how young is old enough??

[daddylongspurs]

My boy is 6, he is huge for his age. uncoordinated as a baby giraffe but still a big kid. he is bigger than alot of 10 YO kids. anyway, last year he busted my chops to shoot a duck. so I got him a tiny youth 410 that fits him well.  by the way he is a crack shot with his red ryder. I grew up hunting from the time i was 4 with my ole man so i figured what the hell if he can hold it, aim it operate the safty and hit a can effectively at 20yds ill let him try. the first day he shot a box of 410 shells and wanted to shoot more. he never was sore or bruised or anything the next few days. well i let him kill a few ducks on the water. and created a monster in the process. well now he is obsessed with turkeys and wants to shoot one. Well I shot his 410 at 20 with some 6s and it patterns ok, he on the other hand has a hard time holding still and aiming from a sitting position and is not getting but 30-40 in a 10" circle at 20, on a good shot. other times not too good. My question is should I move him up to a 20 ga if he can handle it? or wait till next year and try the 20? I have a youth 20 single barrel, that i am fixing to cut to fit him. its a cheap gun i bought at an auction for 100 bucks.  Ive been turkey hunting almost 28 yrs and i just dont want him to gimp one up with a 410 for his sake but more for the birds sake.  now I am fully aware that some my bash me for even exposing him to a gun that young but I did it, my brothers and cousins did it, hell eveyone i grew up with did it. and I never pushed him to do it, I waited till he wanted to, and then waited a whole nother year beacause he was pretty much 4 when he started asking. so what say the great Old gobbler brain trust??

[VaTuRkStOmPeR]

Move him up to a 20 and let him practice off a monopod or using a blind window to bench the gun.

Let him practice with low brass.  On the day of the hunt slip in a hevi-13 7 and set your decoys at 10 yards.

We take several 8 year olds throughout each season and this works well for us.

Best of luck.

[lonnie sneed jr.]

My dad made me go with him from the time I was 5 until I was 10 and just set beside him and watch and learn. But I think alot of that was we had to buy license if you carried a gun and he did not want to spend the money on a non  res. VA license. WV at that time did not have very many turkey around home to hunt and at that time dad did most of  his turkey hunting in VA, in the early  to mid 60's  we only lived 10 miles from the state line. I killed my first gobbler when I was 10 and I killed it with a mod. 12   3 " mag. Some 20's kick the ---- out of you. If I were you I would let him try the 20 at home but if it hurts him it might make him flinch. This is something you are going to have to call on you own. If it were my son I would take him a year or two with out a gun and just try to teach him. But like I said that would have to be your call. You know your son better than anyone else. I did start shooting rabbits and squirrels when I was 6 with a stand 12 and I was a big kid also. Good luck

[guesswho]

I think every kid is different.  Some are ready to be coached at five or six.  I know some that are 50 plus and have no businsess with a gun.  My Dad let me hunt with him at five, killed my first turkey at five.  I'd let him try the 20 and see was his response is, then decide.  Good luck.

[BrowningGuy88]

I killed my first at 6 with a 410 single shot.

My little sister is 15 and will be going for the first time this year. She will have my 935 with a 3-2-7 in the chamber. It kicks a heck of a lot less than my 870 youth model 20 with 3" turkey loads.

[mnturkey]

That is completly up to you and the local laws.
I was in a Duck Blind with my dad when I was 4, I shot my first gun at age 6 a 20 ga single shot.
I have been going every year since then except for 5 years when I was performing govt service ( I was doing a little hunting then but the game was not as tasty).
Get him a 20 ga and let him try it. In my opinion a 410 is not a Turkey Killing gun.  In MN a firearm must be 20 ga or larger to hunt turkeys.
Get him out there and have a good time.

[redleg06]

I killed my first one when I was 6 with a 20 gauge. I'd been shooting my bb gun for a year prior and killed a lot of song birds before my first turkey. 

My son is 4 and will be going on his first turkey hunt with me this year but wont be ready for his own gun for at least another year or two but it's great getting them out there and he loves it. The first duck hunt and then deer hunt both went well this fall so I think turkey could be his favorite.

[jakesdad]

My son is 6 and small for his age and will be going on his first "shooting" turkey hunt this spring.He killed a deer last fall with a .243 handi rifle and never once complained about the recoil shooting it during the summer.Im hoping to put him behind a .410 this spring to get his first bird.Gonna limit his shots to 20 or less so the .410 shouldnt be a problem.

[TRKYHTR]

I think alot depends on the youngster. I took my son with me scouting and preseason preparation when he was 5. He was already using a BB gun and put a hurtin on the local tweety bird population. In CA you have to have a hunter safety class before you can get your license. They usually try to limit that to 10 years old but some will give it early if the young person is capable of taking the test and passing it. My son took the test when he was 10. Got his license and killed his first turkey that year. Just because they don't have a license or are not able to shoot yet doesn't mean they can't go. They will learn quickly how much they can move when a turkey is in view. Keep calm with them and make it fun. If they are always getting yelled at for moving and scaring game they will not like to go.

TRKYHTR