wait that long are more likely to be lost to other interests.its a known fact that we are losing big % of hunters every year.no need add insult to injury.
 
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