Is 8 years old too young to teach to hunt?

Question

I would like my husband (not my son's father) to take my son hunting. But we have different opinions on when would be a good age to teach my son the basics of hunting - even just to take him along for some quality Step-dad and step-son time.

My opinion is: Take him now. Teach him the safety stuff. Just spend some good quality one-on-one time (since he rarely ever does).

His opinion: He's too young. Maybe next year.

Your opinion: ????

Thanks

This is like duck, quail, or deer hunting - even fishing. Guy bonding stuff.

For those of you that are against hunting - this question isn't for you. Just take your bunny happy butts to another question.

Answer 1

As a parent and former hunter safety educator, I would DEFINATELY encourage you and your husband to take your child, of any age, into the field with you. I started taking my children with me at about six. They learned about the outdoors, the game we hunted, safety, survival, and had a great time just being with Dad. I let them take their toy bows or bb guns, let them shoot targets (stumps) and in that way they were able to practice safe equipment handling with something they could control.

Never got any game when they were with me, but that's not the only reason we hunt.

Answer 2

I'm 15 years old, and I, along with most people in my family hunt. I don't think that you can be too young. Maybe take him along but don't shoot a deer if you see it if the son doesn't want to see it, because if this happens and it scares him, he might never want to go hunting. But if you are planning on shooting something, just make sure that he understands why you are doing it, so you don't have him shooting deer just for the sport of it. Taking him hunting at an early age will definitely be a really good influence on him, especially if they see some deer well they are out there. There isn't really anything that can replace the feeling of seeing your first deer out hunting. It is great, no matter how big or small it is. And just make sure that he knows all the rules, such as never point the gun at anybody, regardless whether or not it is loaded. And also, make sure that he gets involved. Have him carry out the gun. Have him blow the call, let him look through the binoculars. Another thing is to make sure that you don't plan too long of a hunt. 1.5 to 3 hours is probably enough for him, because if he is anything like me when I was 8, it's about impossible to sit still for that long. Anyways, I think that it would definitely be a great idea to take him out in the field. It would be a great learning experience for him. In the end though, it is you, the step-dad, and most importantly, the child's decision. Make sure that he wants to go out. So, I hope that I helped a little bit, and sorry if I rambled on. But, I hope that this will be useful to you in making the decision. Good luck,
~Seth

Answer 3

In my oppinion your ether born a hunter, or your not.
I was quite clear i was to be a hunter at the age of 5.
After watching my grandfarther clean a rabbit in the yard he got a supprise when he returned into the house, to find me with the kitchen knife through my teddy bear and what looked to be a great atempt at skinning it.
From the age of 6 i have hunted with pop's and it has made me who i am today. At that age your so curious and take everything in and are willing to learn.
For over 4 years i hunted alongside pops/ his friends ect , in that time i learned all my quarry and many more animals beside, how to track, signs to look for ect.
One of the most important things i learnd was how to treat and respect the tool in my hands.
What i most enthasise is your soon is the future, teach him now and teach him well.
It was not till i was 10 did i fire my first gun, though when the time came i knew what i was doing.
There are not many who can say they were in a shooting siyndcate at the age of 12, fully licenced and insured

I know you say the bern is not your husbands son, do they treat each other like father and son?
The reson i ask is i have some of the best experience and storys of my life and there all memorys that i will treasure for the rest of my life, and they all acured around my grandfather.
I have a 3 yer old daughter and already she is showing signs of been a hunter,,, ''dad can i come''

Answer 4

I think the answer to your question depends much on the childs maturity level.

I am all for teaching young people to shoot. I started shooting when I was 4 years old. By the time I was 8, I had already hiked to more mountain tops than most people will see in a lifetime. I was taught about survival by my father. I was an avid salmon fisherman. However, I had never been hunting wtih my father at that point. Looking back on it, it wasn't a bad decision.

With fishing, for some reason (at least for me), I never saw the fish as a living, breathing being that felt pain. I whacked the salmon in the head with a club and that was it. A fish was just a fish. There was little blood. You really couldn't screw up. You just killed and moved onto the next fish.

However, hunting is quite a bit different. A deer or other animals possess more human like qualities than a fish. Many animals will make noise when scared, they will run, and they will fight if necessary.

Hunting is a sport of love (love for the animal), but it is still a blood sport. No matter how careful a hunter is, there will always be a measure of cruelty in it.

I pride myself on taking good shots and only shooting if I know I can kill with the first shot. However, if you hunt long enough, you'll screw up. In my 18 years of deer hunting, I have had to take more than one shot.

