Thinking of taking my 10 yr old boy for his first youth weekend in Kansas. He is an experienced shot, both long rifles and shotguns. Been clay shooting a couple of times, but this would be his first hunt where he does all the shooting.

I plan to work the dog and parlay good ole Dad coaching tips. Any concerns on taking him at this age?


My main concern is the amount of walking...I'll need to temper myself because when we hit Kansas and South Dakota, we hunt hard.

All depends on the kid, some are ready while others are not. Remember the hunt is for him. If he gets tired and wants to stop or take a break do it. Mostly be safe, have fun and don't press too hard. I see kids that are that age or a year younger that are all in for the hunt and others that are not ready. How ever it works out roll with it and you two have fun.

Let's go together. I am taking my son again. We only walked 1/10 of what we do when hunting, but he got lots of shots.

It is a great trip and scouting trip too.

I'm game. Just have to shop for a youth shot gun in 20 gauge. We'd been borrowing one that we no longer have access to. He want an o/u, may get an 870 pump.

Do it! Take a case of shells and let him have fun. He's the Future of conservation, I take my boys all the time, I can't see hunting with out them.

My youngest is 10, and while I take him with me, he is not ready to be a shooter. I let him take his BB gun and practice safe gun handling. He sometimes finishes off my cripples with it. It make him feel like he is really involved. Not saying your son isn't ready, but mine is not. As a side note, I would personally NOT hunt with someone else's 10'yr old carrying a shotgun in the quail field. Deer stand or duck blind YES, but not walking around quail hunting. Too much room for error.

^^^^^^^^^ Agree with this. Not because of his age or maturity level necessarily....its just that shooting birds over dogs (and walking) is all very dynamic. Unless you also have a person to stand directly behind him to coach and intercept any errant swings with the shotgun...I would not consider it.

There is just too much that can go wrong in the excitement. Some type of stationary hunting where shots are strictly controlled would be a better way to introduce him to shooting 'game' which is quite different than shooting clay birds.

By 12 yrs. old...there will be a VAST difference in his maturity and thought processes. Sure, each child is different (and they ARE still children at that age) and no doubt someone is going to chime in how they started hunting age 7-8 or whatever, but generally speaking...12 yrs. old and up (after demonstrating safety and proficiency) is where I start considering letting them handle a firearm all on their own.

Too, the fact that you are soliciting opinions here...rather suggests you have concerns/reservations as well. Follow your intuition on this one.

You can borrow my boys 870 youth pump 20ga.

I walked every mile my dad and his buddies did with no gun from age 6-10. Starting at age 10, I was allowed to carry a single shot .410. One season with the .410 and I was off to the races with a 20ga.

My boy is nine and a long stringy 58lbs. I really wanted him to start with doves this year. I did a ton of research on youth shotguns. We ended up with a Weatherby SA08youth 20guage. It's basically a copy of a Beretta A300.

It's got a 12.5 LOP. It's a 5.5lb gun and it eats recoil really good. We shot light field load last weekend and he handled it pretty well. I like that it's light and compact and eats the recoil. Best of both worlds.

He has been on a few quail hunts and the cover we walk through makes all the difference. If you were hunting roads it wouldn't be a problem. Anything high and stiff wears the little ones out quick.

Oh sorry I forgot to add that the weatherby youth gun can be had brand new for 460 bucks

I would guess my kids (twins) which were 5 at the time hunted with me probably 10 weekends last year. They didn't shoot, but they could go step for step most of the time. I think most important things for kids and quail hunting is great boots, pants, and above all else don't let them get to cold. They could walk through heavy cactus better than some adults.