# Wisconsin hunting minimum hunting age bill:



## ELKARCHER (Apr 21, 2003)

Bill that would lower hunting age sent to committee 

By Kevin Naze 
Press-Gazette correspondent February 2, 2006

A bill that would lower Wisconsin's minimum hunting age to 8, with restrictions, was sent to the Joint Finance Committee for possible amendments last week. 


The bill would allow youths as young as 8 to bow or gun hunt with an adult mentor, provided the two share just one firearm or bow. 


Jennifer Esser, an aide to Sen. Alan Lasee, R-Rockland, said Lasee would not support the bill in its current form. 


"I know there are a lot of senators who share his thoughts on this," Esser said. "We feel that there are a variety of amendments that would make this a better piece of legislation." 


Mike Prentice, the press relations spokesman for Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said rather than rush into a vote, senators decided to work on a compromise to address some of the concerns. 


Fitzgerald is the JFC's co-chairman. Prentice said a number of amendments are being looked at, including the possibility of raising the minimum age to 10 and requiring hunter education for people participating in the mentoring program. 


Prentice thinks the JFC might introduce and approve amendments the week of Feb. 13, then send the bill back to the full Senate for a vote.


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## purplespade (Aug 27, 2004)

*Just wrong*

I live in Wisconsin and still can't beieve that we are going to have this pass. I couldnt even shoot a decent sized gun at that age. Let alone be mature enough to be safe. The thing is that they don't even have to take hunters safety until 12. Yeah yeah an adult will be there, but accidents happen in a split second. Just sad to see this go on in Wisconsin.


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## doctariAFC (Aug 25, 2005)

purplespade said:


> I live in Wisconsin and still can't beieve that we are going to have this pass. I couldnt even shoot a decent sized gun at that age. Let alone be mature enough to be safe. The thing is that they don't even have to take hunters safety until 12. Yeah yeah an adult will be there, but accidents happen in a split second. Just sad to see this go on in Wisconsin.


Methinks this is great legislation for the future of hunting in Wisconsin. However, this underscores the serious need for us to recognize that simply passing a law without a PLAN to address and improve safety through the development of a consistent program from the sportsmen's clubs, by the sportsmen's clubs, could be a significant blunder on our part.

For the record, I have been handling firearms since age 7 or 8. Started with a rimfire 22, and a 20 gauge shotgun. Never had the pleasure of shooting a 410. This was target shooting. At age 13 I took my firearms safety/ hunter's safety course and began small game hunting then. 

Accidents know no ages. The education/ reinforcement of firearms responsibility in young kids (who is responsible for safety? I AM!) is paramount.


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## purplespade (Aug 27, 2004)

doctariAFC said:


> Methinks this is great legislation for the future of hunting in Wisconsin. However, this underscores the serious need for us to recognize that simply passing a law without a PLAN to address and improve safety through the development of a consistent program from the sportsmen's clubs, by the sportsmen's clubs, could be a significant blunder on our part.
> 
> For the record, I have been handling firearms since age 7 or 8. Started with a rimfire 22, and a 20 gauge shotgun. Never had the pleasure of shooting a 410. This was target shooting. At age 13 I took my firearms safety/ hunter's safety course and began small game hunting then.
> 
> Accidents know no ages. The education/ reinforcement of firearms responsibility in young kids (who is responsible for safety? I AM!) is paramount.


Yeah you were shooting a .22 and 20 gauge. A little smaller than a 30-30 or 30-06. I have been shooting since a very young age also, just think there is a difference between a shooting range vs. the woods and the caliber rifle to kill a deer. It seems to me that the only thing that this will accomplish is to have better profits for companies. If a kid is going to hunt they are going to want to hunt. Starting them early may only reinforce bad habits.


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