#2143275 - 11/02/10 02:15 PM
Juvenile Hunters: Trained or Untrained
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Nimrod777
18 Point
Registered: 09/28/03
Posts: 23202
Loc: Spring Hill, TN
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This may be too broad of a topic for discussion, and it is more discussion oriented, perhaps, than a simple answerable question, but as a Hunter Education instructor, I have to wonder.
Currently youngsters are allowed to hunt without going through Hunter Education (HE) but must become certified by the age of 10, unless they pay for a "Grace Period" permit that allows them one year extension to complete their HE certification.
I would guess that the TWRA decided they had to draw a line somewhere in the sand, and that line was Age 10.
But doing some reckoning here from the comfort of my desk chair, I have to wonder if I wouldn't rather have some HE certified 7 year olds hunting out there with their dads rather than 7 year olds who are still waiting to go through the class.
I guess if I boiled it down to one question worth tossing out there, it would be this: Why not simply disallow anyone, of any age (you could even do away with the grandfather clause if you didn't mind the major warfare that would ensue) to hunt in TN unless they have successfully passed an HE course? You could drop the minimum age to 7 or so if you wanted, but retain the requirement of youth hunters to be with a responsible adult.
Having to pass the course would in itself help monitor that those who were certified were knowledgeable and mature enough to be in the field totin' a firearm. What say ye?
_________________________
Some hunt for racks, some hunt for roasts. I hunt for sheer joy; the aforementioned items are merely fringe benefits.
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#2143360 - 11/02/10 03:13 PM
Re: Juvenile Hunters: Trained or Untrained
[Re: Nimrod777]
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BUCK-J
8 Point
Registered: 01/01/01
Posts: 1574
Loc: Ooltewah, TN USA
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I think 10 is a good age to begin taking he classes , 11 or 12 would be even better . 7 is just to young to take it all in , in my opinion . I guess it is up to the parents at what age you turn them loose hunting other than the young sportsman hunts .
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#2143429 - 11/02/10 03:56 PM
Re: Juvenile Hunters: Trained or Untrained
[Re: BUCK-J]
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Stovepipe
18 Point
Registered: 09/21/07
Posts: 21673
Loc: N1549518,E738760
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I'd like to see more promotion of the classes. It's become a "speak easy" deal and hard for me to find classes.
the local school is too politically correct to host them. And seems like the only time they are offered (when you do find one)is smack dab on some smoking hot Saturday DURING deer hunting season.
I never see classes offered during summer-
unless I'm just uninformed
_________________________
Westside Dream Team
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#2143455 - 11/02/10 04:17 PM
Re: Juvenile Hunters: Trained or Untrained
[Re: Stovepipe]
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nbforrest#3
16 Point
Registered: 11/14/05
Posts: 13089
Loc: SE TN
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Here is my opinion.
You might have heard it already.
I agree with the hunter safety class for youths age
10-16. Anyone who handles a rifle in the woods with
other hunters around needs training. The hunter safety
class provides that although it is just a week class.
That being said, I totally disagree with letting a 6
year old kid on the hunt without the class. It makes
absolutely no sense to me.
If their parents train them to respect and shoot a weapon
at that age, and many do, and they become a responsible
hunter by age 10, then why do they have to take the class.
And its hard to explain to a 15 year old first time
hunter why they have to go thru it when a 6 year old dont.
JMO
_________________________
The Confederate soldier was the last American
who fought to defend the land he stood on.
Any day above ground is a good day
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#2144012 - 11/02/10 09:09 PM
Re: Juvenile Hunters: Trained or Untrained
[Re: nbforrest#3]
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JA1234
10 Point
Registered: 01/13/06
Posts: 3841
Loc: just a hair or two north of th...
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personally I would like to see the age raised to 13 ,and the class to be a bit harder.... I don't see how MOST kids under the age of 10 could comprehend and retain all of the current class as is.
I would be all for a ed class that was structured for kids(6-7 yo) that would allow them to hunt with an adult until they completed a more advanced course... I would like to have a law that no person is allowed to hunt on their own without having completed the hunter ed class and logged in at least 40 hours in a stand with an adult who has passed the class as well after completing the class. not to include Youth Hunts.
My oldest son got his hunter Ed at 10 but I didnt let him hunt by himself until he was 15...he just didn't go enough prior to then. He still doesn't go much but he is very safe with a gun and know how to respect them.
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#2144033 - 11/02/10 09:17 PM
Re: Juvenile Hunters: Trained or Untrained
[Re: JA1234]
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RUGER
Arachnophobic
Non-Typical
Registered: 11/19/99
Posts: 4097460
Loc: TN
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I personally think it is ok the way it is now.
Of course I am "old school" I guess is the right word and when my son started hunting with his own rifle at the age of 6 I was right by his side every second of the hunt.
I stressed safety and then stressed it some more.
By the time he was old enough to take the class he was already safe and in my opinion all the class did was make him legal, as he was already prepared and had passed the test more than once in my opinion before he ever took it for real.
