When is the right age to start hunting...

[MagicBlade]

My son started hunting geese & ducks with my best friend at 10. When we moved to Texas he was 14 and we started deer & duck hunting. He is an avid hunter now and his son shot his first turkey at 4. Since then the three of us have deer hunted together. My grandson shot his first deer at 6 and has spent numerous weekends at my lease and is now part of the gang. Every kid is different and maturity varies, but spending time with them is more important than killing!

[wentwort]

Every child is different. I started mine sitting with me when they could sit still for a few hours. Some kids can do it sooner than others. When it came down to shooting the game I let it be there decision. We could just sit there and watch or we could harvest. It made them fell like it was their hunt not just mine. It also told me what was going on in their heads and if they were ready for what came next. My daughter was willing to just watch the deer a longer than my son. When they started asking to actually do the harvesting we really worked on shooting skills. It just seemed to come naturally over time. They were probably 4-5 when they were sitting with me and about 6 when they became the shooter.

[GarGuy]

Start taking him with you next year. Let him mature in the woods watching you. Get him a bb gun and start teaching him how to handle it safely. Only have it when you are supervising at first.You will know when he's ready to pull the trigger on a deer.

[Low Fence]

My daughter was born in August and was honestly in the dove fields the same year. I let her check traps and stalk a few hogs about 4, and got her first gun at 5. She killed 2 turkeys as her first “big game” not counting hogs in traps to learn shot placement and communications. She’s 8 now and has several hogs and 2 deer under her belt.

Every kids different. If they want it, I’ll do all I can to help make it happen while still letting them learn and not just be a trigger man. I’ll put money Lola can out hunt 1/4 of grown men

[bowmansdad]

My dad gave me a BB gun when I was 7. I went squirrel hunting with him up until I was 12. He gave a 20ga, which I started hunting squirrels, went on my first deer hunt at 12, killed my first deer at 15.

During all of this, dad taught me about gun safety, how to use a gun, how to care for a gun.

To answer your question, when a child can understand the dangers of guns and understand gun safety and use that gun safely, that would be a good time. it really isn't about hunting, its about safe gun use. That's what I did with my sons and daughter also.

Great post! I did this with my son and grandson also, safety first!

[mdnabors]

I’m in the “Double Trouble” boat too! These 2 boys love hunting every bit as much as I do...and that’s a lot. I grew up hunting with my dad in diapers in the dove field and spending time at deercamp. I killed my first deer at age 7 with a 20ga and buckshot. I remember it like yesterday and the addiction hasn’t stopped.

My boys started joining me in the deer blind about age 5 and watched me shoot a couple deer in Fall and Turkeys in Spring. I taught them how to shoot with a small .22LR and of course they loved their RR BB Gun. We also shot some old .410’s I have. I kept it easy and low recoil and just wanted to make it fun for them. They love plinking turtles on the pond in the summer and that really helped them learn to handle the rifle and also to aim small and take their time with shooting through a scope. They transitioned really easily to their .243’s after that.

The pic is from 1/1/19 and they both killed their first deer about 30 mins apart. They were 7yrs old and had told me “Dad we want to be like you and shoot our first deer at 7yrs old”. So that’s what we did last year and they were fortunate enough to both get one. They also have to share and take turns shooting since there are 3 of us in the blind and only 1 can shoot first. Funny enough, they both took their 2nd deer last week just seconds apart from one another almost same as last season. Really special time I’ll never forget with these 2 and many more to make in the future.

A long winded answer to the question, but when I knew they could handle the .22LR safely and the .410 safely I let them hunt for their first deer. They had helped me clean plenty of deer and turkey and knew what it meant to take an animal and get the meat. They also think it’s way cooler to eat the wild meat we kill in the field than from the grocery store! Good luck and keep it fun when its time.

