RE: How old should the little guy be?
 

I took two 5 yrs olds last fall.. We shot a buck.. Saw a bear. It was the best time i've ever had hunting..All the questions and seeing their eyes and expressions was just fantastic... I'll be doing it again this year forsure.. Maybe for a bear hunt..

There's a story on it, if you want to read it..

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RE: How old should the little guy be?
 

I think that you should take both of the kids hunting. I first started taking my boys out when they were 4 and 5. I have a ground blind so that they could still move around if they got tired of sitting. I also would bring some coloring books and crayons to help keep them occuppied when we weren't seeing deer. Also, don't plan on hunting all day. Usually they are good for about 3-4 hours before they really want to get going. This year I plan on taking my two year old daughter out with me. Make sure that you have fun when taking them out and don't be all serious because that will turn them off from wanting to go with you again.

RE: How old should the little guy be?
 

I also wanted to respond to tell lovethebigguns that was a very well written post and you were spot-on about not overdoing it with the little ones. My dad pushed me a little hard when I started at 10 or 11 staying out all day long a few times. When my older boy says he is cold we go in but I have been suprised that he sits very still and quiet for 3 or 4 hours which is better than some adults!

I quoted the post above because there is no doubt the most excited I have ever been in my hunting life was watching the 10 year-old shoot that buck while sitting in the same tree with him. It was the most incredible thing I have every experienced and am getting goose bumps writing about it right now. I wasso excited that I literally could not sleep that night, I laid there all night playing the event over and over in my mind. I have shot several Pope & Young bucks myself and have never been as excited as experiencing it with my son.

RE: How old should the little guy be?
 

He's plenty old enough to tag along. Man, he's almost old enough to hunt. Get him out there and in that blind! The deer season is generally more weather relatedand touchy but I started my lil' guys out sittin' in the Turkey blind since they could walk well enough to make it to the blind. I envolve them in every aspect of the outdoor sports, from running the trail cams to tracking whitetail..... they love it and thank me all the time for the chace to tag along. Best of luck to ya this season and THANKS for passing along the outdoor heritage.

RE: How old should the little guy be?
 

My oldest is a boy and he is seven. I have taken him since he was 5. Not for long periods of time, but and hour in the evening in the blind, some squirrels in the morning. This year he will be 8 in archery and I plan on taking him for a couple of hunts.

RE: How old should the little guy be?
 

One of the key things to remember when taking young kids out either hunting or fishing is to make sure that the focus is on their "fun level." 90% of the time they're just happy to be out their with their Dad (or Mom). But that can be very short lived when the task at hand is sitting still and silent for an hour or more. A small doodle pad and box of crayons in a blind can extend the trip by another hour or two, or even a small tube of elmers glue and a pocket fulll of pine cones can keep a kid quiet and entertained for quite a while.

A box blind is a great way to start, but don't forget to pique their interest with a pre-season scouting trip or two just meandering around looking for tracks, bugs, toadstools, etc.

Also, child development experts say that children do not start to form what we call "true memories" until about the age of five. So don't feel too bad about leaving your 3 or 4 year old at home despite their protests.

Remember too that children are typically much more temperature sensitive than adults are. What to you is a brisk mornning might be downright freezing to them, or an "unusually warm" afternoon to you might seem broiling to them. Plan accordingly.

RE: How old should the little guy be?
 

I took my son squirrel hunting with me the first time when he was 2 1/2 years old. Just take him and stay as long as he wants to then call it a day.

RE: How old should the little guy be?
 

Even today, with my son 12, we'll start out scouting, do some fishing, switch to bow fishing, back to scouting - keep moving and changing it up.

Turkey hunting is pretty pro-active and exciting for younger ones; keeps 'em moving and intrested.

Started my boy very young scouting, taking pictures, looking at sign, bugs and what ever was interesting. Found a deer skeleton from winter kill and talked about that for an hour once.

RE: How old should the little guy be?
 

Well My opinion is that they are never too young to go hunting w/ a parent. I knew when my daughter was 2 that she was into dead stuff... Picture below... This past year Diesel77 and I tooke her on an afternoon Goose hunt. She was fine... A little cold but fine. She is more excited about going out to see deer. I will put a two man ladder stand this year in one of my ok properties so that we can spend some time together in the woods. If something comes buy we may or may not take it.

I think the key is however, don't always say yes to the kid when he/she wants to go hunting.Get Them excited about being out there.Make them curious of whats out there. So when you do get out there, start out with a short hunt. when you are ready to leave, leave even if they say they want to stay tell them it's time to go. Even if they beg.... Progress each hunt a little longer. Botom line, MAKE them Earn it and want it.Your results from this simple drill will let youknow weather they are too young.

Everything in moderation as they devolop their interest.

RE: How old should the little guy be?
 

My son will be 4 in Oct, and he has gotten to go out with me a little for the last two years.. His first time, we went out on an evening rifle hunt for a couple hours, took cookies and toys, and tried to make him enjoy himself, even saw a really good buck, and ended up not getting a shot cause of tryng to get my sons ear protection on. Last fall he got to go out with me for deer a few different trips, and got to see some deer and a family of coons on one trip. He also got to go with me for a fall turkey hunt, and got to watch a flock come in to the calls, and watch me shoot one,, he was so excited, he loves going to the woods with me more than anything else, he always goes with me to check my game cams, and plant food plots, and anything else I do in the outdoors, I usually let him just kind of do what he wants, to an extent,, if he wants to dig in the dirt with a stick,, so what,, I ll get more days to hunt. On one trip last fall, we were squirrel hunting, and he started to just look everthing over,, he would go a few yards and look at a tree or stick, than come back, and then go find something else.. At his farthest, he may have gone 30 yards from me, and then bragged to mom how far he was away from dad and hiding,,lol. Take them hunting, fishing, scouting, walking, checking game camera,, and get ready for the questions,, and another plus is they arent in front of the tv. and they like it much better.