My daughter is a lights out shooter, but she has no desire to kill anything. I'm fine with that. She will eat game meat without batting an eye. When they were younger she couldn't be trusted around a platter of fried squirrel, someone (usually dad) got less on the old plate.
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Kids under 12 hunting.
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You may be right, that's why SUPERVISION is paramount.
Id recommend against that. If she thinks she's not supposed to tell a teacher she went hunting, then she might think she is doing something wrong. In today's day and age (man I sound old), a good percentage of teachers have extreme left leaning philosophies on any gun/hunting related issue and would probably be just as quick to brow beat the poor kid, which is flat wrong. Probably be better off educating the child about the importance of hunting as a management tool for a healthy wildlife population. That way she is armed with the facts when/if some purple haired teacher has a meltdown.
I was thinking that.
Like even if the teacher flips... so what?
Even if they came dcf you know they would show up if called about anything
They show up with nothing trying to get in your house... just tell them they have nothing your not signing anything and go away.
Those folks never let the truth get in the way of their agenda.
Many mature people do stupid and inexplicable things . I believe I was about 15 at the time an older man a friend of the family at least the age of 65 who still worked as a carpenter. Did a very stupid thing
, He had gone hunting with his son and a group of men he knew and after amornings hunt they met for lunch at camp he had laid his rifle an the hood of a jeep l. Later they decided to go out again as there were people around the fromt of the jeep he felt his only option was to reach from the other side , from there he could only grabthe barrel . I know he had a Savage 99 in .3oo cal. Well he started to pull it toward him and if I recall the saftey on his rifle was at the tang, pistol grip and was safe in forward position so thr safety became moved in rear ward and not safe and as we know if something can go wrong---. As the rifle was being brought forward the trigger snageg one of the wind shield blocks on the hood and very fortunately only shot of his middle finger right hand. Very bad but not tradjic.
That was over 75 years ago and although not having been there is still a very poingent memory as my dads father lived over 2000 miles from us and at that time I had only seen me grandparents on two occasions.I was very happy he was not badly hurt or killed as I looked on him as a grand parent .
Blitz
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Depends on the state.
Sorry, but my cynicism and pessimism alarms just went off reading this: "Very mature" 15 year olds don't shoot themselves in the chest "cleaning" a .30/06 for "fun".
This screams suicide, not stupidity of youth. I pray I'm wrong, but either way I'm glad he survived and I hope lessons were learned.
I was 6 yrs. old when I was handed my first Daisy BB gun. First thing that happened to it was the plastic butt stock broke . Dear old Dad was working three jobs , since the coal mines were shut down , so we didn't loose our house , and wasn't interested in helping me fix a plastic stock. I was on my own. I looked around Dad's auto garage , and in a dusty corner found a disgarded walnut butt stock from a Winchester lever action rifle. Asked Dad if I could have it , and he said , ok. Asked him how to marry the walnut stock to the sheet metal sides of the BB rifle. He said file the wood down until the stock could be inserted into the BB gun's action , and put a bolt through it , and he left for work again. So , I had never filed anything in my life , but had watched him file something , and knew what a file was. In the garage there was a "four in hand" wood rasp , and rasped the Winchester stock until it could be inserted in the BB gun stock. Drilled a hole through the wood using the existing matching holes in the BB rifle's action , and found a 3/16 th inch stove bolt with a square nut that fit. I couldn't believe I fixed it myself. I showed it to Dad between him going to work , and he laughed , and shook his head. That was the first gunstock I worked on. The gun's internal mechanism was completely destroyed from shooting it in about two yrs.. My neighbor kid I grew up with had a Daisy rifle too , so all we did was shoot all day for entertainment. When we were out of ammo , we jumped on our bikes and went a mile to town to the candy store , where the lady sold us BB's. We never shot any windows , other people or anything besides snakes. We were told what we could do , and had enough respect for our family , we obeyed the rules. In those days , Greene Co. , Pa. had one constable , and two State Policemen , and one Game Warden. Every body knew everybody , and their business as well. Rules were rules.
It's different times and place etc..
I started younge learning too so I know about it. My grandfather was legit mountains of Italy type.
My grandma and aunt were. taught me to clean pluck butcher etc. Grandmother was a supermarket butcher.
I think now that my daughter is hooked on fishing.. I'll be like grandpa.. she can't go or catch fish if she don't clean fish. Things like that teaching. I think she's good I think she'll do OK.
I started younge learning too so I know about it. My grandfather was legit mountains of Italy type.
My grandma and aunt were. taught me to clean pluck butcher etc. Grandmother was a supermarket butcher.
I think now that my daughter is hooked on fishing.. I'll be like grandpa.. she can't go or catch fish if she don't clean fish. Things like that teaching. I think she's good I think she'll do OK.
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Shot a coyote at about 70 yards when I was in the second grade [probably near 8] I Hunted from 12 with dad and never had an accident or close call. My sons hunted from 12 on [two of three, other had no interest]. Very strict rules from my dad and from me. However, I don't recommend it. Added: My two sons hunted with a man who taught me a lot. While I was in SE Asia my kids quit hunting with him because he was too careless. 15 and 16 years old. 
Yea my wife's maybe learning to.
I've told her to clean her fish. No it's my job.
I'm just going to tell my daughter.. these days she's not finding a man that can do it. She's going to have to learn how to clean these animals she wants to hunt.
I've told her to clean her fish. No it's my job.
