Should a ten year old hunt with a gun?
64That was the question
In a recent Hub, a writer complained that he, a father, should be able to teach anything he wanted to his children. Government be damn. He had posted a picture of two cute as a button very young children with a firearm. So a simple question becomes, the government is out to stop us mentality. To quote that author, “Well, I have suspected for a long time that plenty of people would be more than happy to allow our government to guide their lives. They wouldn't mind being told what is appropriate to watch or read.”
Our back and forth discussion went on until that author decided to censor me. So much for the government stopping us from reading.
The author finally confessed that he has no children. That is good. He might have more that eleven to twelve years to rethink his child raising techniques.
The responds that I was hoping to get was ‘probably not, my children are not yet mature enough.’ That would be a truthful answer. Not that the government is out to get us.
The real reason for the change in age limit is that in Wisconsin the numbers of active hunters were dwindling. The NRA as well as gun manufactures wanted to encourage future hunters. The problem was those young boys and girls were playing with X-Boxes and Easy Bake Ovens and the idea of running around in the cold damp woods wasn’t cool.
It is easy for any writer to spout off on an opinion for which they know nothing about. I raised two daughters and they are doing well on their own. Early in their childhood, I was a Civil War rein actor. Our group had firearms like a small army. Not a single person under nineteen owned firearm. They had to earn it the old fashion way. Work for a living. I owned a Colt pistol reproduction. 50 caliper. Can’t hunt worth a darn with it. Firing these weapons, even blanks were still dangerous. You could get a black-powder tattoo with it. Be smart.
Quoting from a seasonal favorite movie, “You’ll shoot your eye out!”
If you want to argue that the government is out to get you, paranoids to the right.
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Thank you for agreeing with a little Common Sense. Give the kids a guitar.
As it always happens, the worst. In every state of the land, every day of the year, people die from gun fire in this country. Today, a ten year old boy shot and killed his father with his own rifle. The boy did not understand. He wasn’t mature enough to understand. Are we at war with ourselves? Terrorists couldn’t do that much damage to us, but we can freely to it to ourselves. All the weapons in our country and we will lose. Pride and Arrogance. Amen.
I'm like Ralph. Ten is too young to teach a boy to use a gun, especially a handgun. I'd have to say sixteen, but what do I know? I first learned to shoot going rabbit hunting out west. And we used .22 rifles then. The most important thing in teaching someone the use of a gun is care in pointing a gun. Never point a gun at anyone. When walking, either have it in a case or as we did in the army, on our shoulders. When stalking game, you must have the gun in close proximity to being able to fire it, in other words probably carrying it with two hands on the rifle pointed away from others but in close proximity to your shoulder so that in one motion you can bring the gun up, take off the safety - which should be on except where you expect a hen or something to come out of the brush quickly - then aim and shoot.
I used to work as an insurance adjuster. I handled several claims under homeowner insurance where the insured shot someone because he didn't take enough time to count - count how many of his party he could see or knew exactly where they were at. Shooting pheasants you generally used a shotgun. This one man was shot up pretty badly, but survived. I think he got something like twenty-five thousand dollars plus his medical bills for the negligence of our insured. Safety is extremely important.
Don White
Thank you Don. I like pheasant. I used to drive by a pheasant farm,there were loose birds about. But I couldn't get my car up four feet to bring one home.
In the original question, I used the line from a book by Harper Lee, 13-14 was the age the lawyer was he first learn to hunt.
I had thought if you owned a firearm, you must be insured, like an auto. Accidents happen. But how many would agree?
I LOVE Christmas Story!!! I was introduced to it by a sister in law raised in Wisconsin, lol. I am no hunter but I have to say I loved the pheasant my uncle prepared when I was small. And the smoked venison. It's kind of hypocritical to eat meat and attack hunters. Better to become a vegetarian.
Storytellersrus, I agree. I do think that every precaustion should be taken when hunting though.
A shot-gun is too much firepower in the hands of a 10 year old.
12 year-olds in the army cadets use Daisy air rifles for target practice here in Vancouver. At 16 I learned how to fire an FNC1 rifle, sub-machine gun and throw a grenade in the army reserve. One guy in the squad was a little mentally slow. He turned 90 degrees on the firing line, aiming his smg down the line at the rest of the unit frigging with his weapon and shouted, "Corporal, my weapon's jammed!" The corporal had to knock him down.
So it's not just age that's important, but common-sense and maturity.
Thank you, smarteygr17 and johndvan.It is sad common sense and maturity are always waylaid by mentally slow leadership.
