Kids, what is the right age?
03-24-2010, 05:14 AM
#12
Fork Horn
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Jackson, TN
Posts: 235
I think That any age is good. I have been arounf hunitng since I was 5 and have been hooked. I satrted turkey hunting with a gun when i was 10 and had a blast. I did take me three years to get a bird since being 10 but when I did, there is nothing like it. So she is at agood age. Go out and get a Primos trigger stick, wich is great for this stuff, and she will be fine.
03-25-2010, 04:32 AM
#13
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Where the ducks don't come no more
Posts: 4,420
Probably the most important thing up here of everything posted is what Mr. Longbeard said... at least indirectly. While you may or may not draw a line between kids, success and access to 'private green fields' (my family has never owned more than 1 acre of property... ever), his post does bring up and excellent point that I have heard my dad reflect on years later:
When I was born and Dad decided to take me hunting and fishing, as he put it, he pretty much gave it up. Now, thats not saying he quit, because we still hunt and fish together, but what he gave up was HIS way of doing it. No more running to the tops of mountains in the pre-dawn to climb a tree with a bow (not if I was with him). No more fishing hard all day for one or two trout... because I didn't care what kind of fish it was... I just wanted to catch fish! You have to amend your methods when bringing up a youngin' because they need to understand the why behind a long wait or a long walk. Point out the little stuff... and understand that they don't care about numbers or points or any of that.
I vividly remember being about 5 and sitting next to Dad on a RED HOT dove field along a river in Bath County, VA. Hadn't even gotten set down right yet and he pulled up and killed two birds with one shot and I thought it was the coolest thing to ever happen to anyone. I was done. And I said, "Ok, lets go... we gotta go tell Mom about this." all my dad could say was... " well... Ok." If he would have stayed.... I probably may well have not gone again. Who knows.
In hindsight, it was an incredibly unselfish act that speaks volumes as to just how great a Dad I have, and it is because of him and his actions that 25 years later I am as ate up with it as I am.
He has got dozens of stories of the ways I messed him... like a time we were in a hedge row and had 20 deer all around us. He was shootin an old recurve bow, and didn't have an opening. He said I looked like a puppy pointing a clipped pigeon for the first time... my eyes were as big as my wide open mouth... finally I couldn't take it anymore and I turned to him and yelled.... "SHOOT!"
I actually remember him rolling over on his side laughing as deer flushed and ran in every which direction getting away from there! Most folks would have been real sore about it... not my old man.
When I was born and Dad decided to take me hunting and fishing, as he put it, he pretty much gave it up. Now, thats not saying he quit, because we still hunt and fish together, but what he gave up was HIS way of doing it. No more running to the tops of mountains in the pre-dawn to climb a tree with a bow (not if I was with him). No more fishing hard all day for one or two trout... because I didn't care what kind of fish it was... I just wanted to catch fish! You have to amend your methods when bringing up a youngin' because they need to understand the why behind a long wait or a long walk. Point out the little stuff... and understand that they don't care about numbers or points or any of that.
I vividly remember being about 5 and sitting next to Dad on a RED HOT dove field along a river in Bath County, VA. Hadn't even gotten set down right yet and he pulled up and killed two birds with one shot and I thought it was the coolest thing to ever happen to anyone. I was done. And I said, "Ok, lets go... we gotta go tell Mom about this." all my dad could say was... " well... Ok." If he would have stayed.... I probably may well have not gone again. Who knows.
In hindsight, it was an incredibly unselfish act that speaks volumes as to just how great a Dad I have, and it is because of him and his actions that 25 years later I am as ate up with it as I am.
He has got dozens of stories of the ways I messed him... like a time we were in a hedge row and had 20 deer all around us. He was shootin an old recurve bow, and didn't have an opening. He said I looked like a puppy pointing a clipped pigeon for the first time... my eyes were as big as my wide open mouth... finally I couldn't take it anymore and I turned to him and yelled.... "SHOOT!"
