What age were your kids when they shot there first big game animal.

[26Reload]

My son was 9....got his first blacktail..2506 mtn rifle...couple months later got his first rosie elk..ruger compact 260 rem...
To be fair though...i had him shooting 22 & 17 from age 5...and 28ga shotguns at 8......hes taken a lot of clay pigeons...bought him a yellow lab Chrly at 5....Chrly was put down today at 12.....one of the best dogs I've ever been around or trained......kept tabs on his kid master and could find him when sent to locate him...and bring him back to Dad.....

 

[Daniel Parker]

I have 4 kids, 4,6,8 and 10. I love taking my kids hunting with me.
Here is what has worked for me. I started them all out at 3-4 by letting them "go hunting" with me while letting them carry a specific blue toy pop gun when I went squirrel hunting. The purpose of the blue pop gun was to teach them from day one to have impeccable safety with the muzzle and trigger when walking thru the woods. We would both line up on a squirrel and we would both fire at the same time. To them it was a real rifle and if we were not hunting we kept it in the safe with my guns to further the safety point.

They progressed from the toy to lots of reactive target shooting (to keep it fun!) with the 22 and 17HMR and once they were hitting consistently we went hiring for real for squirrels and rabbits. The first couple times we only took their rifles so that I could really prioritize them and help them pay attention to the details.

Only my two oldest have gone deer hunting so far and they had both just turned 8 the first time. However, they had a ton of ground work and we were both confident in their shooting ability. That being said the first time they ever pulled the trigger on a center fire was on their first deer. My son used a 30-30 and my daughter used my 6.5 CM with a brake. They knew how a 22 rifle worked and they applied the same fundamentals to the hunting rifle. Zero issues with recoil as any recoil was instantly absorbed in the excitement of the moment.

Due to the hard butt plate on my 30/30 I don't think I'll use the 30-30 again for a first rifle for a youngster. A .243, or a 6.5CM with a break and a nice limb saver are much better choices.... but dad or mom may have to help carry it if it's a long hike in.

Best of luck and great job at intentionally creating memories with your kids!!

 

[CONatureBoy]

I started taking my son with me when he was 10. He shot his first big-game animal with a 25-06 varminting rifle, which was heavy enough not to kick hard. That turned out to be a great first-rifle choice, for him.

 

[rcs33]

Good afternoon, I was just wondering how old were your kids when they took there first big game animal. By big game I'm including whitetail deer. My son is 4 and will be 5 next year and I'm hoping if he keeps progressing he will be ready to go next fall so he will be towards the end of being 5 almost 6 by the time deer season rolls around next year. He has been wanting to shoot almost every night lately. We have just been shooting .22's and .17 HMR for now as I'm sure the recoil of any of my bigger rifles will be to much. He has been doing really good the last couple of weeks so I now have high hopes he keeps progressing. I wouldn't take him if I'm not fully confident in his ability to make a good ethical shot and I will keep the ranges close. Just wondering what you guys kids ages were roughly. A great side affect of this, I get to build another rifle even if it is for him. Will be much easier convincing the wife to let me build another one if its for our son lol. Thinking either 6mm CM or .243.. Probably make the rifle fairly heavy, adjustable chassis for him since he is small still, shooting off a tripod was my thinking. Undecided on muzzle brake yet I really don't want to run one but it will help a ton and make those small calibers feel like nothing. Feel free to show off any rifle builds for your kids, would love to see them and hear the build specs!!!

Im assuming you must not have an age restriction on big game tags where you live?

 

[stovepipe]

My daughter was 9 she's 23 now and still putting critters on the ground

 

[mongo4567]

My son was 9, he took a doe with a 223. He had been coming to the blind with me since 3 or 4, wrapped up in a sleeping bag with a game boy. He has been shooting since he was 5. He's not really into hunting that much now at 21, he doesn't like sitting still that long. He does like to spend time in the woods. He is most into action shooting sports, like IDPA or steel challenge.

 

[Korhil78]

My boy was 8 years old when he shot his first elk. He was too small to hold a rifle offhand or kneeling so I taught him to shoot prone and taught him to shoot at distance. He shot his first cow elk at 490 yards. The next year he shot his second cow elk at 590 yards. He will attempt to get his third cow elk this year and he will be 12 years old.

 

[longgun505]

Good afternoon, I was just wondering how old were your kids when they took there first big game animal. By big game I'm including whitetail deer. My son is 4 and will be 5 next year and I'm hoping if he keeps progressing he will be ready to go next fall so he will be towards the end of being 5 almost 6 by the time deer season rolls around next year. He has been wanting to shoot almost every night lately. We have just been shooting .22's and .17 HMR for now as I'm sure the recoil of any of my bigger rifles will be to much. He has been doing really good the last couple of weeks so I now have high hopes he keeps progressing. I wouldn't take him if I'm not fully confident in his ability to make a good ethical shot and I will keep the ranges close. Just wondering what you guys kids ages were roughly. A great side affect of this, I get to build another rifle even if it is for him. Will be much easier convincing the wife to let me build another one if its for our son lol. Thinking either 6mm CM or .243.. Probably make the rifle fairly heavy, adjustable chassis for him since he is small still, shooting off a tripod was my thinking. Undecided on muzzle brake yet I really don't want to run one but it will help a ton and make those small calibers feel like nothing. Feel free to show off any rifle builds for your kids, would love to see them and hear the build specs!!!

