Lowering the Hunting Age to 8 in Wisconsin?

[billbuckhead]

Lowering the Hunting Age to 8 in Wisconsin

We’ve already heard rumors of lowering the hunting ages in Wyoming and Utah (with accompanying newspaper editorials saying setting lower ages is definitely the wrong thing to do), and now here’s another one, this time arguing about a bill in Wisconsin that would lower the hunting age to– wait for it– eight years old.

Can an 8-year-old handle a gun? That’s the question central to a bill in the Legislature that would allow kids as young as 8 to hunt in Wisconsin, under some restrictions.

The answer here is no.

The bill, which has passed the state Assembly and is likely to be taken up by the state Senate next month, would lower the hunting age from 12 to 8. But the 8- through 11-year-olds would have to share a gun or bow with an adult “mentor,” who would have to be within arm’s length of the child.

Proponents of the bill, who include state hunting and conservation organizations, say the lower age limits will help draw more hunters to the outdoors and help sustain a sport that’s vital to the state’s environment and its economy.

They have a point about the need to sustain hunting in Wisconsin, but this bill has problems.

While any hunters age 12 and older who were born in 1974 or later are required by state law to pass a hunter safety course, there’s no requirement in the bill for these 8- through 11-year-olds to do the same. There’s also no safety course planned specifically for hunter mentors.
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<http://www.gunguys.com/#post-531>
And they wonder why people call them "gun nuts"?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. That is definately a problem.

My stepfather's brother died as a youth in a hunting accident. Adlai Stevenson was 13 when he accidently killed a friend with a gun. Both of these tragedies happened before gun safety courses. To allow children to handle guns without having had a safety course is inviting tragedy.

[bluerum]

2. Now there's a law that needs changing. Can any congressman

worth a bag of dingos kidneys, honestly think that its a good idea to put a 12 gauge shotgun in the hands of a 12 year old much less an 8 year old, under any circumstances?

[Inland]

3. I think hunting teenagers should be enough for any Badger.

No need to shoot the tykes.

[flvegan]

4. Well, first, there's those permit fees they'll collect. Then, there's

the lining of the pockets/endorsements they can garner from the NRA.

An 8 year old with a shotgun or a powerful rifle is not only dangerous for those around him/her, but also for the child. My Mossberg 500 12 gauge has a sincere kick that I don't think an 8 year old could deal with. I use mine for home protection, but still...

[DenaliDemocrat]

5. I was hunting small game at age five

my kids up here in Alaksa have all been hunting since they were six (I was a bigger kid). I trust my life to my twelve year old daughter as she is often my only mate when we go halibut fishing in Prince William Sound. She backpacked in eight miles with me this year to hunt her caribou.

I would take a responsible, disciplined five year old into the woods with proper supervision than an eighteen year old that was irresponsible.

Age means nothing.

[KharmaTrain]

7. I Was Thinking Of The Money Angle...

I went to a summer camp in Northern Wisconsin when I was 9 years old. In the camp was a rifle range and I learned how to handle a 22-long over the next several summers. As a friend of mine in the U.P. puts it, "one has only three real true friends...your sixpack, your remote control and your shotgun". My bets are most young kids there not only know how to properly operate a 12-gauge at an early age, but have an appreciation for it's power. It's not the same as lowering the age to encourage 9 year olds from learning how to shoot Tech 9s and Saturday Night Specials.

Looks like the Wisconsin DNR is looking for a new way to make a couple quick bucks...the kids are out hunting with their dads, why not get a couple of extra bucks from dad.

[freedom000]

10. amen

i started hunting at 6. i haven't hunted in 15 years but see nothing wrong with eight or even six. and 8 year olds won't be carrying 12 gauges, it'll more likely be a 22 cal.

[Hope springs eternal]

6. Why don't we just allow guns in schools down to kindergarden?

Makes for great inter-presonal skills. </saracasm>

[the_spectator]

8. Well, "an armed society is a polite society" --

If kindgergardeners knew that their fellows were all packing heat, they might become a little less likely to hog the toys or steal each others' juiceboxes. They might keep it down during nap-time and be considerate of the kids who actually want to sleep. :crazy:

[billbuckhead]

9. It's not funny, many of the "gun enthusiasts" want kids with guns

They really do, they think it will end bullying.