Should hunting be uncomfortable? -Bringing up young hunters

[goalie]

IMO, yes, but only after you get them hooked.

 

[np307]

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.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Take them backpacking and make it fun. Let them stop and pickup cool rocks and sticks. Let them stop to swim or play in the lakes/rivers.

When they start to complain about their pack being too heavy, encourage them how strong they are and that it’s almost time for another water break.

“Embracing the suck” can be fun even for kids when done right, and taken to areas that are interesting.

My first overnight backpacking trip carrying all my gear with my Dad was when I was 5 years old. I still have vivid memories of it. Was an absolute blast.

 

[hunterjmj]

When I was a kid kid I had crappy boots and Levi's. I froze my arse off many times but I loved it. My dad let me carry my BB gun which I thought made me feel like a grown up or something. My dad wore the same stuff so I know it wasn't comfortable for him either and great gear just wasn't really available back then.
Fast forward 30 years and I make sure my kids have the best stuff but they need some suck mixed in because that's a reality of life. I've been taking my girls antelope hunting, shed hunting, rock hunting, shooting since they could barely walk. If I'm doing it then they can do it within reason. Lots of snacks is for sure a key but making them part of the hunt helps too. Get them binoculars, have them lead the way, pick a route, etc. I hope my girls always hunt with me but it's possible/likely they'll get away from it someday but until that time comes I want to spend quality days in the field with them and make quality memories they can share with their kids.

 

[hunt1up]

I'll just speak from my experience. I started my two kids at around 8 years old, they're 11 and 13 now. We have early youth firearm deer season here in Illinois. It's a great deal since weather is generally mild. It started with low recoil guns in blinds with snacks and things. Even since the beginning, I always made the hunts just a little longer than necessary. If deer movement is the last 2 hours of the day, we'd go out an hour before that. I wanted to slowly ease them into being comfortable with seeing nothing, being alone with their thoughts, and being patient. Now they can both do a 4-5 hour sit like it's nothing.

After some success, I started taking them on more sits. Archery(crossbow for them), treestand hunts, late firearm, hunts with extremely cold weather. We'd still stick to the blinds with heaters but they'd still have to deal with the elements. My daughter at 10 had to help drag out her buck when it was -10 and blowing.

I then started getting them into other species. My son's antelope hunt this year at age 11 was 95 degrees and his buck was a mile hike each way. Absolutely brutal packing it back out. Him and I also did a DIY Aoudad hunt in TX. He killed one at the top of a decent mountain and it was 100 degrees by time we packed it out at noon. He was drenched in sweat and full of cactus thorns. It sucked even for me and I've dealt with some bad ones. He handled it like a pro.

I took my daughter for late cow elk two seasons back, also at age 11. Opening morning was -10 and snow. Just lousy weather. She was miserable but still hiked 5-7 miles a day and killed a cow on day 3. We went back this year in November and the weather sucked again. Brutal cold. She almost cracked on that one. Didn't kill a elk but toughed it out. After the fact, she still talks about those hunts with fondness and wants to do it again.

In a world of comfort it's necessary to create discomfort in order for a kid to grow. Letting them sit in front of a phone or X-box all day borders on negligence in my opinion. I've progressively increased the suck factor over time on our hunts. Now both of them can hack it pretty well. They complain a whole lot less than some grown men I've hunted with. I tell my wife all the time that I'm not raising lazy or soft kids, and so far it seems to be going ok. You'll have moments when you look at them and know they're not happy or uncomfortable, but as long as you know they're safe and it's not too extreme, that they're growing from it.

 

[bowkill]

Every kid is going to have different interests. I had two step-sons. One was always overdrive on hunting. Any option for shooting something, whether it was targets or animals, he was there. The other one followed along but never had the full interest that the older one did. The oldest one is 32 now and I just got back from a week-long bowhunting whitetail hunt with him where he shot a doe and we packed it back to our tents that we were staying in. The younger one has other interests that he is passionate about and hunts occasionally.
People talk on here sometimes about the "woodsmanship" aspect being lost by the younger generation. All I can say is that they sure aren't going to build those skills as much by sitting in a heated box blind eating gummy bears and watching their videos!

