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What age, style, weapon did you or your kids start with?

HuumanCreed

HuumanCreed

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2020
Messages
2,677
Location
Westminster Maryland
My oldest is 7, he stated many times he want to hunt one day. Anytime I'm out practicing or tinkering with gears he wants to be involved. I got him a bow, but honestly he does not have a passion for it yet, maybe as he get older. He likes shooting guns more, I'm not sure if he actually like the whole 'hunting' or understand what all involved, to be honest I think he just want to shoot at an animal.

I got introduced to hunting by my father-in-law. He basically ATV me to a tree house on a lease during gun season. There was a feeder 20 yds away, told me to shoot at the first deer I see and he'll come check on me during lunch and end of day. I'm pretty sure this is what is going to happen with my son, except I'm going to be sitting next to him the whole time.

I honestly did not enjoy it all that much to be honest, just felt like I was harvesting a deer. But I understand that early success is key to getting kids into it. That as they grow older, they develop their own way as a hunter, if they continue it.

So just wanted to ask, how did everyone get into deer hunting? Are there any regrets or things you wish were done differently?

I'm actually thinking about starting off with squirrel hunting with a .22 for him, myself too actually since I never squirrel hunt before either.
 
I dropped my boy in feet first.

Single shot .410 from taurus for turkeys and squirrels, which he hasn't put to use, yet.

And a savage .243 that he killed his first deer with last year at 120 yards.

He is 9 but he started shooting and preparing at 7. He wasn't READY until 9, though.
 
My daughter will be 5 in September and I have started her out the same way my dad started me, for her 4th birthday I got her a BB gun, a Red Ryder to be exact, to introduce her to handling a firearm. She has been around for our target days ever since she was born so she is familiar with guns but this gives her something tangible she can handle and learn with, and has almost zero chance of injuring anyone.

Since she isn't there yet I will have to transition to my experience with my dad. Several years of wandering our yard taking out sparrows, maple helicopters, and pine cones combined with ridding my grandfather's farm of many ground squirrels with my old Daisy culminated with my dad borrowing a single shot .410 from one of his friends so he could take me squirrel hunting when I was 10. The next year I got a 20ga Mossberg 500 for my birthday and we proceeded to go on a few more hunts for squirrel, dove, pheasant, and quail. At 12 he decided I was ready to hit the woods for some deer so we swapped the barrels and loaded my Mossberg with slugs (Illinois hunter, no rifles allowed here). Those last couple days of cold misty weather, walking every inch of the 1,000 acre farm with my dad, grandpa, and uncle, not seeing any animals were absolutely miserable, but I was rewarded the next year when I shot my first deer at 7:15 on opening morning.

Ultimately you will have to help him progress. Help him build a good relationship with firearms and increase the size and caliber when he is ready. Starting out small game hunting is an excellent way to get kids into hunting, there is typically more action and lots of animals to see keeping them engaged and having fun. Small game should help increase accuracy also, practicing with live, moving targets. I would try to avoid the feeder when he is ready for deer though, if he really takes to hunting he might feel cheated later in life.

Hope all that rambling helps, and good luck.
 
I was maybe 8 years old with a single shot 22 hunting squirrel. We hunted them every weekend and had a very good spot going for years . Both my son and daughter started shooting marlin 22’s around 7 years old .
 
I personally believe a lot of people go about this way wrong with focus on easy success. That is not at all how you create a passion for something.

When I was younger the fire started burning from an early age just being around hunting and fishing. I would get so jazzed up waiting for my dad to come home and see if he got anything and get the hunt recap. Some of my earliest memories are when he would bring bucks home. I see that now with my kids so I think they are on track.

From there I slowly got involved tagging along on hikes, hanging out at camp, going to the butcher on the first day and seeing the pile of deer, just being immersed in the whole cultural aspect of it was everything to me while I was waiting to be old enough.

I got my first bow when I was around 5 and started shooting guns around 8. I practiced as needed, but never really developed a passion for the shooting sports. To me they are two different hobbies, archery and guns to me are just a means to finish the job when I get an animal in range.

