6 year old Wisconsin girl bags buck

[mheichelbech]

Trying to be conversational and not argumentative here:

I had always seen death as a part of life as opposed to death being a dramatic thing. To "take a life", kind of makes it seem like it is a big deal to kill a deer - or other game animal - it is about the same as killing a fish.

My 25 yr old stepson had his first real death encounter on the side of a road where a deer had just gotten run over - I slit the jugular as opposed to shooting it due to a nearby house. He was impacted watching the crimson spread in the dirt road as it struggled to breath and bled to death. 25 is too old for the first encounter with stuff like that.

People slaughter animals for food all the time - some kids are exposed and some not. Hatchet to a chicken's head, knife to a goat, hog, etc. First time I slaughtered a farm animal for meat it changed me - shooting something is diff than holding it while you cut its veins/arteries and watch it die in your hands as you hold it still. Shooting a deer isn't personal, slicing your 2 yr old goat's neck is...

God bless you and all the people that deal with that kind of stuff. Not sure I could do that to animals I get to see and know on a regular basis. Maybe I could if raised around it.

Everyone is different and see things in different ways...makes the world more interesting. Wouldn’t want to live in a society where everyone thought the same. That would be boring.

[Buckshot20]

My 4 and 6 yr old will be with me in the woods all weekend toting their bb guns and when I feel they are mature enough both physically and mentally the quest will be on to kill their first deer and ill be damned if somebody who has never had kids, let alone kids in the field, is going to tell me when mine are ready for something or not. While I envy you northern boys on the size of your deer I don't envy the gov intrusion on your lives. The rule in my state is under 16 they have to be accompanied by parent or guardian. So I guess they let the parent decide. What a novel idea!!!

[Rich M]

Everyone is different and see things in different ways...makes the world more interesting. Wouldn’t want to live in a society where everyone thought the same. That would be boring.

Amen to that.

[Rome]

I have been a hunter safety instructor for 10 years in WI. We used to only allow 12+ kids to hunt, then we went to 10+. At 10 years old we had many kids that were simply too small (weak) to adequately control a weapon. Additionally, some lacked the maturity level I feel is needed for safety. Hunter safety should be required at any age to buy a license - period!

I understand as a parent of young kids the desire to hunt as early as possible. I also have seen first hand parents that are completely incapable of safely mentoring a child at a very young age.

I don't believe the sky will fall and there will be injuries or deaths all over because I believe most parents are smart enough to determine for themselves.
I have only one scenario that really makes me cringe. Say dad/mom/mentor is severely injured/dies in the field whether from gun shot or natural causes. Now the child is alone in a remote area and needs to summon or wait for help. I'm not sure a 6-10 year old would have the maturity level needed to stay alive in that situation if in a remote area. I feel a 10-12 year old stands a much better chance of knowing how to get help, stay put and generally are more intelligent.

Parents have been taking their young children along on the hunt long before this law was changed, so this point does not apply. With your logic, parents shouldn't take their kids hunting to be an observer until they are 10?

My son is 7. He's been sitting with me since he was 4. He's been with me for 2 rifle doe kills. He's just not quite physically ready to shoot, he's very close to being responsible and mature enough for it, for my standards. Maybe next year, we'll see.

On the other side, I know of a handful of parents that took their under 10 year olds this season, none of these kids ever shot a gun before. These are the parents that I feared with the timing of the law change. This should've gone into effect starting 2018 season, not 5 days before the gun opener.

[wiscbowhntr]

I have been a hunter safety instructor for 10 years in WI. We used to only allow 12+ kids to hunt, then we went to 10+. At 10 years old we had many kids that were simply too small (weak) to adequately control a weapon. Additionally, some lacked the maturity level I feel is needed for safety. Hunter safety should be required at any age to buy a license - period!

I understand as a parent of young kids the desire to hunt as early as possible. I also have seen first hand parents that are completely incapable of safely mentoring a child at a very young age.

I don't believe the sky will fall and there will be injuries or deaths all over because I believe most parents are smart enough to determine for themselves.

I have only one scenario that really makes me cringe. Say dad/mom/mentor is severely injured/dies in the field whether from gun shot or natural causes. Now the child is alone in a remote area and needs to summon or wait for help. I'm not sure a 6-10 year old would have the maturity level needed to stay alive in that situation if in a remote area. I feel a 10-12 year old stands a much better chance of knowing how to get help, stay put and generally are more intelligent.

X2

[Swampbuck]

I have only one scenario that really makes me cringe. Say dad/mom/mentor is severely injured/dies in the field whether from gun shot or natural causes. Now the child is alone in a remote area and needs to summon or wait for help. I'm not sure a 6-10 year old would have the maturity level needed to stay alive in that situation if in a remote area. I feel a 10-12 year old stands a much better chance of knowing how to get help, stay put and generally are more intelligent.

