how old must a child be to hunt in illinois? the 03-04 hunting guide says that children under 10 must have an adult or guardian attend the hunter safety class with them. i asked a conservation officer sunday night about the minimum age. she said " i think 10, but im not sure" . anybody know??

I am not aware of any minimum age requirement, except that some special youth hunt programs may have a minimum age of 10yrs. Generally, as long as they can understand and successfully complete the hunter safety course, they are good to go. All my kids took the hunter safety course at 9 or 10 and started hunting then. My youngest killed his first deer during the Youth Deer Season 2 years ago at age 9.

I help with a hunter safety course each year and we always have some 8 and 9 year olds in the class.

Thanks Tal