Starting early, starting safely

FUQUAY-VARINA -- It's not for every young, would-be hunter. Brad Pearson knows that.

Pearson and his cousin, Mickey Wilson, who is a firearms instructor, saw how accurate Pearson's oldest son, Fischer, was with a .22-caliber rifle at age 4.

"They were putting the bullets into softball-sized groups at 50 yards," Pearson recalled of his sons, now 9 and 7. "Mickey thought they could probably hunt deer."

Only recently has one of the boys grown big enough to safely use one of the many youth rifles manufactured, but Pearson and Wilson wanted the boys to be able to hunt sooner than that, a desire shared by both boys.

So great pains were taken to modify an adult Harrington & Richardson rifle so the youngsters could safely participate.

"The worst thing you can do is put a firearm in the hands of child that's going to instill fear," said Nathaniel Lambeth, a gunsmith from Youngsville.

Lambeth was not the gunsmith Pearson went to, but he, too, has modified firearms for children.

While seasoned hunters and firearm experts may argue over what the proper age is for children to begin using high-powered rifles, most will agree that a loud round coupled with more recoil than a child can handle can set a kid back years.

"A child needs to be physically big enough to handle a firearm," Lambeth said. "If you can modify a firearm to make it so, then more power to you."

So Pearson and Wilson decided on a .223-caliber rifle, which uses one of the quietest rounds still capable of taking down a deer, though it's a gun usually reserved for smaller game. The round is legal for hunting deer in North Carolina, though it is not legal in all states.

"I'm very careful with the shots they take," Pearson said. "It's deadly. You just don't get a blood trail. We've lost only one deer."

Instead of going with a youth model, they chose the adult Harrington & Richardson rifle with a bull barrel, which absorbs much of the recoil, then had the 26-inch barrel cut down to 18 inches.

"There's practically no recoil," Pearson said. "The last thing we wanted to do was scare them with the recoil or scare them with the kick."

Next, they installed an adjustable, collapsible stock, which could be shortened enough for the boys to be able to use it safely.

One other key modification was having the gunsmith lower the pressure of the trigger from about six pounds to about two pounds, not too light but enough to allow the boys to pull the trigger without moving the gun.

The cost added up to about $800, no pocket change, but the adjustments allowed Fischer to begin hunting deer before he turned 6. Hunter began hunting at 6. Springhill Outfitters in Kenly now sells a version of the modified gun.

The boys, Pearson said, "were begging to hunt."

Pearson had already been taking them into the deer stand with him, and he started them with a BB gun when they were 3.

"When I was little, I was a big-time hunter," Fischer said after a recent morning hunt.

Fischer, the older of the boys, recalled the first time he used the rifle.

"I was a little afraid of the recoil and how hard it would kick," he said. "But after the first time I shot it, I was confident. I thought it wasn't so bad."

Though Pearson intentionally named his sons Hunter and Fischer, he got it wrong. Hunter prefers fishing, and Fischer prefers hunting.

Fischer has killed 10 deer, including two this season.

Hunter has killed two deer, both bucks.

"He drives Fischer crazy," Pearson said.

Pearson, an Wake County Alcohol Beverage Control agent, said he is extremely cautious when hunting with the boys. The only time the boys hold the rifle is just before a shot, and even then, he props the gun for them until it's steady on the rest. He cocks the hammer for them, too.

"I don't suggest that every 5-year-old get a high-powered rifle," Pearson said.

But having the financial means along with sons with the desire and enough shooting accuracy has allowed father and sons to get closer and allowed the boys to learn the sport of deer hunting at an early age.

Hunter recalled taking his first deer, which he picked out of a small herd of deer last December.

"I said, 'I'm going for the buck,' " Hunter said, noting that his father didn't see the antlers. "I had to hand him the gun so he could [use the scope] to see it."

A year later, the story is still in heavy rotation, one of many special deer-hunting moments the boys already have with their father.

Both children have moved up to the higher-caliber .243 round. Hunter has graduated to a youth model, and Fischer is still using the original gun, fitted with a new .243 barrel. Hunter, though younger, is a little stronger and stockier, illustrating that age isn't always the best indicator when determining when a youth is ready to use a particular firearm.

"Each kid is different," Pearson said.

Pearson also bought a .410-gauge shotgun so the boys could hunt wild turkey.

Although Hunter had no trouble, the shotgun was a bit much for Fischer, who hasn't used it since.

"It felt like a crab was biting my shoulder," Fischer said. "Maybe when I'm older [I'll give it another try]."

But for a youth slowly growing into high-powered hunting arms, Fischer talked with the confidence of a hunter with many years of experience.

When Hunter spoke of seeing wild turkey tracks as the trio walked a leased tract near their home, Fischer scoffed.

"I find it hard to believe," he said.

That from a kid who has killed 10 deer before his 10th birthday.