Hunting with a kid

Torq

Torq

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Well my oldest is 9 years old now and I promised he could come with me on my Utah general muzzleloader deer hunt starting next week. I am, of course, excited to have him with me, sharing in one of my favorite things, but also anxious at how well he will handle camping and hiking. Just wondering how you all have seen success in bringing young ones hunting.

Additionally I haven't shot a buck in years as I have not been able to find anything that I thought would be what I wanted to put my tag on. If it is your first time taking out a young kid, do you lower your standards to just come home with any buck, or do you still try and hold out for a more mature buck?
 
A few things can help...

Don't make it a long slog of hiking unless you are after an animal and he knows it.
I agree with making sure you have his favorite snacks/drinks readily available.
Make your standards, his standards. If you lay eyes on a buck and you say, "there's a buck!" and the first words out of his mouth are, "shoot it!" I'd say shoot it. If its a yearling or 2 point, maybe you can also explain youd like to find a bigger one. He might latch on to that and thereafter he'll ask "is it a bigger one?"
Lastly, listen to him if he has to take breaks, use the bathroom, eat, etc... make it comfortable as can be.

Good luck buddy!
 
Remember his toes and fingers get cold, even if yours don’t. Make sure he stays comfortable and has a runibic cube to play with, when he gets bored. Depending on the child, some loose interest in waiting for action…… quicker than others. You know your son best………
 
Get him a pair of binoculars so he can have something to do with you on the hunt.

As others have said - make sure he is comfortable (warm) and has plenty of food and drink. Make it enjoyable for him, and don't worry about outcomes on your end.

I would consider shooting a lesser buck for sure if he wants you to.
 
One of the greatest things for me was when my son got old enough to come with me. He was 6 and now he's 17. He lives for being my hunting partner and we've had some amazing times together. This fall will be his last hunt with me for a couple of years. Soak up every minute because it goes fast.
 
Started my kids out at the age of 4. Now both of my daughters are die hards. They look forward to this time of year.
Key is make sure they have an enjoyable time! If you want them to continue to bring them along.
Warm clothing
Plenty of snacks
Slower and shorter than normal hikes.
They will be noisy so you just have to expect that and teach them as they go.
Sometimes the size of animal you take doesn’t matter. The experience is what matters
No I don’t even pack a rifle. I let my kids dictate what we are doing and I enjoy it more now than when I was solo trophy hunting lol.
Good luck!
 
Lots of good advice already posted, but involve him in the decision making process throughout the hunt. Where do we camp? Where do we sit? Where should we glass? When do we get up and move? Should we check wind direction? When should we eat? Obviously you can influence the decision, but let him be involved.

If you spot a deer, let him find it "first." You may have to coach him into position, but you get the point.

And finally, if it is a spike or small forkhorn, explain the game management principle of letting them grow up. But, otherwise, lower your standards...a lot. The memories and pride of field dressing and packing out a small deer with your son will far outweigh the decision to pass on a marginal buck.

Good luck and post some pics!
 
Good on you Dad!! Solid tried and trued advise above!! Enjoy instilling a dream with your son. I've poisoned my boys too and worth every bit of effort. Now they drive me. Love it!
 
Cool thread. My son just left to college, and everything mentioned on here is dead on, and brings back the last 12 years I spent with my son hunting. Have fun dad.
 
Snacks, water, and patience. I’ve been taking my 9 year old when he wants since he was 5. I don’t change my standards for shooting. I would like if he grows up seeing me restrain myself, maybe he will do the same.

As far as keeping up hiking every kid is different but mine will do circles around me at my hardest pace. If they can’t you just have to adjust a bit. I used to over think it but really it’s no big deal. And it will build awesome memories.
 
Man great advice from all. Thank you.

I picked up some binos for him a couple weeks back and he has been playing with those already and is super pumped. We made the shopping list last night for groceries, and I am sure no one will starve on this trip. We may need some insulin for all the sugar, but no one will be hungry.
 
Maybe you already do this, but when I was young, my dad would constantly take me out hunting rabbits and prairie dog shooting. I think that’s a good way to introduce a young kid to the hobby. Big game hunting is real cool but all of the in between pays off big time. Hunting rabbits teaches focus and marksmanship. Not a lot of pressure there like big game so it makes it fun and when big game hunts come around, the fundamentals are known. Stuff like wind and using optics and other things. My dad was always down to go out and do those sorts of things. Sometimes multiple times a week for just a few hours up to all day long. Once I was able to go poopy by myself, I went everywhere with him.
 
