[FONT="]I wanted to pick some of you guys that have dealt with this before. How do you make sure to keep hunting fun for a little guy? Most 4 year olds have a lot of energy. My son is like hyper. All the time. I've already done the following:[/FONT] [FONT="]Talk about hunting[/FONT] [FONT="]Watched hunting shows with him. He seems very interested. But that is because hunting shows are action packed. [/FONT] [FONT="]Took him shopping for hunting related items. We picked out a blind together. Bought a couple of turkey decoys. Had a nice dinner out to eat.[/FONT] [FONT="]Purchased a new blind with plenty of room so that he can move around a little bit and not be so restricted.[/FONT] [FONT="] I plan to do the following:[/FONT] [FONT="]Give him mommy's Ipod in the stand to keep his mind busy. Also bring some books.[/FONT] [FONT="]Keep the hunts relativity short.[/FONT] [FONT="]Sit in the place where we are most likely to see game. No guarantees though. We very well might not see anything.[/FONT] [FONT="] We only have 5 days for our turkey season in Wisconsin. I plan on taking him at least twice maybe three times. Honestly, I don’t care if we get anything. I just want to have a good time and the little guy enjoy it. How can I ensure this stays fun? I'm concerned he thinks hunting happens like the hunting shows do. You sit there for 15 seconds and a bird shows up. What if we don't see anything? So you guys that have dealt with this before. Any hints and tips would be appreciated . If it goes pretty well for our spring turkey season I would love to take him out for deer hunting this fall in the blind.[/FONT][FONT="][/FONT]
KEEP THEM WARM.Nothing is fun when your cold.Get a portable heater for the blind. Hunt areas where you will see something,be it doe,buck, squirrel or whatever.
Yes, warm is very important. Remember the other small things which are more abundant, like squirrels and bunnies. They're great sport for little ones.
Make every outing a positive experience. I took my 9 year old daughter elk hunting this year. We didn't see any elk but she know what droppings and tracks looked like. I think we found every single dropping and track on that mountain lol. Show him some sign whether its deer or other wildlife and let him find something. He will have a blast if you make him part of the hunt. I let her carry my old binoculars and had her glass some deer a few hundred yards away and tell me if there were any bucks. And as said before keep him comfortable.
This is an important one IMO. Kids get bored staring at woods or an open field with nothing in it. When my kids got going in hunting I took them to a piece of land I have permission to hunt (aside from my honey hole) where I was 95% sure we would see "some deer". The presence of all of the sudden being deer is very exciting for kids. There were some other good points already mentioned as well. Take them out for squirells or bunnies. Just seeing game in the woods keeps their interest. I've also found when starting out make it FUN at all costs. Don't get too involved in the logistics of hunting. Teach them the small simple stuff that they can relate too. Don't overwhelm them with confusing information. They will be as good as you someday, just not today. Gradually feed them more little bits of information through the years. Tell jokes, goof around, talk to them while sitting there, etc.... make it a fun day not a serious one. Down the road they will come into their own and realize its all business:p
Some very good points guys. Glad this was started as I also will be taking a 3 year old out with me turkey hunting this year.
For me...Keep it Simple, and make sure there are laughs. The hunting is secondary - they will slowly begin associating "good times with Dad" with the "hunting." All the little things matter - my kids favorite part of a fishing or hunting trip is probably the stop at the donut shop on way out of town - but who cares - I only do that because I know that was my favorite part when my Dad started taking me Let them use calls and binocs - and another favorite of ours is packing their own "leatherman" tool...they could spend hours just carving tree limbs, digging in the dirt, etc. The goal at first - Associate FUN with HUNTING! Good Luck - keep us posted!
This Is just my opinion but If you've got to pull all of the bells and whistles to get/keep your youngster Interested In hunting maybe It Isn't their cup of tea. Here's what dad did for my brother and I when we were youngsters as I asked him a similar question when my daughter was born 3 years ago. Dad told me to try and Involve them but at the same time to not push It on them. His take was too many parents push It onto their kids rather then let them make the decision on their own. I plan on doing the same with my daughter. I can tell you right now that It's working here as I can never get outside In the summer without my daughter on my side while I'm shooting my bow. A few times she's came with on scouting trips out to the woods. One of them times was making a bunch of mock scrapes. She talks about this all of the time. The conditions we were In were not good as It was raining cats and dogs. She wasn't all warm and bundled up by no means. If I would've known It was going to rain as hard as It did I wouldn't of took her with. Just goes to show she wanted to do It just as much as her dad and I don't push any of this hunting stuff on her. She's coming with bear hunting this year. She won't be In a stand with me but at least she'll be with on a blood trail or 2 If were lucky and she'll be spending time at bear camp In a hunting atmosphere In the middle of thousands and thousands of acres eating food cooked off of a fire and sleeping In a tent. Her mom will probably complain more.
I took my 3yr old daughter out to the woods several times already to see if she would really be interested. We also drive around and watch deer everywhere we can and she has her own binos and call to play with. I took her out and sat in a ground blind with her for about 3 hrs one day and was ready to leave and she didnt want to. I would really recommend that when you do you leave your bow/gun at home. Then all of your focus is on them and what they are trying to do. I also brought her little leapster game with in case she wanted something to do and ended up never turning it on. We saw alot of deer and a few turkey. She was so excited she was shaking. Now all she talks about is that she was in the woods and saw deer and turkey and went pottey in the woods. I don't think any hunt will ever stand out in my mind more then that day with her. It wasnt season so we didnt shoot anything but it was great. I also set the blind up in our yard and let her target shot out of it for practice. Good luck and hope it works out for you.
It is much easier to keep them interested in shooting at that age than worrying about hunting. As far as shooting, keep sessions short, fun, and close. In other words let them shoot close enough they can hit the target consistently. I used to blow up little balloons and let my daughters shoot them. They kept Dad busy blowing up balloons but it was a blast and something they always wanted to do. As far as hunting, keep trips short, & comfy. Take them where you will see the most animals not necessarily where the best chance for a kill is. It takes some sacrificing to tutor a young BowHunter, but IMHO is well worth it. They must want to do it. So it's best not to push, only accomadate when asked. I'm looking forward to teaching my first grandson to shoot this summer. It will be a Blast!! Dan
i rember when i was little i thought i had to go hunting cause my dad wanted me to even tho he told me that i didnt have to go if i didnt want to...going when i didnt want made it even worse...i played gameboys and made noise but he always would take me no matter what....he gave me the option to go and a few years ago i stopped going and now i would spend every second of every day in the woods with my dad
Turkey and deer might not be the best animals to start off hunting with a youngster. Squirrels or rabbits might be more effective. You don't have to sit in a blind for hours on end or a stand perfectly still. Hunting rabbits and squirrels you get to move around and usually involve more shooting and killing of game unlike deer and turkey where you MIGHT get one shot a season. Might even consider a bird hunt at a hunting club where they put out birds. You know you will have action there. You have to keep them interested.
Let him play with all the calls no matter how it sounds!! I brought my nephew out and let him play with my box call, he had a good time and sounded better than me!
My 12 year old son actually got me interested in bowhunting. So two weeks ago we went and purchased our first bows. I've hunted with rifle my entire life and it took my 12 year old son to turn me onto bowhunting. He keeps me interested. It's a great way to spend some quality time with my son that's for sure.
Thats awesome. My dad is starting to get back into bowhunting because of me, after he stopped bowhunting for 20 years. So naturally I am trying to pawn my bow off on him so I can get a new one My advice to get your kids involved in your hunting is to not keep them out there if they are not having fun. Sometimes they might be feeling restless and not want to sit for long periods of time. Thats how I was when I was little
