Should hunting be uncomfortable? -Bringing up young hunters

[Amos Keeto]

I took my 3.5 year old out for his first few squirrel hunts this year. I knew just sitting still would be the hardest part for him so I made sure I had as much stuff to make it otherwise comfortable as possible. He did really well at walking fairly quietly and not talking a whole bunch. He wanted to make sure he had his "onoculars" though so he could look at stuff. We hunted as long as he could stand it (a little over and hour) and then left. It's prime rifle season for deer right now so I don't want to have him in the woods with everybody else, but after Friday a good portion of where I hunt turns to buck only and most people stop hunting it. I'll let him decide if he wants to hunt anymore at that point.

As he gets older, my plan is to keep slowly building on his experiences, so long as he's still interested. There's a certain amount of mandated hunting that's going to happen just for the exposure. Kids don't get to make every decision.

I guess first, let me explain as to "Why?".
I was born in 1950. My dad and grampa bought a deer lease in 1952.
I am an only son. I was my grampa's only grandson. My maternal grandfather passed away in 1932, so i never knew him.
So to say I was the center of attention is an understatement!

The first time dad took me deer hunting, I was 3 years old!
He would piggy back me up into a tree stand, wrap me in a blanket and tie me to the tree so I wouldn't go to sleep and fall out.
First three years, we stayed in a surplus Army tent.
When I was 6, dad, grampa and grampa's brother (great uncle) built a 12'×12' one room camphouse.
I was devastated when 1st grade rolled around and mom told me I couldn't go hunting. I had to go to school!
I was absolutely heart broken!
I grew up hunting that same lease until 1981.
I'm 74 years old.
So I've hunted and fished for approximately 71 years now! LOL!

When I finally got old enough to sit on a stand alone, I sat patiently on a wooden platform, 12 feet off the ground, shivering like a dog passing peach seeds!
Rain dripping off the brim of my cap.
Mosquitos big as turkeys gnawing on my tender young hide through the 6•12 Mosquito Repellent.
Wading the Neches river bare foot casting an Arbogast #2 Hawaiian Wiggler in pursuit of pink eyes and large mouth.
Me and dad and grampa fished and hunted all over Anderson County!

Comfort was always secondary to the intended quarry.

When grampa turned 78, he decided he wasn't going to hunt on cold mornings.
One of the guys in camp showed up one day with a box stand and set it up for my grampa to hunt out of.
Grampa was sitting in a heated box blind, killing deer, while the rest of us were humped up in a tree on a frost covered board. Shivering like a .....well, dog! LOL!
Next year, there were box blinds in everybody's favorite "spot".

I have no problem, at my age, being as comfortable as possible.
I don't think today's kids would go through what I went through, just to go to the lake/river/creek/lease with dad and grampa!

 

[Rich M]

My earliest memories are woods and water related with my parents. I was fishing in diapers, "hunting" w mom's shotgun at 4 or 5 and falling into frozen creeks, backwoods adventures - canvas tents, feeding rabbits kix cereal, etc.

We bought some land and been dragging my 80-something father along every time we go - dad and i do something every weekend, usually fishing or hunting or shooting related anyway. Canvas tent, chain saws, and fire grates. Leaving in the morning - he's all packed and excited to go. Good stuff. Total reversal from all those years ago when I was the one who couldn't wait to go. Planting 150 trees this weekend, cutting up storm-downed trees, maybe some fishing or shoot a buck if one walks out in the pasture, but mainly doing what we have always done as a family - being together.

Bottom line is you raise the kid how you want them to be later in life. Your kids - your decisions, you will love them forever, no matter what. Enjoy your time with them.

 

[Amos Keeto]

"Teach your son to hunt and you'll never have to hunt your son!"

 

[Glory]

Make it fun and don’t be an jerk. If you are demanding they are perfectly still and silent, they will hate it.

Every kid is different as far as tolerance for discomfort.

 

[txtransplant]

Might be a good read.

The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self https://a.co/d/8lCFzV6

 

[7mm-08]

Careful how you proceed with this decision is all I have to say. I have an acquaintance who completely ruined the possibility of his son ever hunting with him by thinking a nine year old should enjoy the suck of a multi-day back country backpack hunt that involved hours upon hours of spotting. The kid lost confidence in his father's judgment and the now 19 year old son hasn't done anything outdoors with his father in 10 years. Self inflicted.

 

[Amos Keeto]

Careful how you proceed with this decision is all I have to say. I have an acquaintance who completely ruined the possibility of his son ever hunting with him by thinking a nine year old should enjoy the suck of a multi-day back country backpack hunt that involved hours upon hours of spotting. The kid lost confidence in his father's judgment and the now 19 year old son hasn't done anything outdoors with his father in 10 years. Self inflicted.

