Youth hunting morality question

[panhandlehunter]

There wasn't a bird that was safe when I was a kid. I'd turn him loose. A squirrel is a rat with a bushy tail. I still shoot them for fun as a grown man.

[Cbb1722]

Shootin birds and squirrels and all that when I was little made me a good shot. Especially when I moved from a pellet gun to a .22

[Jon B]

I went through the "try to kill everything" phase as well. Hunted birds and rabbit with a BB and pellet gun. Heck, I was a bit of a **** and would try to run squirrel and rabit over with the truck any chance I got. I can't really explain this other than young and stupid. Then I started hunting them. This built a level of respect that I now feel for them.

As for armadillos.... I have declared Jihad on them and have relied on guerilla warfare tactics to combat them. They seem to dig perfect sized holes that cause my kidneys to turn to jello when hitting them with the mower. They are not safe anywhere near my yard.

[mrc]

I have a seven year old the same way, birds are a small moving target and teach a kid patience and accuracy. Now squirrels are a different story they are varmin and tear up way too much at the cabin, if he wants to eat one we will but the are killed on sight. Rabbits we leave alone except in the winter if we want to eat one, and possums get a pass the help clean up the bone pile. Skunks are a whatever if you want to the go for it, armadillos are a no the land owner likes to see them. There are a few other critters I won't name that are shot on sight but they prey on other critters that we are trying to help make a come back. oh I forget the coons it doesn't matter how they die bullets, arrows, tires, baseball bats or napalm they go.

[curtintex]

Hope you never have a coyote problem...


Let him shoot!

This!!! Gotta eat what you kill? BS. I killed a rat the other day in the barn....we ate chicken that night. God's creatures are all God's creatures, but I won't eat a possum, raccoon (again), skunk, etc, but I sure have killed a bunch of them. I do like to eat squirrel and rabbits and I think if he kills one, you should clean them and eat them or give them away to someone that will but if you don't, so what. If he kills a bird....well, good shootin'.

[Booner Sooner]

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!

Dale is spot on.

[30-30]

Let his first kill be something he can dress, cook, and eat. Folks have eaten squirrels/rabbits for generations. It won’t kill ya. Stick to your principles, at least during his younger hunting years. Introduce killing for population management later. It will make him a more responsible hunter.

Make sure what he kills is legal. Many backyard birds are not...

[DRT]

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!

This

Gary

[wytex]

Sounds like a good time to teach him how to identify the game animals and protected animals in your yard and the ones that are legal to take. Let him shoot what's legal and not what isn't. Plenty of old cans and the like lying around for target practice as well.
Invasive species should be encouraged to be taken.

[cram369]

When the tree rats get in your feed room you'll change your mind. Want my son to enjoy hunting. He told me he wants to bbq the next squirrel he shoots. Lot of critters need shooting if they come in the yard.

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[TKC]

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

This right here!

[rtp]

This is the best way to teach a kid how to actually hunt. Most kids (mine included) were taught to shoot because they started on killing deer. When I was young we were allowed to kill birds except for Mockingbirds or Cardinals. Dont ask me why my dad picked those two. On the squirrels, I cleaned every one of them and would give them away to older folks that I knew ate them. Win-Win. Good luck and sounds like you are raising your kiddo right.

[The Insurance Guy]

You answered your own questions. Do you need us to make you feel better? Squirrel and rabbit are fine eating just like everyone else has said. Why don’t you show your child that you can step out of your comfort zone and eat those animals.

As far as the birds only shoot ones you are willing to eat. I’m not seeing the big deal.

My kids love to eat what they kill. When I cook dinner it’s like a competition on who supplied dinner

[Kevin]

What’s wrong with squirrel and rabbit. Are you a hunter or a grocery cart pusher?

[curtintex]

This is the best way to teach a kid how to actually hunt. Most kids (mine included) were taught to shoot because they started on killing deer. When I was young we were allowed to kill birds except for Mockingbirds or Cardinals. Dont ask me why my dad picked those two. On the squirrels, I cleaned every one of them and would give them away to older folks that I knew ate them. Win-Win. Good luck and sounds like you are raising your kiddo right.

That's pretty funny in that my dad had about the same rules. No Mockingbirds and no Cardinals or Jays. I learned to clean a squirrel before I learned how to do long division. If my mom or grandma didn't want them, you could bet that Mrs. Singletary that lived across the road would take them. Of course, Mrs. Singletary cooked the crawdads for us to eat, that we pulled out of the ditch after a rain....not big good crawfish, but small, thin-shelled mudbugs that tasted like the ditch they came out of. Man, I miss being a kid.