Hunting with kids?

[156p&y]

I want to see what you guys suggest for kids in the woods

I don't have any of my own kids but I have a cousin that wants to learn to hunt. I took him today for the first time and he could not sit still to save his life. I've taken other kids hunting but I've never had that big of a problem with them flopping around so much. Do you guys have any suggestions to keep him still while hunting? Cell phone games? He did well for his first time. I just want to make it as enjoyable as possible so he keeps wanting to go.

He wanted me to shoot EVERYTHING, squirrels, turkeys anything that moved. lol I think was a good learning experience for him to see that we don't just go out in the woods and shoot deer. We didn't see any deer this afternoon

 

[X-Tennessean]

It makes it tuff on them not seeing what you are targeting. My nephews have learned pretty well to be cautious of thier movement and talking, although one I have to remind constantly to sit still ! It comes with age I guess but like yourself seeing your quarry makes the time go by faster or it does for me.
Congrats to you for getting him out there and hope he becomes a great outdoorsman. Good luck

 

[scn]

A pop up blind goes a long way in keeping them comfortable and hiding movement. You also have room for a backpack full of snacks and a book or game if necessary.

 

[Pic IN the Casa]

A pop up blind goes a long way in keeping them comfortable and hiding movement. You also have room for a backpack full of snacks and a book or game if necessary.

YEP. I wouldn't go deer or turkey hunting without one if I took a kid (mine included) hunting. All you'll do is raise your own blood pressure otherwise..
My son takes books and hand held video games.

Think about this: the average adult can keep their attention on a live play or speech for 18 minutes. Can we really expect a kid to stay focused and still for any longer than that with everything to see in the woods?

 

[UTGrad]

I hunt in a blind and bring coloring books and games. I want them to have fun and kids sit pretty still coloring and playing electronic games.

 

[TN Larry]

A pop up blind goes a long way in keeping them comfortable and hiding movement. You also have room for a backpack full of snacks and a book or game if necessary.

X100. I learned this real quick with my 6 year old this year and also learned that we were better off field hunting than woods hunting.

 

[CBU93]

How old is the kid? If they want to bad enough, they learn to sit still.

If he is wanting action, why take him deer hunting? Squirrels, rabbits, anything but deer or turkey to learn on would be better....

 

[Stick'n'String]

Ground blind is a must and I usually carry my phone or iPad for some distractions, even carried a coloring book and crayons one time. Snack and drink also. I have to carry a separate backpack whenever the kids come.

All that aside I think the most important part is not trying to make things too serious. I've told my boys if they really want to kill a deer we need to sit still and be as quiet as possible but we still cut up and have fun. If they want to go we leave and if they want to walk around a still hunt we do. Most times we just end up having a good time in the woods with each other and call it hunting.

It's not as easy to give up one of your days but when they start to love hunting as much as you do it's all worth it. Make it fun for them not you.

 

[hunter0925]

Ground blind is a must and I usually carry my phone or iPad for some distractions, even carried a coloring book and crayons one time. Snack and drink also. I have to carry a separate backpack whenever the kids come.

All that aside I think the most important part is not trying to make things too serious. I've told my boys if they really want to kill a deer we need to sit still and be as quiet as possible but we still cut up and have fun. If they want to go we leave and if they want to walk around a still hunt we do. Most times we just end up having a good time in the woods with each other and call it hunting.

It's not as easy to give up one of your days but when they start to love hunting as much as you do it's all worth it. Make it fun for them not you.

This^^^^

 

[Greenhead]

Thanks for your input. Well said!

 

[WMAn]

How old is the kid? If they want to bad enough, they learn to sit still.

If he is wanting action, why take him deer hunting? Squirrels, rabbits, anything but deer or turkey to learn on would be better....

I also want to know how old he is, and I second squirrel hunting as a way to get him started.

Squirrels offer more opportunities in less time than deer and give him an opportunity to over time go from fidget master to stealth hunter.

I think pop-up blinds are good, but I'm not a fan of games, especially electronic, to serve as a distraction.

If we're not careful, we can end up with kids who know a lot about shooting deer but nothing about deer hunting.

If he has trouble sitting still, set-up two different pop-up blinds about 200 yards apart. On opposite ends of a logging road would be great. Get him to commit to an hour in one blind and let him know after that hour you'll move to the other blind. While walking to and from have him find any deer sign he can see.

My grandfather took me and would offer me money if I spotted the first deer. I never won the money but it helped to keep me focused for a little while.

