Young hunters ( under 10 )

[chadr]

Wondering if anyone has experience with having their young kids shooting grouse, rabbits, ect... My son turns 8 years old on Sept. 11, he has been coming with me on hunting trips since he was 2. Started with a small bb gun at 4 and moved onto a small pellet gun at 6. He loves every minute of it and has pretty much been my little grouse retriever for the last 4 years. He has stayed with us at deer camp in a wall tent for sevral days at a time and fits right in with all the men and other boys ( who are all about 3-8 years older than him.) I bought him a little youth model .22 for his birthday and I know that he will be really excited and will want to try to get some grouse and rabbits himself. The only thing that I could find in the regs about it states " No one under the age of 10 may hunt. A person who causes or allows a person under the age of 10 to hunt commits an offence" I'm just wondering if any CO would give me a hard time about it? I'm not talking about going over my own bag limit for my own licence or anything, just want him to be able to get 1 or 2 on his own. Safety is of course the first concern and he would never be more than probably 20 feet from me while carrying his little rifle. Just wondering your thoughts on this? If we go out for a day and possibly both had our .22's and had 3 or 4 grouse or rabbits, would I get hassled about it? Ethically I know that there is no problem with it, I just don't wan't a problem with a grumpy CO or something. Any thoughts?

[BCBear]

follow the regs

[scoutlt1]

As you stated....the regs clearly state "No one under the age of 10 may hunt".

[RiverOtter]

The mood of the CO has little bearing, as he is bound to enforce the law, especially when there is physical evidence, ie dead game.

[Ron.C]

I applaud your desire to share the outdoors and hunting with your children,. Sounds like they already love it. But I think you'd be really setting yourself up for a bad deal if you are caught letting a child of that age of carry a firearm and hunt. I can't say this without being hypocritical but I know lots of us did exactly what you are talking about doing. I remember being handed a .22 cooey and a box of ammo when I was 9 and being told to go shoot as many gophers as I could . But I honestly think times have changed. There's enough issues against hunters and firearms owners already. I really think we need to follow the rules and regs and not give any other parties anymore ammunition to take anymore away then they already have.

[Ovis17]

Must be 10 to hunt. Regs are pretty straight forward in that regard.

[Pacemaker]

Don't let Junior hunt when he is that age. Not allowed to do it. It's wonderful that he is accompanying everybody in the the thrill of the hunt, but don't let him do any of the shooting at game. Let him wait till he is 10 years old, then buy him a Jr license. Then and only then can he legally shoot at game and hunt. He will be so proud when he gets his own legal grouse, or anything else, and so will you. Anything else is simply not right, nor is it legal. Your question about being "hassled" by "grumpy CO'S is totally the wrong approach to things. If you let Junior shoot any live game, it would be you that is wrong, not the "grumpy CO" who you think is "hassling" you. JMHO.

[horshur]

There is the letter of the law..and there is the spirit of the law.

[Drillbit]

Dang. That's pathetic if that's true.

If a kid under 10 wants to hunt while supervised he should absolutely be able to.

I know we(every kid I knew in the local area) were all turned loose with 22's well under 10.

[nwalter]

Not meaning to hijack this thread but didn't want to crowd the forum with another kid thread.
My daughters and 5 and 7 and this year will Ben the first year they come out for the day with me as I felt it would be better odds with a doe draw to have a successful hunt.
I want this to be a positive experience and any suggestions of what people have done taking their kids out the first time that have helped.

[sparkes3]

take lots of breaks with them.
short walks will keep their energy down and more likely to settle down in the truck while going between spots.
if you know the area that your going to hunt or know of an area with easy trails use it.
fish for a bit catch some bugs ,
teach them how to make kindling or find dry stuff and make a fire (just so I don't get shot - IF THE FIRE BAN IS OFF),
build a simple shelter.
take a coloring book and crayons with you get set up somewhere with a view and when they get bored let them color for a bit also doubles up as fire starter and emergency candles.
take a wilderness first aid pamphlet and start showing them some of that.
teach them simple knots.
one of the first trips out with my kid we found a winter warming hut that he wanted to check out so we stopped and I ended up making bacon and eggs on the stove for grandpa and us, that was eight years ago and we still go back there for breakfast at least once every hunting season.
lots of snacks.
they are sponges for information.

