https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/b...e5638a57034ca880c6a3f1b1727e0a&ei=32

I'm sure some of the other WI folks have read about this besides me. Really poor parenting/mentoring. A 3 year old would have zero idea what they're doing with a gun. Accidents can and will happen but stupid is forever as far as the parent goes.

Some people do foolish things to get an extra tag.

It sounds like the 3 year old really had little to do with it since the "adult" kneeled in front of the toddler and “aided in the positioning, aiming and firing of the firearm at the movement.”

3 years old and shooting a 12ga?

The kid is probably still pooping his pants and has a binky..

Dad must be on the spectrum too...

Yeah, I have a little bit of a hard time with a 3 year old shooting a 12 gauge. The dad's obviously an idiot and it's even worse IMO if you read the whole story the dad was exempt from having to pass a hunter safety mentorship course because of his prior experience in the military which made him exempt. I hope they had him washing the jeeps and not handling firearms any more than needed if he isn't smart enough to not shoot at only movement or sound.

I think the Dad may have been the one who done the shooting period as this isn't making sense.

Kids hunt, dad used it as a way to get a turkey. 3 year old hunting with a 12 gauge? give me a break

This shows how ridiculus WDNR has gotten with their Hunter Ed Program, selling licenses, etc.
Selling a 3 year old a hunting license......really ??!!!
Even selling a 7 year old a hunting license is total BS !
Then add the parent(s) who never took or passed the required hunter ed program.

I taught Hunter Safety/Ed here in WI for 31 years. I stepped away from it about three years ago because of the stupid and careless changes to the program.
Maybe 10-20% of the 12 year olds were truly mature enough to train on firearms, back when the age of 12 was the minimum for Hunter Ed.
License sales are dropping, so this is their response. WDNR has really changed from 15 + years ago and not for the better. A sad story indeed.

EXACTLY!!!^^^^

I agree that selling a 3 year old a license is ridiculous...... do kids that young require a license?

I completely disagree with 12 being the right age though.... I was completely ate up with the desire to hunt/trap between the ages of 7 and 14.... in NY you couldn't hunt anything until 12.... or deer with a gun until 16. By the time it was legal for me to hunt deer, I had lost most all interest in hunting deer. I got a few good years of hunting small game before my interest waned and turned to other teenaged stuff. But the years of my life I would have most enjoyed hunting, I was forbidden to. I'm resentful of that to this day. Thankfully, my grandfather broke the law and took me hunting on more than a few occasions before I turned 12, but only on our own land. I missed out on a lot of hunts other places because of those ridiculous laws.

Yup, sounds to me like pops is setting his own kid up to take the fall.

TraderVic, as a (former) hunter ed instructor, you should know more than most that a lot of the rules and regulations are set by legislators that have no idea what they're talking about, and the DNR is charged with enforcing those rules. The elimination of the minimum age to hunt... Act 53 signed by governor Walker in November of 2017. The DNR can't refuse to sell a license to someone based on age.

I hope you did your due diligence as an instructor and failed the kids that couldn't demonstrate proficiency with the course material.

I was curious so I looked it up. You do not need to take hunter's safety if you are hunting with a lawful mentor, as was the case here.

Yep, assuming your mentor, age 18 or older, is licensed or exempt if hunting on land they own and has either completed a hunter education course or completed basic training with the armed forces. This mentor claimed the basic training exemption.

I hope as part of the investigation that they have the dad demonstrate how his 3 year old fires the 12 gauge shotgun.

3yo and 12ga tells me all I need to know.

Dad did the shooting and needs to be held accountable

Hopefully the victims recover with no life changing injuries

Yep, my mistake regarding the 3 year old and a hunting license, thanks for the correction.

Yotetrapper30.....I don't disagree with you. You'll notice I stated 10-20% of 12 year olds, etc. There were always a minority of boys (and girls), ages 10 - 12, that were very attentive, very motivated, and typically had engaged fathers and mothers (and grandparents). These youngsters were a pleasure to work with and fellow instructors and I always commended the respective parents.
Yes, we did fail a few when necessary...

I don’t turkey hunt, I just take one in my yard if they happen to pop by.
I never knew how dangerous turkey hunting was until I read a couple books written by COs suggested by a member in one of the book threads. “A poachers worst nightmare” was one of ‘em.
Isn’t this fairly common? How many close calls are there where the muzzle was pointed at the noise but the hunter identified another hunter before pulling the trigger?

In this day and age the average 12yr old shouldn’t be near any firearm. That being said, the kids that show up voluntarily probably aren’t average, it’s the ones pushed by the parents to get it, but don’t really want it that’ll be trouble.

Depending on the parents and hunting safety course,gun training etc. a lot of 10 year old kids are OK TO HUNT with a adult that knows the way of there hunting etc,MN allows 10 year old to hunt deer and I don't have a problem with that if they have taken all of the courses and passed and there parents are good in the woods with safety and ethics etc.

Don't know about there but in KY the legislators vote on new game laws but they are introduced by the "new" personnel employed by the KDFW. As more people retire the common sense leaves the department.

I'll tell you one law even better than no age limit. IN IND. as PF stated last fall anyone hunting under a youth license must have an adult within reach of the firearm during "youth season" . But put 10 times more hunters in the woods during regular gun season they can sit by themselves? Who was the Einstein that introduced that law. Not saying some kids aren't capable if trained properly. But as seen from this it only takes a moment to alter a kids life forever. But I agree, not many 3 year olds can hold a 12 gauge up long enough to shoot it. My guess is dad was aiming /holding the gun .But had the 3 year old put his hand in and pull the trigger.

having read this report
what was made public of it

it was after noon so unlikely they went in in the dark.

2 fathers
2 sons
the two parties did not know each other.

34 & 3 and 40 & 7

set up about 35 yards apart

my guess is they spent a while calling to each other but can't confirm that

34 year old held , aimed and fired the gun but tried to call it youth season because he had his 3 year old with possibly on his lap.

this is very busy public land 35-40 minutes south west of Milwaukee

I would be interested to know if any decoys were present or if any gobble calls were made.

I think it is fairly clear the 34 year old was in the wrong , A it isn't a youth hunt if the kid can't aim and fire the gun on their own , B you need to have a clear head shot with beard identification and movement to be clear to shoot there are just too many people running decoys and setting up 10-15 yards behind them.

I also suspect neither party wore any orange while moving into position which is not a legal requirement but a darn good idea on any public land an orange hat or bandana is just being smart tie that bandana to your barrel or around your head , once you are set in position take it off and stuff it in a pocket or bag. does that make hunting harder , sure , does it make moving on public land a lot safer , yes.