Safe hunters aren’t born, they’re trained by adults

In the wake of the recent hunting fatality here in Washington, I read where State Fish &Wildlife officials are planning to ask the Legislature to reinstate a law that would require juvenile hunters to be accompanied by an adult.

Good, I think we need that and a bit more.

I also think we need to set a minimum age requirement for legal hunting in Washington.

I know this will raise some hackles among my hunting partners, but I don’t come by this opinion lightly.

I say it as an individual who’s hunted for 30-plus years and who intends to hunt until I’m no longer physically able to do so.

I say it as an individual who begins planning next year’s hunt as soon as I climb into my truck to leave this year’s camp.

I say it as an individual who’s taught his own kids to hunt and plans to teach his granddaughter to hunt when she’s older.

I say it as an individual who believes that hunting is an ethical, moral, rewarding, and highly demanding sport.

I say it as a Life Member of the NRA, as a certified rifle instructor, range safety officer, and as a hunter education instructor for the state of Washington who knows that hunting is a safe sport that’s becoming safer each year.

That last isn’t just wishful thinking or an attempt to blow smoke in your face. According to the National Safety Council, more people (per 100,000 participants) are injured playing baseball, riding bicycles, swimming, fishing, and even bowling than are injured while hunting.

But it could be safer.

As parents, we care about our kids. We want nothing but the best for them and go out of our way to ensure that no harm comes to them. From the day they’re born we do this by setting boundaries.

Before they can walk and talk, we go through the house and install all sorts of safety devices to prevent them from harming themselves or others. They may be too young to understand why we do it, but we know they need this protection.

As they get older, we put boundaries in place. We set rules. We forbid certain behaviors. We monitor their play. We watch their friends. They may chafe at this, but we know the results of not doing so and enforce these rules and boundaries despite their complaints.

As more years pass, they mature, They gain experience. They learn that there are consequences to their actions. And when they show us that they can handle responsibility, that they will think before they act, and that they are concerned about safe behavior, we open the gates of freedom a bit wider for them.

We don’t issue drivers’ licenses to 10-year-olds, nor do we allow them to purchase firearms. We don’t sell cigarettes or alcohol to minors and we don’t allow them into bars until they’re 21.

There’s a reason for this: As a society, we’ve found that they’re not quite ready for these things and, therefore, we opt for age limits. Granted, this isn’t a “precision instrument” approach, but it’s proven to be useful in terms of holding them back until they’re older and have earned a measure of our trust.

The same thinking should be applied to hunting.

There is no current minimum age to begin hunting in this state. This is just plain foolish.

I love hunting and I’ll fight any effort to have the sport banned or to have any draconian restrictions placed upon it. Further, I’ll argue any point with those who see it as unethical or immoral. That said, I believe we need to have minimum ages for both the issuance of hunting licenses and the ability to hunt without adult supervision.

I’d argue that small game hunting licenses could be earned at 10 years of age with big game licenses to follow at 14. I’d further argue that young hunters should be accompanied by an adult until they’re 15 years old.

No, it’s not perfect and, yes, it’s open to argument and criticism, but the point is to make the sport safer and honest argument is the best way I know to do this.

Having no age limits at all, however, ignores what’s obvious to every parent out there.

Our kids need time and guidance to grow into anything — hunting included.

We, as adults, need to give it to them.

Larry Simoneaux lives in Edmonds. Send comments to larrysim@clearwire.net.