Kids intro to hunting

C

CD1

New member
I went bow hunting on a friends farm Sunday. I stalked and shot a doe that morning with my new bow. I was very happy with the way the hunt went (short version for the sake of brevity). After I heard her drop and retrieved my arrow I went back to the house to tell my buddy, and get his boys (kindergarten and first grade) to come help track the deer. They had never touched a deer or seen one up close. They were fired up to go out and help.

When we got out to the start of the blood trail, I explained what we were doing and how we would do it. I picked up a bloody leaf for each of them so they could use it as a reference. The blood trail was not difficult to follow. never-the-less, they were as excited as they could be and showed great enthusiasm the whole time. We found the deer and I introduced them to gutting. I got all of the faces and phrases one would expect from kids their age...and I loved it.

My buddy told me that after I left, they hounded him all day to drive by the gutpile again. They would get out and inspect, note what the buzzards had eaten, then go back and tell their mom all about it. He told me that they both wanted to wear their camoflauge to school the next day, and that his boy in kindergarten told in "show and tell" that he held a warm deer heart the day before. I bet the kid next in line took a seat after hearing that. My boy is almost two now, and I can't wait to pass it all on to him.
 
CD,

Good on ya! I hunt private land and have taken the owner's sons out squirrel hunting on a number of occasions. This year, the older of the two wants to sit in a treestand with me. My son is doing archery this year (he's 14), and my 10-year-old daughter has asked to tag along with us. Two weeks ago I had thirteen kids (mine plus a bunch of friends) seated around my dining room table learning the rules of gun safety and examining different firearms, getting familiar with parts and nomenclature, etc. In my "spare" time, I'm a certified Hunter Ed instructor and I help out with a couple of courses each year.

Very few things in life more satisfying than introducing youngsters to shooting and hunting. I say again, good on ya!
 
I regularly take my 3 daughters with when we go hunting (aged 3, 7, 9) in fact ,they enjoy it so much that I can hardly go without them. The older two will go from the time we start stalking through to the shot being fired and the animal is found. Apart from learning a respect for fire arms, they also learn a lot about the bush, animals, animal behaviour and tracking .The older two also help with skinning and processing the meat. For us hunting is a family outing. The oldest has already started to ask when she can shoot her first Oryx. I dont think it will be in the too distant future.
 
My son's going hunting with us this year, but I'm sitting him with a friend that's a better hunter tha I am. I asked my friend to show him the ropes the right way, not the way I muddle through things. ;)

We're both getting a late start in life, but we love the sport.
 
Ron,

Better late than never! I grew up in the city, and my dad wasn't an outdoorsman. First I ever really got acquainted with firearms was when I tried out for the rifle team in college (obviously, before shooting became politically incorrect at institutions of higher learning). Shot for a couple of years, but then let it go until after I was married. I got turned on to hunting by my father-in-law, for whom I'm the son he never had. Hunting with him has been a great experience. Much of what I'm passing on to my own kids I learned from him.
 
Ron,

I didn't get started until I was 22. It's amazing when you start, you wonder what you used to do before you hunted. Good luck in the woods this year.
 
glad to see that a fine tradition is not going to die. I started at age 6 with my dad & uncles and grandpa. had my first bb gun then and wore blisters on my butt for a week when I forgot to unload before entering the house, haven't done it since (except handguns). been hunting ever since. keep teaching the youngins....
 
As a proud dad I had to post our picture in the Take A Kid Hunting Thread. My 12-year-old daughter got her very first deer last Sunday, opening day, a little 2x1 mule deer, and couldn't have been more happy with a state record. I followed along but basically let her track the blood trail and she did fine. She also helped with field dressing and later with skinning and butchering. I think it was just fasciantion with having a wild deer up so close and actually able to touch it; I didn't have to prod, she wanted to be in on every step of the process.

This weekend, I'm told, we HAVE to go up to the next county north where they have whitetail doe B tags so she can try hunting again without waiting until next year. With that kind of enthusiasm, dad's elk hunting can wait another weekend or two.
 
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