That is exactly why beginner hunting trips should start with squirrels, doves or some other game where there is more activity.
If backpacking is your "thang", start with short, daytime trips. The first overnight trip should be close to home and in good weather. No bugs, no snow, no rain!
Hey, even the backyard will work for a starter!

My experiences in the early 50's were fraught with discomforts and disappointments ....but.... I was so intent on going "with" grampa and dad, I probably would have walked over broken glass barefoot to trail along behind them!

One of the problems these days is having the time off work in today's economy.
It's tough!

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

I would question almost the opposite way. But I am 99% Dickhead from birth.

If it needs to be that cushy, soft and 100% guarantee of bagging an animal....

What's the Point or the End Goal? Why bother?

Go to Chuck E. Cheese, play video games with them, enjoy their sport or band performance with them.

If it takes that much effort, they are doing it for YOU, not them.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

To my above point.....it would be different. If your kid is sleeping in his camo, or sleeps in the truck to make sure you don't forget them. Totally different kid.

I think most kids 7-10 like the IDEA of hunting. And instant success. Watch Michael Waddell schlock monsters all day on the TV. If you provide anything less than that, and can't edit three days of hunting down to a cool 20 minutes and a ton of High Fives.....yawn...Pass. "Can I play on your phone now Dad?"

I think Western kids are way different. Way more hardy. Way more grit. A Montana prairie kid who farms and ranches....I'd push that kid a bit. But they're also the ones probably sleeping in the truck to not be forgotten.

 

[Glory]

Careful how you proceed with this decision is all I have to say. I have an acquaintance who completely ruined the possibility of his son ever hunting with him by thinking a nine year old should enjoy the suck of a multi-day back country backpack hunt that involved hours upon hours of spotting. The kid lost confidence in his father's judgment and the now 19 year old son hasn't done anything outdoors with his father in 10 years. Self inflicted.

Exactly. You can ruin a kid quickly by putting a kid in a situation they are not ready or mature enough to handle. Getting your kids involved in hunting is a process that means you sacrifice prime hunting times and locations to lay the foundation of hunting with your kids. I hunt with all three of my kids individually. My girls are athletes and can do any hunt I throw at them as long as I keep the time in the woods reasonable and I am very kind to them in the hunt. I treat them about a well as i can and bend over backwards for them to make sure they want to do it again. My little guy (6YO) will do any hunt as long as an atv is involved and he gets to drive. When we hike he has his bow with him at all times. He's convinced that one day he will shoot a buck. That keeps him engaged and triples his attention span.

 

[Amos Keeto]

I would question almost the opposite way. But I am 99% Dickhead from birth.

If it needs to be that cushy, soft and 100% guarantee of bagging an animal....

What's the Point or the End Goal? Why bother?

That's why surgeons start out as interns.
That's why kids start out with T-ball.
That's why you start a kid with a .22LR instead of a .300 Win Mag!

Have a little empathy. Let a beginner "succeed" a time or two. They will learn in time why it's called "hunting" rather than "killing"!
Don't set a kid up for constant failure, but let them learn that success isn't a walk in the park.
"Hunting" is searching for success.

I began deer hunting solo when I was about 10. Prior to that, I followed dad and grampa all over Keechi Creek bottom shooting squirrels and ducks or dove hunting on grampa's farm.
I was 17 before I finally killed a deer.
Lot's of cold, frosty, windy, wet, rainy, sticky hot, mosquito infested hours sitting on a board in a tree before finally connecting!
....but I never gave up on hunting!

....and I never had to worry about dad or grampa "forgetting" me.
If I was left at home, I always knew why!
....whether I liked it or not!

 

[Agent Michael Scarn]

Take plenty of pictures - a lot the kid doesn’t know are being taken
Start a journal, now, write about your talks leading up to going - the experiences - etc

Being comfortable
Seeing game
Being able to talk and move around
Have snacks
Take a lunch
Don’t make it all day, short outings to start
Shoot some - if you can - target practice, etc
Have a gun they can shoot at range. BB gun if necessary. Bring the gun and let them shoot at a doe, at a duck, squirrel, dove, etc.
Remember, this is for fun, fellowship and memories. The Good Lord willing, there will be plenty of time later for serious hunting.
Forget your hunting, this is about them - you get to enjoy giving them a gift - it’s Christmas time all over - you each are getting gifts you may not realize you’re getting.
There is so much more I could write on this - do you want them to enjoy the outdoors with you - or spending time on an iPhone by themselves? It’s your lead.
Do you start reading a child War and Peace/John Maxwell, or do you start with children’s books? It’s the same concept.