 

[Nine Banger]

I think it depends on the age.

Adolescents, yes.

Littles, no.

I've had littles bail on me at primetime.

I've carried a sleeping toddler on my shoulder down a ladder stand.

I was pushing it even tho they told me they wanted to go.

My qualifications: 2 boys and a Cub Scout pack.

Re: the latter, we will not camp if its going to rain or get cold in cub scouts, but in boy scouts we let them suffer. Boy Scouts are 5th grade-12th grade.

 

[5MilesBack]

I knew my oldest daughter would take some time to come around to hunting......if ever. I allowed her to make those decisions for herself, and we never hunted together. After college she moved to MO, then two years ago she sent me pics of her sitting in a deer stand. She said she wanted to try some hunting. Good for her.

My middle daughter and I were always very close. She wanted to go hunting because that's what dad did. I had taken her camping all over CO and she liked that. For her first elk hunt I wanted to make it as comfortable as I could for her, so the first thing I did was build her a toilet out of plywood and a toilet seat attached to it for base camp. She appreciated that, but when it came to hunting she still had to keep up with me. She did well covering miles of mountain terrain looking for bugling bulls. She got her bull and a deer, then went to college, then got married, and a couple years ago while I was elk hunting I got a text on Sept 2 with a picture of her holding her turkey. I didn't even know she was still interested, but went and bought her tag and shot it opening day.

My youngest just turned 18 and we still have one last hunt in Dec before she'll be gone to college so the next 4 years are out for her. But she seems to enjoy it......on her terms. She prefers sitting to death marches, so we're completely incompatible , but I try to allow her to lead so that she still enjoys it. We'll see how she turns out later on. She does enjoy the excitement though of actually seeing game and being able to tag them.

 

[LongWayAround]

I don't have kids but I remember a lot of days freezing my ass off while hunting with my dad. He bought me good clothing and boots and whatever I needed for 1990s-2000s Midwest tech. When I was really young and couldn't keep up, he carried me.

As soon as I could drive myself, I was hunting solo. I would leave the house before anyone was up and skip school.

As an adult, I think about those things a lot.

I think you either have it or you don't. Kids, adults, anyone. You either accept the uncomfortable facts or stay home.

My brother drinks red wine and lights candles around the hot tub. I would rather sleep in the bed of my truck with some hand warmers in the mountains.

 

[cnelk]

I remember one time my dad took me and my two older sisters out in the woods behind the house. (He was probably looking for deer sign or something - We had 100s of acres of woods on our farm)

Being the little shit I was, I was tormenting my two sisters as we were hiking.
My old man got tired of it, stopped and told me to close my eyes and he turned me around in a few circles.
Then he told me to lead us out of the woods.

I was only about 7 years old at the time but I remember it like yesterday.

 

[LongWayAround]

@cnelk

I remember my dad doing similar.

We would hike around the Loess Hills hunting turkeys. After a few hours, he would ask me where the truck was.

I can't recall a time when I've been lost in the woods.

 

[jpmulk]

as much as I love hunting, I won’t consider myself to have “failed” if my kids don’t like to hunt. I will introduce them to it and from there it is up to them. There is way more to life.

As far as introducing them to it, it will vary based on age and personality. Starting out it will be all about just having fun.

 

[98XJRC]

I took my kids out a few times each a few year back and none seemed all that interested in lasting long term. Fast forward to this year and my oldest is now 13. He worked during the summer with his bow and I kept pushing his bow poundage to min hunting weight of 35 lbs. A month before the season started he hit the required weight and wasn't struggling to shoot good groups. Needless to say we had more sits up a tree in a saddle this year then I did solo this season. Whenever we went out I left it up to him on when we called it for the day. Some days he lasted longer then others, however as the weather got cooler I definitely started to see a consistent problem in that I didn't have him setup in the right gear to handle the temps. The last time out he lasted 2 hours due to just being too uncomfortable (cold and windy that day).

I believe they need to be slightly uncomfortable, however if you push too much you can loose them. My son is disappointed he wasn't successful, but when he got busted trying to draw on a spike I knew he was hooked from that moment on. He's already looking forward to next archery season.