I and my two brothers, and five cousins all started hunting with our fathers or grandfathers around ten or eleven. I was given a 22 at eleven and a 30 30 at 12. and My first shotgun at 14.
theres nothing wrong with it in the least, as long as the children are taught the basics in handling a firearm. we also werent raised on some fantasy Bs that People dont die. animals were cute disney critters and Politicians dont lie.
Firearms were never hidden from us, and no one freaked out if we asked questions. in fact, not a single weapon in our homes were locked up.
there was only once I got my dads pistol out, and that was when I was home alone at 14 and someone was trying to break in.
In your Bio, you speak about your many pets. I guess you are not married and luckily have no children. The fact that none of your weapons are locked or secured says a lot about you. Perphas that is why you had a "break-in."
funny how you cant read minds. I was Married, I do have kids. my children learned the proper use of firearms at an early age.
and the break in happened when I was a child, and had nothing to do with firearms being in the house.
and subtle insults do nothing but invalidate any of your future arguments and rebuttals.
If your wife and children were important you would have said so in your Bio.
Every day in every state of the union there is firearms accidents, and you are very lucky. I hope your luck holds out and WE don't read about your situation in the news.
Wisconsin hunting season to report. Wisconsin hunter were only able to harvest one-third the deet they had last year. Many complains to the DNR. Other hunters say that deer-less hunters were lazy, waiting by their truck or deer stand for their deer. He got his the old fashion way 'go after it.'
Few accidents and no word on ten-year-olds.
Be smart and be safe.
If a child has the maturity and sense of responsibility there is no reason they should not be started out with firearms. I went through NRA's hunter safety course before I was allowed to have my first rifle. I was shooting rifles and shotguns under my dads supervision at 10. I believe it all boils down to the child's level of responsibility and physical ability.
Hi jink sez: Every day in every state of the union there is firearms accidents, and you are very lucky. I hope your luck holds out and WE don't read about your situation in the news.
Jack replies: I am so glad that I can count on you to be by my side in my effort to disbar all the lawyers in my state. You see, we had two cases just this past month where local lawyers acted unethically and hurt society.
This cannot stand. Obviously you and I agree that the 99.99 percent should be held guilty for the sins of the .01 percent.
Next we can go after teachers. I understand that a few each month across the nation actually have sex with their students.
And what's up with doctors? We've had three or four put in jail in our city alone in the past 24 months for all kinds of mis-doings.
I am grateful that I have your support for these efforts to weed out entire groups of people from society based upon their inherent badness exhibited by those one tenth of one percent members in the new
So Jack Burton, you plan to solve all of your problems with a firearms. Obvious you have an issue with any kind of law limiting weapons. Seeing that you have a Christian background, one has to wonder why?
I would like to see a law where one gun owner would be responsible to another as in the Second. Your second would be responisible for your misdeeds. This requires Honor for all that own firearms.
Now we have people buying firearms because they are afraid. Only the gun manufactures profit by selling gun to both sides.
I got my first shot gun for Christmas a Revelation 410 single shot, 40 years later I still have it. It was from my dad who passed in December, it is the only Christmas present from my childhood I still have. The next day we went to the hardware store and got our hunting license and clay birds. We spent the day learning to shoot and the next day we went rabbit hunting. Spent several hours hunting, dad got a rabbit, my brother and I didn't get off a shot. Oh, and I was 1 month past my tenth birthday.
I see that your father trained you in the proper use of a firearm. Now the important question, would you trust other ten year olds who you don't know if they were properly trained?
If I knew them and I trained them sure. Not knowing them or trainer I really don't know. I do believe that any younger hunter should be always accompanied by a trained adult. If I knew that adult who trained them then sure.
Sounds like a reasonable answer. That is good. Reasonable answers are rare, as you may have read.
The number of young hunters are going down being replaced by more sedate hobbies.
My dad use to hunt and trap animals you can no longer find, back in the 30's.
I'm just a fisherman whose pole is getting dusty.
I'm also from Chicago where bullets can go through many walls before hitting an innocent, and no one can protect you.
I feel that people of a young age should be aloud to uses guns because it is not guns that kill people people kill people and with sufficient safety training a child would be able to operate a gun safely
Ricey164, you say with sufficient safety training. How about all those auto safety driving courses for young people, and as a group they have the highest death rate.
12 year old is all right i am a 13 year old
12 year old is all right i am a 13 year old
im a 12yearold and ive been hunting since i was 7 and its a great idea he should start with a 22. and/or 20 gauge
i am 14 and i have a-lot of guns i think that you just have to know how to use it and take hunter saftey class..
Ralph Deeds Level 6 Commenter 2 years ago
Ten is a little young for letting a child hunt even with a small gauge shot gun. And no child has any business with a handgun, period, because with a handgun it's too easy to shoot yourself or somebody else. Rifles aren't good for children either because they can hit somebody else a long way off.