Hunt Back Country
I have a hunting question for a story I am writing?
I am not a hunter by any means, but I have a scene in a novel I am writing and I just want to make sure it is realistic. My husband, who has hunted in the past, has helped me with certain details, but there is one we need help with. What age is appropriate to bring a child with you to hunt? (Not necessarily to use the gun, but to watch?) And, as a sidenote, please no anti-hunting answers! I am not saying I am for or against hunting...I am just a writer in need of an important detail to make my story flow! Thanks!
And it is deer hunting, if that helps
Public Comments
1. I took my sons and daughter with me when they turned six.They loved it.
It doesn't matter what is being hunted; just the experience of being in the field is what is valuable. They were taught more than hunting; I taught them about the habitat and the natural world.
2. It would depend on the maturity level and attention span of the child. Anywhere from 9 to 12 years of age.
3. i really don't think their is a limit.
4. Well, I am thinking that the child needs to be able to keep up in the woods. And old enough to be aware of gun safety.
As a guess, and it depends upon the individual child, I think about 8-10 years old.
5. I met an 8 year old who shot a deer last year. It also depends on the child's exposure to animals and guns
6. I believe I took a hunting safety course back when I was 14. I know I was out hunting squirrels and such even before that. I would say that around around the beginning of the teens. I know my dad would even claim my little brother shot a deer so that he could go out and get another. :)
7. well a lot depends on the maturity of the kid, i was in the woods "hunting" at 3 actually shooting deer i was 10. my niece was 5 she is 9 and has not taken her first deer yet, some others kids i know were between 7 and 12 their "first time" out
8. This is very dependent on the individual child. I started going with my Grandpa hunting when I was really young (probably around 4 or 5), but only carried a BB gun, which I have had since I remember. I didn't start carrying a "real" gun until I was around 8 or 9.
9. I brought my kids out today 4 and 5 years old. We checked tracks and killed a rabbit. Snow here is still about three or four feet deep in places. Daniel Boone purportedly killed a bear at three years. Maybe, but his 10th gen grandson did just kill one last december at 5 years old, he also killed three dear last fall. I believe they dont need to go to shaws or hannafords much. my son got a single pump bb gun for his last birthday, we shoot baloons and water jugs. beats tv these days
10. I started taking mine at about 4. Of course they were observing only at this age, and the conditions were ideal-nice weather, etc. At that age they weren't up for difficult conditions or marathon sessions, just a couple of hours. My son killed an 8-point last year at 8 years old.
11. A key detail to remember as the plot thickens is attention span (as stated above). The only difference I would add is pretty simple.
Identify how long the hunt will last.
For example, some hunters will only go for two hours after the sun rises and two hour before it sets and won't step foot in the field otherwise. The younger child (less than 6 or 7) will handle this situation better without losing interest as quickly.
Some hunters will stay in the field longer or perhaps even sunrise to sunset. If this is the case for your hunt, it would have to be an older child (i.e. 7-10 if half day, 12+ for a whole day in the cold) for them to actually derive viable experience without driving you frikken nuts.
There are several of us who have significant experience with this exact scenario. Feel free to send us an email. I for one don't charge consulting fees, but love being mentioned in the "afterword"....lol
12. When my son was 4 or 5 I took him and he could not be quite or sit still. It is not very realistic to expect such a young one to be able to not fidget. I took him alot anyway as I didn't care if I shot anything. I just wanted to be outside and having him with me was nice. By 10 they can sit for an hour or two but still fidget. My dad fidgets and he is 70. I shot my first when I was 11. I also missed my first when I was 11. My son shot his first whne he was 10. Rattled one up when he was 11 and has never showed interest in deer hunting again. Hogs but not deer?
13. Any age is fine if the child really wants to go. What kind of deer hunting is it? If its bowhunting, no child is really ready for that. Long hours stilling still and keeping quiet? No kid can do that.............
14. Depends on the child. I started hunting at twelve.
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15. That is primarily left up to the parents as to when they would be introduced to Hunting.* The appropriate age is decided by the parent, guardian, or relative.*
16. As a tag along, a child can go with someone who is hunting whenever he/she is old enough to sit still in a blind. I took my son hunting for the first time when he was about 6 or 7 years old. He watched for deer for about a half hour and then fell asleep on the foor of the stand wrapped in a blanket that I brought for him. I continued to take him as along whenever he wanted to go but never forced him to go if he didn't want to. By the time he was about 10, he stayed awake all the time we were in the stand and did a good job of helping me watch for deer. When he was about 12 years old, he shot his first deer with me in the stand with him. He didn't hunt alone until he was aboout 14 years old.
This is just my experience with my son but it farily represents what is the usual, at least in Texas where we used to live.
Good luck with your novel. If you have any more questions that I can help you with, please contact me.
17. I was 9 when I killed my first deer while hunting with my dad. I learned that hunting is not only a way to feed the family, but is also good training for if America is ever invaded and we need to defend our freedom...
18. the age of the child in your story should be appropriate to what the child is going to do? most 6 year olds dont shoot and clean 12 point bucks but are certainly old enough to enjoy and appreciate nature for a few hours at a time. my son hunted under my guidance and supervision as an 8 year old. he didnt hunt by himself and out of direct eyesite until he was 12 years old. 4 years of drinking hot chocolate and sometimes freezing our tails off in a deer stand together. we still hunt together(my son is 20 now) but i miss the days of him sitting in my deerstand and asking questions like "how can squirrels run down tree's headfirst"lol. sometimes we even harvested a deer. i wouldnt trade the experience for anything in the world. i hope your storey has a father and son that teach each other about the important things in life. good luck. ole max.
19. it is appropriate to bring a child with you any time, you may not get much hunting done but, it is about the experience.
There is no harm in doning a child pack and taking a kid with you as early as they can hold their head up and enjoy the outdoors. I've known couples who bring their 1 years with them.. Generally speaking the child exposed to the outdoors early will be more likely inclined to enjoy it in the future.
When a child reachs 8 to 10 they can grasp the concept of being quiet long enough to harvest a deer, old enough for supervised harvesting.
20. I took both of my sons the year they turned 1 and every year since. The key with kids is that you make it fun for them, you have to be willing to accept that you won't get much hunting done, but they can stay in camp most of the day and just go with you in the evening, or they can follow you all day long, it depends on the kid, the conditions, and how badly you want them with you. Whatever age the kid in your story is will be realistic, as long as you keep his(or her) involvement on par with his age.
21. I have taken my children with me to watch when they were toddlers. Teach them hunting skills very young.
I let them use a gun when they were about 6.
It is very common in Arkansas to see kids as young as 5 or 6 in the paper with game they have killed.
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My Father hunted some but was not much of a hunter. He never killed anything. He did not have much knowledge about hunting to pass on to me. I had to learn by trail and error. It had taken me years to learn the best ways of getting close to game and learning how to wait and take a good clean shot. I was about 8 when I first went and was in my teens before my first kill. My kids are much further along in their skills than I was at their age.