[sticks]

I am blessed with 8 children 2 daughters and 6 sons, ranging in age from 19 to 4. I will have to say that some have it and some don't. And to add it all comes to them at different ages. My oldest son who is 19 now and in the US Army has always tagged along and been an outdoorsman and my now 16 yr old son has also form toddlers. But there is a great difference in their passion and natural instincts when it comes to hunting. My oldest 2 killed their first deer the same day Jr was just shy of 11 and Alfred was just 8. But even that day Alfie had a more serious and spiritual manner to him than his older more experienced brother. Jr is now a young man in the Army and will engage and is very knowledgeable about hunting but Alfred, he has the sickness if that makes sense. Just last week he gave me a drawing for Christmas that he had done. It was a drawing of a big whitetail buck. My point is, he craves those things naturally. Now to clarify I have 5 biological sons Jr,19, Alfred,16, Ernie,10, Augie,7, and Ruben,4. They live with their mother and have been separated from me for nearly 5 yrs. I have remarried and have been blessed with a 16yr old step daughter Raeli, 11 yr old son River and a 7 yr old firecracker girl named Kyndel. These 3 kiddos have never had any type of father figure and certainly no knowledge of the outdoors or all the good stuff we love. I have been with these 3 kids for the last 4 years and I can say that my 16 yr old girl could cut the head off a baby lamb and drink its blood and spit it on the oldest 2 boys and then probably whoop them in a fist fight. She looooves to fish as she has only had her first experience from me taking her a mere 4 years ago and ever since. BUT she has no desire to hunt... NONE. River who is 11 and basically the same age as Ernie who is 10 has the want of tagging along and that comes from him wanting that father son bond but once we get to the farm and get in a stand he's ready to go home which Im good with I just like being outdoors with the kids but Ernie the 10 yr old has some irritability when River tags along because he knows that River is going to cut our adventure short and that he doesn't take it as serious. As far as sitting in a stand River is talkative, restless, and loses interest very quickly. And one thing that I noticed just last week as we had several encounters with deer up close River does not get excited about it at all. It would be no different than seeing a fly land on the wall for him, and Ernie on the other hand needs a mouthpiece to keep his teeth from shattering because he's got the fever so bad just from the encounter. Now the two 7 year olds Augie and Kyndel, they are all for it and not only do they crave the bonding with dad they take hunting seriously. They pay attention to signs they are alert they are vigilant on being quiet and aware. And whenever they are ready I think they will have that instinct to take it to the next level. The 4 year old ….HE'S FOR SALE IF ANYONE IS LOOKING... CHEAP! HA HA HA. I know this is a lot of unnecessary rambling but I had to paint the picture of what I have seen in my years with an array of different minds and personalities and how I honestly believe some have it and some don't and whenever they are ready they will let you know.

You are a blessed man!
And they are blessed to have you to share that passion.

[Txtourist]

I don’t have the answer, I’m definitely an overzealous dad and started my kids very young on hunting, driving and other things against the wishes of family and friends, bringing them out to the blinds at 2-1/2. Kids seem to be turning out well, we’ll know more in a few years (2,5,9). I guess I just figured I’d try to raise my kids to be useful and act like farm kids that are expected to help out while still having a chance to be kids

It’s easy/fun to revel in the great times we’ve had, while at the same time working to ensure they don’t get spoiled. It’s good stuff and in hindsight, maybe I’d have had them tag along for a few more years before they started pulling triggers on game. They were definitely killing before they could comprehend it all, but the part that really helped bring it around was the processing and preparation of the food we eat.
My biggest takeaways now are that it’s never too early to work on fundamentals such as gun safety and how we conduct ourselves hunting, respect for life and proper game cleaning and handling. The rest just kind of falls into place. Preparation is paramount, which I learned the hard way. I grew up being cold wet and hungry quite often, and took a break for a few years (very possibly due to noticing girls), and did not return to the field until I had good gear and was comfortable. Nowadays, if anyone’s cold or hungry, we try to fix it, or call the hunt. We also have at least two changes of clothes with as cocoa gets spilled, they’ll invariably find water and end up soaked and even fall onto a gut pile while poking it with a stick!
Pre-season we work on playing the FREEZE game, when dad whispers freeze we all have to freeze until dad says it’s okay. Making a grocery list, packing a bag for a day or weekend hunt, even cleaning the truck out afterwards. I guess hunting for us is much more than a trigger pull or even time afield, but time together learning, preparation and much more.