 

[timekiller13]

Just because someone isn’t passionate about the outdoors and doesn’t want to sit out in the woods and suffer in the freezing cold doesn’t mean they are lazy or soft. It just means they are passionate about something else.

My daughters have zero desire to hunt. I’ve tried and it’s just not for them.

But one loves to dance and the other loves softball. Both of them will wake up at 4am to go to games/compeotions, practice for hours on end, study videos/materials and do what they can to succeed.

You can instill a desire for success in someone without forcing them to do things they don’t like. My daughters have seen the time and effort I put into hunting and being successful, and they understand that is what you have to do to be successful in ANYTHING.

If your children are passionate about the outdoors, then they will embrace the suck. If not then they want, it’s that simple.

 

[Rich M]

If you teach them that being wet, cold and miserable is no fun. Then you have taught them not to like certain activities. It starts at birth, not when they are 12 yrs old.

Taking from the post above:
If YOU are passionate about the outdoors, then YOUR CHILDREN will embrace the suck. If not then they won't, it’s that simple.

The kid who goes sledding, ice fishing, snow mobiles, or snow skies is usually freezing but having fun. They won't complain about "being uncomfortable".

 

[Huntinmechanic]

Many great perspectives on this thread.... to each their own! What is right for my kids is likely not right for yours. I have 3 kids. My oldest, 17, I took him on a 4th season cow hunt in 2020. Prior to that, he had killed his first deer in California in warm weather. He has no problem putting miles on his boots, but sub-zero temps and wind, he's not a fan of. I was a typical dad and figured he'd gut out a 4th season Gunnison cow hunt with no issues. Nope! It ruined him. He told me shortly after that he didn't think hunting was his thing. I was disappointed, but I haven't forced hunting on him since. Maybe one day he'll come back around. My middle child, 14, she will be on a NV cow hunt with me at the end of December. She's not much of a hiker, but I can get her to do a few miles. She's killed deer and antelope over the past couple years. She either likes to hunt or likes spending time with me. Either way, I'll take what I can get in between her school and other activities. Hopefully we can find a cow or two after Christmas! My little one, 8, he seems to be getting the hunting bug. He'll be on the NV trip with me and my daughter. The truck will be loaded with snacks, hot chocolate mix and hand warmers!

 

[StuckInTheEast]

Lots of good input here... most of it comes down to just knowing your kids and figuring out what gets them going and what shuts them down...good things to know in many aspects of raising kids and something alot of parents these days fail at miserably.
From what I've read here, alot of folks around this forum are getting it right...well done folks
That being said, I've been taking my boys out since about 5-6 years old. We started in blinds with snacks and plenty of warm clothes or old blankets and kept things short and built up. The sits with no sightings were rough, but once there was a critters to watch they could go for hrs content just watching. Both shot their first deer on first day out at age 7 with only having to sit a few hrs total.
I've been trying to make it"suck" just a bit more since we introduced tree stands this year...getting out earlier and being up in the wind and having to sit still with no blind to hide your movement. I figured it would be more of a challenge...WRONG....The damn deer didn't cooperate with me and decided to give both kids shots inside 30 yards within an hour of first light first time in stand for both and they tagged out in total of under 3 hrs this year, one with a great 11 point at that.
My kids have luck I've never had which has made teaching this "hunting can be hard and you gotta tough it out sometimes" bit harder than I hoped.
I'm sure the streak won't last, I just hope they stick with it when things do get tougher. Until then I'll cheer them on and take them every chance I get. Definitely can't make it too serious...but a little sibling rivalry can help keep them going and help them with the patience to wait for a decent buck vs wanting to shoot the first thing they see.

 

[go_deep]

The kid has to have the desire to hunt.
Case in point my son had hunted in 70 mph wind literally -20, and upwards of 100° comes back every year for more regardless of he kills something it not. My daughter hunted a few times, only when it was nice, killed stuff every time, and still is not interested for the most part

 

[Fogger]

I think there’s a give and take. Like everything

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

as much as I love hunting, I won’t consider myself to have “failed” if my kids don’t like to hunt. I will introduce them to it and from there it is up to them. There is way more to life.

As far as introducing them to it, it will vary based on age and personality. Starting out it will be all about just having fun.

Nailed it.