First of all, I have no children. I'm not horrible with them but I do not really have much experience with them. My nephew asked me to take him hunting. Things to consider: Child is hyper, good kid, but we get in trouble for wrestling/horseplay at every gathering, quite frankly I enjoy that more that hanging out with some of the "adults". He shoots archery, but I think its just basic level kids archery. I do not know his firearm level. They live an hour from me, so I can not just go out back and let him shoot etc. I do not rifle hunt at all. I have a guy at work letting me use a big ground blind. So now I'm torn between these options: -Take the kid, bring my bow and he gets to watch and hang out. I feel most comfortable with this option. He gets to get out and get a sense of hunting. If he likes it, I'll have to take him out more next season. Really after thinking the other options (take rifle), I do not even want to say them because they seem like a bad idea. So really what I need is tips to keep him quiet and occupied in the blind. I'm going to keep it to about a 4-5 hour hunt, about 0530-1000. If he was my kid I think I would know better how to handle this, but need some actual advice from folks that have done this before. Thanks guys.
How old is the kid? Depending on how old and how cold out dont plan on being out there more then a few hrs.i never stayed still when mmyDad took me out its just how kids are.maybe give him or her some binoculars and say look for animals.took out a cousin last yr who wanted to see me hunt.he was fifteen I couldnt even get him to hold still for a few min smallgame hunting.just be prepared to hear im cold , im bored, can we go yet.
If it is cold, hand warmers. I hated being cold when my dad took me, or my granddad. My uncle never would take me because he was a "serious" hunter (this was when i was young and was childish, moving too much, talking to much, etc. But the hand warmers will do great to keep him warm but to keep him occupied. They did for me when i was young. The binos are a good idea. Also bring a pee bottle, i would rather my nephew have to pee in the bottle then just on the ground. Also, don't be overbearing on him. Like my girlfriends dad, he plays about this big hype about how you can't move a muscle, and that kids only ruin his hunt. Thats why he didn't take any of his daughters (one being my girlfriend) hunting. I know she would have loved it. But the time he did take her out, she made all those rookie mistakes and he was too hard on her. So just be patient and caring and teach him the ways of being a hunter. Good luck
No matter what you do remember when you take a kid hunting your not really hunting. Forget everything you would normally do and do it happily. Its all about making a good experience for the kid.
We are going to hang out in the blind, I think hes 8 or 9 years old. I think no more than 4 hours depending on how he handles it. I have meat in freezer so I'm not going to be bummed about not bringing a deer home. I don't have huge expectations, mainly just to give him the experience of watching nature, and to pick on him a little bit. I'm in the air about getting him up at 430am, may head out around 6 so he at least doesn't burn out as quick.We are getting all the nieces that week, so it will be good to get out of away form all the girls, all 6 of them. I told his parents just have him bring the warmest clothes he has. I thought about just doing some squirrel hunting, that doesn't really require much sitting still. I will keep you guys updated on the adventure, should be the 20th, they will be here all week so I may get an extra day in the woods with him.
This post is spot on...lol. I took my wife's cousin little boy hunting the past two years on juvenile hunt. Last year....well, lets just say it was fun. He couldn't sit still for anything. Wanted to talk and kept asking where's the deer....lol. Took him twice last season, once this year. This year he was much better, we seen deer within 10 minutes of being in blind. He missed a doe in the morning. I felt really bad for him, it really broke my heart to be honest. He was so upset. I took him back that evening to the same place, about 45 minutes into the hunt two does came out. I made him watch them this time for a few minutes till he calmed down some cause they were just picking in field where they had cut the corn two days prior. I got him set up and made him take a little more time and shoot. He connected that time...the deer ran about 10 yards and fell over. The happiness that boy had was something I wish I still got when hunting. To be honest it brought a tear to my eye seeing that much enjoyment in a kid out hunting. I wish you the best of luck and I bet if he does kill one, it's a feeling you won't forget. Let us know how it goes.
I do not think I am letting him shoot at anything. He has never been or had any real experience even knowing shot placement or even with shooting a rifle or bow. I do not have much time really go over that stuff in the time he will be here. I'd really just want to take him out kind of give him the experience of it. I know he will want to take a shot, but I'd rather he see some and make sure it really is an interest for him.
I understand that fully, I give props to anyone who takes kids out hunting. It will be a great experience for him.
