Advice for taking my kids on their first elk hunt

[HighUintas]

My two step kids have their first hunting tags this year, anterless elk for both. I'm looking for advice on ways to ensure they have fun and want to keep doing it. Here's some info about them/me:

1. They're 12 and 14 and have been in my life for 4.5 years. My wife and I have them about 50/50 split with their dad, so my influence on them and who they are has been relatively minimal. We are VERY different types of people and I was a very different kid than they are.

2. Things they enjoy the most are playing games, reading, video games, Legos, doing creative stuff that is lost on me, and being loud and not sitting still

3. They are able to hike very well. I would have no problem taking them 5 miles in to shoot one. But they're terrible at getting up early to get into position before sunrise.

4. I'm only 34, but I'm an "old soul". I'm boring as all hell and take most things in life too seriously and forget to relax and have fun a lot of the time. I grew up hunting with the mentality of "hunt hard and sit in the cold rain if you have to". My kids are pretty far from that personality type.

5. I screwed up on my unit choice for them. I picked a unit where I hunted archery for anterless elk a lot last year. It's relatively close to my house, but it's severely crowded and is really really hard to hunt until the snow gets to be 12" or so deep. Even then, it's still kinda hard.

 

[Wrench]

My boy just turned 11 last month. I call him mine, he's my stepson and has never known his biological father. He never really showed interest until this late summer.

He passed hunters ed and I put him in for an Idaho youth ow tag. So far he's missed one shot and had scopes on 3 others to be unable to settle down or had elk spook from other people in the area.

I'm 45 and killed a ton of elk. I have zero emotion in the kill......he vibrates when he gets on target and the shot he missed had him so jacked up I'm pissed I didn't record it.

I bought him good gear and shot with him a bunch. At 10 he's dusting clays at 750....yet still managed to miss an entire elk at a fraction of that.

Keep them comfortable. Keep your expectations on them having fun.....not on animal harvest. Let them sleep and play games while you go cross-eyed behind the binos. Talk them through the shot. Explain that one well placed shot is much easier than chasing this thing around all day wounded. Be ready to quit early, walk slow,have them make too much noise and lose focus from time to time.

Make it fun, about them and take lots of pictures.

Ps, hot cocoa helps a bunch.

 

[DavePwns]

A few things id make a priority in your situation

Since it's gunna be cold
Either sleep in a camper or a stove tipi set up
Hot chocolate and donuts or little Debbie's each morning
Hand warmers
Teach them how to make a fire in the woods AND have them do it their self
If they like reading let them bring a book for down time

It may seem like you are trying to help out a 7 year old but if hunting is tough and cold, but you are keeping them warm, you are teaching then outdoor skills, mostly rested, and some treats to look forward to I think they would have a great trip with you. I personally would focus on their experience and quality time spent with you as the goal of the hunt, not filled tags.

 

[Bubblehide]

^^^^^ I agree, do not focus on filled tags.
No matter what, keep them warm one way or another. If they get cold, they will be miserable (I am not talking about a little bit cold).

 

[Laramie]

Some good advice above. I raised a step son from 3 years old. He is now 21. We have had some good hunts and some that were just ok. Here are a few things to consider-
1) Let them set the pace... of the day, the hunt etc. Don't push too hard but communicate well what would be necessary to harvest. If they make the choice to hike to that next ridge, the physical exertion won't bother them near as much.
2) Buy better clothing and boots... Comfort is everything. A warm comfortable kid is going to hunt longer and harder than one with sore feet who is cold.
3) Give them specific responsibilities so they feel important through the process. Make it a 2-3 person team where every person plays a part.
4) Have more food and snacks available than you think you would need for double the people. You can always take it home. Let the kids be part of the shopping for food and in general, let them pick whatever they want. It's special, make them feel that.
5) Plan a break or two in the hunt. I like to plan a sleep in day at least every third or forth day. On that sleep in day, maybe you run to town for whatever fast food they want and it may give them a chance to get that ever important cell phone service for a bit.
6) Talk about the hunt leading up to the trip a lot- how much fun it is to you. What hunting means, etc... Build that excitement. Show excitement and emotion.

These are just a few thoughts. Really wishing you good luck!

 

[Laramie]

One more to add - find a funny wake up song to play. My step son despised getting up early. On his first morning I woke him up to "Da Turdy Point Buck"... he had never heard it and was laughing so hard and had a smile within seconds. Maybe not appropriate but I didn't care- we were having fun.

 

[mtnkid85]

Ive hunted with my 16 year old nephew for the past 3 seasons now. He got a deer his first year, then he just harvested his first elk this year.

Go into the hunt with a different set of expectations then you would if you didn't have the kiddos. The goal should be to get the kids out, show them the things you enjoy about hunting/outdoors etc and let them have fun. If you happen to kill an elk thats a bonus.

Make sure they are prepared, shoot the guns alot. Talk about shot placement alot. Quiz them on fun little facts or regulations. Whats a boy, girl, baby elk called? etc.
Take them grocery shopping and let them get some junk food. I absolutely hate buying junk food but If it lifts there spirit then its worth it.
Keep them warm. I pack my big puffy and puffy pants for him. Warm drinks.
Let them do their thing through out the day (sleep, play on the phone) but also remind them to pay attention when there is an actual chance.
Show them animals in the spotting scope. Any animal is interesting. And they will struggle spotting anything on there own.

At 16 and three years of experience he was more like an adult and less like a kid this year. But he still slept anytime we where glassing, ate me out of house and home, and played on his phone every moment he could.
Watching him take that elk after three years of DIY Public land effort was worth every thing though! He was excited, he understands that killing an elk isn't easy and he respects the process.

