Age limit to hunt big game in utah?

I heard this morning on the radio, that one of the new laws passed here in the state of utah, is that the min age req. for big game will now be 12.

My question is this, does this go into play for this year or next?
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killerbee
what was it?
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MuleyMadness
Believe it's this upcoming year in 2007 if I'm not mistaken.
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DeadI
How can that be this year. The draws are over. That would mean that they would not get in on the draws. I don't see why they would do that. They can't even buy an over the counter tags because they are pretty much gone.

Just wondering.
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9er
Deadi

dont quote me on this but im pretty sure it takes effect next year!

i wonder what its going to do to the draws?

9er
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killerbee
what was the old age limit??????
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bigbuck92
14
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DeadI
That is what I thought, I don't see how they could have it go into effect this year.
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kadejones2
huh i thought the age limit for every state was 12
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MuleyMadness
I way I read it was it starts this year?? But I see your point, I guess on certain hunts or species it could start this year and on others not until next year?
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DeadI
Utah was one of the few that was still at an older age limit. Personaly, I wish they would have left small game at 12 and big at 14.

I don't know to many 12 year olds that are responsible enought to have this privledge given to them. Heck for that matter there allot of adults that shouldn't be allowed, I just don't see any + for it other than the DWR is going to generate that much more revenue.

Just my ($$) Take it for what it is worth. I know that there alot of people that love the idea, I just not to sure on it.
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bigbuck92
ya. i aint likin the idea to much either
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MuleyMadness
I'm with you DeadI, I thought it was good the way it was. Lots of young guns that aren't to responsible with guns. They want if for money IMO. They say it's a good way to keep/get kids involved in hunting. I say bogus.

Fathers keep kids in hunting!! If the dads loose interest, then revenue drops. The DWR is doing a great job in some areas. In others I think deserve a much lower grade.

I talked to one father recently, who is 'fed up' with hunting opportunity and tag availability and quality of hunting. He said the heck with it last year and took his family on a west coast fishing trip.

First year he decided to bag hunting altogether. He has one boy hunting age now and more younger soon. If he is disgusted and looses interest then forget about his kids hunting.

We have to keep the current hunters we have happy and excited, then by default they will teach and raise there kids the same.

Anway I better be quiet now. :))
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AGCHAWK
DeadI, I agree also. I kept my oldest son from getting his license for an extra two years because I wasn't satisfied with his level of respect when it came to carrying a firearm. He could shoot the heck out of it but was a bit careless as far as carrying it, pointing it, etc (hyper-active little bugger!). He was a bit upset about it then but has a much more well-rounded respect for firearms. I would not have changed it for anything.
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Default Avatar
hawk i agree with you. my oldest daghter was ready at 12 . michigan requires an adult be with ahunter under the age of 17.
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DeadI
Glad to see im not the only one.

It is especialy tough being a hunter ed teacher, and telling some dad that we are not letting any one younger than 10 take that class and even at that encourage them to wait a little longer, the kids we have taught so far that are 10 and under have the hardest time reading and understanding the reading that is reuired.

There are plenty of places to take hunter ed. I am not going to mess with the younuns.
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9er
you did see they REMOVED the age for small game!!!!!!!!i was amazed when i saw some 8-9 yr old kid in sportsmans buying a new shotgun for HIS turkey hunt. i would hate to be hunting in that area!

9er
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DeadI
yea i knew that the small game did not have a min age.
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Hiker
DeadI, you have a good inside view on this subject, as you have taught hunters ed to 100's of kids. I personally really appreciate your service to the hunting community. IMHO hunting, education and gun safety should be taught by the father or a close relative. It takes 2-5 solid years to get a child up to speed on gun safety. When the child finally takes your course, it should be fairly easy for them to score really high and pass with no problem because someone else has been working with and educating that child for years. I had two daughters take our hunters ed here in Colorado when they were 11 & 9. The 11 year old had a lot of experience hunting, shooting and a good overall understanding of gun safety and hunting and passed in the top of the class. The 9 year old learned a lot but still wasn't ready. I'm working with her and in another year or two she'll be ready to take the class again. I'm glad that Colorado & Wyoming has the age at 12, other wise I wouldn't have experienced this last fall when Cowgirl In Colorado killed her first doe & buck antelope in WY. BTW the doe was killed with one shot at 351 yards and her buck was a close to 200 yards.
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killerbee
i agree with hiker on this. i was 8 yrs old when i passed my hunter safety. but this was after a few yrs of ALOT of being out with my dad in the woods camping and shooting with VERY strict safety lessons. my first two guns were a single shot 22 and a single shot 4-10. it was practice alot and every once in a while i would get a real bullet to shoot at whatever it was we were shooting at. when it came time to get my hunter safety so i could hunt birds when i did turn 9, there was only 2 kids in the whole class that scored higher. the instructers are great and i do appriciat their time but if anyone thinks a kid can just out of the blue go to a 3 night class with 1 day out in the woods and then be safe in the woods your crazy. you wouldn't give someone their drivers licence after just parking a coar once would you??? so i'm not for raising the age limit i just think that alot of dads are getting lazy in doing their part of the system. i know many 20 yr old and older people that shouldn't have a gun in their hands either . so each situation is different. and like AGC stated a parent can tell if the kid isn't ready then it is there job to hold back a kid for a while untill their ready. just my OP.http://www.smileyhut.com/weapons/dropcheer.gif" alt="" />
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Hiker
I start to teach my kids gun safety & shooting at a early age. Most of them have been hunting with me since they've been 5-7 years of age. I personally think hunting, trapping and fishing is a life long education.
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Deserthunter
How many 12 year old children do you know that can drag an animal up the side of a mountain or clean and dress an animal or hang and cover an animal, skin and cape. How many 12 yr old Children do you know that understand ballistics, can judge distances, have the judgement and experience to know when to pull the trigger, is the animal quartering away, is he above or below the animal. I could go on and on and on. It takes more than a steady rest and a good scope to understand and be able to use any information they have been exposed to. Even one seconds laps in judgement can be fatal. Are you will to supervise a 12yr old every second he or she is in the field. Very few 12yr old kids have that kind of judgement and Utah's desire for "income" makes me wonder at the adults judgement that drafted this new law.

