What Age To Take Son on First Hunt?

[Gum56]

My parents gave me a Sears single shot .22 for Christmas when I was 6 yo. Within a month my dad took me to my grand parent's 60 A homestead and let me shoot a cottontail and a squirrel. I had been practicing with a BB gun prior to that in the back yard with targets of rabbits and squirrels.
My granddaughter (whom we raised as our own) got interested in shooting and hunting at about 10 yo. We would go to a target range and shoot for at the most an hour before she got board. Then I took her to an area of backcountry dirt roads to learn to drive my Tacoma.
Eventually her first kill at maybe 11 yo was prairie dogs with a .22 Magnum. At 12 deer, then hogs, exotics and at 16 we went on an unsuccessful elk hunt, but she was a real trooper in the cold and snow. All booked for a safari for her highschool graduation, but Covid hit. Never got back there.
She is a production welder now and between work and BF no time for grandpa. They grow up fast!
Best of luck making the right decisions!

 

[MannyMedeiros21]

I started taking my son with me when he was 2 on squirrel hunts. He is now four and has been on a predator hunt, multiple deer hunts, and a turkey hunt this spring. He loves it. I bought a couple of those see through tidewe blinds that he is able to see through while still being below the windows. He is just as ate up with fishing

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[lintond]

Take them early, but set your expectations for the hunt to be low. It’s more of a glorified hike. Make sure they are comfortable well fed and expect them to be hard to entertain quietly. Squirrel hunt would be a great starter.


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[Stubble_hunt]

I believe age is just a number, you have to catch them young so they can keep the legacy! My son started following me to hunt at age 6 and he shoots well now. He had his first kill at age 10 and now he's doing exploit. My one cent tho!

 

[Brandon N]

Took my 4 YO to the deer stand a couple times so far. Took him dove hunting for the first time this year....probably invest more time next year

 

[johnnycake]

My daughter was a 5month old premie that weighed 6lbs when she came along on her momma's bull elk hunt


And we never really slowed down since. Sure, the types of hunts and how rough/tough/hard we go is affected by bringing them along. But it is worth it!



It's been a number of years now, and my daughter is 12 and my son is 10. But they still enjoy coming out to varying degrees. Looking back at these kind of pics from hunts when they were very little is one of the greatest sources of joy for me right now.

 

[coiloil37]

I started my first kid at 2.5 because I didn’t know any better. The second and third kid started at 18 months. I was changing diapers on the trail and carrying them in backpacks. If I wasn’t hunting or fishing with my kids I wasn’t hunting or fishing. The whole point revolved around them being with me and I didn’t go without them.

Mine are 8, 10 and 12 now and all of them love being outdoors with me. Doesn’t matter what we are doing it’s cemented a shared bond that so far is unwavering. Had I waited until they were older I would have missed those years and memories and may have never gotten this fire in them started.

On a personal note, I got them started young because I didn’t have the chance with my father. He got MS when I was about 8 and spent 30+ years in a bed. What it taught me is you never know what’s going to happen. Don’t wait for the “then”’at the expense of the “now” (within reason). If the kids ready, adjust your expectations and get them out there with you. Assuming that’s important for you.