Looking for advice from the guys who have taken their [young] children hunting.

I'm heading off to Wyoming in a few weeks for deer hunting. I'm talking my dad and my brother.

I'm very tempted to take my six year old boy this year. He wants to go, but I'm just concerned that the early morning hours might sour him a bit.

Anyone have any relative experiences to share?

Thanks

I think it's a good idea. But unless you can give him a break after a couple of hours it may not wo0rk out. I took both my son's out at that age but they didn't have to stay out hunting until I was ready to come in.

Some days they last a long time. Some days they don't. It's not your choice and you cannot influence much how long they last on a given day.

I wrote a book about it, Tales From Buck Mountain, raising my two sons. Short attention spans respond wonderfully to target shooting/plinking with the .22 or air rifle, and this can help plant the seeds of desire in those little minds. Fun, short trips are the key to begin with. You are a good person for wanting to introduce your child to the outdoors.
Walt H

Take him if you can. My sons have been going hunting with me as since they could walk. Now the oldest likes to sleep in (17yrs), the 12 year old wakes me up before the alarm clock. Just make sure you bring snacks and get him to bed early enough. you'll have a hunting partner for life. One suggestion give him a cheap pair of bino. and let him scan for game, 4 sets of eye are better then two. BB2

In my expierence (limited,one child only)my son was gung ho for a few hours,then became bored with it.If you have a way to give him a break for a few hours or more each day,go for it.If you plan on hitting it hard each day,all day,it may be tough for both of you.

Good luck!

You gotta go in to it knowing this is not YOUR hunting trip but YALLS. Push him too hard and not keep his attention span and you will ruin his desire to hunt. All of the other guys have given you great advise!

Perry

Make sure he will stay warm and can sleep. This works okay in a blind but not so well stalking. When mine were small we tended so see more game when they were asleep as they would fidget when bored.

Snacks and a water bottle are good too. Quiet snacks...

I don't have kids, but I can tell you of my experiences with my dad.
I first started just going in the summers to 'help' with the deer stands when he worked on them. The Christmas after i turned 5 i got a bbgun and a .410, and started going on squirrel hunting trips. I had a pretty good attention span and didn't get too bored too quickly (for a 5 year old), but squirrel hunting allowed us to move around a lot and keep me occupied. age 10 is when TN allows youngsters to start hunting, so thats when i started going after deer. My dad never took me deer hunting until then. i guess in party to increase my desire to go, and in part to let me get a little bigger to make it easier to get into the stand.

The early morning hours were never a problem for me, it was the trying to get to sleep part with the anticipation of the next days hunt that was (and still is) the problem.

Thanks for the responses, much appreciated.

When talking to my son about this, I have to tell you there was something I failed to factor in: The night we're due to arrive in WY also happens to also be Halloween, and he's very concerned that he going to miss out on all the candy loot. He made it pretty clear where his priorities are. So, there you go. Mom seems to be relieved.

Next year, I'll have to sweeten the deal. I thought that the "no school for a two weeks" would work (most likely will in a few more years), but no dice. Maybe I’ll try a stand hunt in Texas next year.

Can you take him for short "armed walks " in your local area ? Maybe hunt rabbits or squirrels - god I wish we had squirrels down here - on short adventures. The idea of him having his own binos is good too .

Just have to remember kids cant keep quiet , need food very often , and get bored if nothing is happening.Make it as exciting as you can for 60 minutes , then head home.

Nothing like the day he shoots his first rabbit , then his first deer , then pays for you both to have exotic hunting trips . Done the first two , living in hope of the third one...

Take him. Don't underestimate you son's huge desire to be with his Dad and Grand Dad.

Don

Is there ANY way you could leave after trick or treat was over. I have a feeling that soon after candy day is gone he is going to regret his decision.

When I read your post I asked my 5 year old son if he would rather go trick or treating or hunting. He replied, "Huntin" without hesitation, but he happend to be doing a spot and stalk through the living room for stuffed animals when I asked so thats were his mind was at the time.

I can remember getting kind of bored and tired of walking quite easily when my dad started taking me at that age. Thankfully the lust to hunt came more from my own priorities then influence. Honestly, for a tough Rocky Mountain winter hunt....I'd leave him at home. Try some shorter hunts closer to home, I see you're in CA maybe some pig hunts? We may love being in the field sun up to sun down, but after a few hours of sitting and glassing, plus lots of hard miles, he might lose interest very quickly. Start em off slow.

I also was not a fan of missing halloween, but my dad always said he would buy me a bunch of the left over discounted candy when we got back, and always kept his word. Now we hunt later, so I end up spending my bday quite often in camp.

quote:

Originally posted by SteveM70:
Is there ANY way you could leave after trick or treat was over. I have a feeling that soon after candy day is gone he is going to regret his decision.