I'm just going to tell my daughter.. these days she's not finding a man that can do it. She's going to have to learn how to clean these animals she wants to hunt.
my 5 kids were all given a CVA frontier kit for christmas about the time they turned 6-7 they had been going to the deer stand with me since they were old enough to walk without being carried my youngest carried his "blankie" before we had stands. I would lay a ground tarp on the ground and he would curl up and take a nap when the deer started moving I'd wake him up. all of the kids got their first of many deer with the muzzleloader that they built they didn't get to hunt with a centerfire until they graduated high school by that time they knew the laws and the rules that anybody that wants to hunt on our paradise has to follow. now the youngest is 34 3 of the 5 will shoot with me at a muzzleloader shoot most of the time. last year my grandson was sitting with his mother for the first time and a basket 6 came out on them and he begged for her to shoot it so she did , she said later it didn't matter that she got the smallest buck trophy that has to be displayed on her desk for all to see she was proud to have the memory with her son. several of the grandkids have shot deer before they were 10 which is when the state says they are old enough to hunt
That is a ridiculous story. If you put a framing nailer in an untrained kid's hands they will kill themselves with that too. That kid did NOT know gun safety at all, and was improperly trained, period. My kid, who also shoots his friends with air soft rifles regularly, knows gun safety because I drilled it into him, and one mistake (which will not lead to an ND if you follow proper gun safety), equals one strike you're out. One is a toy and the other is a FIREARM, and he knows the difference. The idea that kids can't be equipped by adults to handle firearms is insane. My kid is more careful and deliberate than 90% of the people I hunt with, who are generally veterans with poor muzzle awareness, and bad habits. In the military you get so used to firearms that you need constant reminders about the pointy end.
I started hunting at about 6, but did not carry a firearm till I was 12. I carried a broomstick with a cloths-pin and a rubber-band basically simulating a hair trigger with no safety. It went off once when I laid it against a fence we were about to cross, and I had to wait at the car from dawn to dusk. It sucked, but it never happened again.
Care and supervision must be taken when letting kids shoot and hunt. Do that properly and there's nothing wrong with it. I can assure you that my kid at 12 would have snatched that rifle away from that "very mature" peer, just like I would have. That comes from lots of lessons learned that I TAUGHT him. First and foremost that ALL GUNS ARE LOADED. So basically if you forget the very first and most important rule you have not been trained, and should not touch a firearm.
As a case study that is an incredibly poor one, and a failure of instruction plain and simple. Everything in my safe is unloaded, and as my kid pics firearms out of it he clears every single one at first touch. When after clearing it in front of me I re-clear it in front of him when he hands it to me. Thus are habits formed and ingrained. At my local gun store we clear and reclear when passing a gun back and forth between us. Even after clearing, re-clearing, and re-clearing again the gun is STILL loaded.
If this isn't how you are trained, and you don't know this, then yes, you shouldn't handle firearms, because without proper instruction and good habits they CAN be dangerous. You must train yourself and anyone UI to good habits, because that is what makes it safe.
I’ve taken my girls hunting with me since they were big enough where I didn’t have to carry them. Other people here are right though. There has to be a willingness to want to go or else nobody is going to have a good time. Going off hunting by themselves is another story. I grew up on a farm and went out alone when I was very young. I wouldn’t trust my kids with a gun at the age my parents trusted me. Maybe kids are a little different, or I was. I have learned that when they’re little it’s best to go on little hunts so they dont get worn out. I wouldn’t think about it too much though
When I was 11 and 12, we lived on a Naval Air Station, Sangley Point NAS, about 20 miles north of Manila, Philippines. Dad introduced me to the Gunnery Sargeant of a company of Marines, who taught me to shoot.
Within 6 months, I was qualified on every weapon in the arsenal there, including mortars and the 135 mm field artillery piece.
But the big thing was safety with all the weapons, all per "The Manual". And as the Corps hates dirt, I learned how to clean and care all the different weapons.
Never came close to injuring myself or anyone else.
The 80 mm mortar was my favorite, and the most difficult to hit the target with.
When we moved back to the States, I bought my first rifle, a Remington .22 bolt action single-shot. High School had a rifle club, so I took the weapon on the school bus every Thursday. Saturday, the public bus into DC to visit the basement shooting range at the USMC Headquarters.
Second weapon was an 1863 Springfield rifle, .577 cal.
Within 6 months, I was qualified on every weapon in the arsenal there, including mortars and the 135 mm field artillery piece.
But the big thing was safety with all the weapons, all per "The Manual". And as the Corps hates dirt, I learned how to clean and care all the different weapons.
Never came close to injuring myself or anyone else.
The 80 mm mortar was my favorite, and the most difficult to hit the target with.
When we moved back to the States, I bought my first rifle, a Remington .22 bolt action single-shot. High School had a rifle club, so I took the weapon on the school bus every Thursday. Saturday, the public bus into DC to visit the basement shooting range at the USMC Headquarters.
Second weapon was an 1863 Springfield rifle, .577 cal.
Sorry, this story doesn’t pass the sniff test! There is more there than what’s been told. Kinda like that lady who shot her son while clearing a Rem 700 and then blamed the manufacturer!
There is also hundreds of thousands of kids that go afield every year, of all ages, hunting all kinds of game, without any incident. What do you say about that?
I agree it’s all in how kids are raised. My grandkids ( 8- 20 ) are more concerned about gun safety than a lot of adults I know
