How old?

How old was your child (or yourself) when you started them/you on shotgunning?

What gauge did you start with?

How did it go???

I remember I got my own .410 when I was 10 before that, as far back as I can remember I was plinkin’ cans and squirrels with a BB gun, then Pellet, then .22

I was about 8 or 9 and started with an Ithaca single shot 20. Olivia was 10, and the same Ithaca 20 was (as she put it) “Cute”, so I handed her my 12 gage 870. The long barrel was a little too much for her, so we settled up on her grandfathers Winchester semi. I prefer not to have youths with a semi, but she proved herself capable of handling it perfectly. Though, she took her first goose with that single shot 20!

Got the Boy his first rifle for Christmas! He is 5! started my daughter hunting at five she is 9 now and has two deer under her belt!

Get them started with close supervision! It will pay off big time in the future! Find the lightest gun you can and have a gunsmith fit it to your kid so the gun works for them!

Little Bossman was 5 on his first turkey hunt with his own gun, and he harvested one shortly after his 6th birthday. He’s 8 now and has shot clays, grouse, turkey, and pheasant.

Belle is 5 now and she’s shot a few times, but prefers the 22 over the scatter gun.

As long as they can control the gun safely, and aren’t developing bad habits let them shoot.

I bought my 8 year old a 20 gauge for turkey hunting this spring. I hope its the right decision. It was a no brainer until a bunch of people gave me funny looks.

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It was a no brainer until a bunch of people gave me funny looks.

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Just laugh at them! Your the father and you make the decisions. I catch crap all the time having two daughters that don’t fit the “traditional social mold” Its halarious at the wrestling meets when Olivia whips a guys rear end in 35 seconds

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Its halarious at the wrestling meets when Olivia whips a guys rear end in 35 seconds

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Yeah, Olivia!!!!

Mark

Couldnt hunt small game until 12 when I grew up in Michigan so 12. 14 for Deer. Got a BB gun when I was 10.

Wow..a lot of this seems really young.

I had to wait util I was 12 growing up in SD. I had a BB gun for as long as I can remember prior to that though. Boy did I get some whoopin’s from doing dumb stuff with those. I was a predator though, lots of sparrows fell to my stealthy ability.

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Wow..a lot of this seems really young.

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I agree, but I think it a lot depends on how the parents hunt. With the rise of bait pile, ranch-style deer hunting in many states, it has become feasible to have much younger children out in the stand “hunting” with dad or mom. The bait attracts more animals, which helps keep their interest up, and the adult can more easily supervise firearms handling.

I think a more realistic measure is at what age is a young person able to safely hunt independently where they are carrying thier own weapon, and more importantly responsible for making the choices as to how to use it.

To me, there was a tremendous value in having to serve a long period of “apprenticeship” before I ever got to carry a gun. I walked many, many hours literally walking in my father’s footsteps while pheasant hunting, duck hunting, trapping, and so forth. Far from being wasted time where I wasn’t hunting, this is where I learned what it means to be a hunter. That included some painful lessons that are still difficult to think about, but important to learn.

Grouse

I guess to answer further, I “carried” a BB gun on many a hunt… when I was younger. When I got the .410 at 10 years old, even then, Dad always walked with or a relative took us duck hunting. I never did get to deer hunt as kid, until I got my first bow at 14 years old. My dad never deer hunted, quite honestly, he was too busy working to keep 5 kids fed I would say I was about 12 or 13 when I was turned loose into the woods on my own, to hunt squirrels, rabbits and anything else that tripped my fancy. I shot many hours, supervised, at cans and my favorite, burnt out lightbulbs I threw in the swamp… I don’t think there is alot of baitpile hunts happening around here… I guess it really depends on the youngster too

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Wow..a lot of this seems really young.

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The original question was “shotgunning?”; I didn’t take that specifically as hunting. Dad had me popping a few rounds off at cans and other targets – with strict supervision.

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Wow..a lot of this seems really young.

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Try waiting until 12 and see what happens.

Some of the kids in my sons 2nd Grade class have cell phones, I pods, video games, and its likely some/most of them will never see a gun or bow. My son has his own guns, his own English Pointer, shoots in an archery club, and has his own fishing equipment. He rarely plays a video game, listens to an Ipod, or watches TV because he would rather be outside.

I know what kid I’d rather be.

CW

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With the rise of bait pile, ranch-style deer hunting in many states, it has become feasible to have much younger children out in the stand “hunting” with dad or mom. The bait attracts more animals, which helps keep their interest up, and the adult can more easily supervise firearms handling.

Grouse

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My kid has never shot anything off a bait pile, high fence ranch, hunting preserve, ect. Everything has been fair chase, and the majority has been on public hunting land.

CW

i was 3.5 years old when i got my first bb gun, my son will get that same gun this spring when he is 3.5. i was shooting .22 by the age of 5. 410 at 7 years old. Hunting was are way of life. i only hope i can teach my son and daughter they way my dad taught me. i only got my bb gun took away one time. That was the worst week of my young life. i never wanted to feel that way again.