IMHO if he can not live the thrill of the hunt he will not get the overall drive behind all of us. I spent 4 days gun hunting with my grandson looking for his first deer and only he had a gun. I was the coach :D We saw deer he got a shot and we had a good time he had a hunt he will remember for a life time. I would have preferred to go bow but no equipment for him or practice no way. If you decide to take him hunting take him hunting not a tag along on your hunt. It is worth the investment
That's a good point as well. I'd hate to just have him be bored, but I don't want to just let him sling lead without any actual time shooting. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Take him small game hunting first, then if he enjoys that take him deer hunting. Bring a book with color pictures that has all of the birds and bugs of your area and teach him how to identify them.
Had he even passed a hunter safety course? If not it's already out of the question. But I would agree having him wake up very early and not even be able to shoot anything would be kind of annoying. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I started taking my oldest daughter when she was probably 5 or 6. She would just sit and watch. Thirty minutes was about all she could take and sitting still was tough but we almost always saw deer which I generally let walk. Each year she could sit a little longer and showed more interest. She's now 11 and this past summer she took riflery at camp so I decided it was time for her to really hunt. She's killed a small doe and a small 8 point this year. The buck she smoked at about 130 yards. She was super pumped and it's been great quality time sitting with her and teaching her.
You guys make some great points, I'm staying with my thoughts that he is going to have to just join me and not shoot. I"m not going to get him up at 4, and I'll let his attention span dictate the length of the hunt. I would feel better just letting him see what its all about, if he keeps interest more than a hour or so then I'll talk to his dad about getting him more involved. It would make it much easier if they lived closer to me.
Once he gets bored/cold (he will) you could take him to the range and do a little gun safety/handling instruction and get him a little closer to being a hunter instead of just a spectater. Everybody loves to shoot.
my guys were with me when we got this, but it takes a lot of practice and patience, and by patience I mean not yelling or having bad body language because they pick up on that. I've never enjoyed hunting more than with my little dudes, but it's an all year thing for us and how we get time without distractions. They do get up at 4:30 and do really well as long as I keep them warm, and we move around a bit. I don't do any tree stand or blind hunting but I imagine that could be a challenge.
I took my just turned 7 y.o. out this season for his first time. He helped (sat on the 4 wheeler) all summer while we were working on my food plot, so I figured if he put the work in he should get the reward. I was hoping to take him out for shotgun season since I don't usually hunt that and wouldn't expect to shoot anything. Figured just getting him out would be worth it. Time got away from me so I ended up having to take him out for muzzleloader season, which is what I usually hunt. We went out the two Saturday mornings. Both mornings, we got out about 20 minutes before legal shooting light. Got settled and explained it wasn't time to shoot yet. Kept an eye on time and let him know when I could shoot something. As soon as I told him, it was "ok, where are the deer? When do we shoot one?" The first morning we made it about 2 1/2 hours before he got cold. The second time it was a little over an hour. It was hard to give up and go in, but I wanted it to be positive for him. More than anything I tried to recreate the things I remember most about hunting with my dad. It would start out with getting up early, then stopping at the mini-mart a few blocks away for hot chocolate. We would drive to the nearest town that had an open store with a bakery and get donuts. This year I made sure that we had donuts and took hot cider out to the blind with us. Once the snacks and cider were gone it was time to go in. He says he had fun and that's what matters. We'll work on the endurance and actual harvesting something later on.
I know that when I was younger and my Uncle and Grandfather would take me it was always great and helped introduce me to the sport. They kept the hunts short and would make sure I could see what was going on, but I learned about the sport and made me want to do it on my own when I was older. I think introducing younger hunters to safe practices and good sportsmanship is one of the best things for hunting that you can do. If they have shown interest in the sport it will only help peak their interest and help them learn.
I talked to him and the parents, going to shoot the .22 and maybe take him out for squirrels. Seems like he really just wants to shoot a firearm, so I'll start with that, if he wants to go hunt squirrels then we will go out for them. I need some squirrel meat anyway. So we are going to do some firearms safety, shooting, and maybe some hunting/hiking. It will keep us moving so he won't get to cold. I told him if he shoots the squirrel, he has to clean and it. He wasn't to excited about that part. I feel much better about this plan, and I can show him some scouting tips.
