My son turns six before next season, which means he is old enough to shoot a deer next year. For you other dads, at what age did you start letting your kids get in a tree? It would be a two man ladder stand so I am with him and he would absolutely be in a safety harness and life line. He has been going with me for two seasons but only in the ground blind. I am thinking about going up in a tree with him so we do not lose a lot of cross bow bolts when he shoots. I am looking at buying a cross bow and a two man stand for next year because he is not strong enough to pull back enough draw weight on a regular bow.
I start in a treestand when I was 10. It was a youth sized Loc-on and I used folding steps that hung on lag bolts. I put it up and took it down for each hunt....screws and all. I think my Dad was testing my resolve.....LOL. It's hard to give advice on other peoples children. My only thought is to buy a Lifeline that has the two prussics so both of you can hook up.
All depends on how comfortable they are climbing the ladder. Also make sure he can be in a comfortable position when shooting. I would expect him to be able to get in position and having his butt on the seat, and both feet on the platform. If not I would either build up the platform for him, or wait another year.
My dad started out with me and had me using a crossbow to start out. After my first two deer, he got me a compound. That was all when I was around 9 years old. And I was in ladder stands at that age. I'd say 6 is fine when you're with him and using harnesses and lifelines. Seems pretty safe to me. Good luck Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Kids in Arkansas can start at 6 and kill three deer per year until they are 16. At 16 they have to complete hunter ed and have their own license, which is currently six deer and two turkeys. They can use any legal weapon they like, I am starting mine with a crossbow because I do not think he will be ready to handle the noise and recoil of a firearm. Crossbows are legal here during archery season which runs from the last Saturday of September to the end of February.
Put the Ladder up in your yard and practice with him. See how it goes. Lifeline a most. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Go out and test them with it. I won't let mine that are 12 and 10 because the boy has some physical limits, the 10 years old doesn't want to but I have a 6 year old step daughter I let go with a lifeline bc she listens, is careful and knows to sit own and shut up. I think it has to do more with maturity level than an actual age on kids, they are all different .
I started my son young. He started deer hunting with me (only in box stands) when he was just 2yo. He tagged along on turkey hunts when he was just 4yo. I killed a jake and a nice gobbler that year with him by my side. He has ALWAYS worn a pair of the Howard Leight Impact Pro electronic ear muffs for hearing protection. They work great because we can still communicate when he wears them because they act as an amplifier but shut off when I/he shoot. He started deer hunting with his Rem700 .243 at 6yo and killed 3 deer his first year. He also started turkey hunting at 6yo with his Rem870 20ga but it took him 3 seasons to finally kill a gobbler. He's 10yo now and has come A LONG WAY in his deer & turkey hunting skills. This past 2016 deer season he started hunting out of our Lone Wolf Alpha and Assault treestands. He killed 2 does in NC and a nice broken up 10pt in Ohio during their youth gun season while hunting in an Alpha or Assault. We both use muddy safety harnesses and either muddy or hss safety lines. I've started videoing his/our hunts to make memories and I'm so glad I did. We enjoy watching our hunts over and over and love to share with friends. I'm still trying to learn to edit the videos. I encourage you to start your child as early as you think he/she can handle it. If they get discouraged then back off/slow down. The main piece of advice is to KEEP IT FUN AND SAFE and don't get serious about it too quick. Understand that they will mess up and big bucks and nice gobblers may and will get away. But if you keep it positive and let those mistakes be lessons, it can build a strong relationship between you and your child. Good luck!
View attachment 74134 View attachment 74135 View attachment 74136 View attachment 74138 View attachment 74139 View attachment 74143 [/QUOTE] Great pics, good point on the maturity. I actually have two sons, both are currently five. One has been hunting with me since he was three, I think he could handle it with practice. My other son, whom my wife and I are in the process of adopting, does not have the maturity for it. I have not taken him hunting yet.
Crossbow to start is a good call... I'd keep it in the ground blind though IMHO. Safer and in my experience 6 yr olds don't sit too still. The blind will allow him to have his snack, play a game etc without any real disturbance to the hunt. My oldest didn't get in a stand until 9. Keep the shots close and you shouldn't have to worry much about lost bolts. Have fun!!
That is how he has been going with me and watching for the last couple of years. But it may be worthwhile to keep it that way until he is older. Bolts are cheaper than a new stand, safety harness, lifeline, etc.
True... My 6 yr old hunted for the first time this year and this is my second go around. My daughter started a couple years ago. The blind is just so much more user friendly with a lil one. In fact my daughter wouldn't have even been in the double stand at 9yrs if I didn't have the buck patterned tight and I knew it'd only be a 15 minute sit before he showed As I'm sure you know keeping it fun for them is half the battle and truth be told that often means snacks and the like, that's a lot harder to do in the stand.
My 11yo daughter has accompanied me on hunts the last few years. All of those sits have been brief and from a double ladder stand. She turns twelve this summer and I think she might be ready for the responsibility of actually killing a deer herself under my supervision. My plan is to hunt from ground blinds since she can move around a little more and I can set up a rest for the crossbow. I think she would do find on a short sit in a ladder stand but will try the ground blind first if we can. Good luck.
I had my son watching and sitting with me at age 7 in the two man stand. ( he wasn't ready to pull the trigger). Then at age 8 he was hunting out of that two man ladder stand. We both had separate harnesses and life lines both years. your choice thou. MATURITY LEVEL!!!!!!!!??????? HE IS 16 NOW AND LOVES IT!!!!!!!!
I started my daughter in a tree stand at 10... she is 12 now.. my younger is 10 now, but I still don't think she is quite ready. We have been sticking to ground blinds w/ the bow, or just sitting on ground w/ gun.
Took my son a lot this year. He turned 6 in May. He was with me in the stand for several of my kills. We were unlucky the times he had a weapon. Just depends on the child.
