What age did you introduce your kids to hunting?

[Crazy Coot]

My son is 13 and he killed his first turkey this year. I’ve been cautious not to force the outdoors on him. I want him to want to be there. He’s gradually shown more interest each year. Hopefully he’ll want to deer hunt next fall.

 

[thewy_2007]

I brought my 3 yr old out for pheasants. Works well with a pack. I also brought my 1.5 yr old out for shed hunting too. It's all about just getting them outdoors and enjoying the time in nature.

 

[Lowg08]

I started when little man could walk ok. Still in diapers but squirrels were the objective but not the focus lol

 

[quaggy25]

I don’t know if this counts but our kids (2 and 3) are well aware of what hunting is and we even let our 3 year old (he’s more interested) “help” process the deer. Give him some latex gloves and a plastic knife and a small chunk to cut. He has a bolt action nerf rifle and a stuffed deer he “hunts” like mom and dad. We are discussing if he will sit with one of us next year. We will see. We try to be open and honest with our kids about everything we do and our focus with the “toy” guns is teaching them gun safety.

 

[Coso Archer]

Two kids that we started taking to retriever hunt test at 3 months old where they experienced shooting live and dummy birds and alot of dog training. They both got there Hunter Safety Certs around 10 yrs and enjoyed the class. Started hunting upland birds (Chukar, quail, planted birds) right after they got there certs. After they got older, they would tag along but didn’t really get into the hunting. Even did a little deer hunting with the son, but school and friends took most of his attention. The daughter appreciates the hunting but doesn’t participate. I didn’t think the son was going to get into hunting, but he surprised me and got one our puppies we had from our breedings and has been visiting a few bird clubs.

Funny story, introducing the kids to the hunt tests and dog training created several interesting drawing from the kids at school.

 

[(NOP)]

I've been dragging my 5 year old along since he was 3. Fishing since they were infants. He's pretty tough for a 5 year old. We started shooting a 22 this summer. A couple more years and he should be ready to hunt deer. Squirrel hunting is in order for next year. I've had to totally change the way and how long I hunt, and my expectations when he comes with, but the memories are some of the best. Next year I'll try to get the 2 year old out a little.

Edit to add: Started out pheasant and duck hunting in fair weather. I have a heated box stand that we deer hunt from. Slowly been pushing the limits, but you have to know when they have had enough. Pretty sure he's going to be a hunter.

 

[STAGHOUND]

I'm 13 and was introduced to hunting at the age of 3.

 

[jbarr79]

My son was around 5 when he started going to the stand with me and took his first deer at 8. My daughter didn't start going hunting with me until 8 and shot her first animal at 10.

 

[roosiebull]

pretty young, but this year will be her first year actually hunting... have a pic of her and i from a few years ago checking an area for fall bear sign, we spotted a couple does and snuck in for a better look

 

[Farmcritter]

What age did you introduce your kids to hunting?

What species did you pursue?

Most importantly, do they continue to enjoy hunting and will they likely continue hunting as adults?

I’ve got an almost two year old… Curious when/how is the right way to get him hooked.

I have an 8 and 10 yr old. The 10 yr old has shown alot of interest in going into the mountains. They love camping in the summer. He does well hunting ducks on our creeks and he’ll sit a couple early season whitetail hunts but usually is bored after 1 or two. I definitely don’t push them and would rather they don’t hit it to hard until they are old enough to not get burnt out.

 

[Coat4gun]

I have 2 sons. They went with me rifle White tail hunting in PA first time when the youngest was 5 and oldest 7. Snowed that day and they had a great time. Took them archery hunting from a tree stand many times the next year but it was tough to get one in close enough but was still fun. The youngest got his first white tail when he was 12 (doe with a rifle) and second archery the next year (spike buck). He has gotten 2 more bucks since then. Oldest son is more of a social hunter and got one doe when he was 17. We had to wake him up in the ground blind to shoot. He kilt it dead and wanted to go back to sleep. lol.

 

[S.Clancy]

I went on my first antelope hunt with my dad @ 3. We took my youngest brother on a pack trip 15 miles to the Lake Plateau at 3. In our family, you didn't have a choice not to go. Now, I'm super glad we didnt have a choice because we prob would've chosen something useless instead.

 

[Musky]

Introduced my first daughter when she was 10 years old into whitetail. She's tagged out every year usually her first sit so she enjoys it very much so far.

My second daughter got introduced to whitetail this year as she turned 10. She didn't tag out this year although we had a couple very short opportunities that she passed on and it made me happy knowing she was making smart decisions. Time will only tell if she decides to hunt again as she was pretty bummed by not yet having successfully filling her first tag.

 

[Osut645]

My son was a fanatic over bows at four. The Browning micro midis he wore out, shot it so much.