Starting when I was around 8 or 9, my dad or pap would take me squirrel and groundhog hunting a few times a year. We were just outside kids too, always messing around in the woodlot out back.

Back then the legal age was 12. I was just totally obsessed by then and couldn't wait to turn 12 and hunt deer. I was way more excited to turn 12 and start hunting than I was to turn 16 and drive. In my view some of that buildup of excitement is lost with the elimination of an age minimum, I think in way that can potentially harm recruitment more than it helps.

I've known some folks that just force it way too young instead of patiently cultivating the passion. I'm taking it slow with my kids, they are 3 and 5 and already pretty into it all. I'll do my best to get them into it, and if they're not, I'm fine with that too.
 
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I had pellet and BB guns from a young age, maybe 7 or so? Around 9 I started shooting the .22 and at 12 I got my very own 20g Remington 870 express. I’m almost 32 now and I still use that shotgun for turkey hunting.
 
I think most hunters acknowledge that hunting is type II fun, even sometimes type III, with short memorable bursts of type I. A lot of people mistakenly think kids will only enjoy something if it is dumbed down to cultivated version of type I fun. Basic human psyche, once we associate it purely with type I fun it's awfully hard to advance beyond that stage. Anyone can enjoy type I fun, if they don't properly develop the passion to advance beyond that they were never going to be interested to begin with.
 
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Started my step daughter on a kids crossbow at about 8 or 9 (mainly when she became interested). Much easier in our state to hunt calm deer during archery season than gun season was the main reason. Dogs cause most to go complete nocturnal. First kill on video is priceless!
 
My son and I like our backyard lizard hunts...1 pump red Ryder and an unlimited supply of non native lizards. Aim small miss small...hahaha
He is a sharpshooter
He went hunting with me for the first time last season....Im not comfortable getting him up a tree without hauling a ladder.of some sort and I'm not doing that.unless I know he's gonna take it serious. He was content to just explorer the woods. We walked and looked at bugs, plants, snakes, etc and stomped in mud with our super.cool hunt boots on....he's not ready to sit still for any length of time. He liked holding the gun. I don't want to force him to go be miserable quite yet.....I feel I might push him away if I force it....if we lived in more tolerable weather it would be a different story but most grown men I've hunted with get driven out of the woods from bugs and heat/humidity so I go easy on him till he's a little older. He.jusy turned 10
He likes shooting the 22 and my single shot 16ga. He small for his age and most guns are to big for him to hold and aim correctly. The 22 is a Ruger 1022 scout so it's small enough for him to shoot almost correctly...he need to do a little more growing....next year and the following I'll push him a little harder....I got him hooked on fishing so I have more than half the battle won...he loves the outdoors and eating things he catches. Hunting will come natural as he gets older
 
Started tagging along on duck hunts at 3, started hunting skwerls and ducks at 7 with a single shot bolt action 20ga. Also got my first treestand that year, a baker climber and started tagging along on bowhunts with my Dad. Started bowhunting at 12 when I was finally capable of shooting a 50# compound accurately, a Bear Polar Ltd. First bow was I believe at 6 though, a little Bear.
 
I started squirrel hunting in 1956 at 8 years old with a single shot .22. I got my first gun at 12, a Remington bolt action tubular feed .22. My boys both started at 8 and got their first guns at 12.
 
8 years old with a 20 gauge. my son has been slinging arrows at small game since he was 5. he is 9 now and im going to put him on a deer with a .243. would've waited for him to get 1 with his bow, but he talked me into letting him take part in this years early rifle doe only season. this kid is a straight up salesman, he would not denied
 
Started all three of my kids off with a pellet gun at 4 years old and quickly moved them to the AR-15. They all killed their first deer with a .243 at the ages of 5, 8 and 7. I always did and still make it a point to bring them hunting with me often but the best tool at my disposal their first couple of years in the blind with me was the iPad to keep them occupied while I watched for deer. Without it there’s no way that they would have made it through three hour sits and wanted to do it that afternoon or the next day. Now that they’re older they actually hunt instead of watching the iPads while dad watches for deer. They are now 12, 11 and 8 and the 12 year old graduated to a 7mm-08 two seasons ago.


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