I don't know fi this has been brought up or not, but many of you are bringing some serious high level thought to a "kid's first buck" opportunity.

Let the kid hunt, keep his enthusiasm in hunting and let him learn with time.

Lets take the devils advocate here:

Dad listens to the forum and says to kid, that deer isn't old enough and we need to let it walk a couple more years before we can shoot it. IN a couple years something happens (lease is transferred, family moves, neighbor shoots the deer, literally a million possible here) and that deer is gone, and the kids interest in hunting has faded since all dad lets him shoot are "boring doe" and ultimately the kid never gets really interested in hunting again?

You could then have another anti-hunter or person ambivalent to hunting who votes for public lands to go away and gun rights to cease when instead you could have given a kid an opportunity to shoot a deer that got his blood pumping but many of us on here feel is "too young" and the kid is "too young".

Hogwash, this is supposed to be a fun activity. If you can not have fun doing it, then get out. If you can not let your kids have fun learning how to do it, then get out. Many of us have to realize everyone enjoys this for different reasons. It isn't all abut the age and antlers, for many its about priceless memories that can not be made unless we are out there doing them with our kids.

Has he killed this damn deer yet?

I don't know fi this has been brought up or not, but many of you are bringing some serious high level thought to a "kid's first buck" opportunity.

Let the kid hunt, keep his enthusiasm in hunting and let him learn with time.

Lets take the devils advocate here:

Dad listens to the forum and says to kid, that deer isn't old enough and we need to let it walk a couple more years before we can shoot it. IN a couple years something happens (lease is transferred, family moves, neighbor shoots the deer, literally a million possible here) and that deer is gone, and the kids interest in hunting has faded since all dad lets him shoot are "boring doe" and ultimately the kid never gets really interested in hunting again?

You could then have another anti-hunter or person ambivalent to hunting who votes for public lands to go away and gun rights to cease when instead you could have given a kid an opportunity to shoot a deer that got his blood pumping but many of us on here feel is "too young" and the kid is "too young".

Hogwash, this is supposed to be a fun activity. If you can not have fun doing it, then get out. If you can not let your kids have fun learning how to do it, then get out. Many of us have to realize everyone enjoys this for different reasons. It isn't all abut the age and antlers, for many its about priceless memories that can not be made unless we are out there doing them with our kids.

I don't know fi this has been brought up or not, but many of you are bringing some serious high level thought to a "kid's first buck" opportunity.

Let the kid hunt, keep his enthusiasm in hunting and let him learn with time.

Lets take the devils advocate here:

Dad listens to the forum and says to kid, that deer isn't old enough and we need to let it walk a couple more years before we can shoot it. IN a couple years something happens (lease is transferred, family moves, neighbor shoots the deer, literally a million possible here) and that deer is gone, and the kids interest in hunting has faded since all dad lets him shoot are "boring doe" and ultimately the kid never gets really interested in hunting again?

You could then have another anti-hunter or person ambivalent to hunting who votes for public lands to go away and gun rights to cease when instead you could have given a kid an opportunity to shoot a deer that got his blood pumping but many of us on here feel is "too young" and the kid is "too young".

Hogwash, this is supposed to be a fun activity. If you can not have fun doing it, then get out. If you can not let your kids have fun learning how to do it, then get out. Many of us have to realize everyone enjoys this for different reasons. It isn't all abut the age and antlers, for many its about priceless memories that can not be made unless we are out there doing them with our kids.

This whole thread is why hunting is losing youth involvement. Save the deer, manage the herd, let it grow, give it another year. If my 13 yr old likes a deer he can kill the dam thing. To hell with all you herd managers thoughts on it. I'm not going to drive my son away from the sport because an animal needs another year. I'll leave the managing to me and the other adults.

This whole thread is why hunting is losing youth involvement. Save the deer, manage the herd, let it grow, give it another year. If my 13 yr old likes a deer he can kill the dam thing. To hell with all you herd managers thoughts on it. I'm not going to drive my son away from the sport because an animal needs another year. I'll leave the managing to me and the other adults.

This whole thread is why hunting is losing youth involvement. Save the deer, manage the herd, let it grow, give it another year. If my 13 yr old likes a deer he can kill the dam thing. To hell with all you herd managers thoughts on it. I'm not going to drive my son away from the sport because an animal needs another year. I'll leave the managing to me and the other adults.

I know a lot of people didn't like my opinion on this topic, so I want to clarify some things. First, I assumed this guy owned the place or was on a lease by himself where there were no rules other than "self imposed" rules. Second, while I know my kids are spoiled, and trust me 100% of our kids are spoiled compared to the rest of the world, I also know my kids know what hard work, patience, and delayed gratification are all about. Third, I understand the young deer vs older deer argument and if there is a hard lease or landowner rule in place then by all means it needs to be followed...

But what is wrong with letting this kid shoot a legal deer he really wants to shoot? There is no rule in the book that says you have to wait until a deer is 5 yo before it can be shot. I want people on my place to have fun and stay interested in hunting, and if shooting a 3-4.5 you buck does that, then most of the time I am going to let the kid take his first real buck.

I think of hunting much like religion. We place rules on ourselves to better mature and discipline ourselves in places where we need maturity and discipline, but those rules are rarely God imposed, they are man imposed. When you get too legalistic, it can detract from what the real meaning is. Keep hunting fun. Yes, imposing rules on yourself is one way to help mature the herd, but getting so bogged down in the rules such that you could cause loss of interest in an immature believer, well that's just plain stupid.

You are forgiven, 5 Hail Mary’s and 6 Our Father’s.

I let first shoot what they want. A guest shoots on the memebers tab, if the meme er has shot his buck, then it’s all hoes from here on out. If menener hasn’t shot their buck, than guest has the operation with me.

Perfect. I love happy endings. . . .