[firebird]

Do what you want to do. Raise your children how you want. I can tell you mine will be doing the same when they are ready. My wife had our 6 month old along deer and moose hunting last fall he rode in a front backpack/sack.

[WWBC]

I had my 4 year old with me bear hunting this spring. She sat on my shoulders as we tried to sneek in on a smallish bear. I had a rifle with however, I had no intention of shooting(why ruin a good thing). We followed the bear in the clover for about half and our. Looked at its track, practiced being quite. Looked for bear poop, took turns with the binos.

She loved it.

just had to exept I wasn't hunting

[teelt]

I know I was turned loose at younger than 10 as well. That's one thing I applaud the states for is the recruitment of young hunters. They are able to hunt anything in lots of states as long as supervised. One girl was 6 and shot a spike buck and was so thrilled that it just made me smile. At that moment you knew she is now hooked and will be an outdoorswomen for life.
My son will be out with me and I'll let him tak small but will abide by regs for bigger animals. Never go over limit and I think most COs will understand. If you don't get them to it early lots miss out and then just become zombies onto games, tv or staying inside. We need more recruitment in Canada!

[Surrey Boy]

Schedule B and C are not for hunting. It is pest control and protection of property. No licence, no season, no requirement to retain meat. Shooting feral rabbits with a crossbow is no different than setting a rat trap.

[nwalter]

take lots of breaks with them.
short walks will keep their energy down and more likely to settle down in the truck while going between spots.
if you know the area that your going to hunt or know of an area with easy trails use it.
fish for a bit catch some bugs ,
teach them how to make kindling or find dry stuff and make a fire (just so I don't get shot - IF THE FIRE BAN IS OFF),
build a simple shelter.
take a coloring book and crayons with you get set up somewhere with a view and when they get bored let them color for a bit also doubles up as fire starter and emergency crayons.
take a wilderness first aid pamphlet and start showing them some of that.
teach them simple knots.
one of the first trips out with my kid we found a winter warming hut that he wanted to check out so we stopped and I ended up making bacon and eggs on the stove for grandpa and us, that was eight years ago and we still go back there for breakfast at least once every hunting season.
lots of snacks.
they are sponges for information.
Thanks for the great ideas.
Several things I completely overlooked as opportunities
Nick

[mastercaster]

I took my kids when they were young fishing and hunting all the time. They loved grouse hunting with me! My daughter was the eagle eye of the group and was able to spot grouse 30+ yards off the road quite frequently. To this day she is well known for spotting all types of games. They were always intrigued by the way the breast meat/wings was separated from the rest of the bird and if the heart still happened to have a beat or two left in it they wanted to hold it in their hand! LOL

And although I packed a 22 and a pellet gun they never shot at any game but I'd often set up tin cans for them to shoot at while we took a break:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4332/36829911455_d632da16e5_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Y7wVxn)ps_2011_08_08___13_58_52 (https://flic.kr/p/Y7wVxn) by Brent Davy (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150607128@N03/), on Flickr

One of my all time memorable hunts was when my son was the age of four and we got a little buck and a limit of blues. The whole time I dressed that deer he was leaning over on my back asking questions and wanting to hold this or that:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4376/36829826865_1564e9a0f5_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Y7wuoV)IMGP1620 (https://flic.kr/p/Y7wuoV) by Brent Davy (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150607128@N03/), on Flickr

Both my kids, now young parents still love to hunt, but my daughter without question is the "hot shot" of the two.

[Weasle]

Regarding letting kids under 10 hunt, I agree and would love to let kids under 10 hunt when supervised and with safety at the forefront, but we need to teach our young ones to hunt according to the hunting laws, which are conveintly written out for us in the hunting synopsis. My son has seen me reading and reviewing them prior to, and even the morning of, every hunting trip. A good example goes a long way with the next generation. These days seem rules are considered just a guide, when in fact they are there for a reason and come at a cost if not followed, even if your not caught (thinking conservation efforts)

[HarryToolips]

^^^^exactly....doesn't mean you can't take your kids with ya and let em partake and enjoy the hunt....I do with my 4 year old boy..