What age were your kids when they shot there first big game animal.

[big johnson]

I waited until our son was 10 ,250-3000 shot a small 4pt. I've taken over 20 kids on there first hunt . I'm blessed to have a large ranch that has alot of mule deer. we look for bucks we want to get out of the gene pool. Kids are all different some are stronger some are mentally more prepared and parents are a factor. I try to take 2 kids a year and have had 100% success, 1-2 days to get the job done. One thing I've noticed , girls are easier to work with than boys. I stress safety and ethics ,if things are not right we don't shoot. girls are more patient. I want kids to have the best experience possibly.

 

[wyogeargeek]

My boys were both 12, legal age in the state. I believe both were capable at age 10 as they had been shooting big game rifles well on a regular basis at that same.

 

[T3ninja]

Fellow Hoosier here, My daughter (5 now) shoots and an old friend of mine bought her a marlin .22. She asks all the time if she can "go shoot the marlin" I'm planning on letting her use either my 6mm Predator (6arc) or 6.5 Grendel. The only reason I'm considering the 6.5 grendel is it happens to be a side charge upper. I have the luth-AR MBA3 and it can be adjusted to fit her perfect, but I can't run the charging handle in her configuration. Another option I'm considering is letting her use the .300BO shooting subs. Whatever I (or she) decides to use, it will be suppressed.

PS. If you want to come at me about shooting sub sonic ammo at game, please do. I have some content I will gladly share with you, privately.

 

[gunaddict]

My daughter shot her first buck at 12, heart shot. She shot a cow elk at thirteen, heart shot. The buck took me 4 hours to pack out whole. Her elk was next to a gravel road.

 

[bubbadad]

My son at 10 and grandson at 9

 

[CMP70306]

Something else to think about is if you start them too young they loose some ambition for hunting. I started my kid at 8 and there were so many hunting opportunities that by the time he was 16 he had killed a ton. An cow elk every year since he was 9, bull elk, antelope, deer, Ibex, bighorn sheep (lucky draw) and more. Now he wont shoot another cow elk, and has lost passion hunting. I think because it all came too easy. Also I pushed it because I love hunting and probably over did the # of hunts. He still goes but he can take it or leave it, maybe just my kid but something to think about. Maybe tagging along and earning the right of passage at an older age might be a better approach?? Just something to think about

I think there is some merit to this but at the same time waiting too long can be detrimental as well. I look at me and my brother vs our cousins, our cousins didn't go up to camp much when they were younger and didn't start hunting until they were 15 or 16. As a result sports were much more important to them so they only hunted the opening day of rifle after Thanksgiving which they both skipped for the 4 years they were in college. Fast forward to now and one cousin doesn't hunt at all while the other only hunts one day every couple years and it's only because his dad still hunts and they come up to spend some time with him. Going forward I'm not sure if either of them or their children will hunt once my uncle stops.

Compare that to me and my brother who were going to camp with dad pretty much every weekend in the fall to go hunting with him during the archery, small game and muzzleloader seasons. I remember spending all season hunting with Dad but when Thanksgiving came around I had to stay home for the opening day of rifle because that was the guys big hunting trip and I was only able to go up once I was old enough to hunt. I spent years waiting until I was 12 and it was super exciting to finally go hunting with my Dad, Grandfather, Uncle, cousins and the rest of the crew. Now me and my brother hunt most weekends in the fall except when we are saltwater fishing and have no intention of stopping.

 

[VICTORNTN]

I would NOT take any of my relatives, wife, daughter, son-in-law, cousin or otherwise until I saw them kill a squirrel, gut it, skin it, and cut it up for the freezer. My grand dad started me squirrel hunting at about 7 or 8 years old. I carried the rifle (Winchester youth, 22 short only) he carried the ammo. When we got close to shooting, he gave me 1 cartridge. If I didn't shoot it, he took it back. In my own younger years Tennessee had a law prohibiting youngsters younger than 16 from hunting deer, bear or boar. I still believe in that limit.

 

[Pro2A]

Good afternoon, I was just wondering how old were your kids when they took there first big game animal. By big game I'm including whitetail deer. My son is 4 and will be 5 next year and I'm hoping if he keeps progressing he will be ready to go next fall so he will be towards the end of being 5 almost 6 by the time deer season rolls around next year. He has been wanting to shoot almost every night lately. We have just been shooting .22's and .17 HMR for now as I'm sure the recoil of any of my bigger rifles will be to much. He has been doing really good the last couple of weeks so I now have high hopes he keeps progressing. I wouldn't take him if I'm not fully confident in his ability to make a good ethical shot and I will keep the ranges close. Just wondering what you guys kids ages were roughly. A great side affect of this, I get to build another rifle even if it is for him. Will be much easier convincing the wife to let me build another one if its for our son lol. Thinking either 6mm CM or .243.. Probably make the rifle fairly heavy, adjustable chassis for him since he is small still, shooting off a tripod was my thinking. Undecided on muzzle brake yet I really don't want to run one but it will help a ton and make those small calibers feel like nothing. Feel free to show off any rifle builds for your kids, would love to see them and hear the build specs!!!