I actually remember him rolling over on his side laughing as deer flushed and ran in every which direction getting away from there! Most folks would have been real sore about it... not my old man.
03-25-2010, 05:06 AM
#14
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 243
I agree 100% with swampcollie and having to adjust your tactics when you take your child with you. My dad treated me the same way and i believe that is the reason i am now obsessed with hunting.
One other quick tip about your daughter and shooting: Make sure she holds the gun tight. I know its obvious and its prolly one of the first things i was taught but its so key to shooting a gun. I say this bc my younger brother, the first time he shot my .410 he didn't hold the gun tight and the stock ended up recoiling upwards and drilled him right in the jaw. After that incident i don't think he tried shooting that gun again for a couple months. Thankfully my dad didn't push him into shooting it right away bc i think that would've turned him off to hunting.
One other quick tip about your daughter and shooting: Make sure she holds the gun tight. I know its obvious and its prolly one of the first things i was taught but its so key to shooting a gun. I say this bc my younger brother, the first time he shot my .410 he didn't hold the gun tight and the stock ended up recoiling upwards and drilled him right in the jaw. After that incident i don't think he tried shooting that gun again for a couple months. Thankfully my dad didn't push him into shooting it right away bc i think that would've turned him off to hunting.
03-25-2010, 07:00 AM
#15
Spike
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: I live in colchester essex england
Posts: 23
Whats the age that youngsters should get into hunting
Hiya forum members,
The great thing about hunting in america is that anyone that hunts,you will find that all the family join in,from the tiny's to the wives.And this is why its so very different in england,i have been involved with shooting for 55 years and over the years there has only been a small minority that enjoy shooting,and now thanks to our glorious government,the restrictions that have been imposed on shooters has become silly.I firmly believe that if the youngster shows any signs that he would like to have ago at any form of fieldsports,then start teaching him the basic disiplines of gun handling and safety.Get them young and keen and then hopefully you will encouraged another generation of hunters.I had three sons and only one got the shooting bug,so i gave the oportunity to try his hand at the fieldsports from an early age,he's tried rabbiting with ferrets,day and night shooting rabbits with a rimfire,pigeon shooting with shotguns,410's and 12 bores,and now when work allows helps me with my deer management.Both of my grandsons are as keen as mustard,so grandads teaching them now.I really wish that england would take the same lines with their shooting as you do in america,instead of taking the view that all shooting should be banned,and i am sad to sayits becoming a dirty word thanks to these idiots in the pc brigade,because they create so much they have got the governments ear..Me i will carry on and any youngster that wants to have ago then i will teach them.Its a real pleasure to see your youngsters in the photo's with what they have shot,the broad smile tells the story,good hunting to all of them.
regards,
chinese water deer.
The great thing about hunting in america is that anyone that hunts,you will find that all the family join in,from the tiny's to the wives.And this is why its so very different in england,i have been involved with shooting for 55 years and over the years there has only been a small minority that enjoy shooting,and now thanks to our glorious government,the restrictions that have been imposed on shooters has become silly.I firmly believe that if the youngster shows any signs that he would like to have ago at any form of fieldsports,then start teaching him the basic disiplines of gun handling and safety.Get them young and keen and then hopefully you will encouraged another generation of hunters.I had three sons and only one got the shooting bug,so i gave the oportunity to try his hand at the fieldsports from an early age,he's tried rabbiting with ferrets,day and night shooting rabbits with a rimfire,pigeon shooting with shotguns,410's and 12 bores,and now when work allows helps me with my deer management.Both of my grandsons are as keen as mustard,so grandads teaching them now.I really wish that england would take the same lines with their shooting as you do in america,instead of taking the view that all shooting should be banned,and i am sad to sayits becoming a dirty word thanks to these idiots in the pc brigade,because they create so much they have got the governments ear..Me i will carry on and any youngster that wants to have ago then i will teach them.Its a real pleasure to see your youngsters in the photo's with what they have shot,the broad smile tells the story,good hunting to all of them.
regards,
chinese water deer.