Even a 14yr old needs constant supervision. Come on people, sure watching a young person pull the trigger is a wonderful experience, but it not worth watching that same person fall over a rock with the gun going off and killing someone because he forgot to put the safety back on after pull that trigger.

I'm certain I will upset people, but I and My 2 son's are of one mind about the age they were old enought to be able to really "HUNT".

Just my 2 cents.
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bigbuck92
Deserthunter, i couldnt agree more :thumb
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Hiker
Deserthunter, I don't know many 12 year olds that could gut and drag their deer or elk along ways but to tell you the truth I don't know very many 20 year olds that can either, who are brand new at hunting. We all need to learn, either by trial and error or be mentored by someone.
I personally hunt right next to my children or newbies who I'm introducing into hunting. I like teaching newbies and I usually gut their first animal for them and show them how to properly take care of the animal and I tell them, the next one you're going to gut it, so pay attention. My hunting buddies and I always help each other to haul out their game, whether it's 100 feet or 5 miles. We are a team and work as a team.

Here's some photos of my little ones learning to be a sniper. :)
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Hiker
Jessica at 9, Joanna at 7 and Luke at 5. In sniper school with Dad.
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Hiker
Luke is really starting to come along. He was nailing a quarter sized spinner at 50 yards with ease, he is really mastering his breathing. He wants to hunt so bad he can taste it but he's only 8 years old. I plan on taking him with me on my Wyoming elk hunt this year. He is really learning the art of stalking and really did well on our antelope hunt when he was 7.
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a_bow_nut
It's funny to me that some people get so caught up on age when they should be worried about ability. I have a ten year old step daughter that is a dead eye with her BB gun and has passed the written part of the hunter safety coures with flying colors. But when she pick up her .410 it's more than she can handle unless she is sitting at a bench to shoot. So until she has the ability to swing and shoot safely she won't be getting her card.

Just because you can pass a test and shot a gun doesn't mean that you are a safe hunter no matter what age you are. That comes with time and practice.
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killerbee
Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 4:01 pm Post subject:

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How many 12 year old children do you know that can drag an animal up the side of a mountain or clean and dress an animal or hang and cover an animal, skin and cape. How many 12 yr old Children do you know that understand ballistics, can judge distances, have the judgement and experience to know when to pull the trigger, is the animal quartering away, is he above or below the animal. I could go on and on and on.
to me that says it perfect, who would expect them to?? i want to be right beside my little girl when she is 12 and gets shoot an animal, i want to HELP HER do all these things, i want to teach her when to shoot, what to shoot all these things. people who let their kids pass the test then just turn them loose is the reason weare even talking about this!
and also great pics hiker!!that is exactly what i'm talking about, way to spend time with your kids and teach them what this is all about. that is just like the stuff i would do with my dad, and wouldn't have it any other way. i hope that my desire to kill big animals never gets so big that i cant take some time to spend in the woods with my kid[or kids later]
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Deserthunter
Great pics. Where is there Eye protection?
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Hiker
Here is a special hunt to me........my nephew Jeremy and his first bull. Jessica came with us on this hunt and hiked her legs off. We were in a big snow storm for most of the morning and even with good insulated longjohns she started to get really cold. We were a few miles away from the vehicle, so I built a fire for her to warm up. I can't remember the last time I have built a fire while hunting but she came first and if we smelled like smoke and spooked all of the game, so be it, my precious 11 year old was cold. After she warmed up and was ready to continue we started hunting again. We were stalking quietly through the pine trees and we suddenly spotted a bedded bull, not more then a 100 yards away and by the grace of God the wind was right and he was looking the other way. Bullfrog made a great shot and killed the 5 point bull. Jesssica was there to experience it all and even got to see her cousin experience buck fever.....before he shot Bullfrog's knees were literally knocking together.... :))
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DeadI
Thanks for all the replys thus far.

I am glad that you guys that have your youngsters geting into hunting are teaching them and mentoring them at your side. It is the few that have parents that arn't as responsible that will be the problem.

Like stated before, if dad or mom or someone in the family is not interested, and activaly involved then there is pretty much no chance for the future hunters.
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Default Avatar
My little brother is 12 now and I would trust him with a gun. His only problem is he's not storng enough to hold a rifle steady off hand. On the other hand I have friends that I don't trust, and that I try to avoid hunting/shooting with if possible.
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DeadI
I am in the exact same boat.

My little brother has a hard time holding the gun up. Heck I had a hard time when i was 12 as well.

I to have friends that I won't go out with. I know exactaly what you are saying.
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Default Avatar
i also have friends i will not hunt with. my daughter isnt able to shoot offhand very well but SHE relises this and will not take that shot she passed up a shot becuase she couldnt get acomfortable shot. that made me proud :)
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