When I read your post I asked my 5 year old son if he would rather go trick or treating or hunting. He replied, "Huntin" without hesitation, but he happend to be doing a spot and stalk through the living room for stuffed animals when I asked so thats were his mind was at the time.

This morning he said that he'd like to go, as long as we could go candy-hunting on the 31st in the town we'll be staying in. I couldn't promise that as we're drive two days across and with the uncertainty of the weather, we may be delayed a day or two.

I'm thinking we're going to do some short day trips for squirrels and such and see how that goes, as someone suggested earlier. I know that he'll have no regrets once he goes.

BY the sounds of it, his priority is still halloween. Let him stay back, in a few years he'll start to look forward to candy and costumes less and less and will be ready to hunt. He will also probably be more physically able to keep up farther and for longer amounts of time. Better for everyone!

My son is five and he went on his first early season goose hunt when he was only 3. IMO these are the perfect for little ones. It's in a field, weather is mild, you don't have to be quiet, they can eat and drink as much as they want and it's usually a relatively short hunt. He also went on his first turkey hunt this spring. No turkeys but he sat pretty good for about an hour and a half on a roost hunt.

This was last year:


This year:

I may be the odd man out on this one, but leave him at home for a couple more years. You are going on an out-of-state hunt which may have many variables. I think until they are 10 or so, hunting trips will be all the ones closer to home. My boys have hunted with me, in my home state, since they were 2. We'd go hunt deer, or bunnies, or birds. The last thing you will want to do is push your boy too hard which will make it miserable for him and maybe even for you. Take him hunting close to home.

By the way, what unit? My wife has a WY tag and we will be there in Nov. Leaving my 7 and 9 year olds home because they are far too excited for Halloween. They will however be with us on the deer hunt in our home state this weekend coming.

quote:

Originally posted by MC:
I may be the odd man out on this one, but leave him at home for a couple more years. You are going on an out-of-state hunt which may have many variables. I think until they are 10 or so, hunting trips will be all the ones closer to home. My boys have hunted with me, in my home state, since they were 2. We'd go hunt deer, or bunnies, or birds. The last thing you will want to do is push your boy too hard which will make it miserable for him and maybe even for you. Take him hunting close to home.

By the way, what unit? My wife has a WY tag and we will be there in Nov. Leaving my 7 and 9 year olds home because they are far too excited for Halloween. They will however be with us on the deer hunt in our home state this weekend coming.

We'll be in region A.

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Starting kids out right

Teach them patience, and don't buy them a flippin .270! If you were in region M or F he could go candy hunting with my grandaughter.

At six years old, he won't keep up, will wear out in a couple of hours and get discouraged, and will make for a miserable hunt. 10 years old is another story. A kid is like a 2-year old horse, full of energy, but put him to work and he is out of gas in 10 minutes.

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Originally posted by kudu56:

quote:

Starting kids out right

Teach them patience, and don't buy them a flippin .270! If you were in region M or F he could go candy hunting with my grandaughter.

Well, I think region M or F requires us out-of-state men to have a local "guide" with us, so that why I'm heading to region A.

However, my parents went to Cody recently and I'm hoping that they decide to buy a place there.

If you guys needed more blood bankers and/or hematologists, I'd probably move there and stake a claim!

quote:

Well, I think region M or F requires us out-of-state men to have a local "guide" with us, so that why I'm heading to region A.

Only if you are in a wilderness area. Outside of that you are fine, so long as it is public land or you have permission.

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Originally posted by Teat Hound:

quote:

Originally posted by kudu56:

quote:

Starting kids out right

Teach them patience, and don't buy them a flippin .270! If you were in region M or F he could go candy hunting with my grandaughter.

Well, I think region M or F requires us out-of-state men to have a local "guide" with us, so that why I'm heading to region A.

However, my parents went to Cody recently and I'm hoping that they decide to buy a place there.

If you guys needed more blood bankers and/or hematologists, I'd probably move there and stake a claim!

I'm sure we could use more hematologists a lil south here in CO! Plenty of elk and deer here as well

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Originally posted by MileHighShooter:

quote:

Originally posted by Teat Hound:

quote:

Originally posted by kudu56:

quote:

Starting kids out right

Teach them patience, and don't buy them a flippin .270! If you were in region M or F he could go candy hunting with my grandaughter.

Well, I think region M or F requires us out-of-state men to have a local "guide" with us, so that why I'm heading to region A.

However, my parents went to Cody recently and I'm hoping that they decide to buy a place there.

If you guys needed more blood bankers and/or hematologists, I'd probably move there and stake a claim!

