Several years ago, I received a call from a man in Jefferson County. He gave his name, identified himself as a deer hunter, and said his son had tagged a big buck during the recent two-day youth firearm deer season.
(This is an annual October event. This year’s dates are Oct. 10-11. Details at fw.ky.gov/Hunt/Documents/HuntingGuideEntire.pdf.)
He wanted to send a photo of his son with his deer in hopes that it might appear in the pages of a newspaper for which I, at that time, wrote.
I was in no position to make promises about which, if any, photos would or would not appear in the newspaper but told him he was welcome to send the photo and supplied an email address.
Minutes later, my computer dinged. I clicked on the attachment. It popped open to reveal an overexposed image of a bright-eyed youngster, both hands tightly holding the tine of a what was at least a 170-class buck, a whitetail trophy by any standard. The photo was poorly framed with the subjects off center and partly in shadow. The young hunter, dressed in camouflage and draped in a blaze orange vest that hung nearly to his knees, appeared to be about kindergarten age, maybe a year or two older. His blaze orange sock cap was on the ground and only partly visible. A scoped bolt-action rifle of indeterminate caliber lay on the ground at the deer’s feet.
I called the dad back and thanked him for the photo, but before I could ask, he began filling me in on particulars: Opening morning on Day 1 of the youth hunt. Ground blind. About 10 o’clock. It had been foggy early. Family farm. This was the youngster’s first deer hunt, but he’d been going in the woods with dad “for a couple of years.” Hunting party also included a grandfather and a cousin who also qualified for the age 15 and younger hunt. More photos were available.
I looked at the photo as I jotted down the information. The boy appeared both excited and strangely subdued. He seemed almost dwarfed by the heavy-bodied deer, which did not appear to have been field dressed when the photo was taken.
“That’s a nice deer. Congratulations. How old is your son?”
“He just turned 6.”
I took my twin daughters hunting and fishing before they were old enough to hold a rod or gun and have always encouraged other parents to do the same. My daughters are now adults, and while neither turned out to be hunters, both appreciate the value of hunting and support the sport. Both do fish—one with a passion that borders on obsession.
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources makes no secret of its drive to recruit young hunters and anglers. They are, after all, the future of the agency. Department officials have set aside several special hunts for youngsters, all of which require adult supervision. Hunter education is mandatory.
But hunting is serious business, and when kids should be introduced to the woods is a decision that Gabe Jenkins said should be determined child by child—and parent by parent.
How young, some parents wonder, is too young?
“That’s a good question, and it’s one I hear a lot,” said Jenkins, elk and deer program coordinator for the state game agency and a father of two. “There’s no simple answer. Every child is different, and every situation is different. There are some 5- and 6-year-olds who are capable of doing it with the right parent or guardian. And there are some 10-year-olds who are not ready.”
A couple of things to consider: 1) physical ability and 2) maturity.
“How big is the child?” Jenkins said. “That’s important because they have to be able to physically handle the equipment safely. And how mature is the child? They need to understand that the animal will be providing food for someone. Are they able to handle that?”
Jenkins has an 8-year-old daughter who has tagged a deer and a 5-year-old son who, Jenkins said, “wants to go.” He has had his youngest in the woods observing and learning, following a trail he blazed with his daughter.
“We started with squirrels,” he said. “But sometimes, we’d just walk through the woods stepping on sticks and have fun with that.”
As sportsmen, we want our children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews, to follow our path into the outdoors. But an overly aggressive adult can dampen a child’s love for rod and gun sports—sometimes permanently.
“There are a lot of things to consider,” Jenkins concluded. “But don’t push them. Make it fun. And keep it fun.”