The irony

[MO_flatlander]

The morning after my wife tells me she is pregnant, Camofire has onesies!

This will be our first child and I'm stoked! For those of you with kids, how has it changed your hunting seasons?

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[Grumman]

Congrats man! As far as impact to hunting goes there will be less time and money in the early years for sure but it is all worth it! Nothing like taking them hunting with you when they get bigger. My boy is 8 now and he motivates me to go hunting and fishing with him. It's fun to watch them experience things for the first time that we take for granted now.


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[tommymo]

Congratulations!! There is no other feeling on this planet then seeing your child for the first time, it's a real blessing. You can expect a huge impact to all of your time and money, but we all figure it out. Having a supportive wife/marriage really helps in creating some free time to sneak out. I would spend as much time doing you in the next couple of months, because you will never have it again.

God bless

 

[BackcountryMT]

Thanks for the heads up! Just ordered a few things for my daughter who will be arriving mid September. My elk season is basically nonexistent this year but I couldn't care less. Very excited!

Congrats to you as well!

 

[5MilesBack]

The morning after my wife tells me she is pregnant, Camofire has onesies! That's funny, because I was the one that told my wife she was pregnant with all three of ours. I seem to have a knack for seeing it early on. Said the same thing about one of our news ladies on TV. 9 months later she gave birth.

For those of you with kids, how has it changed your hunting seasons?

Hasn't changed my hunting seasons at all. They were all planned accordingly.

 

[Nuke Man]

Congratulations! I've got 4, my hunting seasons haven't been effected too much. Other than now I take atleast 1 with me, so the chances of actually filling a tag with them is pretty slim. My oldest is 8.

 

[Shrek]

Congratulations !

 

[elkyinzer]

Congrats! Our first is set to arrive any day over the next few weeks, we couldn't be more excited. And I still get to go elk hunting this September, I am sure it will be harder to leave this time but we have a lot of good support to help make it easier.

 

[airlocksniffer]

Looks like you already "pulled the trigger".

 

[MO_flatlander]

Looks like you already "pulled the trigger".

I couldn't resist. I'd never seem baby stuff on there before today.

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[Dos Perros]

Congratulations. We really messed up the planning part, first son was born Sept 9. Last year I made it home from my elk hunt on the evening of Sept 12th, the day before his first birthday party. This year a friend screwed me and scheduled a wedding for Sept 10th, so I'm doing a short hunt before and then a long hunter after, and we'll have the birthday party Sept 11th.

I'm sure it's different for everyone, but for me...the first year didn't change much since he was so young the first season. He was literally and figuratively attached to mom, and wasn't as interactive. I still did my part when I was home, though. The second season I really missed him when I was gone, and it was easy to pack it up a little early every time I went on a hunt. Instead of getting home at midnight I was getting home in time to see him before he went to bed.

This is a good article, IMO, on being away from home and family: Training to Become a Solo Backcountry Hunter | Hunting the Rat

This year, I'm going to get stuff done well ahead of time, spend the weeks leading up to the hunt heavily involved with my family, and then with that in mind I can fully dedicate myself to my hunting when it's time to hunt.

We were just looking at old videos on my phone last night...how the time flies.

 

[Broken Compass]

Congratulations!
We are expecting our first one at the end of November which was the best week of hunting for me last year. I tried to schedule it differently but it wasn't as easy as I'd hoped. I guess it happens when it happens.
I prefer to hunt high country mulies in the velvet anyway so I'll have to focus on that this year and not have the attitude of "there is always the extended archery season" (im in Utah) which I was just starting to figure out.
P.S., we are having an archery incorporated gender reveal party tonight!




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[Where's Bruce?]

You have a choice...hunt or be a good dad.

 

[RallySquirrel]

Congratulation on your news. I have a pile of them myself (5) and keep thinking, "where am I going to keep all the meat they are going to harvest if they all turn into killers?" It will be a good problem to have! They are currently spending he summer with their jr compounds working to close their groups up. Couldn't be more proud they have a bow in their hands and not an ipad!

Also, great article on solo hunting. Thanks for the link.

 

[crmiller84]

You have a choice...hunt or be a good dad.

Seriously? I really hope your joking on this one, and if you are, I apologize in advance for taking exception to this comment.

I have several great friends that are awesome fathers and hunt and fish hard when season comes around.

 

[5MilesBack]

Seriously? I really hope your joking on this one, and if you are, I apologize in advance for taking exception to this comment.

I have several great friends that are awesome fathers and hunt and fish hard when season comes around.

Yep. You can still hunt, fish, golf, and whatever else and still be a great dad.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Seriously? I really hope your joking on this one, and if you are, I apologize in advance for taking exception to this comment.

I have several great friends that are awesome fathers and hunt and fish hard when season comes around.

Not with newborns. Newborns are a two parent, full time job. JMO

 

[Ruskin]

I take everything with a grain of salt. Especially when asking for opinions. My perspective with two kids...does it change things...yes. Time away, seasons, expectations ... But with kids each age is different. Now my son is 8. At age 5 we "hunted" so I could show him it was fun...but it was more like hiking. Now I can't get him out enough to make him happy. Wife loves it because my son is out of the house and out of her hair for a bit. Last season he couldn't sit still in the woods, but he wanted to be there sooo bad. He made me hunt in a pouring rain for 4 hours, and sure enough we found deer. Next weekend he had to go again. This time he still couldn't sit still (normal at that age). I gave him a grunt tube to keep him occupied and the little man grunted in a 4 point buck with 30 yards! 30 minutes later he grunted in a black bear. Now I have to keep explaining "season" and you can't just shoot any animal at anytime of year. He's bought 2 BB guns with his birthday money and is saving for something that can kill a deer.

Yes our "hunts" are low success, but that will improve with time. It's always fun. I do hunt on my own, so "my" time is less, but I love it. I just hope he takes me, when I'm the weak link in the team.

So yea it changes things. But life is always changing.

 

[woods89]

My dad was a hunter and I feel we as children benefited greatly from that. We lived in western Kansas at the time and I have so many wonderful memories of hunting with him and my brothers. We did a lot of pheasant hunting which was a great activity for all of us.
I've got a 2 1/2 year old and a 3 mo old and I think I've done more hunting in the last 3 years than any time before that. A big part of that is having a wife that very unselfishly supports me in my love of the outdoors. Do I have to occasionally sacrifice my hunting for them? Absolutely. But I can't say that hunting and fatherhood are mutually exclusive.