In the fall of 1963 I was ten years old, and on a warm October afternoon I followed my Dad on a path as we quietly snuck into an area to some hickory trees he knew about. Late in the evening I can remember watching in awe as he hammered a couple squirrels with his old Ithaca Model 37 16 gauge pump gun. A grey squirrel jumped onto a beech snag in front of us and he told me to take the shot. I had a Model 37 as well, but mine was a Winchester single barrel .410. (Boy, do I wish I still had that gun) I looked up and saw the squirrel scramble out on a limb over our head. “Shoot at this head,” Dad said. I did and the rest is history.
Get ready for another discussion/sermon that could have you arguing, fighting, or hopefully just having a good dialog around the water cooler at work, the barber shop, or maybe the counter at your local gun shop. How old should kids be to start taking them hunting? We don’t seem to have much controversy about when we start them fishing, and that’s OK, as we don’t usually deal with firearms in the fishing world. Firearms safety is a big part of when we will actually let a youngster carry a gun in the field.
Most of us in the boomer age group didn’t even think about this when we started down the hunting trail. We went with Dad or Grandad or Uncle Bill every time they allowed us to join them. We tagged along often on our first trips often without packing a firearm, maybe carrying a trusty Daisey BB gun. We followed along, did what we were told, stayed quiet, tried not to step on too many sticks, and loved every minute of it. We knew too many transgressions in the noise and twig breaking department could result in not getting to go the next time.
The issue here is at what age should young hunters be able to go hunting and actively participate, as in carrying and shooting a firearm and take game in the field. The different states are more or less all over the map on this, many are not the same when it comes to the law and regulations governing what young hunters can do in the field. To try to simplify things, however, most of the states in general fall into two groups. The first group allows youngsters of any age (no minimum) to be engaged in the hunt as long as they are accompanied by a licensed adult. So if the parent thinks their child is ready and capable to shoot a squirrel, a deer, or a turkey then they are free to do so. Most of these states say by the age of fifteen or sixteen (in Tennessee the age is thirteen) the young hunter must have a hunting license and can then hunt alone if they take a Hunter Education course.
In general, in my not so humble opinion, this is what I think the young hunter situation should be. As a parent I want to be able so say when I can take my young hunter to the field, under the supervision of a parent or other adult that the parent deems appropriate for this task. The other side of this coin are the states which have laws that state there is a minimum age (usually in the 10-12 range) for the young hunter to start regardless of what the parent may think about it.
Many of you know that I spent 36 years if my life as a DNR Conservation Officer enforcing laws dealing with wildlife and hunting regulations. Most of the time I don’t argue or disagree with various laws in this regard, but I am certainly in the camp on this one that says a parent should be the one to chose at what age you take your child afield to start hunting.
Just so we are clear, let’s state that I am certainly all for Hunter Education requirements at a certain age, that is a good thing. Many states now have special youth days for deer, turkeys, and even squirrels. If a state wants to set a minimum age limit for these special hunts, then I really don’t have a big problem with that. What I don’t want is the state telling a parent at what age they can take a kid out for general hunting. Some children are ready to go at five or six years old, some may need to wait a little longer. The parent is the best judge for this not the state.
As we always say at the Guns and Cornbread website, “Keep your guns clean, your knife sharp, and take a kid hunting!”
Larry Case