Take plenty of pictures - a lot the kid doesn’t know are being taken
Start a journal, now, write about your talks leading up to going - the experiences - etc

Being comfortable
Seeing game
Being able to talk and move around
Have snacks
Take a lunch
Don’t make it all day, short outings to start
Shoot some - if you can - target practice, etc
Have a gun they can shoot at range. BB gun if necessary. Bring the gun and let them shoot at a doe, at a duck, squirrel, dove, etc.
Remember, this is for fun, fellowship and memories. The Good Lord willing, there will be plenty of time later for serious hunting.
Forget your hunting, this is about them - you get to enjoy giving them a gift - it’s Christmas time all over - you each are getting gifts you may not realize you’re getting.
There is so much more I could write on this - do you want them to enjoy the outdoors with you - or spending time on an iPhone by themselves? It’s your lead.
Do you start reading a child War and Peace/John Maxwell, or do you start with children’s books? It’s the same concept.

I love your last analogy and think it really hits home.

 

[Amos Keeto]

First year or two I hunted (went with dad and grampa?), they stayed in a military surplus tent with a white, enamel, LPG heater.
A fire in front of the tent provided daytime heat and a cooking heat source.
Four years later, this came about as dad and grampa picked up enough scrap lumber to build it.

Originally, it was only the tar paper wrapped section. It was 12'×12', but provided bunk beds, wood heater and a kerosene stove to cook on.
In 1963, the grey, back bedroom was added. Also 12'×12', but freed up room to make the living area more comfortable.
Some years later, a lease holder helped me add the porch.

We didn't have to "rough it" in the sense of open fire heat, frost covered sleeping bags and sketchy, tent rain protection, but it wasn't the Waldorf either! LOL!
No running water.
No electricity.
No phone.
No toilet.

BUT....
I learned to cut and split firewood.
Cook on a kerosene stove.
Heat an area with a wood heater.
Work on Coleman lanterns.
Wash dishes in a dish pan.
Make my bunk up every morning.
And even a couple of times, hunt for my supper!
Life was good!
We ate duck, deer, squirrel, armadillo, feral hog and catfish....plus whatever we brought from home!

....AND...I got to hunt and fish and roam 500 acres and learn woodcraft and make memories with my dad and grampa! ...for 29 years!!!

So we were uncomfortably .... comfortable!

 

[49ereric]

Teach em the same you were taught or self taught as in my case. Getting cold is natural in deer season but the weather is far warmer than in my youth. Seeing deer to shoot is not a given either by any means. Life is tough is the lesson so accept it or get a warm office job.

 

[Sinistram]

Yes, it is supposed to be uncomfortable. "Embrace the suck" is the expression that comes to mind. You know the youngster better than us, so use your gauge and see if they're uncomfortable or TOO uncomfortable. I just spent opening day of my 25th Pennsylvania deer season shivering and saw absolutely nothing.

Can't wait to do it again for the rest of the week!

 

[Thread Savage]

What are your actual goals for the kid? If you’re hell bent on wanting him/her to compete on the show ‘Alone’ and become a world-renowned hunter long after you’re gone, then sure, make hunting uncomfortable and acclimate the kid to pain and suffering early.

If your goal is to teach the kid new skills, help them develop a love for the outdoors, and you’d hope for them to keep teaching these skills to the next generation, then make it fun. No kid will keep on voluntarily doing anything that their dad beat them over the head with when they were younger.

 

[MakAttack]

To the op, it depends on the adult doing the teaching. Lots of adult hunters have never done anything hard "in real life," so it's relative. I'm thinking of the truckloads of adult western Washington road hunters with not a kid in the truck, just hoards of trucks and side by sides and adult men in orange coats. Mental and physical toughness is gained by doing hard things and it can start when you're younger. Push the kids out of their comfort zone but don't overdo it. Walk to the next ridge, stay out in some rain, get up super early, etc. Kids want to be like dad. Be proficient and teach them as you go.

 

[Szwampdonkey]

I’ve stepped my 11 yo sons hunting up to being increasingly more difficult and uncomfortable every year he’s come out with me the last 4 years. If you make a 6 or 7 year old umcomfortable in the woods you won’t have a hunting buddy when he’s older.

Most adults don’t want to be uncomfortable or exert much effort that’s why most people suck at hunting.

 

[Stubborn_bowhunter]

Make it their choice to come with you.
When I was young I had no choice but to go fish no matter the weather. Took all the fun and desire out of it and I haven't fished for close to a decade.
But I also enjoy hiking and hunting way more.

This is very true.
My dad was pretty brutal about lake activities when I was little. I really loved fishing and being outdoors, but he could make going to the lake every weekend suck. Dude let us sunburn like crazy and would throw us in the lake to "ward off heat stroke." Because we weren't drinking enough water.

I love fishing and hunting, but I ended up having to really find it all on my own again in my late teens.

 

[Szwampdonkey]

“My son is disappointed he wasn't successful,”

I think that disappointed is way more important than immediate success. It creates that hunger you need to push through adversity.

Failure builds character and resolve.