Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire How old must you be to hunt on your own i

Regulations?????

I got a JC Higgins ss .22, and a box of shorts ammo for Christmas in my 13th year and was hunting with it alone that afternoon. Got a cottontail too. I don't recall if I even sighted it in. Probably not.

I've been conservative of ammo ever since.

I'd helped clean birds and rabbits before, so no OTJ training necessary at that stage. I hunted and cleaned my first deer, without any previous training, at 16. It's just a big rabbit.....

But that was North Dakota, 60 years ago. The thought never crossed my mind - or, likely, anyone else's in our little town of 400 people. City cop stopped me several times as I was walking through town to head out unto the prairie to check that I was carrying the firearm unloaded, until out of town. A 13 year old there (now Pop 300) could probably still get away with it.

I still don't carry a hot chamber until necessary.

I'd been tagging along, gunless, with an older brother and occasionally bird hunting with my Dad since I was 7 or 8, tho, if that counts for "supervision".

When I grew up in Virginia there was no minimum age to hunt and if I remember correctly my father gave my brother and myself each a .410 single shot shotgun when we were 9 and 10 respectfully, this would have been in the early 1960's. He took us on squirrel hunts then but I was 12 or 13 before he would allow me to hunt by myself, and then only if I was truly by myself (no kids from the neighborhood allowed together). His thinking was I was smart enough and had been trained enough to not shoot myself but but a group of young kids together with guns might get someone injured or killed.

Last hunting season my 19 year old granddaughters new boyfriend, also 19, wanted to hunt with us on the farm but he did not grow up in a hunting family. He did not have his hunter safety course yet so the only way he could hunt was to purchase an apprentice license (good for two years) and hunt under the direct supervision of a licensed hunter 18 or over. Since my granddaughter had hunted for years and had her safety courses and prior licenses she was able to be his mentor which allow him to hunt and kill his first deer. This reversal of what what we consider normal masculine and feminine roles in teaching outdoor skills was an enjoyable experience for our family hunting outing that year.

Michigan is 17 years of age.

No minimum age for licenses (youngest was 18 months in the database)

Mentored license < age 10 needs a parent or guardian with them at arm's reach.

Apprentice license > than age 10 needs a parent or guardian or an adult designated by them to be with them (within eyesight or verbal communication distance without shouting or radios).

Hunters 10-16 years of age with a Hunter Safety certificate still need the supervision of apprentice above.

According to the MIDNR, youth hunters are safest hunters in the woods when hunting directly with supervision as reported by hunting accident stats in MI.

This really isn’t accurate. I work at a packing plant during game season. We cut hundreds of deer and elk every season.

The absolute worse are the old 60+ transplant hunters. Most of these guys don’t know how to field dress. Some of their game look like lightning hit them, others not gutted at all and expect us to do it. Generally doe deer and cow elk is all these guys can find. Pilgrims are the worst.

Kids and especially native Montana kids do a fine job.

My post wasn't in reference to how well their dad or uncle dressed the deer for the butcher.

I'm sure there are plenty of blue hair transplants that moved to "live" here as a snowbird and claim MT residency that shouldn't be int he gamefields, probably almost as many as shouldn't be driving.

Most of the kids we see that bring in game field dress their own and we see a lot. Hundreds every season.
It’s not that hard.

What proof do you offer to the contrary?

I’m not talking blue hair pilgrims, I’m talking most immigrants in general suck at breaking down animals.

Why do you feel this way about kids Gruff?

My son loves to fish but I don’t think he should be let loose with the electric filet knife just yet, should he just watch while I fish until he can clean them himself?

I don’t hunt on a corn pile but if Chester is going to blast some does over his and eat them why shouldn’t Chester Jr be able to do the shooting?

I see it as a good thing either way and yes I expect the kid to help and learn but I don’t like the idea of him having to sit on the sidelines until he can do it all himself. My son and I have had the talk several times about where food comes from and why we hunt and fish, I think all kids need this kind of a talk at a young age and I’m sure you would agree. I’m for getting them involved and the younger the better.

No being argumentative just honestly curious.

Proof? Proof of what?

You haven’t defined “kid” or how you know they cleaned the animal and whether they helped or were able to get it out of the field.

12 and up legal to hunt in MT, 10 and up with a mentor.

Most 12 and up can deal. Seen it many times. Dads in MT teach their kids. It’s not hard.

You have kids gruff?

I’m not against kids in the game fields at all man. I don’t remember how old my son was when he got his first .22 but it was young. And he shot gophers with it soon thereafter. He also accompanied me for several years (at his own insistence) before he could legally shoot a deer. There was a LOT gained by him doing that. And it was fun. Yeah, I pushed it too hard a couple times and walked his legs off, but it ingrained in him an appreciation for it. I get that it’s a fine line as far as how hard you make it for em.

One of my fondest memories is of him sitting with me opening morning watching coulee the opened up to the river. I made a good shot on a buck, but it was still on the run so I shot again and hit an antler right at the base of the beam and sent it cartwheeling down the hill. He jumped up and cheered//laughed then later was making fun of me for taking a break hauling it up and out of the coulees on a game cart. He was probably 8 or 9 at the time.

For me hunting big game doesn’t have to be busting your hump climbing 3k vertically and fending off wolves with a pointy stick and harsh verbiage. But is sure as fûck isn’t sitting a 7 yo behind a rifle on sandbags in a box blind waiting for a deer to come into the corn.

We are not disagreeing. My son put miles on with me for several seasons before he could punch a tag. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

On the other end of this is the question of when you need to give up going it alone in the field. That’s more subjective, for obvious reasons. Last season I invested in a satellite “leash” as my wife refers to it so at least the paramedics know where to find the body. I bought a Zoleo, which not only sends out periodic location info, but has an SOS button, assuming you’re able to activate it after you have a whoopsie in the woods. Very light and so not a burden at all, and I can bluetooth it to my phone and send texts even where there’s no cell coverage.

I’m still dragging them out whole, but might try the gutless method next season. I keep a cart and/or roll-up sled cached in the area I usually hunt to make it easier. My drags are typically about a mile, give or take a bit.

It's been about 18 years now since I taught Hunter Ed. I'd have to make a phone call to be sure and it's a bit late to do that right now.
However, IIRC, a child could take Hunter Ed a 9 years of age but would not be allowed to hunt until 10 years old. I think they had to be accompanied by an adult until 12 or maybe 14.
When I was doing it, most of the instructors were volunteer and for all practical purposes we did it all. About the only time Game and Fish got involved was when the warden came to class and lectured on the laws. Toward the end they made changed in the curriculum that I and several other didn't agree with plus Game and Fish took over big time leaving us old time volunteers to be nothing but gofers. Told them piss on that and I'm outta here. I liked what I was doing and just didn't like the changes.
I think I may still have copies of the old and new manuals with the changes.
Paul B.