RIGHT ON !!!! I have been giving hunter safety and hunter instuction courses sine 1972. If I had a dollar for everytime I told a parent or grandparent that very same thing I'd be a rich man today. .410 bore no way. Nothing causes a kid to quit hunting than a poor rifle or shotgun. Kids have a tremendous amount of energy and they need action or they get bored rather quickly therefore it is way better to squirrel or rabbit hunt with a youngster. confidence cannot be taught you gain confidence by doing well. As you stated there is far less peer pressure when hunting small game. I really wish some of the parents that I know would spend a few minutes to read your collumn

Deer or turkey? Whatever comes in season when the kid is ready. Like many others, I think the squirrel or rabbit hunt is the best place to start. Does any state have a youth squirrel hunt? If not, why not?

Sorry about the double post. My mouse is sick.

Take a kid deer hunting with dogs, or any dog hunting for that matter. They will not stay bored long.
There is less of a requirement to stay still and quiet for long periods. There is lots of interaction between hunters, and what kid does not like dogs.
leaving a youngster alone, freezing in a tree, for hours, is the best way to turn them from hunting.

Some states put all the resources into deer and turkey, ignore small game. I believe its because Gov't Depts can count deer and turkey, graph the results for an *Objective*. Can't do that with rabbits, squirrels, or upland birds.

I believe what Phil's describing is this fallout, pushing young hunters into the turkey and deer ranks.

Should Young Hunters Start With Deer and Turkeys?

Answer,

Depends on the shooters ability, geographical location which means type of critters, the availability of equipment and the ability to feed the darn thing!

I started Alex out at age 8 with a 25-06 Remington 700 CDL cradled in a Youth Stock made by Ramline and topped with a Accutron 3x9x42. Got his first deer at 50 yards. Age 9, shot his first buck at 250 yards and a minute or two later, dropped the doe he wuz chasing at 150 yards.

The ability of the shooter actually depends on who is outfitting and training them.

Kids are much different now. They don't do any outdoor activities, without a parental guide. I started hunting with a slingshot, carried on my bikes handlebars, next to my baseball glove, and taped on fishing pole. Snakes, sparrows, and blackbirds, was my game. But hunting had to wait, untill after I delivered the newspaper, and push mowed the yard. I start kids on a 20 gauge gas auto, but I only let them load one at a time, for the first year.

I agree with sdditchpig. Perfect gun for a youngster 8 - 12 years old is a short barreled, shortened stock, gas auto in 20 ga. I started my son with a used Rem 1100 which he shot for several years. I cut the stock to fit his LOP initially at age 9. As he grew I added spacers until he finally graduated to a new shotgun at age 16. We shot squirrels, ducks and doves; plus lots of hand-thrown clay targets during the first year then he shot a turkey sitting on a boat cushion in front of me at age 10 with the 1100 the next spring. He is a serious hunter at age 27, with ducks his passion. He also got his turkey this spring.

Hey Phill.
You're right on, providing you take that wierd looking thing off the top.

I started shooting @ 6 with a bb gun and cans, then 22 and stripped goghers, then 22 and squirrels, rabbits.....then 16 ga and quail, woodcock....I still remember clearly the day the first rooster pheasant jumped up in front of me...had never seen one....sat there and watched as it flew away...man did i get ripped by the old man....told him didn't know what it was!!

then at 12 deer.....and been after them ever since turkeys to me a vermin, and should be treated like Yotes......

Kids should start at around age 2 or 3 with a net and a jar catching bugs. Ants. Spiders. Butterflies. Kids love turning over rocks for snakes, lizards and frogs. Then go to a homemade bow and arrow to learn not to shoot cats and dogs. Next, bb guns, starlings and tin cans under supervision. Gophers and squirrels and grouse with a .22 or .410. THEN deer. Then elk, etc. This idea of plunking a tiny child behind a rifle and expecting them to shoot big game is the worst idea the "hunting industry" ever had.

Squirrels, and then you can to teach them how to clean them.

I wouldn't tell anyone else how to raise their kids or what they should start them on, but in my own case I followed Phil's prescription and started my boy off hunting squirrels when he was 8. A lot of guys in my neck of the woods here in Texas take their kids deer hunting when they're as young as 5 or 6 and that always made me uncomfortable. For one thing, they usually outfit them with .223s. Use the right bullets and put them exactly where they belong and a .223 will kill our whitetails here all day long, but it is hardly what I would consider the right caliber for any beginning deer hunter, much less a kid.
I also shake my head every time I see a picture of an 8-year-old posing with a 10-pt buck shot on some private lease. He has zero appreciation at that point for what a deer that size should represent to a hunter and probably never will. Nor do I think a 6-year old can fully appreciate all the emotions that should properly go into taking the life of something as big and beautiful as a whitetail buck. My concern would be that he (or she) would either be upset once it's on the ground, or (and this may be worse) not experience that small tingle of regret that every hunter, as opposed to a killer, feels after taking any big game animal.
Hunting squirrels as an 8-year-old enabled my boy to learn the skills that he later put to good use as a 12-year-old when he took his first buck; a pretty little six-point. By the time he shot that deer, he knew that you had to be quiet, patient, focused and aware of all the sounds and motions in the woods. He had learned that sometimes you shoot something and sometimes you don't, but that a morning spent under an oak tree as the sun rises and the woods come alive is never a disappointment; and that hunting is about a lot more than pulling a trigger.
From squirrels he graduated to ducks and doves. By the time he shot his first deer we had also talked enough about the history and lore and meaning of the hunt that he was a full participant; not simply an assassin. At some point I had told him about the European tradition of placing a twig or leaves in the animal’s mouth as a sign of respect for the animal and the hunt. I know that conversation had probably taken place when he was 9 or 10 and never repeated, but without my saying a word he ran his hands over his first buck, got up and tore a small branch off a tree and put it in that buck's mouth. I don't know if I've ever had a prouder moment as a father.
He is now 29-years old. He got his degree in wildlife biology and teaches natural science to high school kids and has never lost his love for the hunt or for anything outdoors or failed to appreciate that what you put into a hunt determines more than anything what you take out of it. There's no place he would rather be than a duck blind or lying in a frozen field hunting geese, and he backpack hunts into places that would have given me pause even when I was his age. Not a bad outcome for something that got started 21-years ago searching the treetops for bushytails.

