Looking for advice on raising a child into a hunter

[TonyC]

Hey all! I know in the long run it depends on the ultimate decision of the child to go hunting or not; however, I'm looking for any and all advice on how you would raise twin girls to not only become hunters; but LOVE it! I truly hope to share my passion of flying, the outdoors, hunting, and fishing with my girls. Also, not only do I desire to have something in common with them, I want to raise them the "right way" which to me, means... having a high respect for themselves, strangers, friends, and family. I'm terrified when I look at today's generations and how rude and disrespectful they are. I repeatedly have nightmares about my girls developing such characteristics.. It doesn't help that they have already picked up bad habits from other little kids from their school... What the heck do I do guys and gals?!

 

They are almost four years old; however, they are behind in their communication skills. (I also believe they are smarter than they look and can actually understand a lot of what we tell them but they are stubborn... just like their papa was)

 

So... With respect and consideration that these are my first kids ever and I happened to get twins... help me out and give me some advice on what you would do!

 

Tony.

 

[billrquimby]

Make certain they are successful very early in their hunting and fishing careers, and that everyone around them praises them for it.

 

Bill Quimby

[wildwoody]

Make sure they take the hunter safety course twice, teach them patients, and a successful trip isn't about the kill but the experience

[GreyGhost85]

Take full advantage of youth hunts and the various youth hunter programs put on by different organizations. Put them in for the great youth deer and cow hunts that Arizona offers. Even if it takes a couple years for them to draw, having a great first hunting experience will get them hooked

[TonyC]

What's a good age for them to be starting these hunts? I'm pretty sure they are way too young right now but maybe I'm wrong.

[buckmaster21]

I take my kids out scouting and on small hunts right now my 5 year old daughter loves it and it's all she talks about she has been on almost every antelope scouting trip with me and is set on going on the hunt just take them out and show them the out doors and they will be hooked

[trphyhntr]

i don't have kids and I don't know if its the same for girls but when I was a kid my dad was all about hunting and I just wanted to do whatever he did. and do it well, that's all it took.

[DUG]

Keep the trips short but fun. If they start getting bored they won't like it. Make it about them.

[TonyC]

i don't have kids and I don't know if its the same for girls but when I was a kid my dad was all about hunting and I just wanted to do whatever he did. and do it well, that's all it took.

 

That's how I was also.. So I'm trying to do my best to keep them active in my life and try to make it as fun as possible for them.

[jp0212]

I adopted my niece and nephew and just made it a point to make the trip as fun as possible. Good breakfast and lots of junk food at the pit stop. She was 11 and he was 6 when we got them, so he was introduced at a much younger age. He is more into it than my niece, but they both love going out. One thing that helped was getting them ther own camo, they seemed to get more into it after that. King's camo has great kids stuff for very reasonable pricing. We also make it a family thing since my wife is a hunter. I loved seeing how excited they got when they saw their first animals in the wild. My nephew is now 11 and I have taken him on a couple coyote hunts with no luck. I know when he gets his first animal harvest he will be hooked. My baby girl (our first child) is 7 months now and I can not wait to start taking her out.

[TonyC]

That's awesome man! I am excited to be able to share my hobbies with them.. the hard part for me is having the patience .. haha

[IA Born]

We took our daughter camping at 2 months old and never looked back. Its all she knew for the longest time. When she was 5, I took her on a "hunt' with me during archery season. We walked almost a mile (took about 30 minutes) into a tank, holding hands most of the way. We sat there about 10 minutes before she got bored and we walked back to camp on an elk trail. I made it all about her and wanted her to enjoy the experience. A couple of months later, I took her hunting with me in south Texas. We saw deer, pigs, javelina, cool tropical birds, etc. I was able to shoot a feral pig and harvest a big mature doe with her there and she loved every minute. She started joining me on archery javelina hunts and watched me get my first one from the next ridge. When she'd join me, I changed my style completely so that she enjoys every minute (junk food, frequent rests, slower walking, etc.). Same with fishing. All about her and nothing about me. Easy/early successes are key. Teaching them that a tag not filled doesn't mean the hunt wasn't successful is extremely important. The youth hunts are great. The youth doe hunt is awesome for confidence. My daughter is 11 now and wants to be involved in everything as long as it doesn't overlap with her competitive soccer games. Even then, she's torn!

 

I guess the short answer is, like others have said, get them involved in every aspect of your hobbies and start now! I didn't start my son as early and its been more difficult. I finally convinced him to join me sitting on a tank Friday evening and, although we didn't see any deer or elk (until we drove home) he had a blast and can't wait to go again. His favorite part: the "light saber" (stick) fights we had using dead oak branches that were smaller than a pencil. All. About. Them!

[Str8Shot]

Do not let them get too connected to technology young.. They have a hard time disconnecting ... Get them outdoors as much as possible and engage them, ask them if they want to fish today or take a hike to look for animals and finds.... As others said get the success early and take advantage of the youth opportunities.

