Semisane

Louisiana has a special either sex Youth Hunt before the regular season opener. It allows youths younger than 16 years of age to hunt under the supervision of an adult who must maintain visual and voice contact with the youth at all times. Only one gun is permitted.

It's a great program that gives dads, grandpas and uncles the opportunity to take a kid in the woods before the pressure of the regular season. Naturally, the week after the hunt the Louisiana Sportsman hunting forum contains lots of posts with pictures of young hunters and their kills. Fine stuff.

One recent post contains the picture of a pretty little 4-year old girl with blood smeared on her cheeks who took a nice 8-pointer during the youth hunt.

While I love the idea of the youth hunt, it seems to me that four years old is just too young. It's great to have a kid like that accompany an adult in the stand. But four year olds should be shooting BB guns at tin cans, not .243's at deer. They're just too young to fully understand what they're doing and what hunting is all about.

What say you?

flounder33

I think 13 or 14 is a good age so the kids have an idea what they are doing. Younger than that it is great for them to sit in the stand with mom, dad, grandpa, grandma, uncle, etc and watch them hunt. Just my opinion.

SuperKirby

My son is 3. I can't see him being ready to hunt in another year. I'm not sure I can see him even having the capabilities to hunt if he wanted to. I'm sure I'm a skeptic, but when I see something like that I always wonder if Dad shot it and used the kid as a cover.

lemoyne

I started mine at 12 staying with him for 2 years, at the age of 14 he got the biggest buck anyone in the family has ever taken. He was hunting by himself for the first time and passed on 3 does before the buck come by.

popeandyoungchaser

I think that 4 years old is a little young for a kid to actually have a gun in their hands while hunting. I can remember going out with my Gpa when i was that young. But i wasn't carrying a firearm. By five i was shooting .410's and .22's and squirrel hunting by age 6. I killed my first deer at age 10. I was hunting on my own by age 13. I think it really depends on the individual as to how fast they progress. Some kids are more comfortable than others being alone in the woods by themselves at that age.

Going back to the original point, I don't think a 4 year old has the understanding of what is going on as far as shot placement and decision making to be hunting deer. Small game maybe, depending on the individual.

Gotbuck

I was reading here in Missouri if the child is hunter ed certified they can sit alone at age 6. No way in hell as kids are kids, I think around 12 is a good start to sit alone. The main thing is, is how the child is prepared, is he/she mentored by a family member or the media? I went with dad around 6 and was in his stand, he made the shots and told me about hunting, where to aim, etc. I did not hunt alone until 12 and not until then, until I had shot the gun at the range and got familiar with it and kept up the grades in school was I allowed. He instilled respect for the gun and the game and that hunting is fun is no game but has rules and if those rules are broken then no hunting for you.

WOODTICK49

4 is entirely too young to be actually shooting an animal.Accompany an adult while they are hunting,yes.IMO 12 with close supervision,14 unsupervised with me close by.That being said the child would have to prove they were safe with the firearm,before I trusted them.

cayugad

I am not 100% sure but I believe the legal age is 14 in Wisconsin with supervision and hunters education. To allow a 4 year old to sit out there with an adult and actually shoot a rifle... sounds more like Dad was claiming one for the family and using the kid as his reason. I can not even picture a 4 year old that would or could do such a thing.

We read all the time about hunters caught with illegal deer, that were tagged by their wives, girlfriends or children of legal age, and only the hunter is around. It is just a way they can shoot more deer and hunt longer.

omegasmoke

I see this kind of stuff way too often in the papers. Adults shooting deer on their childrens tags claiming the child shot it. It makes me sick. Bring them along with you like I did with my sons and let them shoot when they're able too realize what they are accomplishing. I think Ten years old is a little too young in most cases, 4 is ridiculous. There was a case here in MN a few years back where a 14 year old shot and killed his father at 5:30 am while the boy was in his tree stand. Too early for him to be in the tree alone anyway. He shot his father because he thought he was a bear that was going to attack him. He was hunting deer by the way. A sad story.

gregrn43

My son didnt start actually hunting with a gun until he was 12. i took my nephew who is 12 now last weekend on the arkansas youth hunt. He shot a nice fat doe sat evening with his dad's 243. He was tickled to death. I took him out several times this past summer so he could practice shooting it. She was 60 yards and he put the shot right behind the shoulder. I was proud of him.