Where am I going with all my rambling? There is something difficult about putting the cross hairs behind a deer's shoulder blade, pulling the trigger, seeing the red spray in the show behind it along with bits of lungs and entrails, watching the deer run in a complete panic and hit a tree because it doesn't know what is going on, and before pulling its guts out, you must stand over the deer and say this is a life I took. This is what happens on a clean kill.

I have seen irresponsible hunters blow parts off deer and wound them and leave them for dead without taking more than 10 minutes to try and track them (the last deer I missed I searched for over 3 hours before I was somewhat satisfied I missed it). I have shot deer wounded by others that had their shoulder blown apart and in obvious pain when it walked. I've killed deer with parts of their legs missing that were having a heck of a time just walking. In my youthful inexperience, I pushed a bad shot on a deer and hit it with 3 not so good shots (and ran out of ammo) and had to sit and watch it die over the next several minutes.

The question is, is this a world you want to expose an 8 year old to?

Some 8 year olds will probably be just fine with it. For others, the sight of death may be enough to turn them off of hunting.

If you are determined to start your son out young, I would start by spending a ton of time teaching your son to shoot (perhaps even take a year or two for this part alone). Once your son has mastered firearm safety and proper shooting technique, take him hunting. I would start with small game like squirrels and rabbits. Their small size promotes patience and shot placement. You can even teach your son hunting techniques with a camera (give your son a camera with a regular lens and have him get you a good picture of various animals like turkey, deer, rabbits, etc...). Once small game becomes less of a challenge, try the bigger animals.

The biggest piece of advice I can give is not to push your son too hard. Not everyone is meant to be a hunter. Let your son know there is no shame in feeling bad about taking a life. Explain it is something that needs to be done to provide a safe food supply. Chances are, your son will progress at his own pace and will let you know each time he is ready to take the next step.

Good Luck! Thanks for taking the time to cultivate a new hunter!

Answer 5

I've taken my son hunting with me since he was 4 years old. He's known the safety rules of firearms since he was that age but never TOUCHED one until this summer.

He has always had a healthy respect for firearms but has not been afraid of them.

I can only speak for my son- that he was ready when he was ready. Some kids may not be ready at the same age. Individuals are different.

But, think of this too. If you're looking to make hunting a shared experience with your son and your husband - well it may not be your son is the one who's not ready. If you really want your son to learn to hunt and learn gun safety, you can always teach him yourself.

Good Luck!

Answer 6

I started hunting a little earlier than 8 and my father taught me the basics just like you mentioned in your? it was a good time I learned alot and since have become a very successful hunter I don't know what I would be doing had my father not taken the time to teach me. probably stealing cars or something I would encourage anyone to involve children of all ages in outdoor activities hunting fishing camp you know the works. It is such a big part of my life and as a husband and father of a 2 yr old daughter is has become a way for us to spend quality time and yes I intend to teach my daughter to hunt as soon as I think her patients can tolerate it around 6 I hope good luck but it sounds like he is just avoiding alone time with your son don't know why but I hope it works out and he stops with the lame excuses

Answer 7

It depends on his maturity level. I would suggest gun safety classes, as well as hunting safety classes for your son. Shooting ranges are a great way to teach your child gun safety. Perhaps if you take these steps your husband may be more willing to take him. If not, you should try to find different activities for your husband and child to do together. (FYI - I live in WV where hunting season is HUGE -some schools even take an extended hunting break- I see nothing wrong with teaching your kids to hunt as long as it is done in the proper and safe way)

Answer 8

I started hunting at the age of 8. And I would recommend that your husband take your son with him as often as he can. For a number of reasons. The first is the younger he starts the better outdoors-man he will be. The other reason is there was a Cornell study done w few years ago that showed the people as adults that cared most about the environment spent a lot of time in the outdoors....hunting, fishing, camping with their parents, uncles and so on.

Answer 9

Eight might be a tad young...but why not ask your son ?
Be sure that you're set up in case he says ''Sure!"

Go to a range with a .22 rifle and run him through the safety lectures... if possible, shoot a plastic milk carton full of water to show what can happen. Have a target at a reasonable range so that he can get on the paper.

Then go get burgers.

Answer 10

Inviting us into a family argument...
I'd been hunting small game a couple of years and killed my first deer at age 8. I waited a bit longer of my kids, and each was ready at a different time. It's a pure judgment call, but since your husband is the one that'll do the supervising, it's his call.