Best Age to teach a child?

AllWolf · #1 09/21/06, 01:15 PM

What is the best age to teach your Daughter or son to hunt?

What type of rifle would be good to teach her with also?

I'm wanting to teach my daughter how to hunt but not sure when is the best age to start teaching her. I want her to be like me like to hunt, fish and etc..

Thanks for any help you all can give me.

RoyalOaksRanch · #2 09/21/06, 02:17 PM

AS soon as they can go with you Id take them even if she cant hunt yet, I have a picture of my son when he was 18 months old helping load the 22... He is so adorable in his little red plaid shirt sitting on daddy putting each one in

He followed me or his dad anytime we went hunting or fishing. SO he sort of grew up with a pole in one hand and a gun in the other. We bought him his first rifle when he was 5. We still have it. Its a special kids model single shot 22 rifle. Perfect size for the little ones. We Constantly took the kids out hunting even if it was just for cans LOL.. Hunting is a big part of our family so my son sorta just fell right in. My daughter is too squeamish. She cant stand the thought of shooting something. Though she has no problem eating the meat.
Whatever you do make it fun. We always gave our kids tons of praise no matter if they hit the target or not. Always point out how proud you are of them etc. I mean really make a big deal out of any attempt she makes... Brag to your friends in front of her how well she is shooting, or how she spotted that gray squirrel before you even noticed it... It may sounds corny but they just THRIVE on that... And being a proud paren- it really is easy to brag

They are like little blobs of clay.. Mold them gently and they will follow you to the end of the world

And most of all... Pray like heck that your little girl has a streak of tomboy in her.. Mine grew up prefering girly stuff.. I swear sometimes I think she is really my sisters kid LOL.. My son on the other hand is like a Mini Me

If I do it he is usually right there with me unless hes off with his dad LOL..

Dink · #3 09/21/06, 02:32 PM

I started at 5 with a 22 but I think 12 is a good age to start.

Muskrat · #4 09/21/06, 06:19 PM

Two different things--In my opinion, you can start teaching children about hunting, fishing, and the outdoors even before they walk.

Guns are another question. You should introduce them to firearms well before you even approach the idea of giving them their own guns and going hunting on their own is an even further step. I don't think there is a particular age for any of the steps; it so depends upon the individual child. One of mine was born responsible and trustworthy; his brother--well, there was this unfortunate incident with his first knife and a mattress.

If she's interested, start, whatever her age. Patience, patience, patience. You will be amazed how you'll sharpen your skills by teaching her, and you'll become a safer hunter because you'll have a little watchdog with you. I will say one thing--I never enjoyed hunting so much as when I had one of my kids with me.

PyroDon · #5 09/21/06, 06:29 PM

Ive been teaching my eldest to shoot since she was 4 and could hold the little 22 properly . I doubt she'll ever be a hunter too much of a dramaqueen but she enjoys shooting . The youngest just turned three and will start learning to shooting soon .
As for what type of gun to start with a good quality pellet rifle isnt bad but hard to beat the old stand by of a single shot 22
they make chipmunks in 22 and .17 they are a nice little youth rifle .
I'd love to find an ithica lever action 22 single shot nice kids gun .

6e · #6 09/21/06, 06:46 PM

We teach ours before they can even talk. Our 2 year old has a little toy shotgun that looks and sounds like the real thing and he carries that around. Our older boy is very mature for his age and he has a Cricket .22 that he's allowed to use with supervision. Long before the kids can carry guns to hunt my hubby uses them for bird dogs. He takes them with him and their job is to go get downed birds.
If you're really outdoorsey you won't have to teach them to love it, just ethics and safety.

tweety · #7 09/21/06, 06:48 PM

My Dad started to teach me to shoot a .22 when I was 6, and I was popping squirrels on my own by the time I was 10 or 12. He always took the whole family on his hunting and fishing trips, even though my Mom just hung around and enjoyed the change of scene. But when I got old enough to go deer hunting with him I never could bring myself to pull the trigger even when I had a bead on the animal. My enjoyment of shooting turned toward paper targets instead of living animals, and I had a wonderful time in college being the only woman on the men's rifle team. (I was third man on the team and you better believe that Dad was proud of me!) Sadly, he was gone by the time I discovered spearfishing, and I often thought that he would have loved hunting the fish where they live.
He DID instill in me a love of the outdoors, and I will always be grateful to him for that. I became a birding nut; after all, birding is hunting without the blood. I love to get outside and hunt down birds, but only bag a list of species and let the birds live to fly again another day.
My point is to take her along as soon as she is able to walk with you. She may not end up being a hunter but she will surely love being with you in the outdoors.

#8 09/21/06, 08:44 PM

As soon as they are old enough to walk and want to fallow daddy(or mom)everywhere. But don't take them on big journey just a short maybe hour long hunt in the woods. Too long and too big a walk and you will end up carrying them out of the woods.

My first squirrel hunt with my daughters was me carrying a 22 rifle, my oldest daughter 9 was carrying a pump pellet rifle, my middle daughter 6 was carrying a daisy bb. gun, and my youngest daughter 3 was carrying a cork gun (with no cork). We covered a whopping 10 acres. Rested twice. Once to take a snack and drink break. I think we shot two squirrels that evening.

feralgun · #9 09/30/06, 01:55 PM

See post #5 on young ones thread above. The same advice would apply here. I tried to cut and paste it here, but I am not very computer savvy. Good luck with teaching the youngin's a great sport.

**Terri** · #10 10/01/06, 08:26 AM

I do not hunt, but I taught my DD to fish when she was 3.

All the way to the lake she nattered on about how she was going to catch ALL of the fish and eat them ALL up!!!!

The bluegill were spawning, so we went to the dock and she put her line in. She kept moving the pole around trying to CATCH a fish, and the poor fish were chasing her worm but they couldn't catch it!

I put one finger on her pole to slow it down, and she DID catch a fish to her delight!

Then, she TOUCHED it! EEeewwwwww.....

She no longer wanted to eat it, so I told her that it was HER fish and she could do with it as she liked! So, she put it in the water and she watched it swim away.

She LIKES to fish, now! BIG time!

I don't know how old your child is, but if you take her hunting be sure she wears bright colors so you can find her if she follows that squirrel into the brush, and the other hunters can see her ALSO! This should be a fun and relaxed time for you both: if she LIKES it you two will have many years hunting together!