T
tjones
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Not all adults/ mentors make good choices regardless of the age of the youths.
Hunting in Idaho at 10
- Thread starter 6speed
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spook12
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Is this really valid when your State allows a guy to have 2 Antelope tags,8 Deer tags,2 Elk tags?
Get off the greed thing. It is not part of my mindset. The "quotas" you are referring to (which by the way don't apply to the whole state) were in effect in my state before the mentoring issue was brought up. Bet you don't see the liberal tag numbers this year. Hammer me if you want, but a lot of people in my state are opposed. Yeah, let's pile on more harvest. mtmuley
spook12
New member
Who's advocating more harvest? I'm certainly not suggesting that more tags find their way into the draws, why not just take some of those B tags that already exist and put them in the hands of a few properly Mentored Kids?
Does a guy that already has a deer tag really need 7 more B tags or could he get by with just 2 and let some Kids have the other 5 ?
It appears Idaho and Montana have different ways of managing youth hunts as it is. Some of the issues that may have come up in Montana if the age had been lowered probably won't be an issue here.
Last year there were 480 youth only controlled hunt elk tags and 605 total first choice applications. Some units didn't have enough first choice applications to fill the quota and awarded them to second choice applicants. Youth can not hunt in a controlled elk hunt unit without drawing a tag. Youth hunting on a general elk tag can hunt either the A or B tag for that zone but must follow all of the same season and weapon restrictions as every other hunter with that tag.
Last year there were a total of 1225 youth controlled hunt deer tags including 385 extra antlerless private land and limited access tags. There were 1434 total first choice applicants, some units went into the second choice applicant pool and 372 tags went unfilled in the first drawing. General mule deer tags allow youth to harvest antlerless deer at the same time as the adult general antlered season in 40 of the 77 units. Youth can hunt antlerless mule deer in 14 units at times not allowed by adult general tag holders of the 14 units youth are only allowed to hunt privat land using those tags in 11 units.
I am still not seeing where adding a 2 year age group of hunters will "pile up the harvest".
Last year there were 480 youth only controlled hunt elk tags and 605 total first choice applications. Some units didn't have enough first choice applications to fill the quota and awarded them to second choice applicants. Youth can not hunt in a controlled elk hunt unit without drawing a tag. Youth hunting on a general elk tag can hunt either the A or B tag for that zone but must follow all of the same season and weapon restrictions as every other hunter with that tag.
Last year there were a total of 1225 youth controlled hunt deer tags including 385 extra antlerless private land and limited access tags. There were 1434 total first choice applicants, some units went into the second choice applicant pool and 372 tags went unfilled in the first drawing. General mule deer tags allow youth to harvest antlerless deer at the same time as the adult general antlered season in 40 of the 77 units. Youth can hunt antlerless mule deer in 14 units at times not allowed by adult general tag holders of the 14 units youth are only allowed to hunt privat land using those tags in 11 units.
I am still not seeing where adding a 2 year age group of hunters will "pile up the harvest".
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Statistically, the kill will be meaningless to the overall population.
I spent 3/4s of my time hunting with my 13 year old this fall. We were hunting for him, I would shoot only if he killed. I think if you tracked the kills of youth, that many mentors gave up their opportunity for the youth.
Yep! I think this is often overlooked when folks look at a potential increase in harvest. I know I would do the same as you did.
fowladdict
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I think just about every father on this site would do the same thing whether their kid was 10, 12, 14 or 16. I have four kids, and I think 10 is too young for hunting Deer, elk, moose, sheep and goat in Idaho. The East vs. West thing is irrelevant. Different hunting styles.
Why is it so important to you guys to give your kids an opportunity to kill big game at 10? What is wrong with spending a couple extra years in the hills with the kids and teaching them to be better overall hunters before they have a tag in their pocket? They don't have to have a tag to be hunters.
In a way they do. To "hunt" you have to have the license/tag, otherwise they are hiking and camping.
Nothing wrong with waiting 2 years. But your questions result in a circular argument in that what is wrong with not waiting the two years? I will determine when my kids are ready and they won't hunt before then, be it 10 or 16. That said, I plan on doing all I can to make sure they are ready well before 12. Just how I want to raise them and how I want us to share time together.
If I lived in a state where 12 was the mandated minimum age, I'd be spending money to take them to a state they could hunt. I don't have that issue with my current address, however I'm still trying to convince my wife that we'd have more fun in either ID or MT!
PS- Danny Boone was only 4 when he kilt a 'bar!
fowladdict
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If only he could have had aviator shades!That is different. Boone was the Chuck Norris of his time.
10 year olds can already hunt small game in Idaho. If the parents feel the kids are capable of shooting big game, why wait? Does the state of Idaho know more about my kids abilities than me? Nope.
fowladdict
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You said that already. Small game is a different animal then big game. Somebody else mentioned driving. Does the state of Idaho know your kids driving abilities more than you? No. The laws are intended to be practical. IMHO 12 is practical for big game in Idaho.
I'm not going to change your mind and you are not going to change mine. My opinion is based on my own experiences and what I've observed through all of the years I have spent in the field.
smarandr
Well-known member
Why is 12 the gold standard for hunting big game? I find it odd that we've assigned arbitrary ages to be considered worthy of an activity; 10 to hunt small game, 12 to hunt big game, 14 to buy a fishing license, 15 to drive, 18 to smoke, vote and buy rifle ammo, 21 to drink, gamble and buy handgun ammo, 35 to be the US president, 59.5 to draw on my retirement, 65 to get medicare, and on and on.
Watching the Fox News video referenced earlier in the thread maybe the British guy has a point; handling a deadly weapon seems like it requires more responsibility than drinking a beer so let's raise the age to 21.
Watching the Fox News video referenced earlier in the thread maybe the British guy has a point; handling a deadly weapon seems like it requires more responsibility than drinking a beer so let's raise the age to 21.
spook12
New member
Pretty astute observation,considering some of those numbers(Driving age) are based on known facts, others are just myths(Drinking and Smoking age). The age 21 seems to have originated at our founding, when you had to be 21,white,male and a property owner to vote.
There is no Federal drinking age or smoking age. You can give your kid a drink of beer or a tobacco product whenever you see fit. A jury of your peers can find you guilty of abuse if you allow them to get drunk but you have broken no Federal law by allowing them to have a drink. The ages 21 and 18 are a cool study when you consider that 21 appears to be the number that a bunch of Old white dudes decided best defended their interest. The voting age didn't go down to 18 from 21 till those in that age demographic demanded the full rights of citizenship in exchange for their service in the draft.
I've wondered if we didn't need those young people between 18 and 21 would we ever have ''Given'' them the right to vote?
Big Sky
Well-known member
Alaska doesn't have a minimum age and you don't hear them whining much about it...
twodot
New member
hope they are smart enough to let those kids hunt.
after over twenty years of Hunter's Ed, instruction, I will still stand behind my belief that 7,8,9, and 10 year old kids are the optimum age to receive instruction. Somewhere around 12 or 13, they become much harder to teach anything. I have had the pleasure of knowing many, many very young, very serious little sportsmen and woman.
after over twenty years of Hunter's Ed, instruction, I will still stand behind my belief that 7,8,9, and 10 year old kids are the optimum age to receive instruction. Somewhere around 12 or 13, they become much harder to teach anything. I have had the pleasure of knowing many, many very young, very serious little sportsmen and woman.
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