Kids and hunting

[Art Eatman]

I've been hunting alone, most of the time I've hunted, for almost seventy years. Since around 1973 or so, I've gone 20 miles into uninhabited back country to my camp. My hunts would commonly be walks of some ten to twelve miles, varying in route from day to day.

What I figured out as a kid was, "Don't get stupid." Seems to work fairly well...

 

[RoostRider]

NOBODY, no matter what age, should be hunting alone. we are all to out of elements to be hunting alone. where i hunt, that is just asking for a death sentance. a broken ankle can do you in alone while out in the wilderness. i don't think that it is a question of age, but a question of common sense. where i hunt, you don't hunt alone, it's a great idea to carrry a sidearm, you don't hunt with a 2 wheel drive pickup, and you always make sure that your four wheeler is in tip top shape before setting out. and take extra gas and maybe another four wheeler. if something breaks down where i hunt, it's about 1.5-2 hours back to camp, and that's just on a four wheeler. and that's just going back to camp, which is a long ways on a truck back to civilization. so where i hunt, if you are hunting alone on foot, you can get lost, be easy prey for a mountain lion, and spend a few nights in the cold.
take a buddy. and a good radio or sattilite phone.

I respectfully disagree. I have hunted alone many times, including as a kid. I have never used a four wheeler, and I have hunted in some of the most remote territory in the 5 state area (BWCAW- 1,000,000 acres of nothing but woods and lakes- no pickups, no four wheelers and no gas).

I am somewhat out of my element, as you say, but that is part of the experience that I treasure.... doing it on my own and working only with what I have with me... some would say that is 'asking for a death sentence' where I have hunted too, but I could not agree... people have been hunting alone for as long as there has been people.... long before these conveniences, or even firearms for that matter...

That being said I like hunting with people more I think.... sharing is a part of it for me... but it shouldn't be mandated by law, only your interpretation of common sense (clearly, common sense is a subjective term.... and someone else's 'common sense' might tell them not to do things I can do with ease... or vise versa)

This all is largely irrelevant to this issue, as is the "what would he do with a bear if he got it"... because 'hunting alone' might be construed as something as simple as being beyond the voice and sight of a guardian.... that's how it is in MN anyways... (a kid on a stand 1/2 mile away is "hunting alone")

It is quite possible this young man was very near to home, and or assistance if needed....

 

[moooose102]

well, i am going to take my 8 year old boy with me deer hunting this fall. not on the first couple of days, but i want to introduce him to the actual hunting experience. he can not shoot, nor would i let him yet. he just is not responsible enough at this point. but i want to give him some of the beginning pointers about watching for game, how to locate them, BEING QUIET, etc., etc., etc.. when he becomes eligable to hunt, i will keep him right with me for several years. direct supervision and imidiate correction to any mistakes is the key to making a good hunter. i really do not care if we get anything or not. that is what i hope to accomplish in the first few days. but teaching him how to go about hunting safely and effectivly will be my big reward.