Son wants to hunt

[ES4Me]

I have a 16 year old son who is interested in hunting. Both his father and I did not grow up hunting or have family who do - so don't know where to start with him. I know of a youth hunting safety course I can enroll him in, but could use some other suggestions from experienced hunters who got their children started.

Thanks!

[KRM45]

Hunting is a great activity for a parent and child to do together. I would suggest enrolling in the hunter education course with him. If he is not familiar with firearms, the two of you could also take an NRA type course on basic firearm safety and marksmanship.

Do you have a place to hunt? Does he know what he would like to hunt for? There are public hunting lands available, but many of them can be crowded.

Check out the Texas Parks and Wildlife web site. They have lots of information for hunters.

Good luck!

[particle]

Though you're probably not required (due to age) to take the hunter safety course, I would suggest that you and your son both take the class together. I've been around guns all of my life, and used to hunt a lot when I was a kid. Once we moved to the city, I lost touch with hunting, and didn't shoot as much either. This year I was invited to go dove hunting with some friends from work. It's really quite amazing all of the laws there are revolving around hunting. For instance, did you know "there are no restrictions on the number of shells or cartridges a legal firearm may hold when hunting game animals or game birds (except migratory game birds)"? I've always thought it was 3 rounds for shotguns, and 5 for rifles, regardless of what you were hunting. Here's another one that I didn't know... "It's an offense (Class C misdemeanor) if a person while hunting kills or wounds a game bird or game animal and intentionally or knowingly fails to make a reasonable effort to retrieve the animal or bird..." (what's a 'reasonable effort'?) It's evidently illegal too if you "fail to keep the edible portions of the bird, animal, or fish in an edible condition."

That being said, I still need to take the "Hunter Education Training Course", and I'm 33 years old. It's currently required if you were born "on or after Sept. 2, 1971" and are 9yrs old or older. I purchased the "Hunter Education Deferral" this year (you can only defer once) - it's good for one year. So, even though I'm 33, and hunted when I was a kid, I still can't hunt unless I'm accompanied by an 'adult' (born before 9/2/71), or a 17 year old kid that's taken the Hunter Education Training Course. The state trusts me with a CHL, but not to hunt. Go figure.

Back to your original question - if I were you, I'd invite a friend along that you both know well - someone that has hunted a lot, knows the rules/regs, and can be your "guide" - also, the friend can show you how to process your kill too so you keep your meat in "edible condition"... The last thing you want is Johnny Game Warden slapping a bunch of fines on you because you forgot to tag your deer quickly enough, or you killed a buck that didn't have the correct spread on his antlers, or heaven forbid, you tossed out the back-strap on Bambi. There is lots of public hunting land around Texas too - you could hunt one of these places and not be out a lot of money. Beware, these lands are usually over-hunted, so you're not likely to get any trigger time. But, like fishing, most of the fun comes from spending time with your fishing buddy and getting out of the house for a while. I used to love rabbit hunting. The meat's good, they're easy to clean, and you're not stuck in a stand the whole time.

[mikeintexas]

I take my 3, 5 and 7 year old grandsons dove hunting as often as I can get out. We hunt almost exclusively on Texas Public Hunting Land. Opening weekend is the when you see the most hunters at one time.

I would highly recommend you both getting into a Hunter Safety Course. I have tried to take some youth from Church out hunting. I won't do it until they take their Hunter Safety Course because there is too much information gained from this course that I forget to let them know. A seperate gun safety/marksman course would help, too. Also, if you decide to hunt in other states, some require Hunter Safety to buy a hunting license.

Hunting is a great way to spend some quality time with family and friends.

[USA1]

Hunting is a great way to spend some quality time with family and friends.

and makes for some good eatin

[Sniper John]

I second the suggestion of taking a hunter safety course WITH your son. I took it a second time with my nephew when he was young and will take it again with my youngest son. What might normally be a boring thing to do, can be fun when your with someone who is new and enthusiastic about learning.
Then spend some time at the range together afterwards with whatever type of firearm/firearms he is wanting to start out with. Might even check with the range and see if they have an instructor to spend some time with y'all first time out. A new shooter with a couple hours instruction will often end up shooting better than a seasoned hunter that has never had formal shooting lessons.
If larger game is what your son is wanting to do, I would highly suggest applying for the Texas Parks and Wildlife youth hunts. Odds of drawing for several of those hunts is very good. And I have found the staff putting on those hunts to be extremely helpful in any way they can.
What type of hunting is your son interested in?

[Sniper John]

Want to add on those TPWD drawn youth hunts. Since your son is 16 you will only be able to utilize this years hunts that have not had the deadlines come up to enter and maybe next years hunts depending on what his birthdate is. But at 17, y'all can then put in for the regular drawn hunts.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/hu ... awn_hunts/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ES4Me]

Well....here is what I have done.

It was late at night when I posted and shortly after my son hit me with the "Mom, I want to go hunting" deal - which wasn't a shock at all. I instantly went into "how can I make this a reality for my son" mode. Completely forgot the close ties I have with the local GW's and my right hand guy at work who is an avid outdoorsman - hunted his entire life and hunts with his daughters who are the same age as my son. Not only that, but my old wildlife management guy's parents teach the youth hunter courses in the neighboring county. I had infinite resources at my disposal, but after our harrowing experience on Saturday night, I clearly wasn't thinking. Plus, out of the office - out of mind. Or at least that is the objective.

So....spoke with my guy at work who will take my son either with myself or my husband, or alone. I would trust this man with any of my children - no problem. I know he always has my back at work and he will do good by my son. I will go along for the "adventure" but truth be told, son is afraid I will have a "Jeff Foxworthy's wife" moment.

Now on to my buds at the TPWD office here to make sure we have all our "paperwork" in order and on to the folks who teach the hunting safety course!

VERY happy I can make this happen for my boy....

Thanks for your input!

[zigzag]

Take to a hunting ranch to experience his first kill of a hog. Average price nowadays will be $200 for a meat hog.