There is also a drinking limit and limits set for the military. They are all different. I do see how you can compare hunting with driving as far as age limits but that is all. If you need a hunting limit then good for you.

We have one in NC. It says you can hunt with a supervised adult and at the age 16 you can hunt by yourself.
A youth under age 16 accompanied by a properly licensed adult may enjoy those privileges conveyed by the licenses held by the accompanying adult.*

If you need a rule or a law then there you go. Welcome to NC.

Come on DD, reread what I wrote. Comparing a gun to a car is like camparing apples to oranges. There is a lot less outside influnce while using a gun than there are operating a car. i.e. stop signs/lights, speed limits, pedestrian crossings, and especially other drivers, the list can go on and on. Hands on teaching a kid the 3 basic rules of a firearm is a lot easier and more effective than teaching a kid to drive.
Your arguement holds no water. Sorry.

i agree that maturaity is better determination than age. I started when I was 15 going by myself with no license. I didn't know any better. What I ddi know was the basics from my grandparents. Always shoot a deer in the kill zone so he won't run. Always set still. And always take a pistol or a sidearm for dogs or yotes. I've seen grown men that shouldn't even own a gun due to a low maturaity level.

[quote]ORIGINAL: ahankster

Way to go Jay, you are doing it right.



There is a huge difference between sitting in a box blind with a child, teaching and in complete control of the situation and being in a car on a public highway. Learning about behavior and game choice is just the beginning.There is so much thatgoes into the preparation for the actual hunt, not to mention the basics. Range time, education, safety etc.
Any moron can see the difference.
Let a 12 year old out on his/her own, no way.
Teach a 7 or 8 year old everything you know and completely control the hunt where they are allowed to take game, absoloutly.

Hank


Hank lets make sure we are talking about the same issue ...My point was that if you lower the age so kindergarden kids can carry a high powerd rifle into the woods and set in "seperate" blinds or treestand by themself (I.E. within radio distance I think someone said earlier) the comparrison I was trying to make was it would seem to be just as dangerious as letting a 12 year old drive a car even if a parent were setting in the next seat...I just do not think they are ready at that age ..but thats JUST MY personal opinion ... so if I am a "moron" in your eyes then so be it ... I have a 34 year old son that I taught how to shoot a bow and use a shotgun before he was 12 but I did not allow him to take a rifle in the woods alone until he was 16 ...

dd

In N.Y. the age is 16yrs. i and others would like to see this changed to 12yrs. i know some will say to young, but there are only a few years that we still have some control over our children and thats when there young and impressionable. When they get much older theres that boy or girl around the corner thats a lot more important than ma and dad. School is also the killer football, basket ball etc. there not with us any more. This why i think we should get them while there young. Rich

RWK I can agree with you as long as a parent is within arms length of a minor with a hunting rifle ..I think its our heritage to teach our children about the outdoors ..how to hunt ..safty of a firearm ..no question about that ...the only problem I have would be for them to carry a high powered rifile in the woods and hunt in a stand unsupervised by an adult and preferably a parent ... but as I said earlier thats just a morons opinion.

dd

12 with an adult near by (in stand or close enough to see).

DD,
Once again, the ambiguity of the whole post strikes. YOU are talking about ALONE. I am talking about DIRECT SUPERVISION. The question was talking about ALLOWED to hunt, period, not with an adult, supervised or alone. Just allowed to hunt.
Here is where I totally disagree, don't take the ability of myself and many other parents in the south (where there generally is no age limit) to take their kids hunting and teach them with practical field knowledge down to the actual taking of game. Heck, in Mississippi and Alabama they actually have state sponsored youth WEEKS, not just days like some places (before the regular season)for deer, ducks and doves where parents can take their kids hunting with no competition from other adults.
You and I probably agree for the most part. My kids probably won'tbe allowed to hunt alone until they are 14 or 15. They will be allowed when, in my opinion (which is pretty critical) they are ready. Not by some arbitrary proposed law. One of them will probably be ready at 13 or 14, the other at ... well, who knows. But that is just it, we don't need a law to tell us as parents when they are ready. I am responsible for their every action until they are of age. Difference between people like me, and people that just have to have a law, is that I recognize this and have no problem shouldering the responsibility and manning up to it.
So, like I said, the poll should read, "how old should a child be to hunt ALONE" .

R
Hank

In some parts of the world, 12, or 13 is considered adulthood!
That said, in our society, I'd say that 12 ,or 13 would be the MINIMUM age, PROVIDING, they are reponsible enough to be trusted with the responsibility of hunting alone, with a high-powered weapon!