Getting kids started in hunting advise sought

[WTNUT]

I have a 12 year old daughter who I first took to the blind with me when she was probably 7. It was a very short sit and we saw deer, made it an adventure and she liked it. When she was 8 or 9 I bought her a crossbow, which she learned to shoot really well. I took her to the blind 2 or 3 times for what was expected to be a very very very short sit until we saw deer. As it turned out it was the once in a thousand when we saw nothing. She lost interns and I did not push the issue.

Fast forward a few years and I would like to give it a try again. Any suggestions? She is very outgoing, loves the farm, loves fishing, has been around hunting from day one.


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[bueller]

12 year old girl...I'm sure she has a phone right? If you don't think she wants to be the hunter just yet maybe ask her to come along and document your hunt with photos and videos.

 

[Bill]

Take her on a summer sit in a box. Pick a cool night. Let her take her phone and bury her head in it. Try to get her near deer.

Like 20 yards near.

 

[WTNUT]

I do like Bueller's idea of asking to video. She is all about making videos on it. I am lucky she really does not spend too much time on it she is too busy doing lots of activities.


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[ghilliehunter]

Very best of luck WTNut, my daughter hunted with me 3 seasons and even killed a nice 8 pointer. Then she told me she didn't want to hunt anymore. Do whatever it takes to keep her interested.

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[yoderjac]

I have a 12 year old daughter who I first took to the blind with me when she was probably 7. It was a very short sit and we saw deer, made it an adventure and she liked it. When she was 8 or 9 I bought her a crossbow, which she learned to shoot really well. I took her to the blind 2 or 3 times for what was expected to be a very very very short sit until we saw deer. As it turned out it was the once in a thousand when we saw nothing. She lost interns and I did not push the issue.

Fast forward a few years and I would like to give it a try again. Any suggestions? She is very outgoing, loves the farm, loves fishing, has been around hunting from day one.


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At 12, you probably have a pretty small window to work with. The first thing I'd look for is another girl her age or a year or two older who like to hunt. Take them both out hunting and plan a follow up dinner out. Think of it as creating an entire experience for her. Whether you see anything or not while in the field, she will have great time with another girl. If the girl is a little older you'll get some of the role model effect.

When I start kids out, I love to use squirrel hunting with a 20 gauge light load or if they are small enough, a .410. It teaches them to sit still for a short period of time and to freeze in the presence of game. They have a very high probability of both seeing game and discharging the firearm.

One more great tool I've found is hunter ed classes. I teach them on a military base near my home. In our area, we always get a number of girls in the class. Spending time in the subject matter area with other girls in their general age group along with their dads (or moms) seems to multiply interest.

Those are my tips for what they are worth. I don't know if she likes to read, but stories like this may inspire her to some degree: http://habitat-talk.com/index.php?t...unt-at-forest-and-farm-management-l-l-c.5628/

Thanks,

jack

 

[yoderjac]

By the way, the girl in the story linked in my previous post has not hunted for the last few years. She is heads out to her freshman year of college later this month. She wants to be a Vet and loves animals. She grew up in a metro environment and has lots of animal rights pressures from kids at school. She has been immunized against brain washing by actual experiences when she was young. Whether the seed planted sprouts into a hunter later in life or not, she will always have a much more balanced view of hunting than most of classmates.

 

[wbpdeer]

Does she like game camera photos? If she does, then you have deer photos to talk about. Being 12 she can learn the process on a camera check faster than our generations. Put fun as the only goal and follow the law of readiness - Only do what she is ready to do. Hide any disappointment you may experience. A 12 year old girl has her way of thinking about things. Time with her is so important.

Make sure you thank her for being out there with you. Sell that real good. She will remember if you show her it cranks your engine to have her sharing the woods with you.

Has she been around a kill? Field dressing can shock a green hunter.

Sounds like you will figure it out. Share with us ole' red necks anything you are comfortable sharing.

 

[Neahawg]

My plan is to start mine early with something small like squirrels, dove, or rabbits. Go through the cleaning cooking and eating process. My first memories of hunting were hunting rabbits helping dad clean them and eating fried rabbit and gravy for dinner. Been hooked ever since.

 

[Neahawg]

Another note to this is that to this day I love hunting anything, rabbits,squirells, duck, deer doesn't matter. However my brother not is not a big deer hunter but he loves running beagles and hunting rabbits. Introducing kids to different game animals they find one they prefer still giving you a common interest.

 

[Booner21]

My boy is 4 now and shows a slight interest. We have done a lot of hunting activities including planting food plots, checking trail cams, building deer blinds, and shed hunting. We always stop for ice cream on the way home. My plan is to take him this year in an enclosed blind and bring along enough snacks, dvds and legos to keep his attention until the deer start coming out.