Legitimate concern but it's part of life. Same thing could happen fishing in a boat, driving an a car and many other circumstances. Not a fan of having laws to prevent every issue. Patents need to have common sense and not held back by those that don't.

I would also be ok with requiring hunters ed. I personally didn't get anything out of it but it may hold some value for kids that have had very little exposure

[Dewey]

I have only one scenario that really makes me cringe. Say dad/mom/mentor is severely injured/dies in the field whether from gun shot or natural causes. Now the child is alone in a remote area and needs to summon or wait for help. I'm not sure a 6-10 year old would have the maturity level needed to stay alive in that situation if in a remote area. I feel a 10-12 year old stands a much better chance of knowing how to get help, stay put and generally are more intelligent.

Legitimate concern but it's part of life. Same thing could happen fishing in a boat, driving an a car and many other circumstances. Not a fan of having laws to prevent every issue. Patents need to have common sense and not held back by those that don't.

I would also be ok with requiring hunters ed. I personally didn't get anything out of it but it may hold some value for kids that have had very little exposure

I can agree with this. When I was a kid Hunter Safety was not required. I ended up taking it when I was in my 30’s because many western states required it to buy a tag. Thought it would be a joke but it was actually very good and I even learned some things. I see no reason why they couldn’t have a free class for the very young hunters that the parents could take part in as well. Might be a very good refresher for them. Lets face it not all parents are equipped with enough common sense to teach gun safety.

[Boogieman1]

I have only one scenario that really makes me cringe. Say dad/mom/mentor is severely injured/dies in the field whether from gun shot or natural causes. Now the child is alone in a remote area and needs to summon or wait for help. I'm not sure a 6-10 year old would have the maturity level needed to stay alive in that situation if in a remote area. I feel a 10-12 year old stands a much better chance of knowing how to get help, stay put and generally are more intelligent.

Legitimate concern but it's part of life. Same thing could happen fishing in a boat, driving an a car and many other circumstances. Not a fan of having laws to prevent every issue. Patents need to have common sense and not held back by those that don't.

I would also be ok with requiring hunters ed. I personally didn't get anything out of it but it may hold some value for kids that have had very little exposure

I can agree with this. When I was a kid Hunter Safety was not required. I ended up taking it when I was in my 30’s because many western states required it to buy a tag. Thought it would be a joke but it was actually very good and I even learned some things. I see no reason why they couldn’t have a free class for the very young hunters that the parents could take part in as well. Might be a very good refresher for them. Lets face it not all parents are equipped with enough common sense to teach gun safety.

Dewey, when I was a kid they did offer a free hunters Ed class through the local 4H program. Looking back think that was pretty cool, they even had volunteers come in a demonstrate and teach shooting, weapons handling, safety, woodsmanship,ethics, how to build a fire, how to tie good knots etc..... I'm pretty sure they do not do that anymore but I thought it was very beneficial and helped get me on the right track.

[goldtip5575]

SO is the WI youth hunt season age still 10- 15 or is it any age below15. If we want to treat kids as adults the youth hunt should go. A kid if he starts at 6 could receive a decade of special treatment under the regulations.

[Hawthorne]

SO is the WI youth hunt season age still 10- 15 or is it any age below15. If we want to treat kids as adults the youth hunt should go. A kid if he starts at 6 could receive a decade of special treatment under the regulations.

Yep same way Michigan is

[Rob loper]

Congrats awesome memory never will be forgotten

[Primetime41]

These kids can't walk but they can operate a weapon. Very impressive!

https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/o ... 901994001/

Under WI rules it would be legal for a parent to shoot a deer and use the infant's tag as long as the infant was along on the hunt....must've been using a blaze pink ergo-baby carrier.

[Jackson Marsh]

There are always guys that scam the system.

[llcooljames]

These kids can't walk but they can operate a weapon. Very impressive!

https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/o ... 901994001/

Under WI rules it would be legal for a parent to shoot a deer and use the infant's tag as long as the infant was along on the hunt....must've been using a blaze pink ergo-baby carrier.

Bogus. This is one reason I think they should have to pass the class first. Would somewhat prevent that kind of thing.

[Dewey]

:twisted:

There are always guys that scam the system.

Yup. Then they will have to create another law to defeat the scammers. It’s a never ending cycle.

I never agreed with the mentor being able to fill the youth tag. That’s just not right. Doesn’t that totally go against the whole youth hunt experience? They should shoot their own deer. Just another loophole for certain individuals to abuse for their own personal gain.