Shooting capability is important and varies among kids. But, the real question is the attention span and ability to be still in a blind. Kids are energy bombs, fidgety, can't sit still, get bored, have to be doing something involving movement. Not all kids are suited to hunting demands at early ages. Have to make that call based on your kid's specific make up. If a kid is not ready, gets pushed too soon, they often turn away from hunting for many years, if not forever. Use your best judgement making the decision based on the kid rather than your fatherly eagerness.

 

[243ai]

My grandson was 11. Since then he has shot 3 deer, 3 elk, 2 pronghorns, 4 swans, 3 cranes and more ducks and geese than I can count. It's been a great 7 years of hunting for him. Now he hunts ducks 500 yards from his dad on his own in a coffin on the Willard spur of the great salt lake and shoots limits before his dad does.

 

[Possum Cop]

Man I didn't realize so many places didn't have age restrictions, here in PA back in 2004 I couldn't hunt until I turned 12 so that was the year I shot my first deer. They started a mentor program in 2007 so my brother got to go hunting a year earlier than me and was 11 when he got his first deer using the same .243 that I used.

It looks like the Eastern and Western states have the oldest age limits.

In the South where I live, hunting is a way of life for many of us. It isn't a hobby or a sport, hunting puts meat on the table which feeds our families.
Most of us teach our kids to hunt and fish but do not leave them alone to hunt or fish by themselves until they are older. I do not see an issue with teaching kids to be responsible and hunt at an early age. My kids hunt gators, deer, and pigs. They know what to do and what not to do by watching experienced and knowledgeable people that they trust. I would rather hunt with my kids than most adults.
Just my 2 cents. If our kids don't hunt then we have limited time left to hunt ourselves.

 

[Lenny Foffa]

No Kids Guys, but I trained my ne[phew from when he was 13. Came pheasant hunting with me several times , no gun until he was 14. Then a Single shot 20 gauge. At 15 he had 7 flushes that season, he took 7 birds, with 7 shots. I was very proud. I took him to West Virginia when he was 17 or 18. He used his late Grandfathers Sporterized 1903 , in 30-06. I made a moderate load using a 150 grain bullet. Killed his first buck , on his first deer hunting trip. He was hooked!!!!

 

[Korhil78]

My son will be 12 this year. I bought him a 28 gauge to start going quail hunting with. I believe bird hunting can be some of the most dangerous kind of hunting because you have to swing your shotgun to shoot. The first few hunts, I will bring my shotgun along but I will not load it or shoot a bird as I will let him shoot them all and get a feel for it but I will be watching him and instructing him on each shot. Teaching him shooting lanes as well when with another person. He soaks it up really well and is quite safe with rifles so I don't foresee any problems with a shotgun. He does 4H rifle and archery shooting and has a good time with that as well.

 

[OH58DViper]

4.5 years old. I attach an "I scope" so he can stand off to the ejection port side with his left hand on the buttstock and right hand in the trigger and palm swell....not as pictured ha. I've had him banging steel at 1k since his 4th birthday. I dial dope and tell him how many "dots or pluses" reticle dependent, to hold for wind and he makes it happen. I sit off to the left to catch the rifle if it's a bog bore mag, this allows me to watch and coach. He dropped this guy at 200 yards with a 338 RUM ha. Gotta love Really Right Stuff!

 

[WahooYahoo]

My daughter was 7 when she shot her first deer. It was January 1st of this year. I bought her a Remington 700 SPS in .223, lopped the stock off to fit her, cut down the recoil pad to fit, put a break on it and let her dry fire with a G-site Lazer, prone, in the living room. She follows directions very well and became proficient quickly. So we went to the farm and practices live fire. She mastered all of the skills I taught her and held MOA groups. I was impressed and very proud.
This year we went hunting. We've hunted together before several times but this time she got to be the shooter.
We sat in a stand this time. I was going to let her take a cull and wanted to film it. So it was better for all to just go to a box stand and harvest a cull.
Then a giant (for Texas hill country) appeared out of no where and in a minute was gone...
20 minutes later he came back and Kitty got her deer. The biggest ever taken on our place.
I took off the chopped stock and replaced it with an MDT chassis and adjustable light butt stock. It ought to be just right but I haven't tried it yet. Fits well though