Mentored hunting law fine way it is

At what age do you think a child is capable of safely handling a firearm in a hunting situation? If you say “it depends,” I would agree with you.

Some kids I’ve mentored over the years were mentally advanced and physically strong enough to be safe hunters — with close supervision — at age 10.

Others clearly not until they were 16. Some took even longer.

As hunter safety instructors know, it takes a healthy measure of maturity to understand all the consequences of shooting a shotgun, rifle, handgun or bow.

It also demands a level of physical strength.

Indeed, no two aspiring hunters are exactly alike.

The Republican-dominated Wisconsin Legislature also agrees with us, sort of.

But the Legislature would prefer to strike the age limit and let parents decide when their children are ready.

Assembly Bill 455 would remove the minimum age (it’s currently 10) for participants in the state’s mentored hunting program.

Significantly, it also would remove the limit on the number of guns or bows used in the mentoring situation (it’s currently one).

So in theory kids could hunt even before their first birthday. In reality, most would likely start between ages 6 and 12, according to data from the majority of states that have no minimum hunting age.

The idea of removing the minimum hunting age and allowing multiple “devices” in a mentoring situation is controversial even within the hunting community.

It’s also attracted attention in the broader public, including a lampoon by Charlie Berens in his online comedy and news show “Manitowoc Minute.”

“Wisconsin Assembly votes to eliminate minimum hunting age, law would allow parents to decide,” reads a headline in episode 18 of the show, posted Monday.

“Yeah, and that makes sense ’cause all parents know what’s best for their kids,” Berens deadpans to the camera in his best ‘Sconnie accent. “In other news, Mom straps son to the roof of her minivan to hold down plastic pool.” Funny, but not without a message. The bill was supported by the National Rifle Association, Safari Club International, Whitetails of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association and Wisconsin Force, a group of shooting range owners, and many individuals.

It was opposed by the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation (WWF) and Wisconsin Hunter Education Instructors Association (WHEIA), as well as many state residents.

As we’ve become accustomed to in this era of political control of the Department of Natural Resources, the agency charged with overseeing hunter safety in Wisconsin has taken no position on the bill.

No, parental wisdom isn’t perfect. American society has recognized this by establishing legal minimum ages to drive, vote and drink alcohol.

Is hunting different? Of course, and it’s also much safer than driving.

But I still don’t like the bill. I’m a supporter of the minimum age of 10 or 12.

Perhaps even more important, however, I don’t agree with the AB455’s other major component: allowing multiple guns or bows.

As a mentor in the state’s mentored hunting law over the last decade, I always felt confident I could prevent a problem because I was completely focused on the novice, the muzzle direction and other key safety components.

The unblemished safety record of participants in the Wisconsin mentored hunting law provides a strong testimony to keep things as they are.

This bill would make it legal for the mentor to actively hunt alongside the novice.

You should know Wisconsin is an outlier in this regard. The Badger State is one of only four that limit to one the number of firearms or bows in the mentoring situation, according to the NRA/ILA.

And nationally, the safety record of mentored hunting is extremely good. It’s also exceptional even in states with no minimum hunting age.

But just as each hunter is different, each state has its own culture.

As a born and raised Badger, I’m more comfortable with solutions developed here at home. I think the compromise formed for the current mentored hunting law was a good one.

Yes, hunter numbers are declining, but as seen in other states, AB455 won’t move the needle on the recruitment challenge.

That doesn’t mean kids under the age of 10 can’t join the hunt. They can do what I and millions of other hunters did over the last couple generations: Go afield with an adult and watch and learn.

If AB455 becomes law, it won’t significantly change hunting.

But the backlash from any accident caused by a hunter under the age of 10 in Wisconsin, or by a mentor in the program, will be far more severe than a humorous Internet sketch.