My son took to duck hunting when he was young because there was some good fast action, at least early in the morning, and then we go back to camp and eat a good breakfast with french toast, bacon and juice, then take a good nap. He did not really like the big game hunting when he was really young, but it was something he grew into when he got a bit older. My advice would be to keep the big game hunts short, especially if they appear to be getting bored with it. It doesn’t mean they will never like hunting. If the big game hunting doesn’t go well, maybe try duck or pheasant, even if you need to go to a game farm or participate in a youth duck or pheasant hunt.
 
Never to young to start building their love for the outdoors. My boy killed his first buck this year and was stocked, I had him on his first antelope hunt before he turned a year old. As they get older it get tougher to complete with video games, cell phones, girls, sports, etc. so enjoy it while it lasts.

44A36663-214C-45AA-B102-9FD1411E036C.jpeg


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Just thought I'd come back and let you all know how it went. I had a tag for the Wasatch East area. My experience with this area is the best way to turn up deer is to walk through the aspens and try and kick something up. I talked with the DWR officer out there and he confirmed that is how most guys get their deer there. Trees are just super thick.

Anywho, we only had 2.5 days to get it done before we had to be home for football and soccer games. During that time though we hiked our butts off. We covered 29 miles in 2 days and climbed 282 stories. We jumped up plenty of deer in the trees, and I shot at them, but I really struggled to get a good shot at a running deer in thick aspens. The last hour or so of the second day we were checking out the area we thought we wanted to come back to in the morning. As we stopped to talk about it for a minute I spotted the silhouette of a deer on the skyline 500 yards away. A quick check with the binos and we knew it was a small buck.

We talked about trying to get to where the buck would feed down, but realized with light fading we wouldn't have much time. So we back out and up behind the ridge to sneak into the buck. We came back over and crested a knoll to find him in the same spot. now just 150 yards away. I was able to lay down and get a decent shot on him, finally a deer that didn't know I was there and wasn't running through trees. I was nervous for this shot going from my 3x9 scope before this would have been easy, but with my 1 power red dot it was a much more difficult shot for me. Regardless I made the shot and the buck was down. I haven't seen son so excited about something in a long time.

We took a quick picture and got to work processing him as light was fading. Headlamps came out as we got him all processed out. We loaded him up and I packed out the meat and head in the dark. By the time we got back to camp I offered to make some dinner or hot chocolate but he was so tired he just wanted to go to bed.

All in all it was a fantastic trip and one I will cherish forever. I struggled personally with the thought of shooting a two point, I haven't done that since I was a teenager myself, but I have zero regrets about it especially with how much it meant to my son.

Thanks to all for the great tips on here. I can confirm snacks are key. I will also say pocket knives go a long long way. Give the kid a knife and he was content all day. But get cheap ones, because he did lose one, luckily I have no shortage of cheap knives.

Little Buck.png
 
Well done! Hunting with kids is a lot of work but their excitement and wonder are infectious. Also, his smile shows it doesn't matter to him that it’s not a 4 point.
 
That is way kool! :cool: :cool: And that big smile says it all!

Congrats on a successful hunt, but mostly on making great memories both of you will remember forever.
 
I’m so happy for you and your boy. Brings back a flood of memories with my kids and the times they experienced a harvest for the first time and then their own respective harvests. It has been so rewarding to take them hunting, that I practically could care less about going without them anymore (even though I still do on occasion 🤷🏼‍♂️). Looking forward to hearing about his first harvest in a couple years (make sure to be accumulating some antlerless points and such that you can mentor a good tag to him and can hunt as soon as he turns 12)
 
Best thing I've heard all day! Congrats to you and the boy. Consider doing a euro and put it in his room to remember his first hunt
 
Sherlock said:
I’m so happy for you and your boy. Brings back a flood of memories with my kids and the times they experienced a harvest for the first time and then their own respective harvests. It has been so rewarding to take them hunting, that I practically could care less about going without them anymore (even though I still do on occasion 🤷🏼‍♂️). Looking forward to hearing about his first harvest in a couple years (make sure to be accumulating some antlerless points and such that you can mentor a good tag to him and can hunt as soon as he turns 12)
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Sound advice. I should start building some points.
 
Great job Dad. The real story here is how you worried and did all you could to make this hunt a success and a life long memory for him. When he’s fifty he won’t remember many things he did at his current age but I guarantee you, he will never forget this experience with you and this deer hunt.

It’s a testament to the value of the outdoor hunting lifestyle. Proud of you.
 
