How young is too young to hunt.

[Nick87]

It's all too each his own but I'm not allowing my kids to hunt until they complete an in person hunters education course.

That's a damn good rule of thumb.

 

[jpcoll01]

Depends on the kid. I know a kid who killed his first antelope at 6 at 180 yds and he was more solid and confident than many adults I’ve hunted with.
Edited to add: he shot that antelope with a 6mm Creedmor

 

[D_Walt]

Depends on the kid. I killed my first deer at 8, and have been all about hunting ever since. My Brothers both killed their first deer around 10 and have no real interest in hunting.

My son killed his first deer at 6, he’ll be 14 next week and is about as consumed by hunting as anyone has every been. Just depends on the kid and what their life experience is and their individual temperament. My kids had been around 100’s of deer and hogs hanging on the skinning rack by the time they could talk. My daughter didn’t kill a deer until she was 12.

Bottom line, it’s up to parents to make the choices that are right for their own kids, it’s not anyone else’s business. If the parents are idiots, the kids have an increased chance of following the same path, crossbow or not.

 

[BAKPAKR]

I could hardly wait until I turned 12, which was the minimum age to hunt in Idaho at the time. I got my first bear right after my that birthday and I was hooked. I didn’t get my first deer until I was 14. It was a yearling and I was pretty darn excited about it.

I now live in the East. My daughter was weaned on The Outdoor Channel. She went out with my friend and me on a doe hunt when she was about 5. My friend was amazed when she stopped a doe for him with a bleat (picked up from The Outdoor Channel). Except for last year when she shot two elk at 13, she has shot a deer or two every year since she was six.

She really seems to like hunting so I think “How young is too young” really depends on the kid.

As an aside, I was always a “hurry up and shoot” person. She is much more deliberate, and remains much calmer when it counts.

 

[WildWill]

Yah I agree you can't put a number on it as every kid is different there are things my 3 year old can do that we still struggle with tueb5 year old. Every kid is different. Your situation is different though we all know you were rocking the full beard at 6 years old so you get a pass.

What did y'all not start shaving at 5?

 

[brockel]

I think each kid is different. My oldest who is 9 this year will be hunting next year when she turns ten. She’s been shooting BB gun and 22 since she was 5. Graduated to 17hmr and 223 to 22-250. She can shoot better than most full grown men can. She understands firearm safety and has been around butchering her whole life. She has been hunting with wife and I since she was born and has been there from start to finish. There are lots of kids her age that hell even adults that aren’t as advanced in the whole thing as she is. She’s pretty bummed we didn’t get to do much coyote calling this year.

 

[Tikka06]

I really think it depends on the child. I started my oldest at 8. Now at 10 he has killed 2 whitetails and we are actively seeking a 3rd. But that being said, he is not a typical child. He is incredibly mature with an above average IQ and has been skipped ahead in some subjects in school, not to mention being above average in size and competing on a high level in sports. In fact, several of his friends have all killed deer at this point. On the flip side, my middle child will likely not start until double digits at least. He is different altogether and I think he needs a few more years of tagging along before he gets behind the rifle. My oldest will be drawing 50-60lbs on his compound by next fall and possibly could see some time in the stand if fall baseball allows.

 

[Nick87]

I really think it depends on the child. I started my oldest at 8. Now at 10 he has killed 2 whitetails and we are actively seeking a 3rd. But that being said, he is not a typical child. He is incredibly mature with an above average IQ and has been skipped ahead in some subjects in school, not to mention being above average in size and competing on a high level in sports. In fact, several of his friends have all killed deer at this point. On the flip side, my middle child will likely not start until double digits at least. He is different altogether and I think he needs a few more years of tagging along before he gets behind the rifle. My oldest will be drawing 50-60lbs on his compound by next fall and possibly could see some time in the stand if fall baseball allows.

Jesus 10 and drawing 50 to 60 that kids a monster!

 

[Tikka06]

Jesus 10 and drawing 50 to 60 that kids a monster!

Well he gets up at 0600 and works out 5 days a week. That was his idea, not mine.

