Hunting and shooting with kids??
- Thread starter Sebaz
- Start date
I raised 3 daughters and a son with my first wife. Have a 13 YO son with my second.
Always got my kids out with me at an early age. It helps them in so many ways, whether they decide to become hunters or not.
Not only does it allay any fears related to firearms, but it also gives them a realistic view of life and death.
It is very important to teach them proper respect for the animals we harvest, and instill a love of the outdoors at the same time.
Kudus to you parents who are shouldering your responsibilities to your offspring!!
Dave.
Always got my kids out with me at an early age. It helps them in so many ways, whether they decide to become hunters or not.
Not only does it allay any fears related to firearms, but it also gives them a realistic view of life and death.
It is very important to teach them proper respect for the animals we harvest, and instill a love of the outdoors at the same time.
Kudus to you parents who are shouldering your responsibilities to your offspring!!
Dave.
safehunter
Regular
- Location
- South Western Onterrible
I highly recommend a hunting blind if still hunting with kids. Keep them warm and the weather off them and they will be happier. Also hides their fidgeting.
Just finished hunting with my youngest daughter (12) of 5 children. Freshly out of hunters safety training she was keen to hunt to but had a great deal of trepidation about the kill. It was fun for both of us as she is a natural hunter,very keen eyes and it was great alone time with dad. She has been shooting since she was 5 and is an excellent marksman, very proud of her. My other daughter is also an excellent shot with pistol, rifle or bow. Unfortunately she is 16, gorgeous and I suspect she is hunting a different kind of game these days. 2 of the 3 boys have slowly warmed up to hunting. The oldest came out for last day of deer rifle this year and had a great time. The youngest boy likes to shoot, unfortunately he literally gets ill when he sees a dead animal. I think we are going to try a hunt alone together next year. All have done their hunter safety courses and oldest is getting his PAL this year. Thank goodness, as I was starting to wonder who will take my guns eventually.
Last edited:
thats where i wish i started hunting earlier, my kids are already at the "eww its blood age", however they didnt seem to mind seeing my buddy and i butchering a deer. they just didnt want to help.
It was my son who got me in to hunting. When he was young, 4 or so, we watched fishing together every Sunday morning. One day Canada in the rough came on and he asked me to take him hunting. I had no knowledge of the sport, or a bow or gun.
I sent him to his grandpa, a hunter, to see if he could tag along, basically got laughed at.
In frustration I immediately got my PAL and outdoors card. We read the manuals together every night for his bedtime story.
He got his first rifle at 5, a Cricket.
At 7 he had a nice collection. At 8 he was shooting competitive trap.
Now he is 12, got the highest scores in both his firearms course as well as hunting course, all adult class.
He arrowed his first deer on the second day of the archery season. Cleaned and butchered it himself too.
He has many small game under his belt, and does it solo. I am with him for the hunt, but he cleans and processes everything himself. He just finished making me a very nice coyote rug for our gun room.
Every season since I could hunt he gets opening day off school, turkey, deer..
Wish I could post multiple photos, have lots of the deer hide blanket he is making. YouTube has taught him everything, I am not in to that part of things.
My daughters like to tag along, but do not participate or complain. They are 7 and 8, they sit in tree stands with me for hours at a time.
Life is good!
I sent him to his grandpa, a hunter, to see if he could tag along, basically got laughed at.
In frustration I immediately got my PAL and outdoors card. We read the manuals together every night for his bedtime story.
He got his first rifle at 5, a Cricket.
At 7 he had a nice collection. At 8 he was shooting competitive trap.
Now he is 12, got the highest scores in both his firearms course as well as hunting course, all adult class.
He arrowed his first deer on the second day of the archery season. Cleaned and butchered it himself too.
He has many small game under his belt, and does it solo. I am with him for the hunt, but he cleans and processes everything himself. He just finished making me a very nice coyote rug for our gun room.
Every season since I could hunt he gets opening day off school, turkey, deer..
Wish I could post multiple photos, have lots of the deer hide blanket he is making. YouTube has taught him everything, I am not in to that part of things.
My daughters like to tag along, but do not participate or complain. They are 7 and 8, they sit in tree stands with me for hours at a time.
Life is good!
- Location
- Ontario (Niagara)
Yes! Just started taking my 5 year old out... need one of these for sure!
Awesome stories guys!! I can't wait to land and start our adventure in CA. Our daughter is now almost 2 and a son on the way. The two year old already identifies different species of game and distinguishes between rifles and pistols in magazines. I can't wait!
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Welcome! I still have family in RSA and visit regularly. What you'll find in Canada is the wild / public lands alone are about eight times the size of all of South Africa, with far less people than South Africa to boot. It's an outdoorsman's paradise.
Outcast
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Keep it fun, my son has been hiking and shooting since he was 5. Loves the outdoors and loves shooting. He's 14 now and is the safest kid I know with a firearm. He was not allowed to touch a firearm until he could recite the firearms safety rules, and even now doesn't pick a gun off the bench without asking first. Then he clears it. Never too young to get outdoors, appreciate the beauty. Just bought our first canoe and have several great trips planned this year. As for the wifey.. Keep her involved and get her out shooting. My wife was not a fan of firearms when we got together. Now she has a RPAL and owns her own guns. She fully appreciates the security of a firearm around. Some pics
I certainly am onside with getting kids into hunting and shooting BUT make sure you're doing so legally. LEO's do read these threads and look for law breakers ... with that in mind you need to remember that in BC it is illegal to cause a person under the age of 10 to hunt. They can go with you at any age, just not allowed to hunt until 10.
I do not think that it applies to subsistance hunters and you also need to figure out the age of the poster and when that law came into effect to know if he broke the law as a child when he was under 10.
There never use to be a minimum age on taking the core exam in BC but I believe there is now.
blasted_saber
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- A blue part of Ontario
Another thing my wife and I did from the very start is not hide the fact about where meat comes from. She knows that ground beef = cows and pork chops = pigs and that chicken fingers = chicken. We are clear that hunting is first and foremost about food. We refer to venison as "deer" when we are eating it.
Last edited:
I'm not talking about subsistence hunters or posters on internet forums. I'm talking about hunters who I know (or at least acquainted with). I tell them it is illegal to let their kids hunt before the age of ten and they say "bullsh!t". I say "and when they are ten, you have to buy a $7 license for them before you let them hunt", and they say "bullsh!t". I tell them to look in the regs and read it for themselves and they say "no CO is going to give a sh!t".
None of them, that I know of, bother obeying either of these laws. I showed some of them my daughter's youth license (before she did her CORE and got her full license) and they said they had never seen one before. These are people who hunt with their kids all the time.
I just don't get it. For $7, why not just go buy one? The kid will think it is cool that they have their own license, and best of all, you're not breaking the law. Common sense is becoming all too uncommon.
As a side note, both times I bought my daughter her Junior License, the person at the service counter didn't quite understand what it was that I wanted. I had to explain it to both of them. One was at Wholesale Sports and the other was at ServiceBC.
Do they really sell so few of them that the service people don't even know what they are?
