Too young to go hunting? Says who?

[LifeNRA]

John Wagner was 5 when he killed his first deer with one shot from a .223-caliber rifle.
He is standing in the living room of his family home and recalling with mounting excitement how in December 2004 he trained the cross hairs on the 75-pound doe as she paused beneath a tree house where he and his father waited.

"I shot it right behind the front shoulder," the boy said. "Dropped it right in its tracks."

John, 6, stands about 4 feet tall and weighs about 50 pounds. He is a good student, earning a monthly award for responsibility in kindergarten last year.But he'd rather be hunting.

"I like it," he said. "Shooting a gun and shooting at the animals and killing them."

When an 8-year-old girl made headlines this fall by bagging the first black bear of the season, many Marylanders were surprised to learn the state has no minimum age limit for hunting. However, for some families in rural areas such as Garrett County, learning to handle firearms is as much a part of childhood as losing baby teeth.

Hunting opponents aim to change that. <font color="red"> The Humane Society of the United States </font> is talking with state legislators about establishing a minimum hunting age of perhaps 16, said Heidi Prescott, the society's senior vice president of campaigns.

"A deer rifle can kill someone up to a mile away, and young adolescents lack the experience, judgment and emotional maturity to handle that kind of firepower safely," she said. "To send someone into the woods with a long-range weapon who's not even mature enough to drive a car is an invitation to tragedy."

State wildlife managers disagree. Paul Peditto, director of the Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife and Heritage Service, said children who have passed the state's tests for firearm competency and hunter safety -- a requirement for all new hunters since 1977 -- should be allowed to hunt.

The safety exam can be given orally, as in John Wagner's case. Practically, "you're probably talking about the exceptional 5-year-old and the average 8- to 10-year-old" as being capable of passing the course, Peditto said.

He acknowledged that some people are alarmed by the idea of children with loaded guns, "but invariably they're people who don't hunt, don't have any intention to hunt and have never participated in a hunter-safety course."

That doesn't describe Prescott. She said she has taken the Maryland hunter-safety course and found it fairly easy. The 10- to 14-hour course includes a 50-question, multiple-choice exam and a live-firing test that she said doesn't approximate the stress of hunting.

"You're shooting at models with an instructor standing over you," she said. "You're not shooting at moving targets."

Maryland's hunter-safety requirement places it among 13 states with youth-hunter policies that the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the National Wild Turkey Federation consider "somewhat restrictive." A 2004 report commissioned by the groups lists 17 states with less-restrictive regulations and 20 with policies considered more restrictive because they ban most hunting before age 12.

The study found that hunters 6 to 15, when accompanied by an adult, have a better safety record than hunters overall. It reported that in 2002, there were 1.6 shooting incidents -- by firearm or bow -- for every 1 million supervised youth, compared with 52 incidents per million hunters of all ages.The report didn't include an incident rate for unsupervised youth hunters.

Maryland has no adult supervision requirement for junior hunters, defined by the state as those under 16. Peditto said that, in practice, junior hunters usually are accompanied by adults because the youngsters can't drive to the hunting grounds.

[In North Carolina, youth under 16 do not need a license if accompanied by a licensed adult 18 or older or if the youth carries the license of a parent or guardian. The youth still must show proof of passing the N.C. hunter safety course and can obtain a Big Game Harvest Report Card, according to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission's 2005-06 N.C. Inland Fishing, Hunting and Trapping Regulations Digest at www.ncwildlife.org. The age changed from 21, as printed in the Digest, to 18 after printing.]

John Wagner was to be with his father, Jody, on Nov. 12 when thousands of youngsters participated in Maryland's Junior Deer Hunt, a one-day event for hunters 16 and under that requires adult accompaniment.

John's mother, Liz, said she or her husband would accompany their son on all his hunts until at least his 13th birthday. She said some parents think John is too small for hunting and don't like him talking to their children about it.

"I say, 'Well, he is fully supervised and he's not out by himself,"' she said. "I think it's good for kids to learn this. It teaches them how to be responsible at an early age."

[johnf]

I would bet that most of the kids 10 and under are probibly more careful while huntig than us adults. After going through a hunter ed course they probibly retain more of the information and take the rules more seriously than most of us.

My daughter who is 9 will hunt with me as soon as she is ready. If she had been ready at 4 I would have taken her. I have a friend who took his 4 year old grandson last year and he harvested a doe, this year at 5 he took a spike and grandad is proudly having it mounted.

I think it should be up to the parents to decide when their child is old enough. At 9 my daughters not ready. If my son is at 4, he'll go with me.

[Texan_Til_I_Die]

I agree. As long as the youth has adult supervision, I say the minimum age should be left up to the parent, not dictated by the state.

[Canadian_Goose]

we have a miminum age of 12 up here but as long as I can remember I have been hunting... and I can remeber times far earlier than 12.

