ORIGINAL: jlh42581

I dont think children under 12 should be shooting deer anyhow. Those early seasons should be restricted to small game and not include turkeys either.

Bummer you feel that way.  The youth is our future.  The way it is going these days 12 is too late.  

Without lots of kids joining our ranks, one of two things is going to happen.  The cost to hunt in Pa. will increase dramtically or the PGC will be dissolved and we will have politicians managing our wildlife. 

The more I think about a hunter not supporting our mentored program and expanding it further the more I become somewhat angered by that kind of selfishness.  Not sure anyone can say it is not that but I am sure some will try to justify it. 

Has nothing to do with the fact i dont want kids to hunt. Dont forget my 5 yr old is getting her first bow for christmas. It has everything to do with the fact these children have no formal training short of their parents. Additionally, theres no regulation for any of it. I can just create a tag for my 5 yr old out of a piece of paper. Boy thats real good management there.

Oh, and from the time i was old enough to understand what hunting was about i DESIRED to do it. Youre not going put DESIRE into children by letting them kill things. I watched my grandfather walk out the door at 5am and come home empty handed for years in deer season. I could hardly wait for 12 yrs old to get out there with him. Waiting made it that much more exciting.

Deer hunting and turkey hunting are not how you spark a childs interest. Its a cop out way for a lot of people to shoot game unregulated. Teach them to hunt small game. Or take them with you and you harvest a deer. Better yet, if its MENTORED why dont they use YOUR tags, im fine with that.

ORIGINAL: dpms

ORIGINAL: jlh42581

I dont think children under 12 should be shooting deer anyhow. Those early seasons should be restricted to small game and not include turkeys either.

Bummer you feel that way.  The youth is our future.  The way it is going these days 12 is too late.  

Without lots of kids joining our ranks, one of two things is going to happen.  The cost to hunt in Pa. will increase dramtically or the PGC will be dissolved and we will have politicians managing our wildlife. 

The more I think about a hunter not supporting our mentored program and expanding it further the more I become somewhat angered by that kind of selfishness.  Not sure anyone can say it is not that but I am sure some will try to justify it. 

 
Selfish? How is it selfish to want children to start out learning small game hunting for a year or 2, then moving up to turkeys and deer. The success rate with small game is much higher than that of deer hunting. If you want a child to lose interest, start them deer hunting and have them go out 5 times in cold weather before they kill something. I haven't seen one child be bored by small game hunting, I have, however, seen 2 younger cousins stop deer hunting after not being very successful.
 
 
"The more I think about a hunter not supporting our mentored program and expanding it further the more I become somewhat angered by that kind of selfishness.  Not sure anyone can say it is not that but I am sure some will try to justify it"
 
I just love how you try put a spin on our posts to make us look like we're against youth hunting....just like in past threads how you tried to label me as anti-gun.
 
I'm all for the mentor program, but I believe starting a child deer hunting before a season or 2 of small game is a terrible idea.

ORIGINAL: thedrake

I'm all for the mentor program, but I believe starting a child deer hunting before a season or 2 of small game is a terrible idea.

 
I agree that squirrels would be the way to go but hey if someone wants to take thier 10 year old deer hunting too why should they not be able to?  Taking a youth deer hunting is a terrible idea?  And we wonder why our ranks are shrinking.
 
No spinning here, you selectively support or reject initiatives that as a whole are in our best interest.  Remember it is the big picture we should be concerned with. 
 
I support youth recruitment into hunting, that is the bottom line.  Whatever species or season. 
 
You cannot be all for the mentored program but then say we should exclude opportunity or restrict thier choices. 

Over the past 2 years, I introduced 2 friends to hunting. Both are in thier mid 20's, and had never even shot a gun or bow before last year. One of them filled 2 doe tags last year with a rifle, and this year he harvested a doe, and missed a nice buck with a bow. Needless to say, he is hooked. He even spends his sundays scouting.

