Kill a dozen or so does and he'll eat well.

I got turned loose with a 20 gauge pump action around the age of 10 to go after rabbits and squirrels. Got to go roam about on some land behind my grandparents with the only rule of be back before dark. Had been shooting 22’s and shotguns since I was 5. Firearm safety was taught to me at a young age and it stuck. Started truly hunting with my uncles around the age of 11 and once they felt confident I could handle hunting by myself that’s the way it was. Killed my first deer at 12 without anyone sitting with me though my uncles were close by. It’s all about how mature a kid is when it comes to handling firearms. That goes for shooting at the range and being in the woods regardless of who is around.

The state should have zero say as to when a kid is able to hunt alone. The adult that takes the kid hunting should be responsible enough to know when a kid has been taught well enough and when they are mature enough to handle being unsupervised.

I killed one and deboned it and sent it back to Auburn with him and he and a couple of his buddies had the whole thing eaten within a week.

Really CeeHawk???? In today's society, there are very few responsible parents, and many single-parent households. If the State doesn't say, who will? I was in a club years Ago in Monroeville. One youngster was allowed to sit by himself at 14 yrs old. That kid got caught looking at other hunters thru his scope. His parents allowed him to do this, he is lucky it didn't end up with someone shooting him. When you hand a kid a deer rifle you damn sure better make sure he understands safety. Kids today are nothing like kids 20 years ago. They seldom, know the value of a dollar or responsibility like years ago.

LOL, Dylan spent the last four days here and cleaned out almost all the food in the house. Gotta go to the store tomorrow. That boy can eat. Course I worked the snot out of him......

Not in favor of a law or regulation mandating a age when kids can hunt alone. Should be up to parents, guardians or mentors. Not going to sit in judgement of those who do, let their children hunt alone at early age, nor will I judge those who don't.

How many folks on here have witnessed or had an accidental discharge, I have personally seen some of the most safety conscience people I know have one, just a matter of luck , muzzle pointed in direction, no one was hurt.

sgt., I had an AD when I was young. Safety on an old double 20 didn't work right, but the gun was, as always, pointed in a safe direction. No harm. I drive that rule into my grandson every time we are out with guns....ALAYS point it in a safe direction. Loaded. Unloaded, it don't matter.

Absolutely agree with you Bham Fred, muzzle awareness at all times, is critical.

Twice one a gun was setting on pool table as we were about to go out hunting a guy who worked for dad picked it up opens bolt checks it then chambers one BOOM hole in garage door..another time my dad was unloading his rifle at the truck after a hunt i was standing in front of him muzzle pointed down boom..both scared the crap out of me

my son was shoot`n guns with me by 6 years of age, he was allowed a bb gun on his own at 6,by 8 years of age he was a allowed 22 LR,10 a shotgun,but my son was raised in the country as i was too,so we used our guns to control critter problems all the time. we did shoot alot of trap and archery so by 10 years old he shot trap league,by 14 he was one of the best trap shooters around,with one state trap title youth division,many state archery awards and titles in Archery free style classes. we have always shot bows,rifles,shotguns and we hunted alot in home state and out west. but my small gun and archery business with shooting ranges made it easy for my son and his friends to learn and have alot of fun.i wished all kids had a chance to enjoy shooting of all types and had a father to teach them too !

You are correct about most of this. Every child is different. You know your kid better than any. No doubt in my mind that you wouldn't let your child roam off into the woods with a rifle if you didnt think he was ready. However, what is the benchmark that determines if a child is an underacheiver? Is it because your kid carries a rifle at "X" age and mine needs to wait a few more years? To me it doesn't matter what age the kid is within reason. A kid thats 10, 11, 12 or whatever age is still going to think like a 10, 11, or 12 year old if he has a rifle in his hand or not. He may have experience with a rifle but hes still a kid.

My son is 9 now, started shooting guns at 5.... got his own BB gun at 6, his own bow at 7, shot his first deer when he was 7, arrowed his first deer when he was 8 with his crossbow. I've taught him everything about firearms that I learned in the Army. Personally I was an expert marksman in the military (both grenade and rifle). I've taught him every bit of woodman ship I possibly can that he can retain at 9 years old. He rides dirt bikes all through my hunting lease by himself and does ok. He knows what to shoot an what not to shoot. As much as my son has proven to me I am still his father. It's not a protective thing, its a teaching thing. If there's one thing I've learned in my lifetime it's that even though along the way I've felt as if I've been doing things absolutely right, I've been wrong sometimes. I'm going to give him my due diligence in assuring I've shown him the right way before I turn him loose. In Church growing up we always hear about the age of accountability. Me personally have always assumed (because that's what was taught) that usually about 13 you start knowing what is truly right and wrong all the time and can discern on your own. If I don't do my duty as a father and ensure my son is doing the right thing beyond his own accountability and make sure I'm putting a good man in the woods then I have failed. Say what you want, judge me if you want but none of you will ever convince me I'm wrong. It's not video games, it's not helmets and knee pads, its' accountability and to me its the right thing. Ya'll have a good one!!

The closest I’ve ever come to getting shot occurred twice in campgrounds involving drunk older men that I didn’t know.

Accidental discharges are going to happen, unfortunately. I've witnessed more than my share at a firing range and I never witnessed anyone get hurt. The key is simply to always have the muzzle pointed in a safe direction and not towards anyone.

While I'm not for setting a minimum age for a kid to sit by themself, I would have no issue with them having to complete the hunter safety course first. I also would like to see the state do away with a 15 year old hunter having to sit with an adult during the Youth Hunt and then the next weekend a 10 year old can sit by themselves.

The golden rule...

My comment in the young hunter killed thread is based on my personal and professional experience. Had a eleven year old hunting last season at our place. He wasn’t in the stand his dad signed in for or supposedly put him in. He was roaming around the edge of a field some 100 hundred yards away from it and not wearing any hunters orange but killed a buck. Funny thing is if he hadn’t killed the deer we wouldn’t have ever known this.

Six years ago I was sitting on a bench on the porch at the camp house when an eight year old accidentally discharged his 243 from inside the house. Yep it was still loaded from the afternoon hunt. The round ricocheted off the concrete floor and went out the window that I was sitting in front of six inches above my head.

So I got a damn good reason for my thoughts about it. And yes each child is different and I understand that. But in the end they are still just immature children. No matter how we as daddy’s say, “ well my boy is different.”

Smartest thing posted on here yet

And kids don't make mistakes ever. You can bank on that right?

Well said