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[Seabee]

All 4 of my daughters have no interest in hunting. They even like shooting their bows in the yard with me. Sitting still is just something we as a family didn't do much of, we were always on the go. Hunting is my way to wind down. Now, mention fishing to them and its game on!

 

[wbpdeer]

All 4 of my daughters have no interest in hunting. They even like shooting their bows in the yard with me. Sitting still is just something we as a family didn't do much of, we were always on the go. Hunting is my way to wind down. Now, mention fishing to them and its game on!

Gosh if they like fishing then you have a great ready made activity to enjoy together. My daughter was a great shot on a scoped rifle. My dad, when he was alive, trained her. She could smoke her brother on a 22 rifle. She took the hunter's safety class too. She went hunting with her brother and I the day after Thanksgiving a few years - so her mom could Xmas shop.
When it came time to do her first juvenile hunt - she announced it was not her cup of tea. That was fine with me. We had tried and it was not in the card.

Glad your girls like archery in the backyard. Thanks for sharing.

 

[gwm]

Like many, I started taking my kids to the woods when they were younger. They came with to check trail cams, have went shed hunting and I have put them behind the camera when we hunt from the blind. My son was able to start the youth hunt last year so we practiced shooting quite a bit and he was able to take his first deer / buck on his first hunt. My daughter wasn't old enough to hunt last year but will be this year and she seems excited about it.

We brought a lab puppy home in March with the plan to have it trained to find sheds. The kids like going to the land and throwing sticks in the waterholes and having Bailey go in and get them. They seem excited about shed hunting with Bailey this year as she is more exciting than dad.

Even with that it's still tough to get them to go as much as I would want them to or sometimes to go at all. They get pulled in so many directions with sports, dance, band, musicals, etc., along with hanging out with friends and those dang electronics. I'm not sure what will happen as they get older. I don't have any real suggestions other than to keep trying and asking.

 

[j-bird]

The video "trick" is a great idea. I have exposed all my kids to the outdoors and some simply don't like the waiting - I let them take whatever they want as long as it's quiet. They enjoy the excitement of it, but not the waiting. All I will say is - don't force it. It will do far more damage than good. I simply open the door for my kids and how far they go beyond that is up to them. I love my deer hunting, but if all they want to do is fish.....well that is fine by me too. (no jokes about why the dock is leaning!)

 

[WTNUT]

Does she like game camera photos? If she does, then you have deer photos to talk about. Being 12 she can learn the process on a camera check faster than our generations. Put fun as the only goal and follow the law of readiness - Only do what she is ready to do. Hide any disappointment you may experience. A 12 year old girl has her way of thinking about things. Time with her is so important.

Make sure you thank her for being out there with you. Sell that real good. She will remember if you show her it cranks your engine to have her sharing the woods with you.

Has she been around a kill? Field dressing can shock a green hunter.

Sounds like you will figure it out. Share with us ole' red necks anything you are comfortable sharing.

Kind of falling behind. She has been around a bunch of kills, bunch of dead deer, bunch of dead turkey, bunch of dead pheasants, starting to get the point. She love the outdoors, is an ATV riding, horse riding, fishing "nut". For now, she is too much of an animal lover to hunt them, although she says she will hunt pheasants this year.


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[WTNUT]

All 4 of my daughters have no interest in hunting. They even like shooting their bows in the yard with me. Sitting still is just something we as a family didn't do much of, we were always on the go. Hunting is my way to wind down. Now, mention fishing to them and its game on!

Same here so far.


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[Bill]

(no jokes about why the dock is leaning!)
View attachment 9997

Better fix the leaky barrel under that one side. :D

 

[wiscwhip]

Kind of falling behind. She has been around a bunch of kills, bunch of dead deer, bunch of dead turkey, bunch of dead pheasants, starting to get the point. She love the outdoors, is an ATV riding, horse riding, fishing "nut". For now, she is too much of an animal lover to hunt them, although she says she will hunt pheasants this year.


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I was going to suggest wingshooting, whether it be for pheasant, grouse, quail, or waterfowl. Many find it more enjoyable than sitting in a stand waiting 3 hours+ for the deer to come out for the last 15 minutes of daylight.

 

[j-bird]

Better fix the leaky barrel under that one side. :D

Actually that dock was built and put in the water 25+ years ago. There are a few barrels that do need replacing......it doesn't help that I'm not a "fit" individual! Lets just say I have to watch for 300 pound capacity tree stands. I remember swimming off that dock when I was her age.....at times it's tough to keep from smiling because of how it has sort of passed to the next generation......but that is what it's all about.