Safety is best gift
for young hunters
Posted 1/2/03

A youngster's first air rifle, .22 or shotgun should come with lessons to help ensure a lifetime of safe, ethical shooting.

If your son or daughter unwrapped his or her first air rifle or firearm on Christmas morning, be sure to give them the second part of the gift - an education in firearms safety. Children enjoy shooting sports because they are fun, challenging and safe.

It is up to the parent to decide if the youngster is mature enough for supervised shooting. It is also up to the parents to decide if they are ready themselves for the responsibility of teaching safe firearm handling and shooting to the child. "Keep in mind that kids will be kids, and take that into account when buying a firearm," says Captain Jeff Thielen, DNR Enforcement Education Program Coordinator. "Keep the firearm under your control. You can use it as a training aid to teach safe handling and the responsibility of owning a firearm."

Parents should keep ammunition and firearms in separate locations, and both should be locked. Trigger locks are also a good idea. If the child wants to show his new firearm to friends, he will have to do so in the company of the parent. "Having the firearm locked gives the youngster the message his or her firearm is not a toy, and it is another way of teaching responsibility," Thielen says.

Almost all shooters will eventually take a hunter education course, but youngsters don't necessarily need the course before they have some supervised experience with a gun. Some target shooting or small game hunting before the course will familiarize them with the firearm and may actually make them better able to learn the lessons taught in the classroom. To hunt in Minnesota, all children 13 years of age or younger who do not have a valid Firearm Safety Certificate must be supervised by an adult.

How old should a child be to have a firearm? Leo Lujan, Director of Junior Development for the U.S. Shooting Team, writing in a National Shooting Sports Foundation leaflet, says, "The bottom line is, you know your child better than anyone else. You know how well he or she follows directions and handles responsibility.

"You know if your child is mature enough to be mindful of his or her own safety and the safety of others." Lujan adds, "With proper supervision, participation in the shooting sports can teach responsibility at an early age."

Anyone born on or after January 1, 1980 must have a Firearms Safety Certificate (or equivalent), or other evidence of successfully completing a hunter safety course to obtain a license to hunt in Minnesota. Classes are taught by certified instructors. Hunters who have a Firearms Safety Certificate are required to carry it with them while hunting with a firearm.

The DNR is now providing more hunting opportunities for youngsters who receive a firearm as a Christmas gift. Minnesota has Take a Kid Hunting Weekend in September. Residents over age 18 may, without a license, hunt small game if accompanied by a youth under age 16. A Firearms Safety Certificate is required for youth hunters 13-15 years of age and for anyone born on or after January 1, 1980 who purchases a firearms license. There's also Youth Waterfowl Day in late August. The intent of this special youth hunt is to encourage older hunters to concentrate on teaching youngsters age 15 and younger the pleasures, skills, ethics and traditions of waterfowl hunting. Each youth must be accompanied by a nonhunting adult age 18 or older. Each event is a good opportunity for a young person to hunt with a parent and learn firearm safety first hand.

The time, date and location of hunter education classes are listed on the DNR's web site at http://www.dnr.state.mn.us or in the metro area call 651-296-4819. You can also contact any conservation officer for help in hooking up with a hunter education class. If you don't know the name of the conservation officer contact the Minnesota State Patrol or a DNR Regional or Area Office for the name and phone number of a Conservation Officer in your area.