CPH45

Hey all, was last on the forum about a year ago. I figured some of the
fathers who have been successful getting their sons active and excited
about hunting may be able to help. My best friend has been deer hunting
for about the last 2-3 years and has not shot anything and only seen a
few. I think he has taken one shot and missed. I, on the other hand,
have been deer hunting for about 13 years and had several years starting
out that I did not see anything. 7 to be exact. I just enjoyed always
enjoyed being out there. Anyway, he is getting really frustrated and I
am getting the impression that he wants to give up. I tried the "well it
took me seven years, you just have to be patient" routine, which does
not work. I figured some of the fathers on here might have some advice
for me since I think many of you probably have been through something
like this. Thanks guys and I hope everybody had or is having a great
season.

Rebel Hog

When my son was 12yrs old I took him to hunter Safety Course and bought him a Winchester .30-30 Carbine in the original boxthat a man had in his closet for over 15yrs and never shot it.
My son did goodon deer and hogs, but when he turned 17 he wanted to bass fish with his fishing friends and he is now 27 and has not returned to hunting, he is into Pro Bass Fishing.

DoctorDeath

I'm not sure there is an answere for this ...I can't honestly say I would stay with it that long if I were not at least seeing deer ... if he has hunted for several years without seeing many deer and never taken a shot and it took you 7 years to get a deer maybe you guys need to look for better deer hunting land ... just a thought ...

dd

DeerWhisperer

I to had this problem. My son who is now 14 went through the hunter saftey course when he was 11. He did not see many deer when i took him but i was seeing them when he was not with me. Last year he said it was boring and did not go 1 time. This year at 1st said he was not gonna go. I asked for peoples opinion and was getting all sorts of answers like take him squirrel hunting or just let him shot the gun at something while he was in the woods. He still did not want to go.
I ran into a cousin of mine who i had not seen in a long time. we got to hanging out and i was telling him that my son lost intrest and did not want to hunt anymore. He also had a son the same age and they were gonna go do some tracking right before early muzzleloader season and told me to come along and bring my son.
After 2 times of tracking with the boys together was all it took. All it took was for him to have someone his own age to hunt with and to talk about hunting with. Once again he is hooked.
If you know someone who has a child your sons age and hunts ask if you 2 can tag along with them. Might be all it takes. worked me and now i feel like i gained my hunting buddy back.

zekeskar

Excellent points: gotta do something that the kid can actually do rather than just sit and wait like target shooting, or small game shooting where there's a lot more "action".

The idea about another kid is probably the best. When I was a kid, frankly I didn't like hunting with adults all that much. If my brother or other kids (sons of dad's friends) were along, we had a blast. Of course we were closely supervised until we proved we could be trusted.

Same with fishing: slow fishing, or fishing with adults only: boring. Action fishing and/or fishing with friends around: much more fun.

I see this in my own kids (two daughters, neither like hunting). But the stuff we do together is changing quite a bit as they get older. Where they were happy to do stuff with dad and mom, now it's very important that they do stuff with their friends. Family activities are much more fun all around if another family with kids is involved or if they invite friends. I like it too - I like having a bunch of kids around in addition to my own.

Jeff Ovington

My son didn't have any interest in hunting till after the last season was
over....

That being said, he too was getting very bored and I too, was concerned he would lose interest...

That was before he found a LEGAL BUCK which he shot..

Wedid the TARGET PRACTICING and MY BROTHER TOOK HIM GROUSE HUNTING and that help keep him trying..

BUT I THINK DEERWHISPER HAS A GREAT IDEA BRING ALONG.......A COMPANION

timbercruiser

I agree with DD, sounds like ya'll need to find some better land. I'm going to carry my two grandsons tomorrow afternoon and I wouldn't be surprised if both of them shot adeer..

rcgerchow

My dad had me in a goose blind with him when I was just 4 yrs. old. He took me waterfowling and upland game hunting, but he was never a deer hunter. Because of my interest in hunting I just moved into deer hunting, actually archery first and then firearm. I have three sons none of which hunt. We had many great times in the field scouting for deer but they just never took to it. My friend and hunting partner has a son who is now sixteen and has become a pretty decent hunter, we always included him in all our scouting activity and setting blinds and so on. We first put him in areas where he would see deer (does and spikes) until he learned enough to harvest his first couple of deer. He now passes up spikes for larger deer and even found a great spot (he let a friend hunt) that yielded a 10pt. Now we just have to see if he makes it past the girlfriends and cars to continue hunting. We scout deer all year long and always bring him and maybe a buddy along.

mauser06

thats a tough one.....i agree it would be hard for me to keep hunting if i never saw deer...but in this state if i dont see deer its my fault....cant really make him keep hunting....maybe hes just not a hunter at heart? and maybe he dont see deer because he doesnt try.....or he was never taught to properly hunt...not sure what state your in..but some states its dang near impossible NOT to see deer...but i got friends here that dont see deer....just because they were never taught to hunt...it took me 4 or 5 years to bag a turkey....frusterating...but i atleast had encounters every season...just never pulled the trigger though i could have about every season...just didnt have the shot i wanted....but i am a diehard turkey hunter....ever since the first day....love chasin them birds...now that i bagged 2 i love it even more....just takes time sometimes....sometimes it takes teaching...which i had until i was 16 with dad....sometimes people just arent meant to be hunters...i know alot of my friends went to college this year and will probably never hunt again...i myself went to a college that isnt far from home so i can come home to hunt...and has some of the best hunting and fishing around just so i could keep at it....i really think some people arent meant to hunt....takes a diffrent person to enjoy getting rained on in the cold all morning not seeing a dang thing and walk out of the woods smiling.....i just love to be out there....and seeing/taking game makes it so much better...and keeps me going......

rdneckhntr

I've got the complete opposite problem than you. I am 14 and I have been hunting since I was about 5 with my grandpa. My dad's dad died when he was my age so he didnt ever have anyone to take him hunting with him. Now he hasnt hunted since almost before I was born and i cant find ANYWAY to get him to hunt with me. The only thing that he has done that had to do with hunting is he helped me hang my stands and he took my little brother squirrel hunting. We do not get along very well so I am trying to get him into hunting or fishing so that we can have something incommon to do with eachother. If any of you have any sugestions on how to get him into it, please tell me.

Nathan