24hourcampfire.com
24hourcampfire.com
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Hop To
Page 2 of 2 1 2
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 101
M
Campfire Member
Offline
Campfire Member
M
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 101
Originally Posted by BKinSD
Its different for everyone and their kids. You've got to be the judge. A kid by himself with a phone and a gun and some limits imposed on him, lessened bit by bit, should be ok. Add more kids, motor vehicles, etc and you can see how things can go wrong.

I routinely tell people that, looking back, we (my friends, my brother and me, all in High school at the time) did things while duck hunting that should have gotten us killed. Overloaded leaky boats, with seriously underpowered motors being at the top of the list. If my mother had any idea of the risks we took with shotguns, waders, boats, motors, pickups, etc she'd have sold the whole works for a dollar. That said, as a result, I learned well how to get myself out of a serious jam. Point being, we were trusted with "too much" all at one time. Too much could have gone wrong. Yikes. Just give kids little bits of freedom at a time, I think.

I agree.

BP-B2

Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 3,003
U
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
U
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 3,003
Your kid, your call. I would expect a 13yo who has demonstrated control of himself and dedication to safety to be OK.

When I was a kid getting to go deer hunting was when we were big enough to handle getting kicked by a gun that used buckshot. About 8 for most of us. There was no sitting with Dad watching over. They stuck us out well away from anyone else. Of course, most of us went squirrel hunting by ourselves at that age. Kids back then matured faster because they spent more time figuring things out on their own without parents hovering around telling them what not to do.


Living in a world of G17s and 700s, wishing for P7s and 202s
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 29,664
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 29,664
Back again. A couple years back I watched a TV pheasant hunt that I suspect was somewhere in the Dakotas. Part of the program focused on moving kids into the circle. For their initial season, youngsters were on drives right in line with the big boys, but were packing dummy arms with lots of orange tape on the muzzles. Anyone and everyone kept an eye on those kids with the understanding that their arms handling and shot calling (hen, rooster, shoot, pass) would be closely scrutinized. A thumbs up/down call by the group gave the kids access to real gear the subsequent year. A great process I think for that community.

Big game and wilderness situations are another call entirely.

Last edited by 1minute; 01/15/20.

1Minute
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,274
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,274
In KY, my sons had to hunt with an adult until they turned 16. They were ready for it by . . . maybe 13-14, but I appreciated the extra time with them.

At 3, I let them hold firearms-- that got the mystery out of it.

At 4, they could come to the blind with me and watch

At 5, they had to start holding training rifles and practice with them in the field.

At 8, they could take Hunter Ed. I made them do that before they could hunt with me. Nowadays, you can't take the test until 12.

At 8, everyone was shooting a pellet rifle and then a 22. The one oddball was Moose. He shot 44 Mag and 357 Mag before the 22 LR. It's a long story.

By 12, everyone had shot a squirrel and hunted deer under supervision. Angus had shot a turkey

By 12, everyone had an adult-sized deer rifle in 30-06 and a 12 GA shotgun


Genesis 9:2-4 Ministries Lighthearted Confessions of a Cervid Serial Killer
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,274
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,274
In KY, my sons had to hunt with an adult until they turned 16. They were ready for it by . . . maybe 13-14, but I appreciated the extra time with them.

At 3, I let them hold firearms-- that got the mystery out of it.

At 4, they could come to the blind with me and watch

At 5, they had to start holding training rifles and practice with them in the field.

At 8, they could take Hunter Ed. I made them do that before they could hunt with me. Nowadays, you can't take the test until 12.

At 8, everyone was shooting a pellet rifle and then a 22. The one oddball was Moose. He shot 44 Mag and 357 Mag before the 22 LR. It's a long story.

By 12, everyone had shot a squirrel and hunted deer under supervision. Angus had shot a turkey

By 12, everyone had an adult-sized deer rifle in 30-06 and a 12 GA shotgun


Genesis 9:2-4 Ministries Lighthearted Confessions of a Cervid Serial Killer
IC B2

Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 8,413
T
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
T
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 8,413
Originally Posted by hitNpass
So I guess I'm answering my own question about the safety aspect but I still just wanted to hear from other dads about when and how they made their decision?


