Children & dead deer.
My son is 23 months old & loves animals. He knows what deer are from looking at pictures. When & how do you have your children see deer after you have shot them. I dont want to scare him for life by him not understanding a dead deer. When his goldfish die he calls them sleeping.

Dead deer is a part of hunting and of nature, every living thing dies. My son closely checked out my first rifle kill when he was around 2, he had a great time checking things out.

I actually started walking with my father during gun season when I was 5, not sure as to being younger than that, but we were always alowed to see the deer as kids after the grown ups were done for the day.

Just my 2 cents, but I wouldnt worry to much about it-if you explain it to him, he will understand somehow I think--I actually think that was part of what got me interested in the sport

I don't hide anything from my grandkids , so they know that the meat on their plate resulted from a creture giving it's life . They've seen my kills and even watched me dress them . All in all they were far more facinated than horrified . Dispel the Bambi image early and educate them well .

My son was 2 when he was first exposed to a doe that I brought home to clean and butcher. He came outside during thepictures only.

This year I may expose him to a bit more.

My son also was 2 when I introduced him... he was fine with it and still is. He understands exactly what it means. I go hunting now and he tells me to get a big buck so we have lots of good dinnews (dinners in 4 year old speak).

My daughter is 7, she was introduced at 5. She loves to go out to the field to get pics with Daddy and Mommy after a kill. She inspected the gut pile Saturday after Hubby shot his 5 pt. She was quite disappointed that we were taking the deer to the processor. She told us she wanted to "gut" the deer like she always does with Daddy... she really meant skin it and cut it up. She was fascinated with the Amish guy when he cut the head off the deer Saturday afternoon, she asked if she could watch.

From the time I was young I was always exposed to this. I saw other people's kill when I around 2-3 and killed my first when I 5.

Both of my sons have been around dead deer since they were old enough to walk. Much to my wifes displeasure, they liked to touch the deer's eyes to feel them 'squish'. Of course I had to explain to them about death and hunting back then, but they were fine with it. They were even to the point of waiting for me to come back from the woods to see if I had any 'suprises' in the back of the truck. My oldest is now 9, my youngest is 8. Hopefully they will take their first deer next weekend (again to my wifes displeasure)

Here's my oldest with the first deer he ever got to touch..

My friends daughter loves dead deer. She calls them George. Every deer is George. And when she wants venison, she of course will ask if there is any George to eat. She even helps butcher deer by carrying the burger meat to the burger bucket and yells "Yay" everytime.

Tom

I would advise to be discreet in how you go about your business with dead deer, and just wait for him to tell you/let you know that he has interest to know/see more.