What's the youngest kid you've heard of going turkey hunting?
6 and lots of them in MO.
10 is the minimum here. Every kid is different. My son was ready at 10, my oldest daughter was not. The youngest daughter will be too, I think. She is already going this year at 8. I hope she is, I need a huntin buddy that isn't married, lol
I started my daughter last year shooting a .22 at 5 yrs old. This year Im going to give her the .410 to get accustomed to. If all goes well with that, I believe she'll be ready to go next year at 7yrs old. Every kid is different, it's all about if they're ready or not, and if us as parents believe they're ready and have them trained properly and safely. Every child is different.
My son shot his first turkey when he was 8.
My boy was 5 and 4 months when he got and stated shooting his mossberg 20 ga. He was 5 and 10 months when I got him his muzzleloader and he took his first deer. He loves shooting both and my .22 and is a good shot. We make fist sized balloons and tape them to my bow target and he bust them all day from 30 yards with his crossbow.
He can not wait for turkey season in a couple weekends.
My oldest killed his first deer at 6 and started turkey hunting at the same age.He is 8 now and has killed 2 deer and 2 fall birds.My youngest will be 6 in November but not sure he will be ready.Time will tell.
Ive seen 6 year olds(like mine)that were ready and some that were not.Heck ive seen 6 year olds more ready than some 30+ year olds ;D
My girls both started young. My oldest killed her first bird the day after she turned 6 and my youngest killed her first when she was 5. They are 9 and 12 now with 25 birds between them.
Started taking mine at 4, no firearm until 6, he got his first gobbler at 2 pm in the afternoon at 6 years old
Have 3 sons and 1 daughter,,,all boys killed their first deer between 8 and 10. First gobblers fell to them between 10 and 12!! But we hunt our own land so that helps with the safety aspect!!
longbeards
My son killed his first one when he was 7. I started taking him as an observer probably when he was 5. I think a lot of people jump the gun on this. I was guilty of it myself to some degree. My daughter is 8 now and she is just starting to express some interest.
I think there's a time when a child begins to understand the concept of taking a life and 5 years old ain't it. Here in PA with the mentor program kids can hunt at any age. My oldest has gone with me a lot and last year at age7 I allowed him to hunt. We had some close encounters but no bird to show for it. I was impressed by his attitude and we will try again this year. My youngest is now 6 and he has hunted with me but I'm not sure he's ready to pull the trigger. He will be mad but probably won't be allowed to shoot anything this year even though some of his buddies already have. To each their own but I'm not gonna allow it just to have a conversation piece. I'm already proud of my boys and want to teach them right.
My son killed his first deer at age 7, I started taking him with me around 5. I would let him set in ground blind with me and he watch me kill a couple of deer. I'm bless now to have a good hunting buddy,He goes with me all the time now turkey and deer he loves it.
My son tagged out in 2 days in AR at the age of 6. My daughter got her first a couple years later at the age of 6. Both my kids were shooting .22's when they were big enough to hold them and I have had the pleasure to spend a lot of time with them hunting and shooting. My son is 10 now and has killed 16 turkeys in 3 different states. He tagged out in AR again this season. Hate to brag but I will admit that he is the exception to the rule. He hunts and handles a firearm as well as most grown men I know. I am truly blessed to have a such fine young hunting partners.
Quote from: BlakeJ on April 04, 2015, 01:35:14 PM
What's the youngest kid you've heard of going turkey hunting?
They will
Quote from: BlakeJ on April 04, 2015, 01:35:14 PM
What's the youngest kid you've heard of going turkey hunting?
4.
His daddy spends ALOT of time working with him.
I started shooting when I was 3. I also started going along with pops some when I was 3.
I was in all lock on stand by the time I was 5, started turkey hunting at age 7 and was bow hunting at 9. Killed a doe with my bow when I was 9 and then killed a 140 class 8 point (rifle) a month later. Over 20 years ago and I still remember it just like it was yesterday.
one thing for sure is that different kids are ready at different ages. Most kids I've seen are ready around 9 or 10. I have seen some 5 year olds that were ready. no matter how old the kid is, where their heads at, or how good they can shoot, I don't think they should be pulling the trigger until they've tagged along 2 or 3 seasons.
I feel 5 is way to young to put a gun in a child's hands. We took my grandson hunting a few times at the age of 5 on the good weather days. When he was 7 we let him take his red rider BB gun but it was unloaded. He started shooting a 22 at 8 yr. Old. And this past deer season at the age of 9 killed his first buck 6 pt.
I have 2 sons and they both were shooting Chipmunk rifles by age 2. They shot from a little kids picnic table, off a rest, with eye and ear protection. This was a great way to start and to teach them the correct way to handle firearms. The Chipmunk is a single shot that is cocked by pulling the bolt back, which they couldn't do. I felt that this gave me more control over the whole process. They absolutely LOVED it. They both shot thousands of rounds a year. My oldest passed the Hunter Education course at 8 and started deer hunting that year. My youngest just wasn't ready that early and didn't take the course or hunt until he was 12. They are now 19 and 22 and I trust those boys more with a firearm than almost anyone I know. I learned from experience that everyone is different and progresses at a different rate. I will add one more thing....both my boys started deer hunting with a youth muzzleloader. I tried the 410 thing and just wasn't happy with it. I feel that a muzzleloader is the perfect beginners gun for kids. I started them out with 50 grains of powder and moved up as they were ready. Recoil was never an issue and the guns were super accurate. Some of the best days of my life!!!
I believe there are a lot of variables here. I started my son shooting a chipmunk .22 around age five. The first hunting we did was for squirrels. At age 7 I started him practicing with a youth 7mm-08 and he took his first deer at age 8. I had decided early on that I would not start him turkey hunting until I thought he was mature enough and could handle sitting still and being quiet. I hunt almost exclusively in the woods and timber and wanted him to learn the same way I did. That was what to look for, how to choose your set up, pick the right tree, when and when not to call, and so forth. Now if you were hunting out of a pop up blind I'm sure you could start them earlier, I just chose not to do it that way. Not saying there's anything wrong with it, I just wanted to pass on my style and figured that he needed to be a little older to understand and grasp everything I was trying to teach him and for me that was the spring just before he turned 11.
I started my daughter with a Red Ryder BB gun (age 7), then a Cricket 22 and next came the 20ga Mossberg 510 Mini (at age 8). She took her first bird here last week during the Pa Mentored Youth Day (age 9). How I have to find a small .243 for deer season, any recommendations?
I took my daughter when she was 2 year old out to see some and she even made them gobble with her toy flute. She is 6 now and shot a coyote opening morning and has witnessed turkeys getting shot so she is coming along...my point is to not push her...she goes when she wants to...