Young Dad’s Success Thread

[Sully_44]

My buddy (who just had his first kid) and I (5 year old son, 2 year old daughter, and daughter on the way) were hanging out last night and he was talking about the new respect he’s got for young dad’s that are successful at life, and hunting. He was amazed how someone can make that work. I want to put together what a lot of you do, or did when you’re kids were young to be a good dad/husband, provider, and still get after it.

For me, I would say I’m still on the pursuit to be known in my circle as a killer, however I do punch a tag or two every year. I try to incorporate my kids into my hunts as much as possible, whether that’s sacrificing a couple days of getting away from the roads to spend with them bouncing around in the truck so they can be with me, or bringing them on scouting trips. To do some of the more serious stuff I feel like some sort of sacrifice needs to be made and it’s often sleep. I’ve found myself out setting or checking cameras after the family has gone to sleep. It seems like there is usually some sort of sacrifice that is always being made.

Feel free to drop some advice as well as pictures of your success while being a young dad. Doesn’t matter if that success came while sacrificing time away from family and you were solo, or sacrificing going hard and peacefully because you brought the kids.

 

[Jdeck09]

The mass on that mule deer is incredible!

I've got a couple of young boys, so I'm still figuring it all out, but my plan is to take them with me as much as possible. I'd rather have a few less-than-perfect hunts if it means spending that time with them.

I'm fortunate that my wife is supportive of me taking one big elk trip each year. The rest of my hunting time will be spent on shorter hunts with the boys.

My hope is that by the time they're 10 or older, they'll genuinely want to hunt with Dad because they had so much fun when they were younger. Then those bigger elk trips can become adventures we share together.

I've also come to the realization that if I really want to hunt elk regularly, I'll need to move out West. That's actually something we've started planning for.

 

[Sully_44]

he mass on that mule deer is incredible!

I've got a couple of young boys, so I'm still figuring it all out, but my plan is to take them with me as much as possible. I'd rather have a few less-than-perfect hunts if it means spending that time with them.

I'm fortunate that my wife is supportive of me taking one big elk trip each year. The rest of my hunting time will be spent on shorter hunts with the boys.

My hope is that by the time they're 10 or older, they'll genuinely want to hunt with Dad because they had so much fun when they were younger. Then those bigger elk trips can become adventures we share together.

I've also come to the realization that if I really want to hunt elk regularly, I'll need to move out West. That's actually something we've started planning for.

I failed to mention that having the support of Mama is by far the most important ingredient in my opinion! Support of both the solo trips and trips with the kids going into the wild.

 

[MarkOrtiz]

Part of it is making sure Mom at home is taken care of. During the off season do the honey dos, spend lots of family time together, make sure the bills are paid, then when it comes to hunting season it is easier to get away. My success now is hunting with my kids and I get to do that more than hunting for myself. This year I finally have a mule deer tag that I will have a chance to fill and I'll spend lots of time away. I will say that hunting with the kids is about the best thing there is. It’s taught me a lot of patience and other skills.

 

[Sully_44]

Part of it is making sure Mom at home is taken care of. During the off season do the honey dos, spend lots of family time together, make sure the bills are paid, then when it comes to hunting season it is easier to get away. My success now is hunting with my kids and I get to do that more than hunting for myself. This year I finally have a tag that I will have a chance to fill.

Great point!

 

[Samson7x]

Yes, definitely making sure mom and home base are taken care of is paramount. I wouldn't say I'm an extremely successful hunter but I like to think I'm a great dad. Both of mine are too young to hunt at the moment but I look forward to the time when I can take them along. I usually take one big trip either out west or Africa per year and several local day hunts. I have a few bucket list hunts I still want to take but those will be spread out over several years. I've known men who have lost relationships and a contributing factor was time spent away from home hunting. Definitely needs to be a balance and every relationship is different.