Read on the WEAU website that 10 licenses were sold to "hunters" under 1 year old this season.
Unethical parents exploiting the law for a $5 tag. This was not the intent of removing the age restriction. Luckily, the youngest reported harvest was by a 4 year old.
I have to agree with you JC. Unfortunately some of these laws are put in place to protect people. I too am extremely conservative. But somewhere along the lines common sense needs to be brought to the surface. There are a lot of people in the world that have no clue that they need to be governed because they don’t have the sense God gave them. Let the bashing begin!
velocity
So, if a father is a bonehead and doesn't care about the mentored hunting portion of the law, you would trust a 7 year old with a gun on a deer drive as much as the same kid when he is 12 and 5 years older? Facts? I think you can look up lots of data comparing the maturity and decision making of a 12 year old vs. a 7 year old if you really need those facts. I won't be wasting my time finding that for you as this should be common sense for MOST adults. I personally wouldn't risk my kids or others safety by sending my 7 year old out on a deer drive alone with a gun. But, unfortunately most people falsely believe their idiot kid is a prodigy.
Opening up licenses to kids under 12 was a bad decision from the start. I base that on, yes, the minority of people I know that took their toddler along on group deer drives in 2017, and having them carry a gun like the rest of the crew. Perhaps when someone gets shot by a 7 year old on one of these drives, or the 7 year old shoots himself, then that may present a fact you can use to help in your evaluation of the rule. There are not enough wardens in the first place to enforce the "mentored hunting" portion of the law, and it is tough for a wardens to catch these idiots in the act anyway. This could be potentially addressed if deer drives were banned, and party tagging was banned like it is for archery and crossbow kills.
If you are on stand during rifle season and have a toddler walk past you with a gun during a deer drive, you wouldn't feel uneasy? If you say no, then you are simply stating a lie or are a thrill seeker.
JC, a child still can't hunt by themselves if under 14 so I see no issue. How bout be stop selling licenses to those over 50 years old because there are more heart attacks in the woods than gun injuries caused by people under the age of 18? My statistic is fact. Your opinion is based on fear but no facts to back it up.
Fish -
Sorry to be THAT guy, but slide the decimal point a bit to the left on your previous post.
And while I'm already making the mistake of posting on this, I feel that the drinking age, driving age, and the legal age to marry are all good things. They are reasonable accommodations to our freedoms put in place my our elected officials that help make sure we don't harm to ourselves or others. Especially that last one...
Typical. Let's ruin it for the ones that do follow the rules. Hell we might as well lock the whole world down. Go back to the ways of the west and the 6 gun. Come on JC. Even these so called leaders we vote for can't stay on the straight. Let's not act like rubes here. We can go round and round. Law is not in your favor on this topic so deal with it.
"Now we get a little freedom back and people are complaining?? Why do people need so many laws and government to tell them how they should live their life?? "
Because what was said, there are idiots that need to be regulated. I am as conservative as you can get and a staunch proponent of hunting rights and guns as anybody. But, to put guns in the hands of 7 year old kids and let their parents regulate what they do is a disaster waiting to happen. Most people don't need to be told that letting their 7 year old partake in a deer drive by themselves is not a smart thing to do, but many don't care or believe their kid is a prodigy.
Should we do away with the requirement a kid has to be 16 years old to drive a car?
I don't understand why everyone is so bent out of shape with the relaxing of this hunting law? As the years go by, we slowly have freedoms stripped from us. Now we get a little freedom back and people are complaining?? Why do people need so many laws and government to tell them how they should live their life??
I brought 2 guns. 1 was my 270 and 2 was 5.56. Here's my reasoning. The 5.56 is gas chambered semi auto so recoil is extremely minimal. The boy practiced up to 75yrds and that was the max distance I felt my son was comfortable with. 5.56 sighted in at 75yrd. Both guns cased until inside the tower. I brought my 270 so if ol booner was 200 yards out just teasing I could shoot. Both guns leaned in corner. The 5.56 wasn't loaded until we had a shot at his buck. Again we weren't deer driving, the boy wasn't marching threw the woods. We followed the book, safe hunt. My soon to be 6yr old may hunt in 2018. Copying the exact format of our 2017 hunt. Maybe additional rules need to be applied. #1 must be seated or in a encloser. All I can say is this change made 3 happy guys Saturday morning and a memory was created that will never be forgotten. Dad and his 2 boys harvesting a 1st buck.
One of the leading proponents of this change was the Sportsman's Alliance. I have had membership in this group for years. I have yet to decide if I am going to renew. I was all for the mentored hunting law. I am a former Hunter Safety Instructor and totally against 2 guns in a mentored situation. Glad I'm not teaching Hunter Safety anymore.
Tim