[Hawken]

My two daughters both killed deer at six years old. I spent time with each of them at a shooting range. I got them.243 caliber rifles with little recoil. They both did great when it was time to take a deer.

[M.LUNA]

My daughter was born in August and was honestly in the dove fields the same year. I let her check traps and stalk a few hogs about 4, and got her first gun at 5. She killed 2 turkeys as her first “big game” not counting hogs in traps to learn shot placement and communications. She’s 8 now and has several hogs and 2 deer under her belt.

Every kids different. If they want it, I’ll do all I can to help make it happen while still letting them learn and not just be a trigger man. I’ll put money Lola can out hunt 1/4 of grown men

What caliber of gun is that in the picture, what model savage is that?

[fbchunter]

I started taking my son with me at 4 years old. I decided last year at 6.5 I’d let him shoot a pig. I drilled into him the fact that when something is shot with a gun it isn’t coming back, it’s dead and that’s that. So at 6.5 I decided to let him shoot a pig. We are normally covered up with them, but last year we couldn’t see them to save our life. So, near the end of season a buck comes out, he shot and grazed the brisket. Although we studied where to shoot he got so excited he admitted he didn’t aim. He was so upset he cried. So, we went back to practicing, and a week later during youth hunt, a doe comes out and he drilled her. This year we practiced quite a bit before the season. Youth weekend he shot a doe, perfect shot. General opener he shot a pig Saturday and a buck the next day. All animals were killed with his DPMS .223. I explained to him from the beginning how special shooting an animal is, and how blessed we are to be able to do it. We pray before and after each hunt, and I think he truly understands how special it is. I think the main thing is to explain life and death, gun safety, and to be grateful to be able to go whether we kill or not. Good luck, obviously there is no one size fits all plan, but start early laying the groundwork and things will be great

[JHT]

I tried my hardest with my three daughters. They love going, can shoot guns till theres no ammo left, don't mind helping skinning or quartering up but none of them had any interest in killing something till this season. Two of them hunted with me a few times, one of them was hunting with a bud of mine and his two daughters. The two with me just turned it into a two hour comedy improv routine. I didn't mind, they had me rolling.

On the day we were supposed to head home I planned on sleeping in until I was woke up from the daughter who was hunting with the other group. Get up, lets go. She was very into it now. We had some does come out and I asked her which one is a good one. I shot it in the lungs. Went through the routine of what happens after the shot. I let her track her (20 yds) and she was going crazy when she found it. She had the hooked look pretty quick.

She got a rifle for Christmas. She and her twin sister turned 14 Dec 20th.

Better late than never but were looking forward to next season already.

[Low Fence]

What caliber of gun is that in the picture, what model savage is that?

.22lr
Savage rascal

[bphillips]

Both of mine (4&6) know exactly what happens what it means and love knowing they’re a deer they helped me with. Both are dying to do it their self but my 4yr first thing he grabs is on a gun is the trigger no matter how often I correct so he just isn’t ready that way. My 6yr old girl is full on ready and takes instructions really well. Next season she will get a shot and my 4yr old might depending on how he progresses

[okrattler]

I started out riding along with my grandpa and my uncle and watching them walk fields, kicking up pheasants and quail. I was young,probably 4 or 5 years old. I started shooting prairie dogs and other varmints around 7 or 8 and started walking fields shooting pheasants and quail when I was 13. It just depends on the kid probably. I was fine shooting a .22 when I was young. I also knew what it meant for somethin to die and what guns can do to people if you screw around. It's not hard to figure that out when you walk up to a prairie dog or jackrabbit and it's innards are scattered around a 5 foot area after a 22-250 smacked it.