Youth Waterfowl Results

[Hookmaster]

I took my 12-year old son out for his first hunt on Saturday. It was only the second time shooting a shotgun. He got 3 ducks and dropped another one that got away from us but some other hunters got it so it was not lost. He missed on some others but don't we all? It was one of the proudest days of my life. He's already asked when he gets to go again. How did others do?

[Andrewsdad]

Had a ton of fun. Took my daughter, age 11, and son, age 9 out. They teamed up on the first duck and my son got 3 more with his single shot 20 gauge. This was his first time shooting a shotgun. They are both hooked and will be going out with me this season.

[woody1975]

Brother and I took our kids out and got skunked, but not for lack of birds.

Had two geese come in seperately and put the landing gear out right in front of the kids only to fly away un-harmed. They got a couple of shots off at ducks too, but luck wasn't on there side that day - You should've seen the look on those kids faces with a big honker kicked out 15 feet in front of them - Priceless

Youth Waterfowl day is great and now we have three more hunters to help promote the sport. Good job MN DNR - Keep up the good work.

DL

[Mark Christianson]

My Dad and I took my son Brandon(10), smallie hawgins kid Braden(10), and my nephew Cameron(15).

Quick side note:

I have seen several posts asking when a kid can hunt. Brandon has been doing youth day since 6 years old. He shot 2 ducks that year. No shooting of flying ducks was allowed until last year. And his first flying duck he shot at, he dropped.

Back to the report.

Fantastic morning.

My son Brandon and SH's son Braden.

Bradens first duck ever. Taken at about 15 ft. Tough shot with no pattern!

Poor Smallie Hawgin.... Now his kid wants to duck hunt too. LOL

As if they didnt have a busy enough schedule before. Hehehe

Brandons first goose ever. 11 lbs 15oz.

There was some grinnin going on all day.

What a great day!

[ChuckN]

Awesome! Can't wait to take my youngster out some day.

[lanyard]

Hookmaster... success must be from those field day instructors at firearms training!

Hopefully he was able to pull the trigger from whatever position he ended up in! The classroom and the field, what a world of difference!

Glad to hear you had success. Sounds like Canvasback Crossing put a few birds down, too.

[hanson]

Great photos BLB!

Those kids don't look excited, do they?

[kc0myy]

I was 15 when my friend jake's dad took me and jake out hunting. I loved to the from ducked i folded I was just hooked and I loved it ever since. I don't wait until I can take out my little brother.

[dakotakid31]

all the anti-youth hunt crowd should take a good look at those happy, proud faces. great photos!! took the 5 yo son and 6 yo nephew out grouse hunting this weekend and had a blast having them tag along, and i actually found some birds. but boy to they let you have it when you miss..lol

[french_lake_kid]

BLB, that is 1 huge lookn goose!

[Mark Christianson]

11 lbs 15 oz.

I just happened to have my digital scale that I use for weighing fish.

Brandon asked about 20 times if we could mount it.

It was hard to say no, but if one gets mounted, its gonna be one of them mega monster giant canadians.

I do plan on mounting one, if I can get one approaching the teens in weight.

I have a teeny tiny cackler mounted, thats about the size of one of the greenheads I have mounted. I want a giant mounted that I can put near the cackler for size comparison.

[hanson]

Quote:

---

It was hard to say no, but if one gets mounted, its gonna be one of them mega monster giant canadians.

---

A 20 pounder?

[SwimRunFly]

Those are some great pictures and some stories that will be retold forever. I remember when I took my boy's on their first duck hunt....they still talk about it.

What makes me uncomfortable is the number of posts that say "it was the first time he or she ever shot a gun"???

I hope you meant first time "duck hunting". Because if that is the first time they ever shot a gun, that is an accident waiting to happen! With birds flying and all the excitement.....bad things can happen with an inexperienced hunter handling a gun.

My boy's shot trap and sporting clay's many times before they ever got in a hunting blind. They need to be comfortable and confident with a firearm before they get into a hunting situation.

Just my 2 cents!

Keep up the good work of taking your kids with you hunting and fishing........you will not regrat it!!!!! You will only regret it if you don't!!!!

[Mark Christianson]

I'll bite.

This was my sons 4th season for youth duck day. Been shooting since 6 years old.

Braden shot his first duck with us. He has been shooting guns for a couple years.

My nephew has been shooting and hunting since 10 years old, he is 15 now.

It's all cool here. With that said, the 10 year olds were never more than about 2 ft from me. And they were very impressive with the whereabouts of their guns and direction of the barrel at all times.

Cant wait for this weekend!

[burl]

I dont have an opinion either way about the youth hunts but i do know that nobody in any of our hunting partys were able to use a loaded gun untill they had their firearms certificat.It seems like it would be a much safer situation after going though the program.It does seem kind of strange thst kids could hunt and use a gun before they went through the program.Burl.

[Mark Christianson]

Why wait for them to get a certificate?

