The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is ready, for a change in state law that eliminates the state’s minimum hunting age. The governor signed the bill over the weekend. Mentored licenses for children under age 10 are available now through the Go Wild system.
Todd Schaller is Chief Conservation Warden with the state Department of Natural Resources. “Now both the mentor and the mentee can possess a firearm, bow or crossbow,” Schaller says.
Thirty-four other states have no minimum hunting age. Schaller says the decision now rests with the parent or other adult who will accompany the young hunter. “Every child matures at different rates. So the parent can decide, based on their comfort level with their own children.”
The nine-day gun deer season opens on Saturday. There are no estimates on how may hunters under age 10 might participate.