Just because a kid starts shooting at 3 doesn't mean he/ she is on their own. They should always be under strict supervision.


I'm a very responsible parent. I accept full responsibility for my sons actions. All of my friends know how strict I am w/ him and gun safety. He wanted to carry his rifle to the blind on his own this past season. I was fine w/ that, but unloaded. He slung it over his shoulder and we were off. I knew he'd fall or something sometime, because his boots are a little too big and he is clumbsy to begin with. He fell on the rifle and buried the scope in the soft dirt. The rifle was unloaded and we were both safe. I made him carry his shells in his pocket and then he loaded it in the blind. Ya got to think about all consequences and I did resposibly as a father and mentor. I'll remain doing this till I know it's time for him to carry it loaded.

I was married at a young age (22yrs old to be exact). My wife and I waited over 10yrs before we decided to have a kid. I knew I was mature enough to settle down and raise him as a real father should. My son will be 7yrs old tomorrow and he knows what life and death is. He knew that before he killed his first hog. I'd never ask him to hunt until he knew that once it is dead, it is dead and there is no coming back.

3

I think people in this discussion are confusing two separate questions: when did you get a gun, and when did you start hunting.

I had a friend buy a .410 pump off me for his grandson. Still regret doing that. I'm not even sure the kid was born yet, but Gramps was starting the arsenal early. I think the kid is about 7 now, and as far as I know he never shot the gun - Gramps decided the .410 just wasn't good enough for his grandkid and gave him his nice 20ga over/under. The kid has shot a deer with a .30 carbine while sitting in a blind with adults, but I have been told he's leery of anything bigger or louder than that.

So, he had a gun at birth, but I wouldn't say he's been hunting yet.

I tend to think a little later is better, like about 8 or so. But these posts always turn into a competition on how early "my kid" was hunting. It should not be an ego stroke for dear old dad, but too often I think it is.

My kid was walking at 6 months.
My kid was potty trained at 9 months.
My kid was shooting a 22 at 3 years.
My kid shot his first deer at 4 years.
My kid was driving a stick shift at 5 years.
My kid yada yada yada....

I've been in camps with some of these 'uber-responsible super kids'. No matter what the dads want to say, they are still just KIDS. I've seen em cry cuz the gun's too loud. I've seen em swing around and point the barrel where it should not be pointed, but their dads all said they were old enough. I've seen em throw baby cry fits and a few hours later they have a gun in the blind. There's one youngster (who is no longer that young) who I won't be around, cuz the way he acts its just a matter of time til he shoots someone. His dad doesn't see what everyone else does.

I guess my point is take everything a dad says with a grain of salt, cuz we are overly proud of our kiddos, and not the most unbiased source of info.

Please don't just rip on me cuz I see the other side of this point. I am not calling anyone out on this topic. I just think a LOT of kiddos are handed firearms by well intended parents when they are not yet mature enough for them.

By the way, My kid can outshoot your kid.

Pay no attention to anything that Rick O'Shay says about irresponsible parenting. Confirmed bachelors don't get to vote and his opinions have always been questionable. Senility coupled with retirement seems to do that.

Hey man, it's been too long. I was thinking about you and Del the other day. I walked into a whole mess of pigs and they erupted like a covey of quail. I went back to the area a couple of weeks later with a shotgun with buckshot and didn't see anything. I still have no idea how to hunt hogs.

Scoop, your kid can probably outshoot me.

redchevy, most of the farm kids I knew were shooting REAL early. Was it safe? I don't remember but the nearest neighbor was a long way away. The 22 was not an autococker. We moved to town when I was in my early teens. The only accident I recall was when one of my 16 year old buddies killed his best friend while quail hunting. Of course, adults also have done that.

Yeah, it is possible that the years have dimmed my memory of exact dates. However, my Grandparents always said that by the time I could keep both ends of a rifle off the ground, I was gone from the house. A lot of farm kids were. There was no TV or other kinds of entertainment so we just went.

We are in a different world now and kids don't have the opportunities that we had. Some of that makes sense. Last year we hosted my Grandsons basketball team for an end of season party. We're going to do it again this year. Half of the kids had never shot a BB gun or held a fishing pole. Nor had their parents ever been "outdoors". Everybody asked about rattle snakes.

BTW, I never had to walk a mile each way, through the snow, to get to school. Nor were both directions uphill. We had a school bus because town was 20 miles away.

Whoa! In my post about my son I said I started EDUCATING him about firearms @ 3! As I said, it was a process over about 3 years before he started shooting anything but a BB gun. And who the hell or you to be calling some of us more experienced men senile? You damn sure don't have any idea who you're talking to.

Go ahead and show me where I called any one senile! If it is in my post it is a typo.

As for the 64 years in hindsight... sorry he said he was 68 and yes people forget things over time dont they. I never said anything to you so you can just go ahead and cool your hot little self back down

matt

start them off early and always manage /teach them proper safety/marksmanship skills. when they can read get them into a hunters ed course. when the child can demonstrate proper skill set get them into a rifle they can be comforatble with and spend time with them to ensure success. Its never to late to start, but start slow, supervise and set them up for positive lifelong experiences.

A lot of us older guys hit the outdoors early because there wasn't a whole lot else to do. Indoors back then didn't mean cartoons or video games. So, we went outside and outside meant going away from the house. There was the creek that didn't have many big fish. There were turtles that were just begging to be shot at. Jackrabbits ate the crops so we shot all we could. Most of us were given the Ok to take along a 22 when we left the house. Of course, there was always at least one dog along. Town kids got to play with friends. We didn't have that opportunity so we picked up a gun and headed for the creek or other places. The townies and us envied each other.

redchevy, that's what I mean about a different generation. I have Grandchildren your age. If your Grandfather is still around, ask him what he did when he was a kid and after school.

There's a lot more to it than just teaching about guns or being old enough to have a gun. Learning to hunt is a lifetime education that is a lot more than sitting in a wooden box with a gun or bow.

There's the opportunity to teach them about wildlife and nature in general. Tracking is a lost art and I'm not all that great at it. I try it a lot and figure I'm better than most but it's never a sure thing. But I do enjoy taking kids out and trying to track a deer and trying to backtrack them. The objective is to get them to figure out where a deer came from, why it chose that path, and why it was where it MAYBE started out. Then get them to track the deer and figure out why it went to a certain place.

It doesn't take long to figure out the difference in a pig and a deer track but the kids enjoy learning.

I also enjoy teaching the predator/prey relationship and why deer and other prey animals need the predators like coyotes. To me, killing coyotes could be condemning deer to a pretty dismal starvation.

In a couple of weeks I'm taking some kids out to try and find natural forage for the deer herd. What I already know is that the fall drought eliminated just about all of the forbs(weeds) and that the deer will have a really tough time surviving until Spring. Mama nature is just about to turn into a mean bitch.

I have a very short time left with these guys. Sports is already taking a big toll on weekends. Soon, some girl is going to walk by twitching everything she has and ..........