03-25-2010, 06:27 PM
#17
Spike
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 33
younger the better. if you wait until there teen years youv'e lost them. seems like from 12-20 there brain goes soft and they don't want to do the things there parents do unless they were introduced to the outdoors at an early age.
Would rather see a kid with a gun or fishing pole in his hand than a God damn video game controller or cell phone any day
Would rather see a kid with a gun or fishing pole in his hand than a God damn video game controller or cell phone any day
03-31-2010, 09:57 AM
#18
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Contoocook NH USA
Posts: 818
I just bought my son (who will be 5 on April 19th) a Remington Compact Youth 20ga. It's has 12" LOP but is adjustable with three spacers.
Will I get him out this spring? I sure hope so but I feel he's not ready he won't. When he's ready, I will not take him out until the knuckleheads have given up and he'll be hunting from a blind using a rest.
Will I get him out this spring? I sure hope so but I feel he's not ready he won't. When he's ready, I will not take him out until the knuckleheads have given up and he'll be hunting from a blind using a rest.
Last edited by MKMGOBL; 03-31-2010 at 10:00 AM.
03-31-2010, 11:59 AM
#19
Fork Horn
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 177
My oldest shot her first when she was 8 and my youngest harvested her first when she was 9.Get them out there as pretty soon sports and other teenage things will take over.I just purchased them their own 20 gauges and I bought the regular 870.They fit one just fine and the other I put a youth stock on so I can change out later.let them pattern their guns with ear muffs on and always use a rest.Practice like you hunt and make it fun.Worry more about the experience and teaching than killing
03-31-2010, 12:05 PM
#20
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location:
Posts: 2,186
One of the major considerations when it comes to taking kids hunting is attention span. In general the younger, the shorter is the time a kid can stay focused.
I introduced my daughter to hunting by hunting squirrels and rabbits .... where we were on the move constantly behind dogs. Then we went dove hunting a few years later. Plenty of action.
Asking a youngster to sit tight, and for turkey very tight, for lengthy times is a tough deal. You want to make the experience fun, not a drudgery. The right age ... as others said , that depends on the kid. And maybe there are some legal issues to contend with. Not here.
As far as suitable gun for turkey ... a 20 ga. , 3" with a full or "turkey" choke works great. The main problem is the fit. Off the shelf guns, even so called "youth" models have a length of pull that is set for the average person. I don't know that guy. A route that I went was an inexpensive, simple single shot. I cut the stock to fit my daughter. Put on a high quality recoil pad. Kept the cut. As she grew, I added plywood shims. Stained them to make it look OK. She is an adult now and I have long ago replaced the plywood shims the original cut out. It is a back-up gun for her now. Once she decided to get serious, she bought a 20 ga. Rem. 870 pump. Had it cut to her LOP and added a Rhino turkey choke. She has killed severla gobblers now, with most shots at about 30 ayrds.
I introduced my daughter to hunting by hunting squirrels and rabbits .... where we were on the move constantly behind dogs. Then we went dove hunting a few years later. Plenty of action.
Asking a youngster to sit tight, and for turkey very tight, for lengthy times is a tough deal. You want to make the experience fun, not a drudgery. The right age ... as others said , that depends on the kid. And maybe there are some legal issues to contend with. Not here.
As far as suitable gun for turkey ... a 20 ga. , 3" with a full or "turkey" choke works great. The main problem is the fit. Off the shelf guns, even so called "youth" models have a length of pull that is set for the average person. I don't know that guy. A route that I went was an inexpensive, simple single shot. I cut the stock to fit my daughter. Put on a high quality recoil pad. Kept the cut. As she grew, I added plywood shims. Stained them to make it look OK. She is an adult now and I have long ago replaced the plywood shims the original cut out. It is a back-up gun for her now. Once she decided to get serious, she bought a 20 ga. Rem. 870 pump. Had it cut to her LOP and added a Rhino turkey choke. She has killed severla gobblers now, with most shots at about 30 ayrds.
