So here in Michigan, bow season is fast approaching followed by the ever short lived firearms season. I am fortunate enough to have a profession which allows me to have multiple long stretches of time off. Having this added time off allows me to avoid the "one week to get it done" mentality while hunting. To my point; I have a 8 year old daughter who is every bit a "daddy's girl". If I am out shooting my bow in the backyard she is normally right next to me shooting her little Bear Jr bow, often times just happy to be flinging arrows in the same general direction. While I feel she is much too young and has a lot of maturing to do before I would allow her into the woods with a weapon, I am seriously contemplating allowing her to come sit with me on some hunts. Last year, she didn't show much interest in hunting, but was filled with excitement when I showed her the two deer I harvested. This year, while I have had much more time to prepare for the upcoming hunting season, she has increased her interest in my activities and has now said the words we all want our children to say at some point, "I want to go hunting too!" I have to admit I was somewhat taken back by her statement, but also very proud. The thought of being able to sit in a blind or two-person stand with my daughter gave me a sense of pride, but also a fear of managing an 8 year old in a quiet, sensitive atmosphere. Now to my question. Has anyone else had their young child sit with them on hunts before? How did it work out? My plan is dedicate some of my many available days to short 1-2 hour hunts on warmer days. My biggest fear is her getting bored and having a tainted view on hunting for the future. I am willing to sacrifice not getting a deer that day if it means my daughter finds a new appreciation for the sport. Do you all feel that this is a good plan? Any advice? Thanks all in advance and my apologies for the long posting.
I take my boys with me....ALOT it probably ruins my hunt a lot....but its ok. sometimes we get there and 20 mins later they are ready to go....so we leave. ill try to help them come to the decision to stay a little longer on their own...like I might point out how cool a squirrel is acting or help them identify doves/quails/owls etc. that we here...but if they decide they really wanna leave we do and I dont give them any trouble. im don't wanna force them to stay because I wont it to be a good and fun experience...not something they dread. my dad did that with me when I was younger and I believe that's why I love it so much today because of his patience and sacrifice. year before last I killed a doe with my boys with me...we were just sitting in the truck watching a bean field...but I do take them in the woods some. by the way....now they are 5 and 7 :-) so I say GO FOR IT!! but don't push her too hard.... you will be glad you did.....trust me ooo!! and also...a word of advice.....a Ziploc bag of gummy bears!!!
I think it completely depends on the child. When my little guy gets older I'll go off of his cues. My brother has 5 kids, 12 to 3. The 3 year old is the only one with the patience to sit for any length of time.
My 7 yr old daughter wants to go too. Going to set up Ground blind in a spot with a short walk. Ill let her bring a coloring book maybe but none of that technology crap. And she will only be able to get the coloring book out after all other efforts to interest her in the nature around her have been exhausted. Lol
I'm thinking about bringing my 9 year old daughter out at least one morning for rifle season. She has been fishing with me, and did her first shooting of a rifle this year which she is anxious to do again. With rifle season being in an enclosed platform stand where being quiet is not as critical. I'm thinking about picking her up on Wed night to have her go with me on Thanksgiving morning. Don't sit all day because of football and food.
My 4 year old son gets mad when he knows I'm going hunting and he can't come with. I haven't tried it yet, but this weekend I will be setting up a ground blind for us to sit in. I don't expect him to have much patience, but the exposure he'll get to the outdoors and the opportunity to show him what its like will be worth it. Like Fitz said, it depends on the child.
I take my 8 yr old twins with me as much as possible. I do try and avoid days that are inclement weather because it makes it a lot harder on them (even though the hunting may be better!). I was fortunate enough to have both kids in stand with me last year when I shot my biggest buck with a bow to date and it was great! They got to see the whole thing unfold from the time the deer stepped out of the treestrip to where he dropped. They are hooked! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have started all three of my boys at young ages (4+) turkey hunting first. It teaches them quite a few things that are key to being successful with whitetails. Patience, movement, and being quiet are the big 3. Each kid has been a completely different experience.
I take both of my kids out with me. One at a time My boy is 8 and my daughter is 12. The key is to not get upset if they get out there and 10 minutes later they are ready to go home. I also only take my kids out to spots where we have blinds that are built to keep the noise down. My advise.. If you are in the mood to do an all day hunt then keep the kids at home. If you are OK with just being out there spending time with and don't care if you see any deer Then take the kids with you. The one thing I have noticed is every year they get better at being quite and enjoying the time they spend out hunting.
I have a ten year old son and an 8 year old daughter and it does depend on child. My son has MD so getting him to the stand is more of a challenge but we have been and he's seen deer with me (although it wasn't a doe day at the time and he wanted me to shoot it) but that's another lesson in life about doing the right thing. My 8 year old daughter would be more patient if she had any interest in it all but she loves animals too much and i'm not going to force that upon her until she is ready to see it(although she doesn't mind eating it). My dad started taking me when I was 11 and i carried a gun, although i couldn't see letting my son sit by himself at his age with a loaded firearm nowadays, but that was a different world 25 years ago. I don't expect to see anything when my boy goes with me because he is too excited and asking questions and winds up getting hungry and cold but i think it's all about the experience. I also try to use a deer blind and i let him take his ipad with the volume all the way down because if he was at home he would be doing the same thing but if he loses interest in minecraft he can come stare out the blind with me and at least count squirrels. I don't take him to my best spots because they are not accessible for him but he does get go. I say take them out and let them enjoy the outdoors whenever they start asking about it.
Thanks for all of the responses. Next week we are supposed to have fairly warm weather so after I pick her up from school I will surprise her and take her out with me. I will just play it by ear and see how it goes. I think the idea of silent snacks to munch on will help her too.
Starting bringing my son when he was 5. Brought snacks, snacks, juice, watched movies on my phone, talked about the animals we saw. We weren't silent, we didn't hunt all day, I am sure the deer could smell our food, but he has a blast and keeps coming back. I know I am investing in a life-long hunting partner, I don't expect him to sit still dark to dark.
Started taking my son with me last year when he was 2. I didnt push really long sits with him, an hour or an hour and a half was good enough. He sat still and quiet without much guidance from me. He just wanted to see deer and wanted me to kill one so he was down with being quiet and sitting still on his own. We had a doe come in to 7 yards while we were sitting on the ground behind a fallen cedar but I wasnt able to take a shot. Also had a doe in at 20 that ducked my arrow. He is now 3 and I will be taking him again this year and hope to get the job done sitting with him. Thats just my story. Like Fitz said.. it will vary greatly from child to child. Best of luck to you.
I was 5 when I first started going out. Things were different then. The key though is making it fun and exciting for them. You gotta be prepared that they will get tired or cold and have a plan. You may have to sacrifice some stand time and leave early. Let her decide if she wants to go and go from there. Good luck.
I can't tell you when because I don't have any kids but I think my dad did it a good way at 3 years old he started letting me sit with him at 6 years old I started to shoot ages from 8-11 we started hunting separately but his stand was always close enough for him to keep an eye on me and then from 11 till now I've been hunting by myself
I've had my oldest cooper in a deer blind since he was 4. These was a lot of daddy I see a big buck daddy there's bugs in here ect.. but there was those memories of our first hunt where 4 does came out and I was able to harvest one with him in the blind. Let him blood track it. Now at 7 he's ate up with everything outdoors. I say take her as often as possible and spend those great time outdoors with her. It's times that no money or ever get you closer to her as a person. Good luck this year and look forward to some big buck pictures. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
