So far this season I have seen 21 deer and killed one from the stand. My oldest son 14, has seen 7-8. missed a big buck. He hasn't seen a deer in two saturdays now. I am trying to get him on some deer, everytime I think I am putting him on the hottest spot and I take a back seat in some random stand I see deer and he doesn't.. yesterday morning I put him in on one of the best stands with that wind and he saw zero.. meanwhile I go to a stand that was so so and I see 8. Poor fellow, we zig when we should zag and vice versa.. he's a little discouraged but I remind him I started at 14 and I had nobody help me, and it took me 5 years t kill a deer with the bow. But he is still hungry for it as his first bow season comes to a close.. any words of advice from some the other veterans that have been down this road?.. I tell him that I have been doing this for 30 years and this is just how it is, but I can hear the disappointment in his voice after the last few hunts.
Some quick thoughts. -Does he sit still? -is he quiet. -scent, downwind? -Is he on his phone? These can be difficult for a young kid. The deer may be out there but he’s scaring them off or not seeing them. Sitting in a blind might be better for a kid. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Well, I would say he's on his phone for sure, but I check on him every so often while he's in the tree, even though he's strapped in I make sure he's ok throughout each hunt.. Noise, probably some, but not anymore than usual. Still, probably not as much. Scent control to the best of my abilities. It's all a learning process for him, he's been busted before and hell, I still get busted at times.. I think it's the odds ..it's a 50/50 crap shoot where we hunt even for me. But he sees all the deer we kill as a club 150+ each year and wonders where they all are during bow season. I have explained to him that bow hunting these deer is very tough because we have 7000 acres and a lot of if not most is cutovers and plantted pines, think 80% bedding area, they lay where they want and anywhere they want, lots of deer, but lots of random browsing because we have very few oak trees and they didn't drop this year..
I have done that, and don't mind doing it, but I also want him be independent. He likes to be in his own stand. The buck he missed, he was by himself and he tried to shoot through branches and even though we have gone over and over this and talked about waiting for a clear shot, the buck got the best of him and he rushed it and thankfully his arrow deflected away from the deer without a scratch.. but he learned a lesson that I could never simulate on a target and he took it as a real world life lesson.
I think you explained it very well to your son. This stuff isn't easy. But, I think the most important aspect of bow hunting is being patient. As long as he understands that, I think he'll be fine going forward. It took me several years to kill my first deer with a bow as well.
Is he staring at a screen or scanning for deer? My daughter doesn’t come hunting with me any more. I made sure she had warm clothes and we always seen deer. In fact the last buck I killed over the decoy she was sitting right next to me. Talk about exciting. But to hear her talk about we never seen any deer etc etc. Hopefully he will stay interested. The reality is sometimes we don’t see anything and all you have is your thoughts. That’s part of hunting. Good luck. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Every time he sits in a stand and is not successful he is one sit closer to the time when he will be successful.
Maybe start letting him pick his stand. Then after the hunt you can ask why he wanted to hunt there. Maybe it will open up his mind on the decision "he" made. You can see the reason he picked that spot and build on his knowledge from there. This is 2 fold. It also take the pressure off you for trying to get him on deer and puts alittle responsibility on him and builds him as a hunter. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Funny thing here. I've been sitting with my 12-year old on his youth season hunts for the past 3 years and I'm concluding 2 is a crowd. We've gotten closer and closer each year to getting him a shot but still come up just short. Why? I think it's because we are 2X the noise and smell. Movement not as much of an issue in our blind. I'd like to think the blind blocks/hides some noise and scent also. We tried sneaking up on one last year but the 2 sets of feet moving and breathing isn't ideal. Now he passed Hunter safety this October, he will be sitting on his own next year. Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
Try to get him to stay off his phone for 1 hunt and see if maybe he's not seeing anything because he's paying more attention to his screen. It's happened to the best of us. Other than that, just keep reminding him that it's the nature of bowhunting and that'll make his first bow kill that much more special. I was on my own, and didn't kill my first deer until my fifth season. It got frustrating at times, but it will eventually pay off. Just do what you can to make the rest of the hunting experience fun, and he might stick with it. My best hunting memories, as a kid, aren't of the hunt itself, but hanging out at camp and having a good time. Sent from my SM-G960U using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
He very well could be not seeing deer that are just out of range and hearing..pine tags and soft ground and if he's not scanning constantly, he will miss them..oh Im sure he's on his phone, like many of us are..lol I want him to have it so I can stay in contact at all times if something goes wrong.. back when I was 14, I went out and there were no phones, my daddy didn't even know where I was, hell i didn't know where I was! I had a light sometimes and sometimes I didn't! Im just going to keep putting him up a tree and let God do the rest..When God sees fit, it will happen.
Used to drive me nuts when I had another food plot down by the swamp. I would sit up in the pasture and the deer would be on the plot by the swamp, I would sit down by the swamp and the deer would be up in the pasture.
Sota, that's deer hunting. Deer can be predictable at times and other times, they have you guessing where they are. Vabowman, my complements on taking him hunting. Will post my Saturday on another forum topic.
I know that when I was younger, I didnt want to admit it, but the reason I didnt see many deer, was because I didnt sit very still. I had decent scent control, I played the wind, but I was, and still am, a fidgeter. He probably doesnt realize how much he may actually be moving. Of course, if he is sitting still, there are other factors too. Sometimes those deer are just dang unpredictable.
I think that this is really good advice. Instead of making your son think the reason he didnt see deer is cause you put him in a bad spot, (even if he dont say that, its gonna be in the back of his mind), make him think its his own fault. He will learn quickly that way. Explain to him how the deer move when the conditions are certain ways, and point out how he needs to play the wind, maybe even casually suggest a good spot, but dont pressure him, and let him pick his spot, even if it kills ya to watch him pick the crummy one.
My son wants to sit in my stand now that I’ve shot 2 deer from it the last week! We will try that this weekend. I had him climb up with a safety harness and do a practice sit. He’s pretty excited now and amazed at the larger birds-eye view he has. Hope he can sit still, LOL. I told him he has to be a woodland Ninja like his dad... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
This. Of course all kids want to get one, that is where the excitement is for them. But it is still fun for them whether they realize it or not at the time, and he is learning. He will still look back on it when older and remember it as a great memory that involved dad. I would second sitting in with him at least once and see what happens. Perhaps it is just poor luck, or perhaps he's doing something to spook them and needs a bit of coaching. Either you will see something that needs corrected, or you will see some deer on stand and you can ask him if he did anything different since he knew you were there watching.
At the end of the day, I guess I want him to kill one with the bow just as bad or even more than he does... because I know the rush and reward that comes with it.. He's killed 6 deer with the shotgun and he was and is so excited when he does, but with a bow, it's a whole different rush.. but He will always remember how hard it is and was when he looks back at his first bow season just like I did way back in 1990.. And yes, he shares those memories with me, which is the MOST important thing.
