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Post by apibowhunter on Oct 22, 2017 15:46:06 GMT -5
Just wanted to get your alls thoughts. My son is 12 and this is his 5th season. He is an accomplished hunter killing 3 bucks and a doe in his short hunting span. His biggest buck being 150 inch 8 pointer last season. Today I dropped him off for his first ever solo hunt. I've taught him to always put safety first but still can't help but worry. He text me earlier and told me he is all settled into the ladder stand. Now I just sit here and worry I guess lol.
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Post by bill9068 on Oct 22, 2017 15:50:19 GMT -5
Sounds like you taught him well, how do you communicate with him? Cell phone, walkie talkie?
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Post by welder on Oct 22, 2017 15:52:48 GMT -5
No specific age,MATURITY is the important factor.
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Post by barnettbuckbuster on Oct 22, 2017 15:59:57 GMT -5
Im 34 now but my dad turned me loose by 12. Like said above maturity is the main factor. Sounds like he's a pretty accomplished hunter already so i imagine your safe. And will always worry even when hes 30. Lol.
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Post by bowonlykindofguy1 on Oct 22, 2017 16:11:53 GMT -5
My dad cut me loose when i was 12. I cut my son loose when he was 12. Starting to sense a pattern here.
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Post by 3ptbuck on Oct 22, 2017 16:12:46 GMT -5
All about experience and maturity. We're in the same boat as you, my daughter is 12 and this is her 6th season. She has sat solo twice now this bow season..all I did was think about her the whole hunt. Guess you just gotta trust you taught them enough to stay safe the rest will work out.
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Post by INhuntin on Oct 22, 2017 17:05:12 GMT -5
It looks like everyone has said what I was going to say it's maturity & hunting experience that determines the age of when solo hunts should start. I wasn't as fortunate as the others I taught myself to deer hunt. I had been out squirrel hunting with my brothers when I was about 10 but I didn't pick up on hunting again until my late 30s early 40s when a buddy wanted to take me deer hunting.
Yes you will always worry about them but if you have done your best to teach them everything you know. With a few seasons under their belt I'm sure they have picked a few tricks on there own so it is possible that they are a better hunter than we are. The only things I would add is this at times can be a physically demanding sport, be sure they are up to the physical demands. And most important stay in communication with them just in case they get into a jam.
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Post by Woody Williams on Oct 22, 2017 17:29:05 GMT -5
I think Woodmaster was 13.. but I was still within shouting distance
He is 55 now and I still worry about him if he is late coming out from a hunt..
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Post by duff on Oct 22, 2017 18:05:37 GMT -5
I was on my own from the get go. No one in my family hunted. My best friend had lots of property but no one that hunted so we did lots of small game starting at 10 yrs old limited to walking distance. By 12 we would be dropped off and picked up later. I turned 16 and bought a bow then began hunting deer.
I agree it would all depend on the experience and maturity of the kid. I would let my 11 yr old walk around out back but not hunt out of a tree stand. My 13 yr old maybe. Neither one wants to hunt though.
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Post by Pinoc on Oct 22, 2017 18:17:15 GMT -5
I have to agree with Woody. I still worry if one of them doesn’t text me back quickly. Just part of being a parent I guess. Mine were about 12 also but I would put them in their ladder stands and they stayed until I picked them back up. Good but sad feeling also when they take their first deer or turkey without you by their side.
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Post by jackryan on Oct 22, 2017 19:02:17 GMT -5
When ever you'd feel safe handing them a gun and leaving them at home alone.
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Post by jackryan on Oct 22, 2017 19:03:30 GMT -5
Just wanted to get your alls thoughts. My son is 12 and this is his 5th season. He is an accomplished hunter killing 3 bucks and a doe in his short hunting span. His biggest buck being 150 inch 8 pointer last season. Today I dropped him off for his first ever solo hunt. I've taught him to always put safety first but still can't help but worry. He text me earlier and told me he is all settled into the ladder stand. Now I just sit here and worry I guess lol. If you are worried, you already know the answer.
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Post by (Not Ronald) Reagan on Oct 22, 2017 19:29:50 GMT -5
I did when I was 12 along with (what seems to be) everyone else. But this is my first season truly hunting by myself (17) I.e. Hanging stands, cameras, some food plots, etc.
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Post by scrub-buster on Oct 22, 2017 19:48:38 GMT -5
Maturity and knowledge matter more than age. I know some full grown adults that I wouldn't trust to go hunting alone without supervision.
I killed my first deer at 11 with Dad next to me. I think the next year I was on my own. I was raised handling guns and knives from a young age. I guess my Dad trusted me enough. Or maybe he wanted to hunt alone again. Probably a little of both. Now that he's older and has a heart condition I'm the one worrying about him. A couple of times he's stayed out longer than expected and I've stalked up behind him with binoc's to make sure he's OK. He's never caught me doing that yet.
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Post by squirrelhunter on Oct 22, 2017 19:58:28 GMT -5
My dad let us go with him when we were 13 the first time hunting different species but after the first time if we wanted to go by ourselves we could. He would take us the first to show us and explain to us how to do it for that particular animal. We would still hunt together some but we also would hunt solo,just depended on if he could or wanted to. I basically did the same thing with my boys but living in town they couldn't go unless I drove but we still would hunt different areas of the same property some and also together some if we ran into each other. Back when I started we didn't hunt deer though,it was all small game,furbearers or birds,but with my boys it was just squirrel and rabbit. My oldest son lost interest in hunting after a couple of years and my youngest didn't get into deer hunting until after he became an adult. We sort of go deer hunting together some,he comes out but we drive our own vehicles and park on opposite sides and leave at different times but text each other on what we're seeing and help each other load them if we get 1.
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Post by 36fan on Oct 23, 2017 11:30:07 GMT -5
I think I was 32 when I went solo for the first time...but that was also my first hunt. My son just turned 13 and I'm not ready to turn him loose. He just doesn't have the experience. He has never been with me when I've killed a deer, and he doesn't practice enough for me to give him the green light to be the shooter. I thought this year was going to be his year to be the shooter, but he hasn't practiced at all, and he can't find his Hunter Ed card to buy his license...though it's still early in the year.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2017 11:36:19 GMT -5
My family is 13 yrs old. Same for me and my sons.
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Post by swilk on Oct 23, 2017 12:26:41 GMT -5
I have to agree with Woody. I still worry if one of them doesn’t text me back quickly. Just part of being a parent I guess. Mine were about 12 also but I would put them in their ladder stands and they stayed until I picked them back up. Good but sad feeling also when they take their first deer or turkey without you by their side. Its funny how that coin flips .... Im the one who gets worried when my dad doesnt text me back quickly enough. I was 13 or 14 when dad started dropping me off at our river camp to hunt the day by myself. Before that, starting at about 10, I would go my own way when we squirrel hunted but he was always in the same woods with me.
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Post by swilk on Oct 23, 2017 12:29:43 GMT -5
I have, on numerous occasions, driven to my property and just sat in the truck, without dad knowing it, while he hunted.
Just in case.
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Post by tynimiller on Oct 23, 2017 12:56:29 GMT -5
Pops still to this day gets UTS (up tree safely) texts, DTS (down tree safely) and check in text every so often. LOL
Maturity is the crucial thing...I started hunting with...than near...than all by myself. Progression.
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