Do you take kids with you on long range hunts ?

[dgr416]

I think the most important part of hunting is to take and teach kids to hunt .I taught and took 25 kids to hunt in Alaska and they all still go 20 years later .I saw today a bill was introduced to prohibit kids under 12 from using or handling guns .Gun safety and teaching kids to hunt are the most important parts of hunting today or it will disapear before our eyes .The kids in Alaska I took hunting loved it and I took them shooting at gravel pits that we could shoot long range .I never made them shoot too big of a gun but they always wanted to try .I worked them up and went from 22s to 243 to 3006 then to my 338 win mag with a muzzle break and my 338-378 weatherby with a break .My most favorite hunt was caribou with one of the kids I took who was only 11 .We finally saw caribou and stalked them for miles . We had only my 338-378 weatherby accumark and he had not my 338 win mag with a brake a bunch but not that rifle . We had a hard if 5000 caribou and I shot the biggest bull I could find at 450 yards then I told him it was his turn .He asked where to hold got prone with a rest and shot a nice caribou at 450 yards dead on its tracks .He shot his first moose at 16 by himself at 300 yards and has shot one by himself every year .I really enjoyed every kid I took and teaching them .I had one kid who shot skeet on the computer and loved it .I took him for real the next day he missed the first two shots and I told him how to lead .That kid shot 80 targets straight before he missed .Take a kid hunting and shooting its awesome to teach them !

 

[idcwby]

First what bill is that? Second I think that you should try to take kids whenever possible because there is a lack of interest there along a lot of kids anymore. The only downside I see to taking them on a long range style hunt is they may never learn the skills needed to stalk in close. If possible take them on all different styles of hunting because some may like others better

 

[Sockeye66]

I think their are many factors involved with kids and hunting. I grew up in a rural setting where literally one would look out the window before opening the door so as not to spook deer, elk, or other game. My dad taught me and my 4 brothers respect for firearms and our quarry early in life. Spending a good part of my life also in AK, we both know that the subsistence lifestyle of many AK families require kids to be part of the food supply for the family. Kids growing up in our rural areas of the US are often products of their environment and thus are taught the ways of the hunt. Politicians legislate firearms and ammunition without any knowledge of either and far less knowledge of what you and I are talking about.

 

[Steves1911]

Absolutely! I love taking my boys aged 12 and 7 with me. 12 yr old took his first deer this year with a 308 at 200yds. They both shoot quite often. My 7 year old can shoot his little 22 pistol better than some adults. 12yr old is just getting into longer range target practice and really likes it. I made the mistake of letting him try my braked 300 win mag this year now he wants one.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

My youngest son (12 years old) runs my rangefinder for me... My eldest son (18 years old) shot his mule deer at 405 yards from sitting this year (2020) with a rifle I put together and developed a load for him last year... Both are moa or better capable but my 12 year old's creed is capable of an inch flat at 200 with him steering if I coach him a bit... We haven't really fine tuned my eldest son's 7rem to that level yet but it is plenty good for 1/4 mile offhand like his shot was this year.

 

[dgr416]

I think the 260 rem and 6.5 cm are perfict for teaching kids to shoot long range .I let about 8 kids use mine on youth hunts and two women and if I had the money I would have bought ten of them to hand out .I always made the kids wear ear muffs when shooting the braked rifles .It is terrible ammo and reloading supplies are so high now .I am going to make tons of cast bullets so the kids I am fixing to take can practice shooting now .They really were amazed by the 338-378 weatherby with 200 grain bullets mime kicks like a 223 . Its about like a 270 win with the 250 grain bullets .I need to try better long range bullets in my 260 for them to use .My dad taught over 50 kids to hunt over his lifetime .I had a blast getting all my friends to hunt .It would be awesome to take some kids on pronghorn hunts they would love that . The most important part of hunting is taking kids .Teddy Roosevelt saved the land and big game for us and we have to take and teach kids to hunt to save hunting !

 

[wv270wsm]

Shoot my two biological sons are now 18 and 16. By the time they were 12 they'd killed a pile of critters . Both of them had killed deer with a rifle before they were 8 yrs old. Actually come to think of it the oldest was 7 and his little brother was 6 and both killed their first bucks on the same morning , bout 20 mins apart. The youngest son smoked a Wv 3 point at 40 yards bang flop , and the older son killed a 3 1/2 yr old 8 point at 150 yards . All with the same youth model H&R 223 with a 60 nosler partition over a dose of win 748. Those two boys killed a bunch of deer with that load. I honestly believe that the younger son would still hunt with that gun and load if I'd let him

 

[dgr416]

Yep that's the bill . Its totally crazy and they will ban kids from hunting .You have to start kids early shooting and hunting before they turn into computer zombies these days .

 

[cowyfremas]

Wait ppl actually plan on hunting long range just because? No matter the environment or situation? I think bringing kids outdoors no matter what it consists of is good...it might lead the next generation of conservationists and good management because the children have grown to care about nature and wildlife...I'm I going to dress them up with a 300 Norma and tell them we are going to shoot elk during the rut at 800 yds because well this is a "long range hunt"...no sir it's just a hunt that your going to kill an animal for sport or for food. Nothing says your going to shoot it over 250 yds. It's doesn't seem right in that sense. Although I respect anybody who can plug an animal at 800 yds...I believe you should build your weapons capable of killing efficiently at long ranges and only kill from distance of the situation requires doing so....let's build children who know how to hunt the prey in every aspect instead of only seeing and pulling trigger

 

[Jpron]

I guess I'm glad my kids are already hooked. My son just turned 16 and my daughter is 12. Both are extremely good hunters and shooters. They both load their own bullets, with me watching of course. Actually my daughter loves doing it and has been since she was 9. They also cut meat and both know how to make some of the different sausages we make. As far as long range, I want them to take every animal they can as close as they can. But we do practice long range often. My boy took a cow elk at 364 2 years ago and my daughter took a buck this past thanksgiving evening at 374. Both one shot kills. If I didn't have all the confidence in the world I would not have let them shoot. They also have to have the confidence, first thing I tell them if they have any doubt on the shot, do not take it. I think I actually get more nervous than they do .

 

[snox801]

That's insane could you imagine if they tried to take say the 14th amendment from people based on age or other infractions.
Michigan went the other way we couldn't hunt till 12 with bow and 14 rifle now we can start them crazy young I think 6? With a mentor. I take kids out all the time. Heck I'm on a roll get new hunter deer every year for the past 5-6 years.
One was 23 and lost his father a few years back and wanted to get into hunting. He was so excited to get a doe.

 

[JMW67]

You darn right we took the kids we needed somebody to pack all our crap

 

[dgr416]

They just changed the wma state parent child hunts here where only the kids can hunt or have the gun . That lowered the number of people going greatly .I stated hunting deer at 5 .The kids I usally take are 10 to 15 .it gets harder and harder to get kids to go because of sports ,phones and computers . They love it once they go .The new blinds are awesome to use with kids they can take their games and have a sleeping bag .We made tripod gun rest for the blinds .Alaska waa different we mostly used 4 wheelers and went to high hills .We all gotta take as many kids as we can or hunting will disapear before our eyes!

 

[codyadams]

Yup, my son who is now 8 has been taking out prairie dogs from over 500 yards since he was 6!

Here is a pic of my guy with two dogs he got from about 530 yards, the jeep in the Ridgeline in the background was the shooting location