The other friend whom I just introduced to hunting, has not been successful in deer hunting, but now seems hooked after a few close encounters he had this year while archery hunting.

This year, i've made plans to assist my brother, who is a teacher, with a hunting and fishing club he has created at his high school. I've already prepared a fly fishing seminar for them, and were now working on putting together something for deer & turkey hunting.

Including the youth in my family is something that i've been doing for years. When it comes to turkey hunting, for example, I invite one of the youth in my family, to come along each day i'm going. I make it a priority to help him fill his tag, before I fill my own.

If you want to say I have my head in the sand, go ahead. But next time, don't do it before you ask me what i've done for our youth. I'm offended to say the least.

ORIGINAL: thedrake

If you want to say I have my head in the sand, go ahead. But nextime, don't do it before you ask me what i've done for our youth. I'm offended to say the least.

 
You are easily offended then.  I applaud any efforts by anyone to aid in recruitment, good for you.  I have never accused you of not aiding in recruitment or Jeremy for that matter.
 
What I have said is your resonses indicate that you do not fully support new hunter initiatives and that is not recognizing the dilemma that we as hunters and the sport of hunting are in right now. 
 
As long as these initiatives will not harm the resource and are safe that is.   

ORIGINAL: thedrake

J,

I agree

I should have posted: I agree that they (meaning children under 12) shouldn't go deer or turkey hunting before getting some experience with small game.
 
 

Okay........

All sounds good to me bings.  Take your proposals to the PGC BOC and if they put them on the agenda I would support them.

Whatever it takes to get more hunters out there.  My concern is for those that do not support the current mentor program and are against expanding it further as it has ben laid out.

My two oldest daughters are 11 and 9. I started both of them out at 8 years old small game hunting with me to see if they were going to be interested at all. They both love it !! When they come home from school all they want to do right now is go hunting with their dad. I would rather them go hunting with me and actually learn about the outdoors then sit at home and play video games or talk on the phone. That is the problem with most kids these days. They are not taught the different values in life.

I'm not even trying to use "the magic theory of killing a deer". I'm teaching them about our natural resources. Types of plants, trees, birds, what berries to eat and not eat, etc. We as adults need to teach them value added vs. non-value added, in a fun way. I agree with you about shooting a deer at the age of 12 or younger. Way to much room for error but how many adults go out, buy a gun and make the same mistakes ? It's something that still has to be learned. I'm glad that Pa at least has an age limit though. Over here in Ohio, there is no age limit.  

Let me make one thing clear here. Im not against people who do use crossbows, i just think it will create a crowd we may not appreciate. I think it could possibly have a season outside of rife, it doesnt need all of archery season.... WAIT WAIT WAIT. Can you not use them already during the early muzzleloader? If not, add it with that, take your pick, you either want a primative gun or a new age arrow shooting device. We cave to everyones whim with wanting a season early in the year yet the hunters are disregarded when it comes to allocations. Who knows better then the guys in the woods. Ive never once been asked how many deer ive seen on a regular basis by the game commission. At least the fish commission has it right. They survey the people who use the resource.

ORIGINAL: jlh42581

All im saying is, its not safe number one for children to harness a high power weapon without some training.

 
The mentor must be in control of the weapon at all times until just before a shot is taken.  A mentored hunter at no time can carry the firearm and they must be  within arms reach.

ORIGINAL: gooseman

 I agree with you about shooting a deer at the age of 12 or younger. Way to much room for error but how many adults go out, buy a gun and make the same mistakes ? It's something that still has to be learned. I'm glad that Pa at least has an age limit though. Over here in Ohio, there is no age limit.  

 
That is a decision that should be left up to the responsible adult based on the juniors abilities.  As you said there are some awful bad shots coming from adults to.
 
In regards to minimum age.  In Pa, with certain species, there is no age limit with our mentored youth program.  That decision is up to the responsible adult.