I'm sure we could use more hematologists a lil south here in CO! Plenty of elk and deer here as well

I have been contemplating CO, UT, ID, MT & WY. Not a week goes by where I don't ask my wife for a change of venue. She requires the big shopping centers though (and there are some doozies around here), within a resonable drive. The research continues . . .

quote:

I have been contemplating CO, UT, ID, MT & WY. Not a week goes by where I don't ask my wife for a change of venue. She requires the big shopping centers though (and there are some doozies around here), within a resonable drive. The research continues . . .

Wyoming is out! Big shopping centers here are walmart, and our nearest one is 90 miles! Suits me just fine!

quote:

Originally posted by kudu56:

quote:

I have been contemplating CO, UT, ID, MT & WY. Not a week goes by where I don't ask my wife for a change of venue. She requires the big shopping centers though (and there are some doozies around here), within a resonable drive. The research continues . . .

Wyoming is out! Big shopping centers here are walmart, and our nearest one is 90 miles! Suits me just fine!

Yeah, I know. This fact does not gel with the House Boss.

I too had the same concerns. I started getting them familiar with hunting and wild game early. My daughter was helping me pick ducks when she was 3!

Last year was the first year they went hunting with me. My girl was 5 and my boy 3. It was very casual and my wife and I made sure to make it fun for them.

My son never made it to the duck blind, but I did take my daughter a few times. I waited for a fair weather day. I brought plenty of snacks and made sure she didn't get bored. She was perfect and is already looking forward to going again this year, as is my son.

Last year I had the whole family with me when I shot this 3 Pt. blacktail. It was very special...

I've done it with my now 11year old and have some practical observations to make.

I started out with him at 5 sitting in my high seat on my lap. We did homework by counting crows coming into roost. On the advice of a friend I always gave him something to carry that I needed eg my spare ammunition so that he felt involved. I dressed him warm and then some and made a big thing of buying sweets that he liked.

I made a huge thing of safety - the mantra was

don't touch the rifle
stay on my left hand side
don't go in front WHATEVER happens
if the rifle accidentaly points at you get out the way and tell me

Gradualy we extended the sessions. High points were rutting fallow which really got him going. I over did it with a summer outing for roe bucks which involved an early start and walking. I thought the walking would make it mor interesting but an 8year old couldn't cope with an early start and walking. We diverted to cooking over a camp fire after 45minutes.

The safety thing can't be stressed enough. The nightmare scenario is a kid seeing something in front when the Dad has the scoped rifle in the aim. This causes me such concern I now insist my daughter holds onto my trousers when I have the rifle up.

I modify my carry when one of my kids is with me. Either a Blaser which is uncocked with a round in the chamber or a remington with safety on and bolt handle up. They wear ear protection unless it is very hot in which case I check they have their fingers in their ears before shooting.

Good advice, especially on the safety.

I'm really appreciating the responses.

quote:

I'm very tempted to take my six year old boy this year. He wants to go, but I'm just concerned that the early morning hours might sour him a bit.

Anyone have any relative experiences to share?

TH -

i took my 3rd son hunting starting when he was about 5 - no problems there.

i've also been taking my youngest (4th) son since he was three or four; in fact, i took him during his first year of life as he sat in the truck with my wife. it was definitely too early to get much productive hunting done, but just the right age to introduce him to the experience. he's learned how to be quiet, how to be patient, how to look where he is walking, how to appreciate the outdoors, how to read and follow deer sing and blood trails, how to stay behind anyone with a firearm, how to quietly peek at game animals, how to stalk, walk, crawl quietly to them and so on.....

he's also been there to see how animals are fiend dressed, to help with the dragging and hanging etc.

safety is of course at the forefront of everything, and it helps both him and me be a safer hunter; on a side note, i also watch myself and make sure i am making responsible, ethical choices because o want to be a good example.

i say take him along - it's never too early to introduce a youngster to the sport, and sometimes if you wait too loong, they don't grasp a lot of the fundamentals.

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Originally posted by Teat Hound:

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Originally posted by MileHighShooter:

quote:

Originally posted by Teat Hound:

quote:

Originally posted by kudu56:

quote:

Starting kids out right

Teach them patience, and don't buy them a flippin .270! If you were in region M or F he could go candy hunting with my grandaughter.

Well, I think region M or F requires us out-of-state men to have a local "guide" with us, so that why I'm heading to region A.

However, my parents went to Cody recently and I'm hoping that they decide to buy a place there.

If you guys needed more blood bankers and/or hematologists, I'd probably move there and stake a claim!

I'm sure we could use more hematologists a lil south here in CO! Plenty of elk and deer here as well

I have been contemplating CO, UT, ID, MT & WY. Not a week goes by where I don't ask my wife for a change of venue. She requires the big shopping centers though (and there are some doozies around here), within a resonable drive. The research continues . . .

Well if you're wife is worried about shopping and other metropolitan things, CO is your best bet! No matter where you are on the Front Range, there is at least 3-4 malls within an hour drive, probably more then that actually.