Proud Dad post.

[Max4Gooser]

Took my oldest boy(7) to the mandatory hunters safety course last night and today, and with a little explanation of a couple of test questions by the instructor, he passed. Now I guess I will have to buy him the shotgun he wants, probably gonna make him observe this year and let him shoot next year. How old where your kids when you first took them hunting and allowed them to shoot? I started when I wasfive, but it wasa different world then, nobody thought much about it, or objected to it then.

[Midwest]

My dad started taking squirrel and rabbit hunting when I was 4 or 5. I would ride on his back and put my feet in his game pouch. I shot a gun for the first time when i was about 8, and he started letting me go off and hunt on my own around 12.

[SMOKE]

dad was lettin me tag long when i was around 5 or 6 and i beleive i was 9 the first time i shot a gun. got my first gun a few years later. at the time though hunting didnt interest me but now im an addict. :lol:

[migrator00]

Observed at 8 and 9...hunted at 10..on my own at 12..still hunt w/ the old man every now and then to let my wisdom rub off :)...it's amazing how two different styles of hunting develop when all you knew was "his" way. Still can have some fun from time to time when I realize he's gonna do it his way anyway!!!

[LittandJake]

I kind of self taught around age 13. My stepson is 11 now and he carried his own gun at the age of 9. It was all he could handle with assistance and I would caution against letting them shoot much earlier as the recoil can spoil their enthusiasm quickly. We have been lucky in the fact he has a patient grandfather that bought him his first deer rifle (youth model Winchester .260 which he hand loads) and I bought him a youth 870. He killed on his first deer hunt and his first turkey hunt. I think we will try ducks or geese this year. He has his own layout blind so he has a good start.

[Max4Gooser]

The recoil issue is part of the reason I am hesitant to let him shoot this year. I am probably going to buy him the new Mossberg Super Bantam, it has spacers built into the stock, so that it can be sized down to an even shorter LOP than the standard youth models, we went and looked at one at a local shop and it fits him very well where as the regular youth models are still a bit big, I figure I would have a gunsmith buddy of mine put a grind to fit Limbsaver recoil pad on it and let him start shooting light loads out of it this fall at the farm. Se how he does. I have a little Rossi 410/.22 matched pairs I bought for my boys to shoot, but the hammer thing in the field might be more trouble than good when I think about it.

[h20fowler]

I started walking with dad around 8 with the BB gun. Able to walk with the 12 guage single shot (OUCH!) at 10. After dove season, a bruised right shoulder, and a couple pheasant hunts I got the 20. Life was great after that.

My son hit the blind with me at 2, and has had 2 great seasons. He has been on numerous teal (his favorite as they are quick ans the hunt is short and easy), duck, goose hunts, and even got a turkey hunt in this year. He shoots his pop gun, and says he is ready now. He will be allowed to shoulder and fire his own at a duck once he can identify it.

As far as recoil, I am not to concerned. There are enough load variations out there that a light 20 gauge or the 28 will get the job done.

[h20fowler]

I forgot to add, the hammer in the blind I think would be fine. But upland hunting it is a real bother. I still remember never being able to get a shot off with that single shot at a pheasant. By the time I gained my composer to shoulder the gun after that flushing bird scarred the he// out of me, I never remembered to pull the hammer back. by the time I lowered the gun to get the hammer pulled the roster was gone.

[B Miller]

Jeff I bought my oldest boy Sean a single shot .410 (Spartan made by Remington) for his B-day when he turned 5 in 2005 I think it cost 95 bucks under 100. It is a youth model that dosen't have a hammer. It has a regular safety button and resets the trigger by opening and closeing the barrel. He shot it all last summer at cans and last winter he killed 15 geese with it and a few ducks. I did let him ground pound them but, the excitement he got was well worth what ever ethics I sacrificed for him do get him a few birds and he has made mention that he wanted to try to get one before it got clear on the ground this year. So I haven't ruined him yet. :lol:

I would say to go out and get him something that you think he can handle and take him out and let him blaze away. No better experiance than hands on. Brad

[Max4Gooser]

Brad,

Where did you find steel shot for .410, I have looked for it, but no one ariund here caries it.

[h20fowler]

Unfortunately there is only one manufacturer of nontoxic shot for 410 and 28 gauge...... Bismuth.

www.bismuth-notox.com

[TWatson]

Jeff, I hope this helps. My step son began shooting with me this spring, he just turned 11. We got him a Rem. 870 youth model 20 gauge. Can't say enough for that gun for kids learning to shoot. We have been shooting trap about once a month and even though he shoots right handed and is left eye dominant he can still hit 12 out of 25. The 870 youth is around $275 but it was the only gun the was comfortable for him because of the size and weight and he should be able to use it for several years.

Tim Watson.

[B Miller]

Sorry Jeff I have been gone for a day and H2O Fowler is correct. I was getting my bismuth for 13 or 14 bucks for a box of 10. With Sean only having a single shot it wasn't too bad on the pocket book. :D Brad

[Max4Gooser]

Does the 410 bismuth do pretty good on ducks, sounds like it would go allong way to teaching the boy good marksmanship.

[B Miller]

Jeff it is like everything. It has it limitations. I didn't let Sean shoot anything that was over 20 yrds. He shot their heads and killed everything that he hit clean. His gun is choked full so at 20 yrds he only had about a 10 inch pattern. I promise ya he did his fair share of missing but ya can't kill em all right? :lol: Brad