Torq said:
Well my oldest is 9 years old now and I promised he could come with me on my Utah general muzzleloader deer hunt starting next week. I am, of course, excited to have him with me, sharing in one of my favorite things, but also anxious at how well he will handle camping and hiking. Just wondering how you all have seen success in bringing young ones hunting.

Additionally I haven't shot a buck in years as I have not been able to find anything that I thought would be what I wanted to put my tag on. If it is your first time taking out a young kid, do you lower your standards to just come home with any buck, or do you still try and hold out for a more mature buck?
Click to expand...
Bring him a pellet gun to mess around with at camp. When my cousins and I were that age, we would hunt with our dad's all morning, then have our own hunt at camp before the evening hunt. Still remember hoping one of them would get a deer so we could get back to camp. Kids these days may not be as excited as we were though.
 
Bucketmouth said:
Bring him a pellet gun to mess around with at camp. When my cousins and I were that age, we would hunt with our dad's all morning, then have our own hunt at camp before the evening hunt. Still remember hoping one of them would get a deer so we could get back to camp. Kids these days may not be as excited as we were though.
Click to expand...
He had a BB gun, he shot at camp all day. He begged to bring it hunting with us, but with no sling I figured he would get sick of carrying it pretty quick so I made him leave it at camp.
 
2lumpy said:
Great job Dad. The real story here is how you worried and did all you could to make this hunt a success and a life long memory for him. When he’s fifty he won’t remember many things he did at his current age but I guarantee you, he will never forget this experience with you and this deer hunt.

It’s a testament to the value of the outdoor hunting lifestyle. Proud of you.
Click to expand...
You and so many others have all been so kind and supportive on this post. Thank you all!
 
Read this thread just after getting my 8 month old son off to bed and it sure has me excited for whats to come! I'm happy to hear you and your son had an awesome hunt and I'd be willing to bet he'll be talking about this hunt for many years to come!
 
Awesome experience and that smile...that is worth it right there. Good job, Dad! I had the same challenge with my son years ago but now he's my permanent sidekick.
 
Great ideas above, also make sure he has decent boots or hiking shoes. Favorite snacks, stop and check out anything he wants. If you see a cool place to eat, let him pick.
 
Way to go, DAD!!!!!!!

That smile is priceless and far surpasses what any amount of inches on top of the deer's head would grant you.

Keep up the good work!
 
All dads should read this thread. I’m a very hard core Hunter. It has been my life and my passion since I was very young. It has been all I could think about since elementary school. In English, it was all I wrote about. In every other class, I would stare out the window in class and think about hunting. In science I would focus on wildlife biology. Before I had kids and when I had kids that where very young (1-5 years of age). I spent every waking minute hunting and fishing. I wanted to master it so my kids could enjoy what I love with great success.
Long story short, my kids are 12 and 15. I have learned a lot since then. I almost ruined them. I was so passionate about hunting I could go all day. To a kid that hasn’t experienced success in hunting or even understands what success is, that is torcher. I had to change my whole thinking as a Hunter. I had to read the kids and not the game. If you are a hard core guy, it is about the kids not the hunt. Take days for you and days for them, would be my advice.
 
Hunter12 said:
All dads should read this thread. I’m a very hard core Hunter. It has been my life and my passion since I was very young. It has been all I could think about since elementary school. In English, it was all I wrote about. In every other class, I would stare out the window in class and think about hunting. In science I would focus on wildlife biology. Before I had kids and when I had kids that where very young (1-5 years of age). I spent every waking minute hunting and fishing. I wanted to master it so my kids could enjoy what I love with great success.
Long story short, my kids are 12 and 15. I have learned a lot since then. I almost ruined them. I was so passionate about hunting I could go all day. To a kid that hasn’t experienced success in hunting or even understands what success is, that is torcher. I had to change my whole thinking as a Hunter. I had to read the kids and not the game. If you are a hard core guy, it is about the kids not the hunt. Take days for you and days for them, would be my advice.
Click to expand...
Very well said and I agree. Read the kids and not the game is perfectly said.
 
I fish more than I hunt.
When my daughter and son were little I woke them up early, always wanted to be the first to launch and for them to limit out fast.
I never stopped to get them snacks because deep down I thought they would be more excited to catch most/bigger fish.
I was wrong and ruined them for almost two decades.
They are now 34 and 32.
They will go with me two or three times a year and now when they go with me I always stop at gas station and force them to go in with me to get snacks.
They get a little embarrassed to load up on snacks with me as adults but I don’t care and we all just laugh.
 

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