Getting a boy (and myself) into archery hunting

fmnjr · Aug 3, 2018

My son wants to bow hunt, as do I.

We will start outfitting ourselves over the winter, shoot 3D and whatever other practice we can come up with, with the ultimate goal of drawing tags in any western state we can hunt next season.

He's 12 this year and the school year starts here in Southern Nevada mid August, and from what I know of archery season dates, the season in most states right around that time, right?

Unfortunately, Vegas is not the sort of area where one can just go down the road to hunt so the season dates might be a bit of problem to overcome.

I'm sure we're probably not the only ones on here that have worked around similar circumstances to get the job done, any insights/suggestions on this would be most welcome!

Ajax2744 · Aug 3, 2018

That's a great goal for you guys to have! I don't know much about Nevada's draw system except that there is some good hunting over there haha. If you don't draw there are a few states that offer OTC tags for archery and some Western States have leftover archery tags for some decent units. I'm in Colorado and our season starts labor day weekend and runs through the third week of September. In Colorado the bulls don't start heating up typically until the third week of September. But investing in GoHunt can get you a good idea of where you will have chances at drawing tags in your first year. I also have a membership to Elk101 and if you haven't elk hunted it would greatly reduced the learning curve.

fmnjr · Aug 4, 2018

We are late to the world of big game hunting and are using tool possible, thanks for the recommendations.

I wonder, how many folks that have school-age kids who hunt let them skip school nowadays?

When I was that age it was very common in VA and we will likely do the same.

After all, what else could be a better reason for a future wildlife biologist to miss a few days of school for?

std7mag · Aug 5, 2018

Congrats to you and your son!
My daughter wanted to go hunting with me since she was about 13. Alas, she's a fair weather hunter. And "we are walking how far!!??". Lol

She's now 20 and living away from home. She and her b/f are now going.

This year i get to take my cousins oldest son (14) hunting.

PA has state holliday for opening day of rifle season. Monday after Thanksgiving.

BackofBeyond · Aug 5, 2018

I don't have school aged kids yet, but am sure once they are, if they should happen to come down with a nasty case of "want-to-go-itis" then they'll just have to stay home from school. Wouldn't want them getting their classmates sick and all...

Every year in middle school, my dad would let me skip school for a week to hunt, but once I was in high school football became the priority. I would miss a few days here and there during the season, but with games on Friday night, we'd routinely start the 3 hour drive to our hunting area at 2:00 am.

psycho · Aug 5, 2018

Its great to get them started young before they have more frivolous pursuits. This will be the 5th year I take my nephew hunting. A troubled kid that really took to hunting. I would say if your not picky about the area than youth are guaranteed tags. The beauty of that tag is they get three seasons on the same tag. If you don't get it done with archery, then muzzle loader, then rifle if the tag is still not filled. That is a lot of weekends to fill a tag so you don't really need to miss that much school. Oh, they also get to shoot a doe or buck on same tag. I suggest you shoot the first thing you get close enough to so they build confidence and don't lose interest. Even after 4 years my nephew is still happy to take doe home and put it in the freezer when most of his buddies get nothing as they all look for monsters. He is the one supplying barbeque for sleep overs as a result.
PM me if you want my opinion of the easiest place to draw (near Vegas) AND get on the deer first morning for your son. Basically my honey hole. I will be taking my 22 year old daughter and her boyfriend there to fill their tags as well as my nephew a little later this year. Happy hunting!

fmnjr · Aug 6, 2018

std7mag: Going with you must have had some effect otherwise she and her bf wouldn't be going hunting I'd say, so that effort you made seems to have turned out well.

Backofbeyond: I'm imagining a similar sort of scenario re school and "not feeling well" when the season rolls around.

psycho: What can I say except thank you?! PM on it's way...

OhHeyThereBen · Aug 6, 2018

You're his dad. Just tell the school he won't be there for a hunting trip and help him get some pre-work/homework/makeup work arranged for missing school. Maybe it's a bit different in small-town America where I've always lived, but I don't think teachers would complain too much for a kid that age.

I wish you the best of luck! There are plenty of excellent, affordable, and adjustable bows that will get him through much of his growing at that age. Just scour the used racks.

p_ham · Aug 6, 2018

If you pull him from school, don't say it's a hunting trip. They most likely won't excuse the absence. There are quite a few areas that are easy to draw archery, I reccommend applying for junior tags. Hard to beat 3 months of open season.

GAoutdoors · Aug 6, 2018

There are some antelope and mule deer seasons in early August in Nevada. I would also think about Thanksgiving break and Christmas Break. Most other states would begin mid August though. I would also suggest that you don't have to take an entire week off of school to hunt. Maybe take a Thursday and Friday off and hunt the weekend.

Congrats on getting into archery! You will be hooked soon.

Mully204 · Aug 14, 2018

Not sure what there is for Bow-Fishing in your area, but its a fun way to start shooting. You can pull the trigger a lot more, build some confidence and have fun. In my area some fish can be bow-fished in the spring in the shallows/ditches. I started that way and so did my younger brother. There are bow fishing kits you can attach, but depending on your local regs, and the species of fish and location you might be able to get away with a normal arrow/field point. Just ensure you check arrows for damage and be willing to toss an arrow or two if they do get damaged.

rideold · Aug 14, 2018

By all means pull them from school to go hunting. They'll learn more about the world and themselves in a week of hunting than a month of middle school. Do it now since high school is harder to miss. Just make sure you arrange with the teachers well ahead of time to get the school work done before or during the trip. And yes, don't say it's for hunting. It's true that some school districts don't excuse for that. Seems pretty stupid to me since a family vacation is ok. Just say you are traveling. They don't need the details.

Getting a boy (and myself) into archery hunting

fmnjr

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Ajax2744

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fmnjr

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std7mag

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BackofBeyond

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psycho

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fmnjr

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OhHeyThereBen

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p_ham

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GAoutdoors

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rideold

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