kid hunting etiquette question...

[jshouse]

just curious how you dads handle which deer your kids are "allowed" to kill? i know lease/family rules play a factor and all that...but do they get free reign? only "management" bucks or skims? do you let them kill something before you get to? do you kill you target before they get to hunt?

i am taking my son out today with the crossbow looking for 1 of 2 big 8s we have on cam daily right now. on this spot i only let them shoot mature 8-9s or funky horned bucks but i have a couple really nice deer showing up pretty regular too and i am wondering if i can keep myself off the crossbow if one in particular shows up lol. we will be in a pop up, and i have taken my bow with me before but it would pretty much be impossible to move the crossbow and tripod and adjust myself for a shot with the bow without getting busted...so we may just get some good pics and pizz off a 13yo

[Walker]

My case might be a little different from most others. I've killed all the deer I want and I only hunt with my grandsons now. But even when my kids were young and hunted with me they got the shot on any deer I might have wanted. Just more satisfaction for me to see them successful.

[glen]

If it’s his turn to hunt it’s his turn to hunt. My kids have sat with me and knew if any shot was taken Inwas taking it. When they carried the weapon it was their turn. So if it was a buck on the “shoot” list they were the ones shooting.

[bloodtrail18]

I think it depends on the kid and their efforts to kill a big deer. Did the kiddo help feed, set up, etc.? If I did all the work, more than likely I'm the one taking the shot. That said, my kids help every chance they get and shoot 4x the deer I have the last few years. I feel it would mess up the kids drive to put in the work that goes along with hunting if all they do is pull the trigger.

[Dale Moser]

There's no handbook for that one. Depends on the kid, their drive, and what's already on their wall.


I watched what would have been the biggest deer I've ever killed walk away a couple years ago, and watched my son kill it 43 days later. When we walked up on it I said "you're ****ed lucky I didn't realize just how big this deer was". He's usually always on the trigger when he's with me, but I carry a rifle in case of a monster out of his comfortable range. When he's not with me, I'll shoot whatever I want and he can deal with it.

He has a handful of very nice deer on his wall already...

[Slabby]

Hmmmm. Can't imagine taking that opportunity away from my kid if it presented itself. I can tell you both of my kids first deer were does. Both those deer were way more exhilarating for me than any buck I've ever shot. Be grateful he wants to hunt with you and don't crush his dreams

[Ishi&Elvis]

If you want to shoot a certain deer, do not take your son/daughter with you unless you are going to let them shoot, and be happy for them if they kill. My daughters have killed bucks that I would have loved to have killed, but I was just happy to see their excitement at killing those deer. Antlers do strange things to some men, do not be one of those.

[jshouse]

There's no handbook for that one. Depends on the kid, their drive, and what's already on their wall.


I watched what would have been the biggest deer I've ever killed walk away a couple years ago, and watched my son kill it 43 days later. When we walked up on it I said "you're ****ed lucky I didn't realize just how big this deer was". He's usually always on the trigger when he's with me, but I carry a rifle in case of a monster out of his comfortable range. When he's not with me, I'll shoot whatever I want and he can deal with it.

He has a handful of very nice deer on his wall already...

That's the story with this one... a few years ago he killed a 10 that when we walked up to it was way bigger than I thought it was lol... I told him the same thing you did.

[ColinR]

When its my son's turn to shoot, which is pretty much all the time now, LOL its his turn to shoot and no matter which "shooter" comes out he gets the shot. We just got back from Colorado on an elk hunt and I had already said he could have first shot if we saw a shooter. Had a giant 6x6 or 7x7 came out he would have been the one shooting. Like others said I get more enjoyment out of watching him be successful than me. That said, if he has already killed a deer and I haven't, then I'm up to bat and will shoot.

[wytex]

13, good age to teach some patience and pass on smaller bucks. Let him shoot "your" deer if it shows itself.

[Das71198]

I have always let my son or daughter kill my deer. I got more satisfaction out of them killing it rather than me. In the past 15 years, I have personally only killed two deer. I killed plenty before they were born.

[bboswell]

when my kids started they were hunting and I was back up or for the big one that was out of their range. As far as which deer, they started on the first legal buck they saw then the rule was the buck had to be bigger that anything they had killed before. Luckily they both worked their way up instead of killing a monster right off the bat.

[1riot1ranger]

Raising my sons and daughters I tried to teach them good management skills and how to identify young deer and non-shooters. Sometimes they messed up, but it was a learning experience and not an a** chewing. Seems to have worked. They are all grown now and remember the lessons, well, most of them most of time.

[Geezy Rider]

Hmmmm. Can't imagine taking that opportunity away from my kid if it presented itself. I can tell you both of my kids first deer were does. Both those deer were way more exhilarating for me than any buck I've ever shot. Be grateful he wants to hunt with you and don't crush his dreams

Exactly. I could not think any other way.

[BlessedVeteran0305]

When I took my boys I always let them kill before me. They got to shoot whatever they wanted no matter what as long as it was legal once they were old enough to shoot a deer and comprehend why we deer hunt and what that deer does for us. Now that my oldest son is almost 19 if I take him I generally let him shoot first since I have already put one on the wall many yrs ago. For me it's more about the excitement and the thrill of watching him have his turn at going for something big enough for the wall (shoulder mount worthy). My youngest is too much of an animal lover and decided not to continue hunting afyer he took his first deer which I am just fine with that. He knows how to hunt, and why we hunt and that's what matters to me.