It depends.

My household has fanatical hunters so there was intense interest in hunting at age 5. Two of my kids were very advanced readers by age six, one was average. Couple those details with a family rule that no one touches a gun or shoots a gun until they successfully pass hunter safety and that they cannot hunt with a bow or crossbow without archery safety, they were motivated.

At age six they began shooting. By age 7 they were harvesting big game with firearms. By 8 they were hunting with bows.

One of them is less interested now but wants to go occasionally. Another hunts everything possible and discusses hunting 10-20x per day.

For longevity, I’m not sure if all three will stick with it. It matters little, they are all well informed conservationists and they know how to safely handle weapons. That’s all you can ask for in a youth. Only one of them is a forever hunter with absolute certainty with two record book species of big game by the age of 9 because the kid is obsessed.

You can’t predict retention or deactivation rates in kids but failing to get them exposed in involved does predict a likely anti-hunter or video game expert.

Every time a kid hunts they convert 100 school kids into hunting-neutral or hunting-positive back at school when they discuss the experiences. That’s the most valuable piece of the story that is valuable to conservation’s future. Hunting is perceived by their classmates as normal because they know kids that do it.

We will soon update the article. The article was last updated January 11, 2018 so it might be outdated in some parts. Always check your state regulations for up to date hunting age limits.