How old when you saw your first kill?

[yfki1983]

My son is 5. Got him out on his first sit last year and had a blast. 

I would not take a shot on anything with him there because I wasn't sure he could handle it. 

I'm still not sure he really understands,even though he watches videos. 

How old were your kids when you first shot something in front of them?

[mowin]

No kids myself, but dad took me out when I was 5. 

My good buddy had his kids "helping" to track deer when they were around 4-5..  both his daughters connected this youth season. Lila her 4th deer, and Abigail her first. 

[G-man]

Saw lots of dead deer as early as I can remember,   uncle was a taxidermist. Seeing one actually shot was 15 maybe... woodchuck was 8 or  9 

[Wolc123]

Somebody hit a button buck with a car, and it was flopping around in our front yard when I got home from hunting over at my parents house.  Our oldest daughter was about 13 at the time.  
 

She held a flashlight for me, as I finished it off with a knife.  The knife was dull, so it didn’t go very well. She stood back at a safe distance, but there was a near miss or two to my head, with hoof kicks.  She screamed a little, and never really wanted to hunt after that (or before).  
 

Her and her 10 month younger sister like venison and eat plenty of it, but that was the only time that either one of them helped me to get any of it.  

[GreeneHunter]

15 (late blooming City Boy)

[corydd7]

I don't remember it but I was 6 or 7 depending on how my dad tells the story. He killed a caribou on the Thompson pass close to the Valdez pipeline. I held the backlegs open so I could help gut it. My God father has pictures. 

Very blessed to live in Alaska as a young kid surrounded by hunters and fisherman. 

[IM Hooked]

My grandson is 4 he was with me on a track the other night, he was looking over my shoulder when I was gutting it, I asked him if had fun he said I been waiting for this all year. Then he said can I help you gut it next time. But you have to buy me gloves. That was better than the hunt.

[Dinsdale]

11 minutes ago, GreeneHunter said:

15 (late blooming City Boy)

I’m a late blooming suburban boy. LOL

I was 25 and shot a deer a hour into the first time hunting . Stood there with my knife in one hand and a 2 sided index card with how to gut a deer in the other. It wasn’t smooth, but got it done.

 

[Doebuck1234]

Started tagging along at 5 with the guys so right around then

[cervidchasers]

I dont remember but have pics of me with dad when I was 3, by five I wanted to go every time

[The_Real_TCIII]

1 hour ago, Wolc123 said:

Somebody hit a button buck with a car, and it was flopping around in our front yard when I got home from hunting over at my parents house.  Our oldest daughter was about 13 at the time.  
 

She held a flashlight for me, as I finished it off with a knife.  The knife was dull, so it didn’t go very well. She stood back at a safe distance, but there was a near miss or two to my head, with hoof kicks.  She screamed a little, and never really wanted to hunt after that (or before).  
 

Her and her 10 month younger sister like venison and eat plenty of it, but that was the only time that either one of them helped me to get any of it.  

Why not a quick poke in the lungs and step back? I never understood trying to cut the throat 

[Wolc123]

48 minutes ago, The_Real_TCIII said:

Why not a quick poke in the lungs and step back? I never understood trying to cut the throat 

It works good with a sharp knife, but not so good with a dull one.  

[Moho81]

I have a picture of my uncle holding me next to a doe he shot when I was maybe 2-3 years old. Obviously I don’t remember it. I don’t think I was ever around for a deer being shot in the field until I was a teenager. 
 

My daughter was 4 years old when I brought a doe home to butcher and she sat out in the garage with me asking a million questions as I skinned and quartered it. The following year she tagged along on a hunt or 2 and hasn’t stopped. Now she’s 13 and hunting with me not just observing. 

[Buckmaster7600]

I grew up around butchering hogs and beef cattle. I don’t remember my first kill but I bet I wasn’t out of diapers. 

[Caveman]

I took my daughter last year when she was 5. We shot a small spike at about 20 yards. She closed her eyes for the actual shot, but she was excited after it dropped. Then she freaked out a little bit when we recovered it, and was back to excited as we drove home to show her mom. It was a roller coaster for her.

 

I'm not a pro at this parenting thing, but every kid moves at their own pace. I think you just need to walk a fine line between pushing them a little out of their comfort zone but also waiting for them to be ready. Good luck to you.