Another moral question regarding kids

[Machias]

9, 19, 29, 39, 49, legal and moral in my book.

[Skillet]

Here's my 

Legal?  Sure.  Moral?  I wouldn't think so. 
The harvester card is intended to be given to and used by people who cannot do what is necessary to harvest the animal due to a disability. 
Ask yourself this question - if you didn't bowhunt (only rifle hunted), would you have ever applied for the harvester card?  I know a few older guys that still hunt and can't do anywhere near 20 miles a day on flat ground... they don't have that card.  So if you wouldn't have gotten the card for rifle hunting, is it ethical to use it for rifle hunting?  Your call.  But the fact you posted the question speaks volumes.
Also, what does this teach the kid?  Game the system and you get to harvest more deer than regular people - legally! 

[jackelope]

if it were legal i would let youngsters fill my tag/tags every time  there is no greater gift to me in the woods than to see the unbridled joy on a kids face when they get to knock one down 

This is how I feel

I don't understand the point of this thread. If you're ok with it and it's legal, who's business is it to judge what's morally ok and ethical to you?? If you're ok with it, then do it. It's clearly legal. Who gives a crap what everyone else thinks.

I don't want you to take this the wrong way....so here goes. Are you only a disabled hunter because you can't shoot a bow and hike a lot?  In other words, you can beat the brush and/or hike long distances and shoot a rifle just fine??

[jackelope]

Here's another question. If you have an archery tag, can your son shoot a deer with his rifle in the rifle season on your harvester card?
If you have to buy a rifle tag for your kid to shoot a deer with his rifle on your card and you can hunt just fine with a rifle, then the moral and ethical issues for me lie in that. You shouldn't have a disabled hunter permit. That opinion is based on the answers to my other question about your abilities. I recall a really really big hike you went on this season.

[kckrawler]

I, too, am a designated hunter for my father who has MS and can't do anything but shoot. To me, since he can shoot just fine, I won't take a shot when we're hunting together. Basically, that companion card does nothing but give me the legal right to put his tag on a downed animal.

But, I'm 31 years old and have shot several animals in my hunting lifetime so I don't need to take the shot. If I were in your situation and was getting my kid into hunting, he'd take every shot and every kill, at least until he got a few under his belt!!!  

On the other side of the fence though, that companion card also means that he's there to tag, gut, process, and pack the animal out. He's also there to take care of you if your ticker pops off at the wrong time or you stumble into a hole that you can't get out of. I'd question if a 9 year old kid is capable of taking on all of those tasks much less watching his father suffer while he stands there helplessly. To me, that sounds like a very scary situation and we all know that they happen all the time...

Personally, I say you let him shoot! But more importantly, you should have another capable adult who can lead the situation if it get's too overwhelming for the kid...that'll scare him away from hunting quicker than you think.

[k_rex]

^^^^^
Well said!

[DoubleJ]

K.  Thanks everybody

[Bob33]

Read this carefully: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=232-12-828

I was a designated hunter for a disabled hunter (excuse me: "hunter with a disability" is now the correct term) this past summer.  He was not able to shoot an animal, and allowed me to do it for him.  It was a great experience for both of us.  I'd volunteer to do it again in a heartbeat.

[724wd]

it's interesting to me that, as a kid, my dad wanted nothing more than for me to shoot a nice buck.  If it were legal, he would have let me do all the shooting!  now that i'm in my 30's and my old man is on the shady side of 60 (and was so close to death just 2 years ago) all I want is for HIM to shoot a nice buck!       that, and i would love my my daughter (3 years) to hunt with him, as well...

[Alchase]

Has your 9 year old completed a hunter safety course?

[Bob33]

Has your 9 year old completed a hunter safety course?

It would appear so:

"If I take my son (Who is licensed) out hunting with me during modern firearm"

[wayner]

Morally I think it is fine. It is giving a young buck more experience.

[flinger]

I have a heart condition that hinders how far I can hike through the woods.

Arent you the guy who said you hiked 20 plus miles in one day with your kid while elk hunting?   Thats pretty good for having a bad ticker.

Flat ground is no problem.  I can't crash through brush and thick stuff

just curious,Where do you hunt elk at that you can hike 20 miles on flat ground and not tromp through thick stuff. That sounds like my kinda Elk country

[DoubleJ]

It wasn't elk, it was mulies in GMU 260.  I didn't correct gutpiles post because it wasn't relevant to the thread.  We walked a ways during elk too but not as far.

[DoubleJ]

Has your 9 year old completed a hunter safety course?

Yes, and bagged his first deer this year