There's a maturity question .. you're far more able to judge than anyone else. In the '70s in Oregon, we could not hunt 'til we were 12 and we could not hunt alone 'til we were 14. That seemed to work out pretty well for me. My father dragged me through the woods when I was younger, then I did hunters ed, could hunt, and shot my first buck at 12 and another at 13. Once he was ok with what I was doing, he passed me off to mom while he began coaching my sisters who were 1.5 and 3 years younger. I think, though mom was supposedly the adult, I was more babysitting her than she was babysitting me.

You might consider getting a second opinion on your son's readiness to be out alone via one of your peers. Have the kid hunt with them, then get their feedback about how the kid behaves when not under YOUR supervision. .. just a thought. Parents, especially today, seem to have too much of their own ego wrapped up in their kids' activities and are not as objective as they should be.

Tom


Anyone who thinks there's two sides to everything hasn't met a M�bius strip.

Here be dragons ...
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 101
M
Campfire Member
Offline
Campfire Member
M
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 101
[Linked Image]

I feel like mine will be on the right track. This is my youngest (8 months). I let my 12yo explore a bit with his 30-30. It is an unnerving feeling but its something he needs to go through.

Last edited by Matty99669; 01/18/20.
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 8,185
P
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
P
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 8,185
as i have stated before kids need to know how to work so they learn some respect for themselves,my son was always gun crazy to learn at 6 or 7 years of age he started shooting 22 LR and at 9 i got him a youth 20 gauge pump by age 10 he started shooting trap at the local trap range as did 2 of his friends by the time these 3 were 14 they were very good trap shooters. 2 of them won state trap titles the one that didn`t Luke just might have been the better trap shooter ?now they are all 30 some years old at the club now days we have 300 some trap shooters these 3 boys i shoot trap with them all 3 are the best trap shooters at the range , their averages last year Danny`s is 24.7 Luke was 24.40 my son Cory`s 24.35. none of these 3 practice ever. when mark luke`s dad and i walk out to shoot as a team most of time the only that may mis a clay target that will be me ,so you know who buys the beer !
>parents need to spend alot of time with their kids at a young age shooting and learning gun safety control.

Last edited by pete53; 01/23/20.

LIFE NRA , we vote Red up here, Norseman
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,202
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,202
State laws vary.

I was "hunting alone" as soon as I was old enough to carry a Daisy BB gun.

There weren't nearly as many people around back then though, and all I had to do was walk out the back door.


One shot, one kill........ It saves a lot of ammo!
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,832
V
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
V
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,832
In Virginia the law is they have to be older than 12 years to hunt alone. As far as to when to turn them lose on their own it depends on their maturity level, amount of training, whether hunting public or private land, etc. My boys hunted with me but in separate stands as early as 14 or so, but I checked on them at noon and they had walkie talkies where we could communicate. They were 16 and had their drivers permits when they went hunting without me.

IC B3

Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 1,531
F
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
F
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 1,531
I believe Texas is the same, 12 years old. I'm no longer up on the law about hunter education. Back when I taught it you had to be 12 to be certified and if you were certified you could hunt by yourself.


What goes up must come down, what goes around comes around, there's no free lunch. Trump's comin' back, get over it!
Page 2 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  RickBin 

Link Copied to Clipboard
YB23

Who's Online Now
97 members (16penny, 257_X_50, 338Rules, 444Matt, Akpilot, 13 invisible), 1,743 guests, and 742 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums81
Topics1,187,727
Posts18,400,720
Members73,822
Most Online11,491
Jul 7th, 2023


 







Fish & Game Departments | Solunar Tables | Mission Statement | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA
Hunting | Fishing | Camping | Backpacking | Reloading | Campfire Forums | Gear Shop
Copyright © 2000-2024 24hourcampfire.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
(Release build 20201027)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.3.33 Page Time: 0.105s Queries: 14 (0.003s) Memory: 0.8513 MB (Peak: 0.9472 MB) Data Comp: Zlib Server Time: 2024-03-29 07:27:33 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS