I wish Ny would lower the hunting age!

[TeeBugg]

I shot my first deer when I was 14 with a bow, I shot high and the arrow went in his ear and came out his eye, i still remember to this day watching that deer flop around and scream trying to get up and run . I felt horrible, even though I was supposed to be excited I shot my first deer, 22 years later I am still obsessed with making sure the shot is perfect so I don't do that to another deer.

Were you aiming at the head?

[Five Seasons]

I agree its interesting. With all the stuff on tv today and video games... watching a deer die is probably far from the worst thing they will see. I watched animals die at a young age and i turned out fine. Then again i think alot of todays youth are sheltered and most need a dose of reality. Because when reality actually hits them, they have no clue what to do. Just my opinion

 

what upsets you more on tv: the guys getting mowed down with a machine gun or when a dog is killed? I'm totally desensitized to human killing. Senseless animal killing, kids and woman still gets me fired up. Real or not.

 

The argument was not that it's the "only reason" but it's part of it.

 

It's one thing making a shot and then having an animal lying there dead.  But it's a whole different scene having an animal flopping around with a spine shot.  As adults us hunters should be able to handle this scene, but to a child that is too young to fully understand things this may night be a pleasant image, and unpleasant images are what stand out most to some.  I think in most cases a 5 year old may have a harder time with such a scene than a 12 year old would.  That is why age requirements are implemented, and in general they are not a bad thing.  Some parents claim that they know their child would be ready to hunt, but that is their opinion only.  They very well may be, but they also may not.  Just as with driving.  Maybe there are 12 year olds that could drive better than 20 year old, but would we be comfortable letting ALL 12 year olds behind the wheel??  A line has to be drawn somewhere in my opinion. 

 

my first kill was at 17 with a gun. deer ran into a field and death rolled. i still remember it vividly. I could handle it, but I did feel bad. I've done 2 executions in my life. I remember them very vividly and want nothing to do with it if I can, but it's part of hunting. My first was at night. That deer was dead on his feet but I didn't know any better and it was getting dark. I got up out of my blind immediately and went after him. He was laying in a ditch dying. Vapor was actually exiting the hole in his rib cage and the sounds he made I will never forget. Normally you dont see this part of the kill. Thing is... it's possible to turn a young kid off of hunting. It's also a learning experience and life lesson. I previously stated that I don't feel strongly about this topic, and agree parents should manage their kids, not the state (but we know many parents who do not do this well). So like someone else mentioned, if I don't let my kid hunt and the neighbor does?

Edited October 29, 2013 by Belo

[Jeremy K]

Were you aiming at the head?

 

No

 

[G-Man]

Take the kid with you hunting... people in the country on private land do all sorts of thing not legal. Esp with kids, when age was 16 for deer half the kids I knew hunted with their, parents at 12 with their own gun unsupervised. We all had jobs on farms or mowing lawn by 12.for cash. Driving tractors and equipment with no safety guards at. 12 As wel. It was normal..maybe tATS what's wrong with society today....

[HectorBuckBuster]

Thanks First Light they told my daughter at both the bow coarse and hunting course they could not hunt from a tree strand. You are correct I just looked it up. Its only for firearms that they can not hunt from a tree stand.

[16. ga hunter]

i think the age is fine where it is. i find problem with people not involving kids in hunting before the age they can actually kill.i was in the woods hunting with my father at age 4. he was not a selfish man and made time/special hunts so i could tag along. why? because he felt as his father did before him that it would help to make me a sportsman.most everyone i hear crying for a lower age don't take their kids out solely because they can't "hunt". hunting is more than just killing an animal.Next is well they can't stay out all day.....yeah no crap be a parent and sacrifice so your child can learn to enjoy the outdoors. who cares if you miss a chance at that monster buck cause junior got cold the time spent with them should be enough for that hunt.teach them how to track identify animal prints of all kinds bird feathers what good habitat looks like bedding areas food sources how to read a topo map and compass.... all so when they can hunt they will be prepared in the woods and not just thrown in. 

[jesse.james]

My father has and does do things wrong apparent from my other thread however I was in the woods with him on special hunts starting at 8yrs old. That he did right. I can't wait for my daughter to get out hunting but I will do it responsibly. Doesn't mean she can't come sit in a blind with Dad. I can't wait until she can come with me.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2

[crappyice]

I Plan on taking my 8 year old son ths weekend to sit in a ground line while I bow hunt. He has come with me shed hunting, scouting and fishing. I, a city dweller by many of your standards, am quite nervous about his reaction if a deer presents itself. I think there is something veyr different from tracking a down deer and experiencing the whole shot, hit, reaction(potentially sad and harsh). My plan is to let him call the shots... I don't think is twin brother is as ready, so he will sit this one out until he sows more interest and curiosity.

[16. ga hunter]

i think most would be surprised at a child's reaction to deer being taken i experienced it first hand at about 6.granted it was a rifle shot but i was involved in the tracking and found the whole experience exciting.the dying animal did not seem the center of attention.but more why we shoot them and how to clean them take care of the meat ect. i believe some are so far out of touch with where food comes from its not funny.some seem to forget that when you buy meat in a store that some where some how that animal had to die.the next deer my father shot was spine hit that same season he just explained how its our responsibility to dispatch the animal as quickly as we could and promptly finished the deer and reinforced the importance of taking a good shot.did not turn me off to hunting at all i was most happy to be spending time with him and learning the woods.

[Five Seasons]

i think the age is fine where it is. i find problem with people not involving kids in hunting before the age they can actually kill.i was in the woods hunting with my father at age 4. he was not a selfish man and made time/special hunts so i could tag along. why? because he felt as his father did before him that it would help to make me a sportsman.most everyone i hear crying for a lower age don't take their kids out solely because they can't "hunt". hunting is more than just killing an animal.Next is well they can't stay out all day.....yeah no crap be a parent and sacrifice so your child can learn to enjoy the outdoors. who cares if you miss a chance at that monster buck cause junior got cold the time spent with them should be enough for that hunt.teach them how to track identify animal prints of all kinds bird feathers what good habitat looks like bedding areas food sources how to read a topo map and compass.... all so when they can hunt they will be prepared in the woods and not just thrown in. 

 

there is a difference between bringing your kid along to track or sit and allowing them to use a firearm or to kill.

[Adkhunter1590]

Kids interested in hunting should definatly be brought along on hunts many times in advance to them carrying any weapon. I don't think the age should be as high as it is. I was 5-6 when I saw my first deer get shot and field dressed then butchered. It wasn't traumatizing at all. There's plenty of older people who can't stomach killing a animal let alone gut it.

It should be up to the parents to decide if the kid is ready. Ya ya some parents are stupid we all know that. But why should my kids be held back because Joe shmoe is a moron? Look at the younger generation right now. These kids are a total mess! Everyone is crying wolf over mental disorders being the reason their kid has "issues" when it really comes down to (most of the time) the parents not doing their job. Kids now are so much more rude, disrespectful and entilted than any generation before. I certainly believe my father keeping me in line and teaching me values had a lot to do with bringing me along on hunts and going fishing and spending time outdoors. Myself and friends that I grew up with that hunted along side their fathers were always regarded as good kids and more mature for our age than the kids who didn't do anything other than play soccer and video games.

Whether anyone agrees with me or not I could care less but I plan on raising my boy the same way I was. I turned out just fine and my boy will too with the correct guidance.

[TeeBugg]

Adk gets it

[Adkhunter1590]

I think we have the same understanding teebug. Its not complicated. People want to baby kids so much now it's sickening. I see it everyday. Even some of my buddies are guilty of it. But everyone has the right to raise their kids how they want. Just don't tell me to alter my parenting because your kid isn't ready to do stuff mine is.

[Five Seasons]

there is babying and then there is poor parenting. neither are good. letting a kid into the woods at a young age with a firearm because it's legal does not make it right. I am thankful to be raised right. Taught right from wrong, proper gun safety and the importance and significant of killing an animal. There sure are plenty of kids who can handle hunting at a young age. There are plenty that can't and if you make it legal, the bad parents out there may end up raising someone interested just in shooting and not hunting. You can't legislate for everything, you can only do the best you can.

[TeeBugg]

I think we have the same understanding teebug. Its not complicated. People want to baby kids so much now it's sickening. I see it everyday. Even some of my buddies are guilty of it. But everyone has the right to raise their kids how they want. Just don't tell me to alter my parenting because your kid isn't ready to do stuff mine is.

We are on the same page. Heck i saw what the youth of today is like at basic training for the army. I see people babying their kids so much its sickening. Added to that most have zero respect and think the world owes them something. Nothing instilled in most about hardwork morals or ethics at all. Society? Parenting? Who knows. But i know my son is being brought up like i was. Respect discipline ethics and hardwork are what get you somewhere today. As you said ill raise mine, you raise yours.

[A Sportsman]

I think you guys (teebug and adk) are getting a little carried away with what is being said here. Proponents of the current regs, like me, are just saying that 12 for bow and 14 for rifle is adequate. We are not saying to wait until the kid is 21. Let's face it, a 5 year old can barely wipe his nose or tie his shoes. Nothing wrong with a guy waiting a little longer to take him. You want to take him out before legal age, what's the big deal about him not carrying/shooting the gun. Let him appreciate first just being out with his dad.

I think many guys on here would agree that you're right in saying kids are being raised in a screwed up technological, overly parented, soft environment these days. But I think guys who wait til there kids are a little older to bring them hunting are the least of the problem.

When I was a kid, my dad likely wouldn't have taken me at all if I was getting into trouble or not putting effort into school. That's how I was raised and I am greatful for it. Taking your kid hunting is only 1 part of raising him. There is obviously a lot more to it that should not get lost on whether or not he was cutting the rear end out of a deer by age 6 or 8 or whatever.

[mmkay]

I think you guys (teebug and adk) are getting a little carried away with what is being said here. Proponents of the current regs, like me, are just saying that 12 for bow and 14 for rifle is adequate. We are not saying to wait until the kid is 21. Let's face it, a 5 year old can barely wipe his nose or tie his shoes. Nothing wrong with a guy waiting a little longer to take him. You want to take him out before legal age, what's the big deal about him not carrying/shooting the gun. Let him appreciate first just being out with his dad.

I think many guys on here would agree that you're right in saying kids are being raised in a screwed up technological, overly parented, soft environment these days. But I think guys who wait til there kids are a little older to bring them hunting are the least of the problem.

When I was a kid, my dad likely wouldn't have taken me at all if I was getting into trouble or not putting effort into school. That's how I was raised and I am greatful for it. Taking your kid hunting is only 1 part of raising him. There is obviously a lot more to it that should not get lost on whether or not he was cutting the rear end out of a deer by age 6 or 8 or whatever.

 

 

if your 5 year old can't tie his shoes or wipe his nose, put him up for adoption you already failed as a parent.  Unless the kid has some sort of learning disability

Edited October 30, 2013 by mmkay

[steve863]

if your 5 year old can't tie his shoes or wipe his nose, put him up for adoption you already failed as a parent.  Unless the kid has some sort of learning disability

 

 

He said BARELY, and he is correct.  Those who think that a 5 year old can be trusted to always make good decisions are the bad parents.  

Edited October 30, 2013 by steve863

[mmkay]

He said BARELY, and he is correct.  Those who think that a 5 year old can be trusted to always make good decisions are the bad parents.  

 

 

I was talking about shoes and wiping ones nose, not making good decisions.  Hell, I'm old and make bad decisions and stupid comments on a daily basis.

 

I think the age should be 10, but really don't care that much.  I just think its a parents call when to start a kid hunting 

 

 

back to shoes and noses.  A 5 yr old can barely do that?  really?  wow I haven't spent all that much time around young kids, I just assumed they weren't that dumb or lazy

Edited October 30, 2013 by mmkay

[mmkay]

i'm sorry Steve863 and A Sportmsn...your right about the shoe thing.....  the age is now 6 for kids....thirty years ago it was 4

 

Few master the art before the age of six, and some still have difficulty tying their own laces when they are nine or ten years old, it is claimed.

The findings represent a major shift in social habits - just thirty years ago, being able to tie shoelaces was regarded as a skill to be learnt by the age of four, but changes in shoe design and footwear fashions means the skill is no longer essential until much older.

----http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10032568/Children-learn-to-tie-shoelaces-later-than-ever-before.html

[A Sportsman]

Hahaha. I really didn't give the comment much thought. Just trying to illustrate a point.

My son is 4 months. I got a long way to go before we are hunting together. I just hope that he has the bug for the outdoors the way I do.

[crappyice]

I am an educator and spent my last 17 years working with kids from grade 2 - 12th grade (various years and subjects obviously). My number one explanation as to the change in children boils down to two words: PARTCIPATION RIBBONS! Every kid wins, no one is recognized as better than the other since it may make the lesser student/athlete/artist/whatever FEEL BAD! "Kids today"(yikes, I said that already at 38!) must feel good to be successful where the past would say the opposite. Be successful and you will feel good. There is very little motivation to work hard and achieve something, since EVERYONE ACHIEVES something regardless of the effort or product produced.

Currently, I teach middle school aged kids in the burbs- can some of them handle bows and guns if the had the experience- maybe. But most cannt hanldle their own damn pencil case, let alone a firearm of any sort. I would not start improving our children by lowering the age of legal hunters(feel good before succeed) - lets make our children more responsible and then lower the age(be successful and then I feel good)

Edited October 30, 2013 by crappyice

[Jeremy K]

I know people in their 20s who cant even turn on the stove or lite a gas grill, because mommy and daddy want to take the learning curve out of life , nobody wants their kid to deal with consequences anymore. It works the other way also , "my kid is so advanced for his age because i said so" Wow a parent who thinks their kid is better than everyone elses ,i never seen that before.

[CuseHunter]

I know people in their 20s who cant even turn on the stove or lite a gas grill, because mommy and daddy want to take the learning curve out of life , nobody wants their kid to deal with consequences anymore. It works the other way also , "my kid is so advanced for his age because i said so" Wow a parent who thinks their kid is better than everyone elses ,i never seen that before.

like my ex girlfriend, I went camping with her... She didn't know how to turn a grill on, let alone how to cook a hot dog. I kid you not. This is coming from a girl who attends SU.

[Doc]

Oh crap ..... The kids this .... The kids that. Look, there is no hurry to shoving a gun in the hands of kids, crossing your fingers and turning them loose in the woods. Let them mature at least a little bit for crying out loud. There are those that would eliminate age requirements completely. Well, if you don't give a damn about the kid's safety at least have some consideration for the safety of the rest of us out there. I don't want a bunch of 7 year olds out there shooting up the woods just because their idiot parents don't give a damn.

 

I don't know if the state has it right or not, but I sure don't want the age lowered any more. You want the kid to go hunting, take them with you. They don't have to have a gun in their hands to learn an appreciation for hunting and outdoor activities

 

Can you tell that I'm a bit grumpy this morning? Well the wind is howling out there and it's pouring out there and the damned bow season is marching right along without any venison in the freezer! ..... CRAP!!