[Vince U]

Hello all. My name is Vince and I live in Northeast Pennsylvania (Lackawanna County). My son is 11 years old this year and I want to get him hunting. He actually asked me to take him. The thing is, I've never been much of a hunter my adult life; I'm 46 now. I did some archery deer hunting in my late teens, and some small game and turkey and deer in my late teens through my mid 20's. I haven't hunted since. When I did hunt back then, I had experience hunting friends with me.

So with that, does anyone have any advice on how and where I should start with him? I'm thinking small game or Turkey? What would be a good firearm to purchase? Any and all advice would be very helpful. Thanks.

Vince

 

[bucksnort1]

He should take his hunter safety course and i would go with squirrels. Plenty of them and and a 20 gauge would work. He can also do pheasants and rabbits with it.

 

[Vince U]

He should take his hunter safety course and i would go with squirrels. Plenty of them and and a 20 gauge would work. He can also do pheasants and rabbits with it.

Thank you. He's ll years old. Wont be 12 until July next year. Can he take that class now? I was going to get him that Mentor license.

 

[RacksnQuacks]

He can take it at 11. Go to the PA game commission website. Look under Hunter and Trapper education. You will find a section that will tell you when and where classes will be available in your area. Good Luck with everything.

 

[Vince U]

Hi everyone. My son and I went on our very first hunt together today! Very awesome!! Went out for squirrel and Rabbit. Saw a couple of squirrel but missed. But it will be something I'll never forget. He loved it and we are looking forward to going out again.

 

[Fuda44]

Very cool

 

[kswiggy]

X2

 

[Renny28]

Awesome!

 

[springfreak]

That's great, congrats!

 

[Pa. Slim]

the smiles on your faces says it all. that was just the beginning of many trips to come. enjoy.

 

[keystoneMAN 85]

Those smiles are great. Good for both of you!

 

[pappybear]

Great job Vince

It looks like you and your son are going to spend a lot of quality time enjoying the outdoors together.

 

[Vince U]

Thanks guys. Went out again yesterday. Having a blast. I'll be posting our adventures on these forums!

 

[JMackanick]

Question for you. Did he take the hunter safety course or go the mentor route? My son who is 13 now is just showing more interest really only has one option I believe from what I can tell. Ages 12-16 must attend a hunter safety course. Mentoring appears to be for 11 and under and then 18 and above. Anyone else find it odd they seem to have left the 12-16 age gap restricted to the in person hunter education course?

 

[Vince U]

Question for you. Did he take the hunter safety course or go the mentor route? My son who is 13 now is just showing more interest really only has one option I believe from what I can tell. Ages 12-16 must attend a hunter safety course. Mentoring appears to be for 11 and under and then 18 and above. Anyone else find it odd they seem to have left the 12-16 age gap restricted to the in person hunter education course?

Sorry about the late reply on this.

Actually he just took the Hunter class yesterday. Prior to that, I got him a Mentor license (which let him hold and shoot the firearm while we were stationary and it included his own deer / turkey tags). 12-16 would be a Jr. License and they need the Hunter safety course to get this.

Your son would have to take the safety course (The PA game commission website has links to this class schedule. There are classes upcoming, but not sure how close to you).

When he passes the class and gets his Jr. License, at 13 he can carry his own firearm, but would still need to hunt with a "Family member or an adult serving as a family member 18 or older." From 14-15 he can hunt with his own firearm, but needs to be with ANY adult 18 or older. At 16 he can hunt alone.

There are several perks that come with a JR License, such as early opening seasons for Jr's.

Hope this helps. Let us know.

Vince

 

[PA-Joe]

Do you still have a copy of your old hunting license? First thing he should do is take the on-line Hunter Safety Class. If you don't have your old license then you too may need to retake the training class. Can't go wrong with a cheap 22LR, 20 gauge and a 243 or 7mm08.

 

[Vince U]

Do you still have a copy of your old hunting license? First thing he should do is take the on-line Hunter Safety Class. If you don't have your old license then you too may need to retake the training class. Can't go wrong with a cheap 22LR, 20 gauge and a 243 or 7mm08.

I do indeed still have my card I received when I took the class back in 1987! I was still in the system when I purchased by license this year. My son's been using a 22LR and 20 gauge for small game and turkey. I will be getting him a .243 for buck.

 

[loridr]

Best thread I've seen in a long time! Way too cool that the two of you are embarking on this adventure together. Also great to hear there are still youngsters out there that hear the call of the wild. Great luck to you both!

 

[gogetter]

Great to see people getting outside and making great memories. We live in ne PA as well and love this area.I told my dad about your post and he said I should let you know about the youth shoot that will be happening this fall. There are laws forcement personnel there to give instruction and to assist each shooter. Each child is grouped In a bracket depending on age group. A small group of my scout troop will be attending as well. If you want I can have my dad give you instructions of how to register.