I started deer hunting at ten. I couldn't sit still, and I didn't see a deer till I was 12. I didn't kill my first deer till I was 14. Kids don't always have to have instant success to become good deer hunters.

 

[TN24081]

The most important thing to remember when taking a kid hunting is to let the kid have fun. A successful hunt is one where the kid enjoys the experience and wants to go back. Not one where he is constantly told what he is doing wrong... Plan ahead... and focus on the experience, not on killing something. If they're never taught how to enjoy the experience they'll stop hunting when they gets their drivers license.

Also, I don't allow my kids to take video games or ipods etc hunting with me. They can however take a sketch pad or crossword puzzle etc. Guess I'm old fashioned... It's never been an issue though, they just know that's how it is...

 

[156p&y]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I will take him squirrel hunting that's a good idea. I've got a .22 with a scope on it that's will help teach him how to shoot. I never thought of that we'll because I don't squirrel hunt really.

I think he is 9 maybe 10. My concern is that he has a good time, which he did. I just don't want to do something wrong and he doesn't want to go again. So I appreciate the suggestions. I tried to make everything a competion or a game but also teaching him as we went. He's pretty competitive and I would challenge him to see who could sit still the longest and then of course loose myself throughout our competition.

 

[WMAn]

I would go with a shotgun instead of a 22.

As far as doing something wrong goes, I started with my grandfather and uncle using a 30-30 with open sights. Every piece of clothing I had was bought used from kids who had outgrown it or from Wal-Mart, think cotton and lots of it.

My first hunt, at age 10, was from a climbing stand set-up on the base of the tree so I could use the gun rest. Just after legal light, I got very cold, started to shake, dropped my gun, and broke the stock.

I didn't see any deer that year, the next year, or the year after that. I couldn't sit still/stay warm.

I saw my first deer while hunting at age 13. A 2.5 yo eight point that looked absolutely huge to me. I missed him the first shot and grazed him at ten yards with the second (he was in a rut daze). We never found him. The next day I missed a doe. Opening weekend of rifle, I twice scared off deer that my grandfather could see, but I couldn't by asking too loudly, "Is it a buck?"

I killed my first deer at 14, which happened to be the first year I hunted in a stand and with a scope.

My point being that my introduction to deer hunting was done wrong in every possible way (improperly clothed, on the ground with no blind, open sights). Only once can I remember getting so upset that I wanted to quit hunting and that one time was all of 30 minutes in the middle of an otherwise enjoyable hunt.

 

[Boll Weevil]

I took my 8 year old niece Saturday...pink mittens and all. We walked off down the hill at 1230 in the afternoon and "hunted" for only as long as she wanted to.

One key I've found for younglings in to keep it a learning experience and don't make it a grueling exercise. She had the binoculars and was on grunt tube duty. We whittled toohpicks, snuck through an area IN the creek to remain un (or at least less) detected, and changed locations every 15 minutes or so. Wood peckers, mushrooms on a dead log, investigating a scrape, cracking open acorns, tree identification, and whispering about the whats and whys of deer behavior. My goal for her 1st and foremost is in learning to love the outdoors; the whole time she was like a sponge. Lord knows if we hunters had to shoot something (or even SEE something) every time out we'd have quit a looooooong time ago. When we got back to the house she jabbered on incessantly about how much she enjoying walking in the creek, and brought 3 or 4 long sticks back to make toothpicks for everyone.

Next time we go we'll sit a little longer, maybe a little colder (morning or evening), in a box blind...which are all new experiences altogether. That's how I've been able to keep it interesting for little people over the years. They'll ease into the discipline and rigor of hunting on their own clock but in the meantime keep it fun and keep them engaged in the outdoors.

 

[BSK]

All that aside I think the most important part is not trying to make things too serious. I've told my boys if they really want to kill a deer we need to sit still and be as quiet as possible but we still cut up and have fun. If they want to go we leave and if they want to walk around a still hunt we do. Most times we just end up having a good time in the woods with each other and call it hunting.

That right there. My daughter is 12, but is still a high-action child. She has real trouble sitting still. But I make her bring a book to read, we whisper to each other constantly (talking about everything we see and hear around us), and I don't try and make her sit for long hunts--just a couple of hours and then it's time to go.

That said, having a little success definitely gets them focused for future hunts! Sorry, had to brag on my daughter again; she is becoming quite the hunter...