 

[Nick87]

Well he gets up at 0600 and works out 5 days a week. That was his idea, not mine.

That's pretty impressive.

 

[perma]

I don’t have kids or nieces/nephews interested in hunting so I don’t have a horse in the race so to speak. That being said, if I did, I don’t know that I’d make it about the age more so than I would about making sure they understand what they’re doing; killing something and why we do it. My niece, who is 10, does understand on what I’m doing, but I’m not sure that she would understand what she’s doing if she were to do it. Hell, I’m not sure my 18 year old nephew may not fully understand what he would be doing.

 

[FairWeather]

I’ve been thinking about this a bit recently. My brother in law and his wife have 3 kids ranging from 11 down to 1.5 yo. I have a single shot Rossi trifecta 22lr/20ga/243win set, and I’m considering giving it to them as a gift this Xmas with the idea being it’ll get passed down the line as they grow into/out of it.

With those options, there’s not much you can’t hunt and the hope is that maybe some of them will like it and stick with it.

I’m going to talk to my BIL & his wife about it over thanksgiving. First order of business is seeing if they’re comfortable with the idea and supportive of the kids hunting.

 

[Keep on]

My son was around 9 when he started coming along deer and turkey hunting under the mentored youth program in our state. It seemed to be a pretty good age to get started, we wouldn't go out all day, always brought snacks and made sure he was comfortable and warm. He had to wait until he was 12 to start waterfowl hunting, I think he enjoyed that more than the deer hunting, maybe because that's dads favorite as well.
9 seemed like a good age to get started with my son, we always talked about gun safety and that there is never any taking back a squeeze of the trigger. Kids are all different though, heck, there's plenty of adults I wouldn't want to be around with a loaded gun in their hands.

 

[rogerthat]

I have a kid too. He is ridiculously smart strong and good looking as well. Way ahead of the other kids as well. He is probably a genius too. He will probably start hunting when he is 10 maybe 12…months old. More importantly he already has 5k followers on the gram. Probably add Facebook and tik tok accounts on the next few weeks. He will need to monetize his following pretty quick or he will need to get a high paying job in the next few years so he can save up for his sheep slam, also if he doesn’t want to be a loser. No way I can pay for that crap. Man, being a kid is way more complicated these days.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

CO dad draw

 

[noharleyyet]

Fishing and hunting would be second on Ken Jr's list...

 

[TimeOnTarget]

My son started tagging along with me at 2 years old. Trapping, hunting, fishing, he was with. He had a BB gun and a 22 in his hands not long after, all the while learning firearm safety. At 5, he expressed interest in shooting a deer. I told him he had all summer to prove himself with a rifle and if he did that, I’d get him a mentored tag. He took it to heart, and was shooting Moa or close 3 shot groups in no time. We Practiced all summer. We went through deer books and magazines and he would put a dot with a marker on his aim point learning where to aim depending on Different angles in the pictures. Fall came and we got that mentored tag He made a perfect shot on a giant doe. He understood exactly what he had done when he squeezed that trigger as we had had that discussion Numerous times on deer I had shot prior. He put the work in all summer so why not reward the kid for his efforts. If a kid can be safe, proficient with his weapon, and take direction I don’t see the problem.

 

[longbow51]

Depends on the family. A friend of ours came from a family who lived for hunting, and they do the same. Two kids, who have trailed around with mom and dad for years. Shooting BB guns and .22s for years. 10 year old in the apprentice program just got a nice 3 point, and the next day helped cut and package, as he has done since he was 6 or so.

 

[TN2shot07]

Probably depends on the setups you have. I started taking my little brother to ground blinds when when he was 3, he took his first deer at 8. Only cost me one nice deer but now that’s one of my favorite hunting stories!

Every kid’s different and there are a ton of threads about first guns but I bought him a 243 to get started and he never would shoot a deer with it, he was determined to have a 30-06…

 

[Mallardsx2]

There is a reason that a lot of states don't let kids hunt until age 12. I certainly do not condone any child hunting earlier than that.

A 5-year-old doesn't understand death. The are barely out of diapers......