I look at it kinda like the school system.
It is my job, as a parent, to teach him safety, not TWRA's.
I do think before the age of 10 very few kids could handle the classroom setting and soak it all in.
I do think, however, there are many out there that can take it all in and absorb what they need by hands on training by their parents.
_________________________
Youth is wasted on the young.
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#2144061 - 11/02/10 09:29 PM
Re: Juvenile Hunters: Trained or Untrained
[Re: RUGER]
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TN RDG RNR
12 Point
Registered: 06/28/07
Posts: 6092
Loc: Rhea County
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I personally think it is ok the way it is now.
Of course I am "old school" I guess is the right word and when my son started hunting with his own rifle at the age of 6 I was right by his side every second of the hunt.
I stressed safety and then stressed it some more.
By the time he was old enough to take the class he was already safe and in my opinion all the class did was make him legal, as he was already prepared and had passed the test more than once in my opinion before he ever took it for real.
I look at it kinda like the school system.
It is my job, as a parent, to teach him safety, not TWRA's.
I do think before the age of 10 very few kids could handle the classroom setting and soak it all in.
I do think, however, there are many out there that can take it all in and absorb what they need by hands on training by their parents.
Very well put Ruger. Nothing to add.
_________________________
WARNING: The above post may contain sarcasm and/or sophisticated satire. I will not be held liable for any psychological damage sustained.
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#2144122 - 11/02/10 09:55 PM
Re: Juvenile Hunters: Trained or Untrained
[Re: RUGER]
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FLIPPER
10 Point
Registered: 09/07/02
Posts: 4777
Loc: Niota, Tn
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I personally think it is ok the way it is now.
Of course I am "old school" I guess is the right word and when my son started hunting with his own rifle at the age of 6 I was right by his side every second of the hunt.
I stressed safety and then stressed it some more.
By the time he was old enough to take the class he was already safe and in my opinion all the class did was make him legal, as he was already prepared and had passed the test more than once in my opinion before he ever took it for real.
I look at it kinda like the school system.
It is my job, as a parent, to teach him safety, not TWRA's.
I do think before the age of 10 very few kids could handle the classroom setting and soak it all in.
I do think, however, there are many out there that can take it all in and absorb what they need by hands on training by their parents.
I too agree.
As for the nay sayers...being safe with a firearm, I don't get?
I bought Alexis a Henry .22 when she was 4yrs old. At age 6, I built her Encore .308 and she killed her first deer.
She has NEVER handled...carried...toted or even picked up a rifle herself. I always carry it to the truck, in the woods and only hand it to her right before she is fixing to shoot.
It is the responsibility of the parent to teach their children and some children are more mature than others at an early age.
_________________________
Why kill two birds with one stone when you can kill six with a shotgun?
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#2144471 - 11/03/10 07:12 AM
Re: Juvenile Hunters: Trained or Untrained
[Re: FLIPPER]
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Nimrod777
18 Point
Registered: 09/28/03
Posts: 23202
Loc: Spring Hill, TN
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I definitely agree with the wisdom of requiring any young hunter to be accompanied at all times during a hunt, and kind of like Joey's idea about the possibility of a apprentice hunters class of sorts to begin introducing those early elementary age kids to gun safety. Might just be offered as an optional thing, a short 2-hour event; might be smart to require them.
The system, the way it is now, works great... IF you are a conscientious parent who demands strict gun safety and supervision over your child. But I also believe that the way things are now allows me to put my 6-year-old in a deer stand unsupervised, with no hunter education or gun safety training. Am I right on this?
It sounds great to say it's the parent's job to teach gun safety, not the TWRA, except that many parents don't have the wherewithal to do so. And I'm not talking white trashers who don't care about their kids. I'm talking about the crew that show up at the Hunter Ed classes, the dads, even grandmothers, who have no hunting experience and may be learning more than even their kids are.
So should we say:
1) All hunters under the age of 10 must be accompanied at all times afield by a licensed and HE certified hunter age 18 or older (This actually takes a poke at the wide range of ages at which the state currently recognizes an adult hunter. We could stand to have some consistency there)
2) All hunters MUST be HE certified by age 10 (Why even have the apprentice license as it stands now? It's like a Walmart mom yelling at their kids, counting to three, and then counting to three again, isn't it?)
_________________________
Some hunt for racks, some hunt for roasts. I hunt for sheer joy; the aforementioned items are merely fringe benefits.
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#2144479 - 11/03/10 07:17 AM
Re: Juvenile Hunters: Trained or Untrained
[Re: Nimrod777]
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stik
TnDeer Old Timer
16 Point
Registered: 03/12/99
Posts: 18427
Loc: lenoir city,tn
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But I also believe that the way things are now allows me to put my 6-year-old in a deer stand unsupervised, with no hunter education or gun safety training. Am I right on this?
i may be mistaken but i believe any hunter under 10 must be accompanied by an adult that must remain in position to take control of the gun.
_________________________
experienced hunters know its not just a bushy white tail, its a big middle finger.
nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught
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