There is no better teacher then yourself, to instill a solid foundation in your kid.

My 10 year old handles firearms better then some adults I have seen. The certificate isnt the sure cure for getting kids ready.

Each kid is different. Some arent ready to shoot/hunt until much older than 12 years old as well.

My 2 cents.

I have had 4 memorable years hunting with my kid already. Never been a moment where safety was at risk. Memories!

[CEDES]

I will second the opinion that each kid is different ! Also, Awesome pic's !!!

My wife and I have been going around with when our son will be "ready" to hunt he is 5yrs old. I started when I was able to walk (as has my son) by playing with the birds when they were brought home by dad Then they "tag" along (just this last weekend up grouse huntin') (boy they do razz ya when you miss...lol) He has been packing his clothes for the last month on when we are going duck hunting, and playing duck hunting in the bath tub, well, this weekend kid !!!! HE won't be shooting a gun, but I did buy him a little feeder decoy so he can run that (he calls it Suzzie) and he is more Jacked up than me (NOT ) I can't wait. I was able to duck hunt with a 4-10 when I was 8. I am thinking he is right on that schedule. We will have to see, IMO..If you wait till they are 12 these youngsters are lost you have to capatalize on the their interest before the nintendo steals it (j/k)

ALL I am saying is I never really liked the "youth hunt" until I sat down and thought about it. Are we teaching kids they need to kill birds or shoot a box of shells to be successful ? you can't deny the numbers and interest in this sport are dwindeling and if this gets more involved so be it!!!! I hope everyone brings their kids out on opener too !!! That is how WE ALL learned !!! KEEP UP THE GREAT JOB DADS, GOOD LUCK this weekend, be safe and shoot straight !!

[outdoor ran]

I wish Wisconsin had some of Mn laws. Kids in Wi. can't hunt till they have a hunters safety class and they are 12 years old. Would be cool to let them whack at a few sitters when they are ten or eleven years old. I think anything under that is just to young for my kids to waterfowl hunt with a gun JMO. Not all kids are the same and its up to their parents and I respect that. I don't want people telling me how to raise my kids and I wouldn't tell any how to raise theirs. Cool pics and stories BLB

[burl]

There is more involved than just getting a certificate.Having been involved with teaching the training you see all kinds of crazy things that could happen if the the situation is not totaly controlled by the adult.In my opinion i dont think a child at that age has enough experiance or knoledge to make good decisions in a crazy envovirement like duck hunting were you could have birds coming from different directions and dogs involved.I do know that the firearms training is very vaulable tool to train these younger kids for correct handling of firearms.Burl.

[Mark Christianson]

No argument there. But I stand firm that the training just doesnt make 12 year olds ready.

I appreciate that you have taught, but I still believe getting the kids involved before that will make them all the more a safer hunter.

I'll put my 10 year old up to a test for safe firearms handling any day of the week.

The simple fact is some kids are ready at different times than others. I think having my son in the goose blind with me for the late season goose hunt when he wasnt even 3 years old was a great start to him learning. Hence at 6 we went duck hunting.

I want it very clear, I dont throw a gun in his hands and tell him to start blasting. I am right there, coaching every move.

Ooops. WE have gotten way off the original topic.

[101winchester]

We did great, 6 kids ranging in age from 8 to 12 or 13, I can't remember, ended up with 18 birds. Lots of fun & smiles. Haven't missed a year of the youth season yet, between nephews, neighbors and now mine in his third year at 10 y/o. Passing on the tradition, enjoying the morning. Have a great and safe opener everyone, see you on the slough.

[Ely Lake Expert]

BLB,

if I shot that goose I would be grinning all day too. I've been hunting ducks for 11 years and can count on one hand the amount of geese I have shot that size or bigger.

[samtroy]

My sons first ducks.

[huntmup]

samtroy, Awsome pic. Congrats to your son on his first hunt. He will think of that day on every opener to come.

Nice looking lab.

Dan

[SwimRunFly]

All - good stories and great pic's. My point is not how old your child is and not how good of shot you think he is or if he has gone through gun safety class. My point is to take the time to bring your child to a trap range or open field 1 on 1 and shot some clay targets. Get your child comfortable loading, unloading and shooting the firearm. Make sure the firearm fits your child comfortably. May be take them to your duck hunting spot a few weeks early and watch the birds with an unloaded gun and talk through a few situations that can happen. I am sure many of the youth hunters in the previous posts have been in the duck blind a few years before actually hunting. That's perfect.

The Gun Safety Course is a requirement for all young hunters. But as we all know, experience in the field is the best teacher. The Gun Safety course does provide a sound foundation for young hunters and thank you to all the volunteers that put on these programs around the state.

I am a guide at a game farm and I can tell you that there are more than a few adults that should take a refresher Gun Safety Course. It is the excite of the hunt, inexperience and the desire to kill that bird is what can cause bad hunting decisions.

Good luck and safe hunting to all of you and your families this season!