Deer Hunters?

[Hoot Crawford]

Any deer Hunters on here? I do not hunt, but having grown up in Southern Ohio, it is very common. Somehow, on FB I am now getting posts from a local "Conservation Club", showing pictures of kids with their first "harvest". So far, the youngest has been 4 years old. He is in the photo. Would you let your 4 year old pull the trigger on a rifle?

 

[Marie Miller]

You modify stock and load and coach safety and respect for the animal and the environment over and over and over. You are joined at the hip with them.

 

[Connie Bennett]

A friend just sent me a foto of her five year old grandson in the exact same pose as above on the OH/PA border.

The Dad actually pulled the trigger. They are several generations of hunters, so they play by all the safety rules.

That said, CWD is a becoming a big issue in Middle Tennessee. The TWRA is asking folks to have their deer harvest tested for it. While they say CWD won’t affect a human, they are also saying to NOT eat the meat of an infected deer.

 

[Beth Gallagher]

I grew up in a family of hunters, and most of my rural relatives (including our middle son) are avid hunters. I had my own rifle at age 12, though I never had the slightest interest in hunting I did like to shoot at cans on the fence. It's not strange to have young ones handling guns (with strict supervision), driving farm trucks when they can reach the pedals, or operating farm equipment in rural areas. Age four does seem pretty young but as with anything else, it depends on the child and I'm pretty certain the child was not sent alone into the woods.

Kind of like this old photo of my dad and my oldest son. Any fisherman can see that the "catch" was arranged by grandpa.