How old was/is your kids, when they start hunting. I have been toting a gun as far back as I can remember, when I was a kid "under 10" I had some accidents, dropped a hammer let gun go off, Luckly no one was hurt. Dad was super strict on gun saftey, but I would be excited and not pay much attention. Now both my girls love the outdoors, my oldest is 7, and she wants to deer hunt this year. She has went alot with me with her BB gun, and will again this year, I personally still feel like she is to young and isn't big enough to carry a real or handle a real gun, even though I would be right beside her. SO I go back to the question, what age do yall think is a good age, or do you base it more off of mental and physical size?

Now I am not judging anyone elses kids or age, nor the tragic accident on the dove field.

Now this is a opinion base thread no wrong or right answers, if it turns into a pissing match about who's right, I'll get the mods to pull it..

I don't necessarily think there is an age. I think it is kid specific. I know some adults that don't need to be carrying a gun.

Will was 5 when he went with me the first time carrying a gun. He was 6 about to be 7 when he killed his first deer. He had been shooting a 22 since he was 3.

I let my girls go with me up to 10. I then started letting them do the shooting with me in the tree with them. They still want me in the tree and they are 12 and 13 now.

My Son was with me at a very young age. He killed squirrels and such early. First deer at 10.

I think it depends on the kid.

My son Gabe was very tender hearted when he was young. The thought of injuring or heaven forbid killing an animal was unthinkable to him. When he reached about 10 he started showing an interest in going hunting with me. Last year at age 12 he killed his first deer and was as happy a kid as you'll ever see in the deer woods.

In my mind it is child specific and no one knows there child better than the parent.

Seems like I was shooting pretty young with a 22 and squirrel hunting pretty young with one as well. Then later dove hunting, then later deer hunting with a shotgun (dogs).

Def depends on the kids. My oldest has been going with me since he was 6. Of course he was a 6yr old and our hunts were short when the whether was decent. Killed his first deer when he was 8 and first buck at 9. He's 12 now and still enjoys it. My youngest will go and likes to go but doesn't or at least hasn't yet got serious about wanting to go all the time. He did kill his first deer and first buck last year when he was 7. He's 8 now and I plan on taking him a good bit more this year.

IMO, if she wants to go with you, by all means take her. It will be good daddy daughter time. Plus if your lucky maybe you can kill one with her and she can see what its all about from the beginning to the end.

I think it comes down to this, What do you have to loose? Nothing.. Take that baby girl and make it a good time. Don't sweat all the talking and moving and laughing so seriously (I'm still working on that myself). Enjoy it and have fun.

my $0.02.

I was hunting by myself at 8 y/o. I would squirrel hunt in the morning and deer hunt in the afternoon. I killed a couple does that year. I hunted with a Rem 1100 20 ga. I believe I was 11 when I got my 270.

I carry her all the time, she just gets puffy cause I don't let her take "her real gun"

Tim was 5 when he killed his first deer with a 223 rifle. I took him to a ground blind on a bowhunt only part of the club that morning. We had a small doe come in and I shot it mainly because he was saying "Shoot it daddy, shoot it." That afternoon we went to a foodplot with a large shooting house. Later that afternoon a button buck came in and I let him shoot it. I don't know who was more excited him or me. When we got back home with both deer and were taking pics, he looked up at me and said "Dad my deer is bigger and it's a buck."

Stephen killed his first deer last year at 6 that was also the first time he shot a large caliber riffle. I would let him shoot his scoped 22 and the day we went I made him make ten kill shots on a deer we drew before he could go. Last year was the first year he really got into any kind of hunting and he wants to kill everything now.

This is definitely kid specific! I started going with my dad when I was 3, just going and sitting, watching, and sleeping/snoring in my sleeping bag haha. I started with squirrels and rabbits with a little .410 single shot and eventually started deer hunting in a stand alone at age 9, which I killed my first deer on the last day of the season. Got my own first rifle for my 10th birthday and still hunt with it today at age 28. I always remember going over gun safety and being very conscious of what I was doing when handling any firearms. I think it just depends on the comfort of the kid and their training and respect for the weapons.

Those were the good ol' days.

My daughter was 7 last fall and all it took was a buddy of hers to kill his first one on the youth hunt and all the sudden that got her going. She went 2 for 3 last year both were does and now it's time for horns. She's been going with me since she was 4. Yours will tell when they're ready. Don't push it just it will occur naturally. Mine had never fired a rifle til last fall and now she shoots better than me. There's no set age or time just be ready when they say they're ready!

This.

As already stated it depends on the kid. My boy got his first deer at the age of 8. I was carrying him at two years old in a sleeping bag. Each kid is different. That's our job to brang them up right and teach them and our decision on when to cut em loose.

Kid specific but shooting a deer don't mean carryimg a loaded high power rifle around either. Mine were both 7 when they killed their first but I did all the weapon handling as well as operating the safety and scope zoom when they were on target. Yes I let them shoulder am unloaded gun for the walk to or from the stand if they wanted just so they would feel like they were "hunting" but that's about it.

Correct. Mine started at 9, killed one of his biggest bucks first year hunting.

My oldest has been with me on a few hunts since age 6.... She killed her first turkey at age 8.... Her first deer at age 9.....