My oldest son was eight. Used a 308 win on a whitetail doe. My youngest was 9, 300 WM with thunderbeast suppressor. A close friend of mine had his 8 y/o daughter use my Mega 18.5" 308 with AAC Brakeout without issues. Each child is unique in their skills or lack of. It all depends on their capabilities. Each of my kids were required to keep three rounds in a 3" circle @ 100yds from prone and sitting. Each practiced LOTS of dry firing before live rounds, and recoil mitigation on the weapon is a really good idea. Depending on the game size you're going after kids do really well with 5.56/223 Rem. 75's, 77's, and TTSX's are lethal on whitetail, and even Muley's. Shot placement is key at any age, so serious practice is a must regardless of the weapon system used. They need to be better than acquainted with the weapon, they need to have a degree of certainty with the weapon when the adrenaline starts to flow

 

[Tikkamike]

cant hunt until 12 here in wyoming but my daughter shot her first turkey at 9 and my son shot his first at 7

 

[Chas1]

I'd scope a 243 and pass on any muzzle brake as recoil in let's say and 8-9 lb. with scope isn't going to be much.

 

[longgun505]

My boy was 8 years old when he shot his first elk. He was too small to hold a rifle offhand or kneeling so I taught him to shoot prone and taught him to shoot at distance. He shot his first cow elk at 490 yards. The next year he shot his second cow elk at 590 yards. He will attempt to get his third cow elk this year and he will be 12 years old.

That's just a level of awesomeness not seen much these days! Tell him congratulations and good hunting this year.

 

[ducky]

Colorado is 12 yo, but you can get a "by" and get a tag at 11--- that's when my daughter took her first lope, 11 yo.

I live in CO as well, but when my daughter expressed interest in hunting at the ripe old age of eight, I told her if she could pass CO hunters education I'd find her a hunt where it was legal for her being less than 12 years old. I figured we'd be doing a TX pig hunt. So she and a buddies son who is a week older both passed hunters education at the age of nine, so we took them to Oklahoma to hunt deer that fall.

Here is her first ever OK white tail doe. The hunt was pretty controlled so I let her shoot her favorite rifle "Bruiser" a Stevens 200 .223 (55 grain Vor-TX ammo) shortened to 11.5" LOP, I should have cut down the barrel but she was very sensitive to noise even with plugs and muffs.



Now she loves hunting and has killed a pile of white tail in OK, as well as a few CO big game and goes after a Wyo Cow this fall.







She even packs out her own animals, with the help of the lucky elk.



She even hunted SOLO at 17 for the first time.



You know your kids better than anyone else, so you'll know when it is time to let them shoot their first big game animal.

 

[longgun505]

I have 4 kids, 4,6,8 and 10. I love taking my kids hunting with me.
Here is what has worked for me. I started them all out at 3-4 by letting them "go hunting" with me while letting them carry a specific blue toy pop gun when I went squirrel hunting. The purpose of the blue pop gun was to teach them from day one to have impeccable safety with the muzzle and trigger when walking thru the woods. We would both line up on a squirrel and we would both fire at the same time. To them it was a real rifle and if we were not hunting we kept it in the safe with my guns to further the safety point.

They progressed from the toy to lots of reactive target shooting (to keep it fun!) with the 22 and 17HMR and once they were hitting consistently we went hiring for real for squirrels and rabbits. The first couple times we only took their rifles so that I could really prioritize them and help them pay attention to the details.

Only my two oldest have gone deer hunting so far and they had both just turned 8 the first time. However, they had a ton of ground work and we were both confident in their shooting ability. That being said the first time they ever pulled the trigger on a center fire was on their first deer. My son used a 30-30 and my daughter used my 6.5 CM with a brake. They knew how a 22 rifle worked and they applied the same fundamentals to the hunting rifle. Zero issues with recoil as any recoil was instantly absorbed in the excitement of the moment.

Due to the hard butt plate on my 30/30 I don't think I'll use the 30-30 again for a first rifle for a youngster. A .243, or a 6.5CM with a break and a nice limb saver are much better choices.... but dad or mom may have to help carry it if it's a long hike in.

Best of luck and great job at intentionally creating memories with your kids!!

Absolutely Amen!

 

[Gunnuts]

My daughter, who is now 20 has never had desire to hunt. My son, now 15 shot his first deer at age 9 and his second at age 12. He no longer has any ambitions to hunt. It saddens me some but I feel if I pressure it too much he will turn it away out of spite. I don't want that. Plus my son is very active in sports at school and that doesn't really leave much time for hunting.