Tips on taking youth hunting

[Ohboytimmy]

I am planning to take my 12 year old nephew out rifle whitetail hunting. It will be a four day trip during Minnesota's Youth/early antler-less season. The kid likes loves to fish but haven't done much outdoors than that. The only hunting influences he has ever had is me. Being the only hunter in the family. I am a self taught bow hunter starting 8 years ago. Primary bow hunted white tails, got into grouse hunting, duck hunting, small game and most recently back country elk hunts.

I want to be a good lifetime mentor to the kid as I never had a one throughout my journey. I realize how beneficial it is to have someone talk to you about all the emotions and concerns when it comes to hunting on the field. I believe hunter recruitment and retention is an issue that will get worse over generations. I would like to start a hunting tradition in my family as it seems the bread an butter of hunter population develop from adults passing the skills onto the youngsters.


He has his firearms safety certificate but I plan to take him to the 100 yard long range a few Sundays so he gets comfortable and familiar with shooting.

The first day we will camp out on state forest and still hunt in the morning and evening. If no harvest is made we will stay at my mothers small farm in Northwest MN an hour away and hunt some private and close by WMA. I'd be surprised if we didn't get into deer.

I just want to make sure the kid has the best experience as possible.
What are your tips or advice on taking youth out hunting?


My main goals

1. Firearm safety, Hunting Safety in general
2. Briefly get into how hunting and wildlife conservation works. Hunter values and public portrayals
3. Just make sure to always have fun (experience the outdoors and being together)

 

[SFC B]

I think that with kids first experiences the fun and wonder of the outdoors are really what stick with them. With my kids I tried to make sure and show them little stuff throughout the day ..."this is a ____ track"...."here is a game trail"......" that helps to lead to interest and discovery of the outdoors where we hunt. Also, I made sure to try and take off any pressure by explaining it wasn't all about harvesting an animal.

 

[JohnCushman]

Let him shoot whatever deer he wants. If a spike gets him excited, then let him shoot it. It's all about him and what he wants, so don't get hung up on a 'trophy'.

 

[maxx]

It should be all about them.

Keep him dry
Keep him warm
People can kill me on this but I let the boys take a phone to play with if that keeps them their longer then it is a plus.
Keep the time pretty short. If he wants to go then go. I try to keep it under 3 hours depending on action.
If you can use a blind. Tree stands are hard for the first time and just sitting in the timber is difficult also.
Try to make it as fun as possible.

My boys are 10 and 12. Each boy has a handful of kills already. My 12 year old killed his first at 7, for the first few years I thought for him it was just about hanging with dad. He killed a nice 12 with a muzzy and a 5 point with a bow last year and since then he has been a hunting machine.

 

[Bambistew]

Talk about the nature around you... you'll have lots of time. The small things we take for granted as we mature as hunters are things that kids or people starting out have no idea about, or think to ask questions.

Topics may include:
Animal sign
timing of the rut
flora/fauna
equipment
survival
etc, etc.

 

[kansasdad]

Most kids won't or can't "embrace the suck". Physical comfort is really helpful in forming warm and pleasant feelings towards hunting.

For me the most important thing in dealing with kids is setting realistic expectations before any event. Letting him know that you expect to walk in the woods, look for evidence of animal presence, see some critters, settle in for a significant period of time, etc, etc. Let him know that it will be a great time out in nature, even if no bullet is ever sent down range. Getting to zipstrip a tag to a hock is icing on the cake

 

[Irish52084]

Keep it fun and try to take any pressure out of it. There's lots of stuff to learn especially for a first hunt.
I think you've got the most important parts down, safety is always #1. Its always nice to see people getting new hunters into the field. I was lucky enough to have some really good mentors when I was a kid and they would always tell me to go with this guy or watch him and see how he does it etc... I think it helped me out a ton to have mentors to point things out and offer different perspectives.

 

[TRS_Montana]

Switch, or at least combine, number two and number 3. Kids don't care about conservation. Adults who have learned to love the outdoors care about conservation. Help him enjoy his time outside and when he is 20 or 30, you can enjoy some good conversation about conservation, biology, ecology, wildlife dynamics, and whatever else you want.
Don't expect too much. Let him set the bar and don't make the standard for your success be shooting a deer. Have. Fun.

 

[1_pointer]

Make it fun and comfortable! If possible, after a range session maybe take him out for small game as practice for the deer hunt. It'd be good practice and a low pressure way to get started. At least with something like squirrels, it's likely he'll see the intended game and have a good chance at a shot opportunity My kids are only 7 and 10, but I know out chances of still hunting up on a deer as a group is very low. IMO, pop up ground blinds in likely areas are GREAT for taking kids. They can move a bit and not get busted as easy. Lastly, lots and lots of snacks. Tootsie Pops are favorites with mine and it can help keep some of the chattering down. In the end, make if fun and exciting and he'll go back.

 

[Ohboytimmy]

Thank you guys for the words. Fun, Fun, fun. I think as adults we forget about that part of hunting. I am often hard on myself.

 

[utahminer]

I have an 11 yr old that loves to hunt and I think a few things really helped him develop that love while we were in the field
1) Let him feel like he has a responsibility in the process (this mainly applies to the west, but my kids always go into the field with binos so that they are helping glass for deer. Its amazing what they will find)
2) Help them understand that the process takes time. Tell them your stories about finding an animal at last light or after a long day, so they understand it doesnt always happen quickly.
3) Dont spend a ton of time in the field the first time, slowly build up the amount of time.
4) Make sure they are comfortable.
5) the right snacks go a LONG way. I dont know why by my son will walk all day long looking forward to eating Ramen from a backpacking stove. If the kids go with me I always pack stuff for a warm lunch.

 

[LMD423]

We take our kids most of the time with us . Started when they turned 3 to 4 years old. We made a adventure out of it went slow and had fun now they are 10 and 6 both like and want to go all the time. Packing snacks and stopping to look at the little things is important to them. Both have been with us on elk and deer and a bear kills. Probably cost us a few elk and deer in the years but the joy of taking them is huge compared to harvesting a animal. We have a membership to a range and shoot fairly often they love to plink away . Make it fun and a adventure and no pressure to get a critter. And patience goes along way with the little ones.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

Pop tarts

 

[TheNorthStar]

I took my son out for his first handful of hunting experiences these past 2 weekends. We sat a duck blind, I figured a decent amount of action would keep him engaged, I wouldn't need to try and keep him silent (he's 5yo...) and behind the netting he could fidget enough to keep himself occupied between flocks.

The action was slower than I had hoped for, but I kept a steady rotation of the trappings of duck hunting in his hands to keep his mind busy, shotgun shells, duck calls, inspecting the differences between the ducks we harvested. It turned out to be a great couple of weekends with a good deal of philosophical chatter about feeling bad for the ducks that died and being proud of sourcing our own meat. Very positive first trip.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Lots of good tips already posted. I will add, make sure he is using an age/size appropriate gun. Better to have first experience with a youth stock .243 or 30-30 than a full sized 30-06. No point pounding the kid and starting a rifle flinch.