Taking my son hunting...how do I start?

[rhendrix]

My son has been wailing on my crow call all week when were together and said today that he wanted to go turkey hunting with me. Unfortunately he's five and in kindergarten and I didn't plan the trip thinking he'd want to go. But, he got me to thinking that next year would be a good time to get his feet wet and try to do some hunting and camping with him. All of my hunting (mule deer, whitetail, and turkey) is done outta state though. Has anyone taken a little one outta state with them on a trip and had them camp out and rough it for a few days? How'd it turn out? What'd you do to keep them busy? What'd you hunt? I figure next turkey season is probably a good idea since it won't be terribly cold and he can mess with the box and slate calls and that should help keep him entertained. I don't know if he'd quite be old enough to pull the trigger on a shotgun though without scaring the crap outta him. Just trying to get a feel for what everyone else has done in the past to get their kids involved.

Thanks,
Ron

 

[Muledeernv]

Have not hunted out of state but usually hunt like 6 hrs from home for elk and deer and pack in a few miles so going home is not an option my boys have been with me from the age of 5 or 6 I just try to keep them comfortable at night.and let them have there own hunting stuff ie binos and pack and seems to keep them interested. Hope you can figure it out hunting with them has been great fun and quality time spent in the woods away form tv.

 

[OR Archer]

Do you have any coyote or other varmint hunting available near you? It'd be an easy way to break him in. Plus he could help "call" for coyotes. When my son was that age I made the hunt more about him. Being able to take things slow and show him stuff and explain things to him rather than concentrating on filling a tag, especially on an out of state hunt.

 

[Sooner]

Do you have any coyote or other varmint hunting available near you? It'd be an easy way to break him in. Plus he could help "call" for coyotes. When my son was that age I made the hunt more about him. Being able to take things slow and show him stuff and explain things to him rather than concentrating on filling a tag, especially on an out of state hunt.

This is how I do our 4 year old. Most of the time we are playing in the creek more than hunting. He will play for a while then hes ready to go sit again. He went on my mule deer hunts this year an walked every mile I did. We were a little slower but that was ok. The thing I do is when hes ready to go we go. Weather it's back home or back to camp. I don't want to burn him out.

 

[rhendrix]

OR, I'm sure I could find some public land around here to coyote hunt. I never gotten taken hunting when I was a kid, so I'm completely flabbergasted as to introduce him to this without blowing it and completely turning him off to it.

 

[Sam Millard]

Both of my kids started going with me when they were 5. It's what started my long range hunting. Don't have to worry about movement, scent, or noise. Started both of them out with whitetails and bears. My daughter started elk when she could hunt them at 12 years old.

I live where it's 2 hours or less to be hunting the entire panhandle of Idaho, but all of those first trips were overnighters in a wall tent.

If you don't have access like that, take him walking in the woods or on an overnight scouting trip with you. Just keep him comfortable and show him how much fun hunting is. If he's interested, he'll be planning the next trip for you! (Be sure to have fires...nothing holds a five year old boy's interest like a campfire

 

[jmez]

You have to make it all about them. You can't go hunting and take them along. You are taking him to the woods. Don't plan on killing anything. Plan on having a fun time in the woods with your child. When they are done and ready to go then you go. They have a short attention span and aren't going to be near as into the actual hunting as you are. It will be tough taking him out of state and away from home. You'll have to be prepared to come home early.

 

[OR Archer]

One thing I also did for my son was to make sure he had his own "gear". A small pair of binos, a small pack, and other little pieces to make him feel as though he was actually doing something. I also never forced him to go with me. It was always his decision and still is to this day. Just keep it light and fun and for short durations. All day hunts with a 5 year old can be brutal on both you and him.

 

[orelkaddict]

1 piece of gear that will buy you tons of time in the field is give them a cheaper digital camera. Has worked great for me!!!! granted I still get very little "hunting" time in but when my kids go with me killing an animal is my last priority. Be ready to change plans in the blink of an eye. First trip with my daughter went from hunting coyotes to filming wild horses for the first day. Any time spent with kids in the field should be a fun time for them. don't plan trips for what u want to do in the beginning. IMO