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New York State Youth Hunting Laws Are Irrational
In NY state, youth may take their hunter safety course by the age of seven, however they may not begin to use the skills taught in the courses until a minimum age of twelve. The idea that youth may not use the same gun to deer hunt as they use to turkey hunt at the same age is preposterous. At the age of twelve, youth may small game hunt, bear and deer hunt with a bow, how ever it's not until the age of 14 they may large game hunt with a gun.
One reason why the youth hunting laws on age are askew is safety. Turkey hunting can be executed with a 12ga at the age of 12, though turkey hunting is widely considered the most dangerous form of hunting. In most forms of large game hunting, the hunters may wear flag orange, a common color in most gear. This color attracts our eyes and tells other hunters you are in the area, and it does not effect effectively because the game is colorblind. Where as in turkey hunting, the birds can see color, meaning the hunter must be in full camouflage. This trait makes this small game hunt more dangerous than most large game. “"Compared to other hunters, turkey hunters had the highest injury rate, were typically older and fewer had a history of hunter education," said Joseph L. Smith, study team member and former Penn State College of Medicine graduate student in health evaluation sciences.”( http://news.psu.edu/story/211397/2005/03/10/report-turkey-hunting-most-dangerous-deer-hunting-most-deadly). If youth may participate in this sport, why can they not legally pursue deer with a gun until the age of 14.
The two other reasons that the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) uses to enforce this rule are range and recoil. Their argument is that in the hands of a small youth, recoil can be dangerous and a range of several miles with some rifles make a reckless young hunter potentially dangerous. To address the recoil issue, many rifles have enough of a load to do the job, but nearly none of them have as much recoil as a 12ga that 12 year olds can legally turkey hunt with. A three point five inch turkey shell has an average of “77.75”(Georgia outdoor news forum) foot pounds of recoil. However, a 30-06 the most common large game round has “19.54”(Georgia outdoor news forum) foot pounds of recoil . This shows that a twelve year old who uses a 12ga to turkey hunt can handle a large game rifle. The largest issue with youth gun hunting addressed by the DEC is range. The main argument is that a misplaced shot with a rifle could result in injury or property damage miles away. However, many times this is due to open areas without many trees, this has already been addressed in some counties. For example, Monroe county only allows hunting with a shotgun on account of open areas. If tree cover is an issue because of range danger, other counties should follow suit. Finally, a shotgun with a slug barrel can be effectively used to take down a deer, and has a maximum range of less than 150 yards.
In Pennsylvania, “Youth ages 11 and under may purchase a Mentored Youth Hunting Permit to pursue the following species in Pennsylvania – squirrel, rabbit (cottontails), doves, woodchucks, coyotes, antlered and antlerless deer, and fall and spring turkey in any of their respective seasons.”(Pennsylvania Game Commission). Why should youth in New York need to wait several mare years to use a privilege they already have.
In NY state, youth may take their hunter safety course by the age of seven, however they may not begin to use the skills taught in the courses until a minimum age of twelve. The idea that youth may not use the same gun to deer hunt as they use to turkey hunt at the same age is preposterous. At the age of twelve, youth may small game hunt, bear and deer hunt with a bow, how ever it's not until the age of 14 they may large game hunt with a gun.
One reason why the youth hunting laws on age are askew is safety. Turkey hunting can be executed with a 12ga at the age of 12, though turkey hunting is widely considered the most dangerous form of hunting. In most forms of large game hunting, the hunters may wear flag orange, a common color in most gear. This color attracts our eyes and tells other hunters you are in the area, and it does not effect effectively because the game is colorblind. Where as in turkey hunting, the birds can see color, meaning the hunter must be in full camouflage. This trait makes this small game hunt more dangerous than most large game. “"Compared to other hunters, turkey hunters had the highest injury rate, were typically older and fewer had a history of hunter education," said Joseph L. Smith, study team member and former Penn State College of Medicine graduate student in health evaluation sciences.”( http://news.psu.edu/story/211397/2005/03/10/report-turkey-hunting-most-dangerous-deer-hunting-most-deadly). If youth may participate in this sport, why can they not legally pursue deer with a gun until the age of 14.
The two other reasons that the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) uses to enforce this rule are range and recoil. Their argument is that in the hands of a small youth, recoil can be dangerous and a range of several miles with some rifles make a reckless young hunter potentially dangerous. To address the recoil issue, many rifles have enough of a load to do the job, but nearly none of them have as much recoil as a 12ga that 12 year olds can legally turkey hunt with. A three point five inch turkey shell has an average of “77.75”(Georgia outdoor news forum) foot pounds of recoil. However, a 30-06 the most common large game round has “19.54”(Georgia outdoor news forum) foot pounds of recoil . This shows that a twelve year old who uses a 12ga to turkey hunt can handle a large game rifle. The largest issue with youth gun hunting addressed by the DEC is range. The main argument is that a misplaced shot with a rifle could result in injury or property damage miles away. However, many times this is due to open areas without many trees, this has already been addressed in some counties. For example, Monroe county only allows hunting with a shotgun on account of open areas. If tree cover is an issue because of range danger, other counties should follow suit. Finally, a shotgun with a slug barrel can be effectively used to take down a deer, and has a maximum range of less than 150 yards.
In Pennsylvania, “Youth ages 11 and under may purchase a Mentored Youth Hunting Permit to pursue the following species in Pennsylvania – squirrel, rabbit (cottontails), doves, woodchucks, coyotes, antlered and antlerless deer, and fall and spring turkey in any of their respective seasons.”(Pennsylvania Game Commission). Why should youth in New York need to wait several mare years to use a privilege they already have.