Hunting with youth options

[tp308]

New here, love the forum! I have 2 sons (11 & 13) and they both got hit with the hunting bug early on... to the point that I haven't hunted alone at all in the last 4-5 years... and wouldn't have it any other way. To this point, we've mostly hunted out of double ladder stands but recently found out that we will be losing the private ground we've been hunting for the last 5 years and will be making the shift to hunting mostly public ground. My 13 year old has already had experience archery hunting solo and I feel comfortable with him hunting alone as long as he's within 500 yds or so. My 11 yr old will be with me for another season or 2. I'm wondering what would be the best setup for us moving forward on public ground. I'm not too excited about him climbing in and out of hang-on stands using climbing sticks and ladder stands aren't going to be an option on public ground. Not sure how I feel about hunting from ground blinds... What have you used and what seems to work best?

 

[tp308]

I should add that we are mostly chasing whitetails in Missouri, thnx

 

[Titan_Bow]

Ground blinds, especially makeshift blinds not pop up blinds, can be very effective, but you have to understand their limitations and downsides. Mainly movement, concealment and scent. One thing that I’ve found works well on the ground is to setup with the intention of a little longer shots. Where I might had put a tree stand within 20 yards of a good trail, I might put a ground blind 30-40 yards.
My son is 14. We will hunt out of trees a bit. I put up his stand, and stand there at the tree while he gets in and connects his safety harness, also when he comes down. Stay low, rarely more than 12 or 15 feet. I think as long as you are cautious and take all appropriate precautions, you’ll be fine.


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[browning2480]

Is your 11 year old bow hunting also? If only rifle then a ground blind is great. My boys have killed a lot of deer out of them. I have shot missed a few with my bow out of a ground blind with them in there with me. If setup correctly, you should be good to go.

 

[Clovis]

I agree that ground blinds are a great option with kids. On my own I use a LW climber. With kids along we use the ground blinds and have had great success. Warmer too and the concealment comes with the blind rather than camo they will outgrow quickly.

 

[tp308]

My 11 yr old will most likely be bow (and rifle) hunting with me this yr...

 

[mlob1one]

Try taking them out Turkey hunting in a few weeks and hunting from ground blinds and get them acclimated to hunting from the ground.

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[tp308]

We've done some hunting out of ground blinds in the past, just not sure how I feel about using them on public ground

 

[Huntindog45]

there are amazing youth hunts throughout the west. Arizona is especially awesome. apply apply apply.