 

[WRO]

Just enjoy it, I take my young girls a lot..

They understand that working hard is just part of it.

When we got done with our last cow hunt in Nevada, my daughter, who whined a little bit, understood we killed an elk because we worked harder than everyone else and still tells people that.

 

[cnelk]

When I took my son on his first elk hunt, we did more than hunt.

We built a fire in the snow and he also took a nap.

More to elk hunting than hunting elk.

 

[rhustek]

Man, lots of good advice on this discussion.

Other than keep them warm. The only item I would add is make some time for yourself on the hunt as well. If the boy's are not morning people then let them know that you are going out in the morning, they are welcome to join but if they want to sleep in then you'll be back after the morning hunt.

They are old enough to leave on their own to figure things out a bit. Get food, boil water, start a fire, etc. Those items should be addressed prior to heading out. Sounds like you'll enjoy a little bit of solo hunt time as well.

Take a deck of cards, its time to learn rummy, spades, hearts, GIN, etc.

 

[CAElkhunter]

Get them really close and don't let them attempt anything but a good shot. Worst thing that can happen is they attempt something beyond their ability zone and wound an Elk. Young kids don't deal with that as well as adults do. One way to make sure they don't want to hunt again is for them to see an animal suffer......

 

[HighUintas]

Thank you all VERY VERY VERY much. My wife has told me some of the same things, but it's really comforting coming from a bunch of other hardcore hunters. There are tons of great ideas here. Thanks!

 

[HighUintas]

One more to add - find a funny wake up song to play. My step son despised getting up early. On his first morning I woke him up to "Da Turdy Point Buck"... he had never heard it and was laughing so hard and had a smile within seconds. Maybe not appropriate but I didn't care- we were having fun.

Haha heck yeah! I remember the first time my dad and uncle played that for me at our hunting cabin when I was in fifth grade. I'll have to download it on their phone for them to wake up to as a surprise

 

[Next Ridge]

A lot of good advice on this thread. My earliest memories of hunting are actually stories about how much fun it was for my mom and dad to go together before we kids could go..so build anticipation before hand and realize it may take more than one year to get them interested. Once your actually out focus on the fun and how it relates to them and how they experience things. My first elk killed was in 1995 when young, but the main thing I remember is time with dad and brother, blown tire, bear encounter, long nights and how dad invested time through all that to make it fun and about doing something difficult. Now though, I have several kids, a few are into being dirty and the outdoors, the others into books and science. The first are easy, the second set I make it a point to talk about botany and plants while hunting/fishing. They enjoy that and it is still relevant to hunting since animals behavior revolves around food. Just make sure it is about the kids, what they enjoy and not the hunt.
My main bit of advice though is to keep it simple and to make it a lifestyle/yearlong activity. My kids are too young to archery hunt with me but they love shooting their bows all year to get ready for when they can go with me. Just set it up so that hunting=fun and not necessarily success.

 

[sndmn11]

Since they like to hike, I would consider setting out to explore new territory by giving them a few options of where they want to head off to. That will put the day in their hands, give you scouting time, take the pressure off of killing, and probably set things up to blind squirrel your way into some animals.

 

[Headwatermike]

I hunt with kids a lot and do many of the the things mentioned. I really try to make it fun when I can to help gloss over some of the really difficult parts of hunting elk on public land.

When you get a chance, have them set up on game and dry fire. If there is time let them dry fire on the game itself or dry fire on a mule deer doe or whatever you come across and it will take off some of the nerves before the shot. Once we were watching some deer that were bedded while deer hunting and when they stood up my son was ready to make a shot that may have otherwise been stressful but he had just been practicing shooting. When it stood I slid him the magazine and he shot perfectly.

Getting a kid on elk on public land is like pulling a rabbit out of a hat--it can be done but it's tricky. You have to manage many variables at once. Good luck!

 

[Michael54]

Make it fun and about them. Keep them comfortable (make sure they can stay warm and dry) Lay out their options on how/where to hunt. Explain the positives and negatives of each option and let them pick. A couple of the kids on the farms nicest animals have came from doing it that way and now you cant get them out of the woods. Even if they pick an option and its a dud its a learning opportunity. Don't wait on them hand and foot treat them like they are an equal member of the hunting party. If they are capable of doing something camp wise, teach them how and let them do it. They will surprise you. Get them to practice shooting with an elevated heart rate. The "fever" will make normal chip shots turn into a nightmare real quick with a miss being the best outcome.

 

[jjchad]

Ask them what they are expecting from the hunt. All kids nowadays plays video games, they all are loud, and 95% of them are not motivated to get up early. Hell, that is the only time I do not have a problem getting up early is during hunting season. HAVE FUN, HAVE FUN, HAVE FUN, and enjoy the experience. IMO the worst thing to do is to put too much pressure on them. If you have fun and they enjoy it, you could have a couple hunting partners for life. At least that is what I have found with my 3 sons and 3 step sons.
Just remember "Life a garden , dig it." Joe Dirt

 

[Scoot]

Maybe I missed it, but when is this hunt?

Lots of excellent suggestions above. Don't push them too hard and don't let your desire to kill an animal exceed theirs (or at least don't show it). Snacks, snacks, snacks and warm hands and toes. Those things will go a long ways. Also, understanding that losing a particular battle one day (like packing it in early) may result in much greater benefit than pushing too hard on that day. You don't want to wreck them for future hunts.

Good luck and have fun with it!