I have three sons, Ages 18, 17, and 2.5. I haven' t taken my little one hunting yet, but he' s been in the woods helping me ' scout' . He points out the ' dweer twacks' all the time!!
I started taking my older ones when they were 4 years old. I let them start hunting after they passed the hunter safety course at age 9. They had to work a few more years passing Dad' s hunter safety course, but by age 12, they were both hunting in a stand on their own, albeit within shouting distance of me. Both got their first deer at age 13 and one got his first with a bow at age 14. Between the two of them, they have shot about 15 deer in their young lives. The best deer was a 100 class 8 point.
Even now when they have developed the interest in ' girls' , they still hunt and don' t want to miss it! One of them told his girlfriend that on Sept. 13th, he would be hunting, and that she would have to adjust to not seeing him as much. That' s what I call setting priorities!!!
