It is all about education, no matter the age. Find a local fund raising dinner, Whitetails Unlimited or Ducks Unlimited, doesn't matter which, and try and get her to take you. So she can see first hand what the people are like and what hunting really is and what it does for the conservation of lands and game. Good luck on that one. Hope to see you in the field.

First, you can tell her the animals are not helpless. They are living and thriving in the wild. Second, you can tell her you will help cut the food bill by shooting a deer or two. Meat is a big expense now a days and a venison helps out more than one would think.

There are some excellent postings here with good advise on how to deal with your mother. Education about wildlife and how hunting is the best of the management tools is the best approach. Try to explain to her that hunting is an activity that you want to pursue. Search the local library for information that puts hunting in a good light and present her with what you have found. Make sure to tell her that you will take a hunter safety course,and then do it.Be persistent but not rude. Forceful but considerate of her feelings. She is your mother and she is always going to be protective when it comes to you. Good luck and don't give up. It will happen.

ask her if she would rather have a child that is a hunter, or one who has no hobby and gets into gangs and stuff

Tell her you want to provide lean meat for the family's table. Meat free of added hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, etc...Organic even, in the truest sense of the word. That may help. And tell her without hunting, wild animal populations run askew, leading to disease, starvation and Animal vs. Motor vehichle collisions. Be persistent. Also tell her you want to enjoy the great outdoors and that hunting isn't about killing.

You need to show to her that you want to have self discipline and show her how you want to provide food for the table and that the animals aren't helpless they are the healthiest form of nutrition and requires patience and practice.

Parents are invited to attend most Hunters Safety courses with their kids. Cost is no more than $10. That should be an eye opener for her.

Also, educate yourself on hunting as a management tool. I'll add Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS), Pheasants Forever, and National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) to the list. Without hunters and the money we put into conservation much animal and habitat research would not be funded, and we wouldn't have the land put aside and the programs to support the habitat animals need to prosper and multiply. Some animals would not be as abundant as they are without hunters - wild turkey, whitetail deer, grouse, woodcock, pheasant, quail, elk ... the list goes on. Habitat improvements also benefit many non-game species. Perhaps make this a research project.

If you don't shoot, yet, then check if there is a youth trap, skeet or target club at a local range. These can be an excellent for training and a segue into hunting.

Like many questions here, there is an awful lot of advice given here with no information...

Stated your way, this "desire" sounds no different than "I want a new video game.". You are obviously at an age where your mother can tell you what you can and cannot do. That's not bad, of course, because our parents' main concern is to get us to the age of 18 without us becoming axe-murderers, or worse, dead.

So, good comments above aside, you are not going to change her mind pretty much with any feasible statement.

So... what you need is a guide.

You didn't mention your father in this. If they're divorced, that could account for your mother possibly never wanting you to do anything your father liked at all. (Sounds harsh, but there was some of that when I was a teenager.)

You need to have an uncle, or aunt, or some family member who does hunt, and is respected by your mother, to get involved. Some light target shooting. Enhance any safety instruction. Have some venison for dinner. This is not an "on-off switch" you can toggle.

MR,PALUMBO. MY HAT IS OFF TO YOU SIR!ROCK SOLID ADVICE!

Tell her the truth. Animals are not helpless and I sure as hell hope you aren't killing them for fun. Almost all game animals have extreme advantages over we humans. They know the woods better than us, and can usually see or smell us from miles away.

You should also tell her that it is better for the animals to be shot and killed instantly by hunters than it is for them tjo over-populate and be hit by cars or eaten alive by wild dogs or coyotes.

Also it is our duty to keep each species to a proper population. And you kill the animals for your for you and your family to eat. Se is entirely wrong to tell you or anybody not to hunt and there is no way she can know anything about hunting if she has never done it herself.

After you go on some good hunts wait for her to go into your refridgerater and be pleased that you have all sorts of meat in their because of what she calls killing just animals for fun. Also deer meat as hamburgers is pretty good have her try it out!

I am 60 yrs old and have been hunting off and on all my life. Because you are just starting out you might tell her an old saying. "That's why it's called hunting not killing" the first few times you go out will be just that (unless you hunt with a guide or someone who knows what they are doing.) The game is a lot smarter than you at surviving so basically all you will be doing is walking in nature carrying equipment. By the time you get good at hunting/killing your mom will hopefully relize that it's not bad and join you.

if you have a garden, tell her you'll shoot the pests around the house, not much, but its a start

tell her that he will keep the population down so that it doesn't go out of control and start gettin into all her stuff

If you have cats tell her it's free catfood.