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    Youth hunting morality question

    My son is ate up with the outdoors, loves to hunt and fish. He is is seven and is just being introduced to BB guns, .22, shotguns etc. I’m teaching him gun safety and taking it slow so he has a healthy respect for weapons and hunting. I have taught him that you only shoot what you are willing to eat. But I’ve run into a problem because he wants to “practice” on squirrels, rabbits, and random birds (just like I did when I was that age). My wife reminds me of what I taught him and I’m conflicted on how I can sell her on letting him cut his teeth on little critters and I also don’t want to go back on what I told him. Before y’all tell me to just cook a squirrel, I’ll respectfully pass. Any thoughts on how to broach this. I’m sure y’all have navigated young, enthusiastic kiddos who wanna go out and plink some critters. Thoughts?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    #2
    Squirrel and rabbit are both fine eating...it's not like they're possums or even coons. No different than eating a deer.


    I aint eatin no sparrow, but they're numbers need kept in check....crap on the car and all that. Dad told me he didn't want them in the barn....so I assumed that the ones in the trees and on the shed were probably going to try to land in the barn at some point and that the fieldlarks were not to be trusted either. Grackels and black birds are invasive just like rats or ants....die!
    Last edited by Dale Moser; 12-18-2018, 08:35 PM.

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      #3
      I was raised the same way. My dad was an avid hunter but always taught me you don’t kill something just to kill it. He took away my BB gun for shooting random birds in the backyard. I instilled that same principal in my boys. It’s different if you are talking about nuisance varmints. (Like feral hogs)

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        #4
        I think it's a good time to explain to him that just because you can eat something doesn't mean you should. Some things need their numbers reduced that aren't good to eat. Skunks,raccoons and opossums are egg eaters. By shooting them you help ground nesting birds. Same goes for shooting predators like coyotes. Some things cause a nuisance and carry diseases. For example rats and mice. And then there are feral species that need shot. The list goes on and on. Nothing is wasted in nature. If you kill something and don't eat it something else will. And that's called the circle of life.

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          #5
          I kill wasp, coyotes, 100+ hogs on most years, army worms,grasshoppers... and tons of $$&% I don’t eat. That rule is bunk. I’ve killed more sparrows in my youth than I could ever care to count.

          But every situation is different and I won’t tell you how to handle it, but sometimes killing legal stuff is fun and it dang sure don’t hurt anything as they usually need a thinning out







          2 years after I left home my parents neighbor called me. Squirrels were eating his new house apart. Said he would be gone that day if I could help take care of it, lol. Killed a limit and never left my tailgate

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            #6
            If you havent had squirrel, you should. Have hime shoot squirrels, then learn to cook them. They're delicious.

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              #7
              I say let the boy shoot but that’s just me.

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                #8
                Practice on paper or cans. If I shot a robin or a field lark I ate it. . . whether I wanted to or not. Dad was cool with me shooting grasshoppers with a BB gun, but he taught me we didn't kill for the sake of killing.

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                  #9
                  Hope you never have a coyote problem...


                  Let him shoot!

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                    #10
                    Would you practice what you preach if you shot a snake on the front porch in front of him? Or a rat that's been chewing up wires on a vehicle? One animal is really no different from another. They're all made out of meat.

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                      #11
                      Sometimes critters need killin so that other critters can get a good meal. I kill every armadillo I see. I refuse to kill possum...I’ve actually started feeding them as they eat ticks.

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                        #12
                        My kids ate squirrels, rabbits, woodpeckers, red birds, and anything else they shot. That was just part of the deal. You kill it, you grill it.

                        There are exceptions for varmits! Skunks, armadillos, opossums, etc. they are live targets

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                          #13
                          There may be to many upity folks in your neighborhood but there are lots of folks would love to have some fresh squirrel or rabbit to eat. There is a guy on our lease that has a waiting list of people that want the coons he traps

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                            #14
                            Critters need thinin down sometimes.

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                              #15
                              Originally posted by Ouch View Post
                              If you havent had squirrel, you should. Have hime shoot squirrels, then learn to cook them. They're delicious.

                              Plate of fried cat squirrel backs is delicious !!!


                              Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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