 

p.s. be prepared to do a little less of the hunting and fishing yourself at the times it is about them , giving the kids more opportunity than yourself ... at least with fish and small game ... treeing a squirrel and having dad take the shot 80% of the time will not help any ...

[bgshooter]

I have 2 boys (10 & 8). I didn't get serious into hunting until last year. So I'm a little behind the curve when it comes to trying to get them into hunting. They show a little interest but they're not begging me to go out hunting...I have to ask them and their answer is usually "maybe".

 

However, rewind 6 years ago when they were (4 & 2). At age 4, we got our son into sports. Soccer was his first sport and actually started at age 3. We had him in soccer 3 seasons a year (Fall, Winter, Spring). At age 5 & 3, they both started tee-ball\coach pitch baseball. They're still playing baseball now and haven't missed a Fall, Winter, Spring season. We practice baseball even in the off-seasons. They both love playing baseball.

 

I guess the point is, keep them doing whatever it is that you want them to grow up loving and that's what will happen. As long as they're having fun doing it, they'll grow up to love it. So if you want them to love hunting and the outdoors, you have to get out there with them a lot. Not just once or twice a year. The more they're out there and having fun, the more they'll want to be out there. Oh, and I agree with the post above. Try and keep them away from technology as long as possible. However, being in the IT industry myself, it was kind of hard to do that. I had an iPod, iPhone, iPad...etc. So of course they learned to use it and wanted their own. They saved up to buy their own iPad minis. At least we used that as a learning point in having them save for something they want and not just hand it over to them. But that's another discussion for another time.

 

Good luck with your girls.

[rcdinaz]

My rambling thoughts:

 

I have two girls that are teenagers and they love shooting and hunting. I took them fishing and shooting when they were young and so did grandpa. My oldest goes fishing in the lakes around Chandler on her own or with friends as well as to the archery range. I don't think we did anything special other than make them a part of it by including them. Make them a part of what you do by telling stories, showing them fish or game you have taken and sharing your excitement every chance you get. One of my girls spent a good 20 minutes examining my sheep when I got it home and she was only about 6 years old. She looked in its mouth, and touched almost everything from the ribs to the eyes. My wife started to say oh gross and I stopped her and that kid is afraid of nothing (yes I washed her hands). She catches bugs, lizards, and anything else just like a "boy" and could care less about cleaning fish or anything else for that matter. Both girls will be different and with twins that may be tough since there will be times when you will need to take only one of them, one won't want to go, discipline, other activities and so on but it is okay and sometimes better for one of them to get undivided attention. Besides life ain't fair anyway.

 

Some ideas:

- Mine helped clean guns from a very young age, make a big deal out of it let them hold the tools or oil the bolt. Again you can always redo it but mine would get very excited about helping out and they learned a lot.

- Take them trout fishing; you usually catch fish and the weather is nice. Let them catch crawdads, throw rocks, and chase the squirrels if they decide it is more fun than fishing on that day.

- Exploring, just get them out and make it fun, geocaching, flower picking, picture taking, anything they come up with.

- We did a project gun when my oldest was 10. We painted it purple, grey, and black in snake skin pattern. Let them do a little painting, who cares what it looks like, ours turned out well though

- If they want to go home YOU have to suck it up and call it a day. I hate this but you can't turn fishing and hunting into torture.

- Practice any opportunity you have to; fishing in the pool, casting contests, explain what kind of ducks they are looking at, show them lots of pictures and where each animal should be shot, answer any and all questions you get.

- Do a research project with them. Ours was javelina and was actually my daughters idea because of a kids book she had. One word of caution: the teacher gets a little annoyed when your 6 year old starts teaching the class if the subject comes up. It is also frowned upon if she yells "I know about them already, my dad shoots those" I thought it was awesome but my wife told me it was not.

- Go to the zoo, mine know I like the desert section better than the other animals and we study the critters and talk about them. Botanical garden is good also.

- Bowfishing may be the best kid magnate ever created. It is hunting and fishing, you are constantly moving and you see fish and get to shoot. Every kid I have taken including mine can't wait to go again even if they spend all night missing. When they are old enough to shoot a bow try and get them out if you can.

 

- When you are ready to go hunting practice a lot, dry fire practice may work even better than throwing lead. (of course you need to be extremely careful and establish rules) I have had a few guides tell me they have grown men as clients that can't find the target through the scope. My girls don't even think about it and they have good trigger control and posture. You also can see any potential problems before you hunt. We know which rest works best, which position, which stool if they can't be prone and have time to sit while shooting, and how to shoot off a tripod. I could help them more during at home practice than at the range worrying about all the other distractions. Both girls expect to put the bullet where it belongs and confidence breeds success as you already know.

 

Hunting and fishing is one of those rare activities that we all usually talk to each other as equals while doing even when we are teaching which is why I think kids kind of automatically love being a part of it. Since you already care enough to give it some thought and ask for advice I am sure you will be a successful teacher.