kodiakhuntmaster

buck-i,
The law in Georgia says nothing about taking a bb gun hunting with you (unless you wanted to shoot deer with it) during gun season. The ones my nephiews were toting were unloaded. Though, when we got back from "hunting" they had fun shooting them for target practice.

I do agree that if a child wants to go hunting, and they are legal and responsible, then they should be alowed to go.

kytrophy, that's great that you had the opportunity to go hunting when you were 12 and that you got your first deer. I was 14 before I got my first one. I had no one to take me when I was younger. What I'm talking about (and I think most people here) is people taking kids who are too young to appreciate the opportunity they have, or are being forced into it.

"Hey ya'll, watch this"

Striper Phil

Soarkrebel I do apologise!!! Got your 12 year old mixed up with the 7 and 8 year old posts. Big difference between 8 and 12 year olds.

The only other thing is pulling the trigger even with dad is illegal where I come from. Bottom line when you can obtain a legal license your are old enough to hunt.

One Shot One Kill Striper Phil

soarkrebel

Striper phil i wondered why you attacked me but i understand about getting confused ,i have done it many times. i have said things on here i regreted after i wrote them. it happens!
Now i have never helped my son pull any triggers. he did kill his first at ten but he was as big as a eleven y/o and actually age wise he was closer to eleven. but that isnt why i let him,age that is, it was his drive to hutn with me. he could shoot well at the age and i felt he could mentally handle it. and the little guy has never shrugged from the bloody side of it. granted at his age he cant do all of the cleaning but he is always willing to help.
now my eight y/o has no desire to hunt he only loves baseball. i hope someday he will want to go . but only if he want to. hunting isnt for everybody.
striper phil something my 12 y/o did on the first morning of gun season this year convinced me of my feelings he is ready and just as good as any so called adult.just after daylight a good buck came out into our pasture and began chasing does. now he was a real good buck for south arkansas! my boy watched him through his scope hoping for a good shot. the deer got a little out of his comfort zone for a good shot. plus he didnt present a good shot . he decided to let the buck go and hope to get a shot later. not many adult hunters ,i believe, would have done this. an hour later he killed his first buck , he was nothing close to the first buck, but you would have thought he made the book.
i now feel good as a parent and feel i did a good job when it comes to his hunter education. i just hope i can do as well with with the rest of his years and his brother and sister.


And i will confess i get mad when i watch shows and see dads helping a 7 or 8 y/o hold the gun so the kid can pull the trigger. if they are going to take an animal they should be able to do it all themselves. the shot that is.

I'd rather them hunt with me than have to hunt for them.


SOUTH ARKANSAS REBEL

burniegoeasily

You have to look at it this way. They are not hunting yet. They are simply with mom/dad while mom/dad are hunting. Letting them take the shot is not hunting. It is simply letting them participate, nothing more than when my 4 or 5 year old real in a fish I hooked. I am agianst letting kids out in a blind by themselves until they have meet the standards held by the law. Also they need to understand the saftey and have demonstrated it to the parents before let out on their own. As for the demonstrating a respect for the animal. Its not teaching irresponsibility by not having them field dress or drag the animal, as long as they are involved in helping or learn as an infield lesson. Now if you let them run back to the cabin soon after with out them hanging around to experience all that the after shoot inteals, then it is a diservice to them. As for age, I think 5 thru 7 is a little young to responsible let them shoot on their own.

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity" Martin Luther King Jr.

Bowtechkid03

I am 17 almost 18.

In ohio you have to be 16 to hunt alone. I started hunting around 7. with my dad i harvested my first deer at the age of 9 with a bow. the way i see it is i passed all the tests. I could pull 40 pounds so that made me legal. At the age of 12 and 13 i was sitting in a treestand by myself with dad a short distance away. My knowledge of the sport was great and i soon after was capable of doing everything required to be a deer hunter at the age of 14. But i was not legal to hunt alone.

another point is what is the difference of me having about 6 years experience and being 14. versus a 21 year old just grabbing a hunting device with no background of hunting. ????? which one would you be safer hunting with. ??? its all about their knowledge and how they applicate it on what age they are mentally able not phisically able to hunt. Role models make all the difference.

soarkrebel

Bowtechkid03 good post!
I"ll take the 14 y/o that knows how to hunt! the one that has been taught patience ,restraint and respect.

SOUTH ARKANSAS REBEL

Noleball

My dad started taking me hunting with him when i was about 9 or 10. I was not allowed to shoot at the deer nor did I have a gun for the first two years. Then I was awarded with a 20 guage single shot to deer hunt with. Whether or not I could handle the gun and the deer was not in question.

As I mentioned, I started hunting with him when I was 9 or so. When Dad got a deer, we brought it hom eto the shed and he watched me clean it and helped when I needed it. Then, after a few years, he quit watching and just told me to go clean the deer while he warmed up in the house. I gues we were lucky because we learned early.

I don't have a problem with kids hunting as long as they know what they are doing and they can help with the work after the kill is made.

Striper Phil

I have been following this board for a while now and I noticed that on other posts most of you guys are "Follow The Law to the letter".I rebember one where someone wondered if a guy used his tag on a several day old deer find he shot and could not find that day. I do not htink I would give up a tag like that. To the point I don't think most states issue 7,8,9 year olds hunting permits. If you let him/her pull the trigger that is the same as POACHING as in hunting without a permit.

One Shot One Kill Striper Phil

kodiakhuntmaster

Even Ted Nugent's kids had to go to Texas to hunt before they were "of age" in Michigan.

"Hey ya'll, watch this"

WorthlessNut

Truthfully I was surprised by most of the replies to this thread. I always encourage everybody to get a youth involved in hunting and the outdoors. I know a few others the same way as I am(of course we rarely come to this board because of the mindest here). Anyway you can get a youth involved and interested in hunting is a plus.
My two youngest both passed the Hunter's Ed course at 9 years old. I didn't allow them to hunt for deer until they were 10 and knew the ins and outs of what they used to hunt with. They learned how to scout and read signs. They can shoot accurately and are very safety concious. (They shoot trap better than most adults do also).
One turned 12 this past fall and took his first deer with a rifle. He made a clean kill without any problem. He helped field dress the deer with me. No qualms at all. We didnt have to drag it because the landowner came and got it for us. But we would have dragged it out together. His mother wouldnt be able to drag a deer out on her own (so she shouldnt hunt then?). I have no doubt that my boys can pick out their own spots to hunt.
But what of the others? That is a job for the rest of us to help out with instead of being the selfish elite. I see nothing wrong with the youngsters hunting with their parents. Most hunting parents explain and teach the kids as we go with them. If they stay home they will get more involved with other things and will not get involved. It does not foster sloppy hunting ethics. It encourages the youth to hunt.

I have seen many adults not drag out their deer. I couldnt do a 250 lb deer alone myself much many others. So I guess I will only shoot fawns from now on. LOL

I also see too many irresponsible adults hunting alone. I trust a youth way more than any adult. The youth will listen if you teach them right. So I say heck yes let them go. If alot of others went while they were younger there would be more hunters now.