Avg age to get started

Borkborknomnom

Borkborknomnom

New member
I'm new to the board...
I have 3 kids ...5,3,1 y.o.'s
I see kids starting to hunt as early as 5, but my girl (5) just cant get it done shooting an ar with a edtech sight... unless I basically do it for her...we shoot together every so often as long as she is happy doing it...just not ready to hunt yet IMO...I'm sure every kid is different...just wondering what is the avg age for a hunters kid to kill say a deer or a squirrel etc.
 
Originally Posted By: BorkborknomnomI'm new to the board...
I have 3 kids ...5,3,1 y.o.'s
I see kids starting to hunt as early as 5, but my girl (5) just cant get it done shooting an ar with a edtech sight... unless I basically do it for her...we shoot together every so often as long as she is happy doing it...just not ready to hunt yet IMO...I'm sure every kid is different...just wondering what is the avg age for a hunters kid to kill say a deer or a squirrel etc.

imo an ar15 is a terrible rifle to start a 5 year old with. get her a gun she can feel comfortable with. a small 22rf of some sort for starters.
 
My grandson killed his first at 2. Just a prairie dog but he is learning how to shoot. Take them shooting every chance you get. Rifles that fit will make it more fun. 22LR is easy light and inexpensive. I'd post Pic. but this forum and I don't have that ability.
 
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I've tried a cricket 22LR but getting her to get the concept of lining up the sights is the challange...she pulls the trigger it goes boom then big smiles and all she is interested in is the boom... I will try to be more patient!! I'm sure it's me not her!
 
Originally Posted By: SlickerThanSnot

imo an ar15 is a terrible rifle to start a 5 year old with. get her a gun she can feel comfortable with. a small 22rf of some sort for starters.

i disagree...

other than being noisy, they're low recoil and the adjustable stocks make them much easier to shoot for small bodies.

buddy who hunts with us brought his daughters (6 and 9 at the time) up to my parents farm to learn to shoot. the 22lr was just to long for them (he didnt have a cricket) and even the older kiddo was struggling.

got out my 223, put the can on and closed the stock way up. she (the 9yr old) was popping balloons in no time. after a couple mags suddenly she started to "miss" again. several shots in a row.

we asked if everything was ok and she said "yea, i'm not aiming at the balloons (35 yds) i'm using the big target down where you and dad were shooting (100 yds)". little monster gave us a big old sh!t eating grin and put her head back down on the stock to finish off what turned out to be about a 4" group.... all this maybe 100 rounds after pulling the trigger for the very first time earlier that afternoon.

both my cousins daughters (now 13 & 15) had shot my ar before they were 6. the older one at like 4 yrs old. both loved them - same reason, the adjustable stock made it comfortable, and the scope made hitting stuff easy.

YMMV of course, but i've seen nothing but positive with them.
 
Originally Posted By: BorkborknomnomI've tried a cricket 22LR but getting her to get the concept of lining up the sights is the challange...she pulls the trigger it goes boom then big smiles and all she is interested in is the boom... I will try to be more patient!! I'm sure it's me not her!

Yep But they don't know anything except your both having fun. Sight picture comes later. Just get her use to the noise and recoil. Even stock placement in the shoulder is not a BIG deal. He gets to do everything but cock the rifle. {That's PAPA'S job}. point and pull.
 
Originally Posted By: Plant.OneOriginally Posted By: SlickerThanSnot

imo an ar15 is a terrible rifle to start a 5 year old with. get her a gun she can feel comfortable with. a small 22rf of some sort for starters.

i disagree...

other than being noisy, they're low recoil and the adjustable stocks make them much easier to shoot for small bodies.

buddy who hunts with us brought his daughters (6 and 9 at the time) up to my parents farm to learn to shoot. the 22lr was just to long for them (he didnt have a cricket) and even the older kiddo was struggling.

got out my 223, put the can on and closed the stock way up. she (the 9yr old) was popping balloons in no time. after a couple mags suddenly she started to "miss" again. several shots in a row.

we asked if everything was ok and she said "yea, i'm not aiming at the balloons (35 yds) i'm using the big target down where you and dad were shooting (100 yds)". little monster gave us a big old sh!t eating grin and put her head back down on the stock to finish off what turned out to be about a 4" group.... all this maybe 100 rounds after pulling the trigger for the very first time earlier that afternoon.

both my cousins daughters (now 13 & 15) had shot my ar before they were 6. the older one at like 4 yrs old. both loved them - same reason, the adjustable stock made it comfortable, and the scope made hitting stuff easy.

YMMV of course, but i've seen nothing but positive with them.

I built an AR in 6x45 for my grandkids to hunt with. Starting at age 7 they are now 15 and 13, the adjustable stock worked great for them plus they can shoot it pretty well. Plus they love the "cool" factor.
 
First time hunting I was two years old. My grandpa would carry me on his shoulders when I got tired. Got my first bb gun when I was four. Carried that pheasant hunting and shot at every rooster that would get kicked up. Got my first .22 when I was 7. The stock was too long, so my dad cut off 3 inches so it would fit. Next year I was given a single shot 410. Again the stock was too long, so he chopped that one too. I still have both of theses guns and my kids learned to shoot with these also. I now have a couple of grandsons that are almost two, and they will be next up to try out these "starter" guns. Never too early to start them on gun safety as long as you keep it FUN.
 
All kids are different so there's no good answer for when to start them. Aside from the physical aspect of being able to shoot a gun there is the mental aspect of dealing with death. All my kids went in the woods with me and saw deer die before they pulled the trigger themselves.

My daughter who is now 12 started hunting when she was 9. My son is about to turn 8 next month and he started a week before he turned 6. My youngest is 5 at the moment and he'll be 30 before I let him have a gun. That boy is wide open.

The older two both started hunting with a cva wolf muzzleloader that I cut down the stock on. Small kids have a short LOP. 40 grains of pyrodex and a round ball is a fun plinking load. 60 grains of pyrodex and a 240 grain xtp has accounted for 9 deer between the two of them. All were pass throughs at distances to about 70 yards with the exception of a big bodied 6 point that was shot quartering to us, that bullet lodged behind the last rib under the hide.

They've both shot AR 15s in 223 and 6.5 grendel. Adjustable stocks help with LOP. My daughter plans to use the grendel in Virginia for rifle season this year. She's also shot a remington 700 in 243, but prefers the grendel.
 
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