ahunter55

I started taking my one son when he was about 4. He would just be on stand with me & fortunatly for me, he was very quite & not antsie. When he got tired, I would let him sleep. He was along on a few blood trails & I was always explaining things I knew (or thought I knew) to him all the time.. He is now 34.
I missed a Buck at about 20 yds one afternoon & stuck the arrow in a tree next to the deer. When I was digging the arrow out he looked at the tree we had been in & said "Dad, how can anyone miss a Deer that close?" My reply was, do you like coming hunting with me, he said "sure" I said, if you want to keep coming "DON'T tell anyone".
We were in a Bowhunting camp 4 years ago & another kid my sons age had shot a Deer they counld't find. I over heard my son tell him-ask my Dad to look,He can find anything if it dies. Made me feel great. The kid did ask & I did find the Deer, pure luck but THEY will NEVER know that.
They will keep bringing you joy (most of the time) all your life & when they are older, great hunting companioins.
I have 33 & 16 year old Daughters doing that now-learning.
Good Luck-take them as often as you can & when YOU think they will enjoy it. I have never pushed any of my kids to hunt & 3 out of 6 do...

burniegoeasily

Pure luck? You know what luck is, dont you? Its when preparation meets opportunity. I assure you, you were prepared.

Seif5034

my dad started me hunting by denying me. i had my interest sparked by TV shows and friend's hunting stories at school. When i was maybe 7 i caught my dad packing up to go hunting and i asked if i could go and both of my parents told me "no" and gave me the run-around so i took it as a challenge and now i'm the most obsessive hunter in my family. Even my extended family! I got my first kill on the first opportunity. 14-yrs-old in a ground blind built of logs and brush opening day at 11:00am with the 20ga. that dad got me for my birthday.

the only bad thing about that day was that i had to field dress the deer alone because my dad had gotten up to walk and wasn't at his blind.

RLoving1

I started hauling my son dove hunting young...diaper bag in tow.His mother knew thats the way I was and just said be careful and watch for snakes.He just turned 18 a month ago and graduates in 2 weeks...still a memory thats fresh on my mind.