[hoyt_hunter]

we can hunt when we are 12 in Nebraska when accompanied by an adult, when your 16 you can go out on your own, IMO if the child is under adult supervision, it's fine for them to be hunting

[stevebeilgard]

the ugly truth is that the hsus folks are very aware of a 10 year long study that clearly says that if kids are not introduced to hunting at a very early age they will most likely never hunt. and, they clearly know that 16 is too late.

[muggs]

though I don't like to see the state get involved in this, I think it's a good idea wait until our kids are 11 or 12 before taking them into the woods. A younger brother shot and killed his older brother in the deer woods this year in Ohio, and I think age was def. the reason.

[Tominator]

[ QUOTE ]
I agree. As long as the youth has adult supervision, I say the minimum age should be left up to the parent, not dictated by the state.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ditto. I'd say adult supervision should last until the person is between 16 or 18, I waffle on that one.

[AaronS]

The government should stay out of it. Not all kids mature at the same rate. Heck, my 7 yr old daughter is more mature than my 10 yr old daughter. It should be up to the parents if the child has passed the Hunter Safety course.

[johnf]

[ QUOTE ]
though I don't like to see the state get involved in this, I think it's a good idea wait until our kids are 11 or 12 before taking them into the woods. A younger brother shot and killed his older brother in the deer woods this year in Ohio, and I think age was def. the reason.

[/ QUOTE ]

A couple years ago a guy around 65 shot one of his friends. Should hunters over 65 be banned from hunting without a younger adult?

I think the reason the boy shot his brother is simple. He probibly wasn't educated enough by his father on safty.

When it comes to safty age is not much of a factor to me, it's all about maturity, education and common sence. There are plenty of 30+ people in the woods that don't have enough sence to carry a gun.

[muggs]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
though I don't like to see the state get involved in this, I think it's a good idea wait until our kids are 11 or 12 before taking them into the woods. A younger brother shot and killed his older brother in the deer woods this year in Ohio, and I think age was def. the reason.

[/ QUOTE ]

A couple years ago a guy around 65 shot one of his friends. Should hunters over 65 be banned from hunting without a younger adult?

I think the reason the boy shot his brother is simple. He probibly wasn't educated enough by his father on safty.

When it comes to safty age is not much of a factor to me, it's all about maturity, education and common sence. There are plenty of 30+ people in the woods that don't have enough sence to carry a gun.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't disagree John. But if I had a choice to hunt in woods either filled with shotgun toting 8 year olds, or shotgun toting 30 years olds. I'd go into the woods with the 30 year olds.

There's always exceptions to the rule, but we have to play the odds here. There's no reason to rush kids into hunting. Generally speaking, the older a person is, the more apt they will be to think properly.

[Mathews XT Man]

our state law is 12 also..i beleive "some" are ready before that

[Nut]

I hunted with 9 year olds who toted shotguns and a .22 rifle before...(I miss those days).. They were the most safety conscious hunters I ever hunted with.

Of course they were my children. They also were capable of cleaning those shotguns and rifles then.They also were excellant shots with them. Being taught at a early age to respect the use of firearms is a plus. If a child is not safe then it is a reflection of their parents or mentors not on their age.

If they are capable of passing a hunters ed course they should be allowed to hunt. Ohio is looking at a apprentice license that will enable evn those who haven't to be able to particpate.

errr.... Guess how I feel about age restrictions

[SaskMan]

Here it is 12, and you have to be supervised until you're 16. I spend my days with 10 year olds, there is not one of them I'd trust with a gun. As for 16 being too late to start I call b.s, I was 16.

[TreeStandBowHunter]

You know usually I ain't chicken crap when it comes to my opinions but this one I been staying out of because it is a touchy subject. Now that Saskman came front, I guess I will too

I think 12 is a good age. It was 12 in PA. I am sure that their are some younger than 12 kids who are deserving and trustworthy to handle a gun and hunt but I think the majority of them are not ready.
You can still take your kid out before they are 12. I take mine out all the time, they just don't actually hunt and I am not bothered by it. 12 years old gives the kids IMO time to grow and learn the difference between a play gun and a real gun. Me personally, we don't allow them to have toy guns. I don't want them to get the 2 mixed up. They shoot enough of "real" guns at the range to worry about toy guns anyway. Before we shoot, I make them recite the 4 safety rules:
*TREAT EVERY WEAPON AS IF IT WERE LOADED
*NEVER POINT A GUN AT ANYTHING YOU DO NOT INTEND TO SHOOT
*KEEP YOUR WEAPON ON SAFE UNTIL YOU INTEND TO FIRE
*KEEP YOUR FINGER STRAIGHT AND OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO FIRE
They know them but unless they say them word for word, they don't shoot. No second chances...at least not that day anyway.

I am sure some of you have some kids who are like Grizzly Adams and are as safe as can be but I personally would like to see 12 years old be the nation wide hunting age. I think the kids need time to mature. JMO for what it's worth