Bring out a child

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cgates
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Bring out a child

Post by cgates »

Easy one for all to answer...... What age is a good start for kids to come out into the field for a hunt. I have a 4yr old and would love to take her out on a grouse hunt more of an atv ride
What age did you bring your kids
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Re: Bring out a child

Post by Bass Addict »

For safety reasons....12
There will be an influx of Great Grey Owls in the winter of 2017
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Super
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Re: Bring out a child

Post by Super »

My Dad took us for "hikes" hunting partridge when he even carried the smallest kid on a pack on his back.
My own kids loved " being dogs" and going through the bush/tall grass at the side of the trail to flush the birds for me.
I know they were younger than school age when they started because I used to work afternoon shifts and we used to hunt or fish before work, depending on the season.
I always had a gun but there was not usually a shell in the gun unless we flushed a partridge and then the fun began.
My son still likes to hunt and fish and the girls will fish if they have the opportunity.
They are in their 30's now.
Take them out young, and stop for snakes and turtles and frogs and they will be happy.
Little spruce sap motor boats were fun when we stopped by a pond or bridge.
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flewdoggII
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Re: Bring out a child

Post by flewdoggII »

Last year I took my three year old son with me on the ATV hunting grouse up north. This was a very remote area with barely any other hunters. He loved it and I was not concerned about his safety, but I won't be bringing him out to more populated areas like the Marlborough Forest for a good few more years.
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Markus
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Re: Bring out a child

Post by Markus »

Safety reasons? Hunting is very safe.

I started taking my kids with me whenever they were ready to go. Depending on what i was doing, i'd decide if they were up for it. Waterfowl and upland hunting were the best because it's a bit more social. Long days were never good options.
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cgates
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Re: Bring out a child

Post by cgates »

Thanks guys
I think she'll love being out there but what I'm most worried about in the fact of taking the life of an animal how did you guys explain to them
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Markus
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Re: Bring out a child

Post by Markus »

The circle of life is a good starting discussion and they'll appreciate learning how to make healthy choices when it comes to providing and gathering your own food. Educating at a young age is the key to it all. Responsibility and ethics are easier to teach to youth before they become adults and pick up bad habits.
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Re: Bring out a child

Post by bradford2 »

cgates wrote:What age did you bring your kids
Bass Addict wrote:For safety reasons....12
Markus wrote:Safety reasons? Hunting is very safe.
They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree... therefore I fully support Bass Addict in his decision :lol:

It's a tough one. I'd say don't go by age but rather gauge when you think your child is ready. My kids are 5 and 3. The one who could handle it has no interest, and the one who asks every day is a couple years away yet. At three though it's fun to watch him handle a rifle. 'Check if it's loaded'. 'I point it over there'. He's learning :wink:

He's still scared to actualy go in the woods though haha. Hope he grows out of that one soon.
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Re: Bring out a child

Post by Dekker500 »

cgates wrote:Thanks guys
I think she'll love being out there but what I'm most worried about in the fact of taking the life of an animal how did you guys explain to them
I've been taking my daughter fishing for years now, ever since she could hold her own 3' rod. She's been catching and I've been unhooking. She's 8 now, and this year she finally asked to see me fillet our catch. We had a brief discussion about the "circle of life", and though we've discussed it before I reminded her that steak is cow, and chicken is, well, chicken, and this is where those "fish sticks" come from. So she watched me kill then fillet a couple fish. She was squeamish, but wouldn't take her eyes off what I was doing, and later bragged to her friend (who was on the trip but not on shore) about having seen it. 10 minutes from fish-in-water to frying pan.

If you don't let her anthropomorphize or name the animal before you dispatch it, it's better :) If she's naming it Bambi before you dispatch it, you might have trouble...
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cgates
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Re: Bring out a child

Post by cgates »

Thanks guys again
I think I'll be just talking her on the atv and hunting trips will have to be a few years away she is only starting school this September and I don't need the phone call LOL
She eats the deer meat so I'm sure soon enough she'll be wanting to really come hunting now I think it's more about just going with daddy
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Re: Bring out a child

Post by Bass Addict »

Markus wrote:Safety reasons? Hunting is very safe.

So is Fishing , but people do get injured....how do you explain to your Family members that your Five, Six or Seven year old Girl has been injured from bringing her HUNTING ??
There will be an influx of Great Grey Owls in the winter of 2017
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cgates
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Re: Bring out a child

Post by cgates »

Bass Addict wrote:
Markus wrote:Safety reasons? Hunting is very safe.

So is Fishing , but people do get injured....how do you explain to your Family members that your Five, Six or Seven year old Girl has been injured from bringing her HUNTING ??
If a seasoned hunter can manage to shoot him self then yes a child can get hurt but we all must remember guns don't kill it's the person holding it. I like to think I'm very safe
No need for a pee pee match everyone has deferent views
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Re: Bring out a child

Post by TheMaverick »

I remember back in elementary school, a fellow classmate had died because of an accident while hunting with his dad.
He must not have been any older than 8 years old, he unfortunately ran in front of the gun.

The “circle of life” is one thing, but safety precaution/education is another.
Something younger kids might not fully understand and apply out on the field.

There’s no right answer to your question.
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Re: Bring out a child

Post by RVOTom »

The sooner the better! You'll need to keep the trips short and sweet when they are little. Ground blind hunting for turkeys or deer, or duck hunting in a blind is a great start. Kids are super impressionable so it becomes a great opportunity to teach ethics, safety, skills and patience at a young age.

Even if the action is slow, teach them something new every time you get out. They are little sponges wanting to soak it all in. My own children now 11 and 9, started tagging along when they hit school age. My hope is that when I get old, I'll have a son and daughter that will take me fishing and hunting when I'm not so able bodied.
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cgates
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Re: Bring out a child

Post by cgates »

There’s no right answer to your question.[/quote]
Your 100% right no right or wrong answer just looking for age that most kids tag along and I'm going to give it a few more years
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