I started hunting squirrels at 6! I carried an AH Fox .410 dbl.
Dad carried the ammo. My job was killing cripples. Thought I was tough stuff! My step up was a single shot 20 ga Stevens. The squirrels, birds and ducks that fell were many.Deer came at 12/13 with pop's 12 bore M12 Win and #1 buck.
The first deer didn't fall (2 missed deer prior!) until I was 17.
My gramps Marlin 336 RC in .30-30 was the "tool" of choice.
Turkeys didn't occur 'til early fifties.
BUT... PB is spot on! Squirrels offer many more opportunities for success than any other game.
A BB gun and sparrows around the house used to big starting point. Alas, no longer!

srlarson...do you know the Bolles?..anyways..I as well got started the same way..My dad did a great job of teachin me. Started with my BB Gun, took it every time we went to check our traps. I would shoot rabbits,stripers and birds, then moved up to a 22 at age 8 then a 20G at,13 and i thank my dad for not rushin me. And i have done the same with my kids. BB guns, 22s and I will be handin down my 20G that my grandfather gave to me to my teenage daughter next season. ALWAYS start kids off with small game..Not only do they have a good time, they LEARN how to hunt. Well said Phil Bourjaily

Check this out!

OUCH!

www.bing.com/images/search?q=kids+moose+hunting&view=detail&id=5D7EA9A7B...

Message to Arkansas Game & Fish

Need to find out why the sudden decline in the Turkey population in North & Northwest Arkansas. 12 years ago, turkeys were everywhere but today, you're lucky to see one hen for the entire month or so!
-Clay Cooper

Response from Arkansas Game & Fish

Most of the southeast states are experiencing the same type of decline in overall turkey numbers. There are several reasons for the drastic decline in Arkansas. Here are a few biological reasons; poor weather during nesting season, except during the spring of 2012, poor hen health during the fall, poor poult survival, lack of proper nesting cover, increase in predator numbers, improper supplemental feeding habits, and habitat destruction caused by hogs all play a role in the decline of turkey numbers.

85% of the land in Arkansas is privately owned and working with landowners will continue to be the key to increasing turkey numbers through outreach and education. If you are interested in this, please contact my office at 877-470-3650 and I can get some information together for you.

Thanks

Jason Honey
Statewide Turkey Coordnitar

I started my Oldsmobile out by plinking cans with bb gun
Then went to shooting clays.
Next was pheasant & dove.
The bottom line is are your kid know all THE SAFETIES. Of shootiing & are they mentally ready!!!!!!!!

I agree with a lot of people who have commented here. I had no one to show me how to hunt when I was a kid and when I was 14 I started to hunt squirrels and rabbits every chance I had. doing that taught me how to be patient and quiet in the woods so when I was old enough it helped me become more of a successful deer hunter. Now I am older with children I can't wait for my sone and my daughter to come of age to start hunting and I'll be right along side. Squirrels can be fun for adults too. NY says they can't hunt until they are 12 but that doesn't mean that at 9 & 5 they can't do a lot of target practice so when it is time to go to the woods they will be ready.

Knowledge should be the first thing you put in a kids head before you put anything in their hands. So many times I've seen kids given a gun and thrown in front of a bait pile or corn feeder while they're fidgeting and sometimes freezing waiting for the game to appear and don't get me started on these road hunters. Many guys in their zeal to have a hunting buddy don't teach the kids how to hunt. Many of these youngsters give it up quickly. I always liked to take my kids hunting with me when they were young and I would explain the various signs as we went along this was before they were of age to use a firearm. I taught them to move slowly and to look real close at the area around them and sometimes a rabbit or ruffed grouse would seem to magically appear and as they became more stealthy we actually got in close to a few deer. I stressed safety and showed them how to clean game as a good hunter should know before they take the shot. They are all older now and love to hunt as it was a great experience for them growing up. My grand kids are now being taught the same way my kids were taught and they love the woods and I hope they continue to pass it on to the next generation long after I'm gone.

I started out on turkey and I still like it but I do see your point. personally I'd go pheasant hunting you almost always will get one and when the dog brings that colorful bird he knows I got that one. Plus scratching the dogs head relieves some of the pressure.