Getting Son Hunting ?

[cattlelackranch]

great topic and excellent replies.

I don't want my kids to grow up but I'm definitely looking forward to being able introduce them to hunting.

Daughter is 3 and son is 1.

[krtnorris]

I wrote an article on the TBH Journal about this one time. I wish the old Journals were available in PDF form here somehow. That would be cool. Main thing is to just get them outdoors and let them be kids and explore. Don't expect them to be hardcore hunters on day 1. Take them home BEFORE they start getting grumpy and tired. ALWAYS leave them wanting more. If you drag them up and down hills in the 100 degree temps for 12 hours, they're not going to have warm fuzzy thoughts about hunting when they get home. If you stick them in a box blind all day, constantly telling them to be still and be quiet, they're not going to go away thinking that hunting is fun.

Walk around. Look at tracks and scat and other game sign. Pick up rocks. Maybe you'll find an arrowhead or a piece of flint or something. Look at cactus. Chase grasshoppers. Find a place to sit quietly for a little while and watch some deer. Use binoculars. Let them shoot whatever they're comfortable and capable of shooting, even if it's just a BB gun right now. And then LEAVE while they're still having fun. Don't push it too hard. Don't expect to have the same kind of hunting trip that you have when you are hunting by yourself and you're hunting hard.

Stop somewhere on the way home for some kind of special treat, and make that a regular ritual. I stumbled on that one by accident. When Zach was 4 or 5 years old, we would go fishing at a golf course pond where a group of us had stocked trout in the winter. One day we stopped at a convenience store on the way home and got some snacks and drinks. The next time we went fishing, after we'd been there about an hour, Zach started asking me, "Dad, when are we gonna go get a rectangle pie?"

I asked, "A rectangle pie? What are you talking about?"

He said, "You know..... Last time we went fishing, we got those rectangle pies."

I started laughing. We'd gotten Mrs. Baird's fried pies at the convenience store, and they are shaped like a rectangle. So we fished a few more minutes, and then we just left and went and got a couple more rectangle pies.

Zach is about to turn 16. He's 6' tall now. We still call 'em rectangle pies, and we still stop and get some on the way home from hunting or fishing. Just a silly little thing, but it turned into something extra that just makes our times together a little more special. It makes us remember all the other countless times we've spent time together outdoors, and it keeps us connected to those memories somehow. Pretty cool.

awesome stuff here! My dad would buy he & I maple rolls rolls from the local bakery! Man I miss those!

[HR3]

introduce the outdoors to him as early as possible.......now that maybe 1yo,2yo or 3 years old.....go head and laugh folks....but I've got pics of my kids in strollers holding a fishing pole...lol....also find that hunting on TV has helped build the intrest in it but again all depends on the kid....and keep in mind kids love snacks,bugs,sticks and all kinds of things that don't have anything to do with hunting so fun is the order of the day...my boy is 7yo and he dusted off a couple of spikes last season.....small game is great as well but whatever you hunt will be good....let them play with all the calls too....they love it......

[Black Ice]

My dad forced horses and being a cowboy onto me. Can't stand them dang things now. He did however show me a passion and respect for the outdoors but never forced it upon me.