Buck Huntin Girl

I was just reading the various posts around for the youth hunt and it depressed me...

My little girl was suppose to hunt the Indiana youth hunt this year, she is 7. I went out and bought her a little 410 last month, took her to the range, signed her up for hunter safety (I have no doubts she can pass it, she's a smart little bugger, reading at 6th grade level in 2nd grade)... well, hubby (her stepdaddy) and I took her out two weeks ago for a final sighting in at the range and she wouldn't shoot. She said it hurt too bad. [&o] She had never said anything before, so I wondered if something happened to change her mind (like her real dad [:'(]) or if maybe she had shot it off of her collarbone at some point or her bicep??? I dunno, all I know is hubby and I were so depressed, and we couldn't let her know it either.

She was so worried that we would be mad at her, and we had to reassure her over and over and over that it was her decision and that if she never wanted to hunt that would be alright with us... she finally decided she was going to wait another year and try it again. One week away from her first season and mommy and daddy were sooooo depressed.

I know she's still really young... sometimes I wonder if we were jumping the gun, but she's the one who said she wanted to hunt this year... so we just went with it. She likes to shoot the .22, she wanted to hunt deer with that and we had to explain that a .22 wouldn't work for those purposes.

Anyone else had this experience?

ipscshooter

I basically had the same experience with our middle son. He wanted to try shooting skeet with me when he was about that age. I got him one of those little Snakecharmer .410's, as that was what fit him at the time. He quit after a few rounds. He came around when he was older though, and we spent a lot of time shooting pistol matches together, until he got a driver's license and discovered girls.

I took a lesson from that, and didn't start our youngest out with anything bigger than a .22 until he was 12. He's now my deer hunting buddy and shoots his .243 quite well.

Bob H in NH

Shoot LOTS with the .22 get her to like shooting again, then shoot just enough to make sure she knows how to aim the .410. Then explain to her that she will NOT feel the recoil or hear it when she is shooting at a deer.

My son tried to pattern his shotgun for turkey season, took one shot and was reduced to tears, afraid to shoot. I finished the patterning and we went turkey hunting. He never felt the shot and routinely shoots 3 inch mags out of it at duck and deer.

Buck Huntin Girl

Thanks for the advice... my husband did try to explain that she wouldn't feel it when she shot at a deer. It didn't work. That's okay though. I think she was still a year too young to fully grasp the concept of aiming. The first time we went to shoot, she was using open sights because we didn't think we could drill the barrell for a scope. We took it to a gun shop and they said absolutely they could, so we went ahead and had it drilled and mounted my scope from my muzzleloader. She would have been fine if the scope would have been on the first time she went to shoot, then she could have just taken hunter safety and gone out... that's okay, it's her decision anyway, not ours.

I know it's just a matter of time, but she is getting into cheerleading this year (I wanted so badly to persuade her to play basketball instead... but that was a no-go too), so I am hoping the cheerleading won't outweigh her desire to hunt.... such as life if it does, I still have a 4 1/2 year old boy and another girl on the way... I *know* my son will hunt.

Killer_Primate

My opinion is to let her tell you when she's ready. If you let her shoot a gun that has more recoil than she's comfortable with, she'll develop a flinch. And they can be hard to get rid of. Also, be sure to teach her all the dynamics of shooting. All children and most adults don't have a clue what happens when a projectile leaves the barrel ofa fire arm, and there is a lot more than most people think. This way if she's missing high or low, she'll be able to explain why, and that she's probably right on the money. It's pretty cool to see children gain confidence in shooting, but that comes with good sound dicision making on your part.
I have a Chinese made SKS that is a great little rifle for kids and adults. It is a 7.62 x 39 cal, which is a great whitetail deer round. Some will say it's not powerful enough, but if you take responsible shots, I assure you it is. In fact since it isn't too powerful, I think it may even be delivering more energy into the animal than my 30.06 which is probably guilty of putting 3000 ft lbs of energy into the hill behind the animal instead of in the animal. I've dropped a number of deer with it, and it works just fine. It's an auto loader, so the recoil is drastically reduced, has some cool history (it is a combat rifle comparable to the AK-47), their pretty inexpensive. I paid $100 for mine and it was new. But that was a number of years ago. I think they go for around $300 now, but they come with a sling, ammo belt, oil can, cleaning kit and tools. The best part is - they are so cheap to shoot. A box of "wolf" hollow points is only $2.10 for twenty rounds. And that is the same ammo you'd use for hunting. And with ammo that cheap, your daughter will be able so shoot that gun enough to get really good with it and it will really boast her confidence.
But let her find her own pace. I have four kids (two boys/two girls). My oldest is nine and he's a boy. I took him hunting when he was seven, and shooting a ground hog ruined him for a couple of years. We were deer hunting, but on a piece of private property, and one of the rules is "ground hogs are to be shot on site". This year he says he wants to go again, but he may still not be ready. But man he can shoot, so when he does decide to go - deer look out!

There is a really good book called "shoot better II". The first chapter tells you basically everything you need to know about shooting, and it is not filled with a bunch of boring filler. The rest of the book is filled with tables on ballistics. So after you decide what you want out of a gun/cartridge you can use those tables as a reference.
Good luck!

TurkeyStalker

I took my 4 year old son turkey hunting with me last fall while using my bow. I brought my blind also so movement wouldn't be a problem. He likes it, but I didn't pressure him to stay any longer than he wanted to. I let him make the choices. I will take him out again this year with me bow and hopefully see some birds.

habitat

I put the sims slip on recoil pad and it helped alot,I also always make them wear shooting muffs when sighting in or praticing.My 11 year old daughter got her second buck last sunday which follows 5 turkeys,a ram and a hog,my 9 year old daughter missed the same night.to bad youth season was only 2 days long.Keep them interested and they will be able to handle when ready,theres no greater thrill

Buck Huntin Girl

that's great habitat! Congrats to her! I can't wait to feel that rush. I am going to get to go with my mom this year. Can you believe it??? My MOTHER wants to hunt!!! I can hardly wait for shotgun opener now, just for that reason alone (I am confident I will have my tags filled during archery...so it gives me something else to look forward too). She came out and sat in the blind with me and hubby last year and we didn't even see anything, and she *still* wants to hunt. I think she wants to show me up... but hey, once she does it, she'll be hooked, so I'm all for it, I hope she bags a bruiser.

uncle matt

IMO 2nd grade is still too young to hunt. About 7 yrs old, right? That is a tender young age to understand the harvest (kill). Once the harvest takes place- there is no going back.

Another thing that must be taken into consideration is what if the shot isn't perfectly placed and you have a deer either run off wounded or thrashing around on the ground. IMO only a perfectly placed shot with a .410 is going to put a deer down good so it leaves those scenerios entirely possible. Those scenerios will not leave the child feeling very good IMO.

I don't know if you have check stations or organized hunt programs over there in flatland. Maybe you could just bring her to see what it is about, what other youngsters are doing with their hunts - but not to see what she is missing out on.

Take it easy and focus on things she might find cool. Some new camo bibs, her own binoculars or maybe a camera she can use to "take" her game. Keep taking her out as a non-hunting partner, after all it is her company you want mostly right?

She's young and there is plenty of time. If you head down the wrong path now, you'll have to turn around and go back a lot further than where you started to get close to a good new starting point.

I wish for the best & believe me, I've been there and done that w/ 2 of my 3 boys.

DannyD

Let her keep shooting that 22 (if she wants)

I would wait until she asks to try the 410 again. Otherwise going to the range might just seem like going to the dentist to her.
She'll let you know when she's ready to shoot it if she really wants to get out there hunting