Some adults try to spoil it
Observing our social media pages when a youth hunter kills a deer, I’ve seen many negative comments from readers. Some of it stems from their disbelief that someone so young can shoot a rifle, shotgun, bow or crossbow. Others say it’s a moral problem.
So is it possible to be too young to hunt? We don’t think so. The physical capabilities of a child vary greatly from one to another. And today’s outdoor manufacturers make it easier than ever for even small kids to accurately shoot a deer with a range of guns or archery gear.
One of our Bag-A-Buck entrants that got plenty of negative comments was 3-year-old Caroline Turbyfill, who killed her first deer while using a crossbow during a hunt with her dad and granddad.
Comments ranged from “sure a 3-year-old did it, lol” to “do you think people are stupid” to “yeah, it looks like her daddy wanted to hunt, but it was youth day.”
Indisputable video
But the young hunter’s dad Pher and granddad, Christopher Turbyfill posted several videos in the comments which helped stifle the negative comments somewhat. The first video shows the 3-year-old sitting in a camping-style rocker. A crossbow is mounted to a tripod in front of her, and she has one hand on the crossbow’s frame, and the other on the trigger. She pulls the trigger, and hits a target some distance away.
Turbyfill has an adapter on the scope that allows him to see what the scope sees on his cell phone. When he’s happy with his granddaughter’s aim, he clicks the crossbow’s safety off and tells her she can shoot. Her hands are the only ones on the crossbow, which is still supported by the tripod, when she pulls the trigger.
The next video shows the deer she killed, and it shows the scope’s reticle. As she adjusts the crossbow, the video shows the reticle moving left to right, up and down, then holding steady for the shot. As she pulls the trigger, the viewer sees the arrow hit the deer, then the deer’s reaction.
These videos are just one lesson on the capabilties of young hunters with the help of products like hunting tripods and cell phone scope adapters.
Plenty of doubters
Nevertheless, the next dozen youth hunters around the age of 5 got just as many negative comments, some which were so nasty that we deleted them.
It’s difficult to understand this kind of behavior from those readers, and it’s a mystery why these folks spew such negativity when it comes to kids carrying on the hunting tradition.
Some other comments included phrases like “she’s way too young. It’s going to cause her trauma,” and “she’s too young to have any idea of what she’s doing taking a deer’s life.”
Caroline’s dad answered these comments.
“It’s crazy that you think that, because as her father, I made sure my child understands what happens when you take an animal’s life,” he said. “You only kill what you eat, and you thank God for it.”
Other comments mentioned that this young hunter hasn’t taken NCWRC’s hunter safety course yet, and therefore broke the law by shooting a deer. And while it’s true she hasn’t taken the NCWRC’s hunter safety course yet, it doesn’t mean she hasn’t been schooled on hunter safety at all.
It’s perfectly legal in both Carolinas for youth hunters of any age to hunt while with a licensed adult, even before passing the state’s youth hunter safety course. Caroline’s dad and granddad are very involved with youth hunters, and not just those in their own family. This young lady has a full understanding of hunter safety, and will gladly take the NCWRC’s course when she meets the age requirement to do so.
We say congratulations
We congratulate all the youth hunters who have bagged their first deer this season, and commend all the adults getting them out there and teaching them the ways of the woods.
Social media can be a great thing for sharing information. It can also be filled with nasty comments from people who are simply too rude to consider someone else’s kid can do something that either they couldn’t or their kids couldn’t at the same age. And it could very well be that their defeatist attitude is the reason they couldn’t.
The Turbyfills admit that not all youth hunters progress at the same rate, and that not all youth hunters have the physical capabilities (even with today’s equipment) or the emotional maturity to shoot a deer. But for those youth hunters that do, we should all celebrate their achievements, not search for a reason to bring them down.
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