Getting their feet wet

Nick Zito

Nick Zito

Active member
Hello all,

I?ve already been inundated with horror stories of bringing your little ones hunting for their first times from some of the older guys I hunt with, and as a CE/FS instructor in training have seen the research on recruitment, retention, and reactivation levels for hunters. It?s a mixed bag when recruiting kids as shown in recent studies. Better retention grabbing folks after college. Anyways, I?m hoping those of you who have taken their kids out can share their experiences and insights with me.

It would be great if you could offer insight into not just when and how long, but also if you geared them up, etc. My girls are 6 and 8, so this may be a little early, but I don?t want to screw it up! At least with the wrangler I can get them cozy with a heater and the blind, but open to everything I can soak up.

Nick
 
I should add that they?re not scarred by the death thing. They?ve grown up in a butcher shop and have already taken up plucking duty during waterfowl season
 
I wouldn?t start out with trips where others are involved and let them decide when they are ready for a bigger adventure. I?m also not the type to put up a pop up blind and let mine play video games and not be engaged in the hunt. If I?m hunting, so is he. Mine is only 6 so we will see how this works out. He generally doesn?t go big game hunting with me because he says he can?t sit still and be quiet. I?m not pushing that right now anyways but will welcome him once he feels confident.
 
Keep em warm, feed em snacks. Engage them in all the sights and sounds around you. Let them touch the ducks. Help them ID the ducks on the wing.

The hardest part... plan ahead and think of things they are capable of doing and let them help so they are an active part of the hunt. Setting decoys, wrapping up the cords at the end, etc.

I?ve been in duckblinds 37 of my 40 years. It was pretty nice of my dad to take me for so many years before I could shoot.
 
What Nick said. I used to bring a sleeping bag so they could wrap up or take a nap.
Let them bring books, iPhone, whatever.
 
You can?t take them too early, but you can be too late. As long as they are comfortable, take them. Your expectations of how long and hard you can hunt must be tempered, but you know that. Figure out ideal hunts and take them. Some kids will like the shooting action, some enjoy the day to day of putting out and pulling decoys, etc...
 
Keep them warm/comfortable and engaged in whats going on in the hunt. They,re probably going to get bored pretty quick if the action is slow to plan your hunt accordingly. At that age my kids/grandkids got as much fun out of setting out /picking up decoys as they did the actual hunt. Its a teaching experience so look at it that way. Some will stick with it going into latter years and some don,t for various reasons. The important thing is to give them the experience and see if it sticks.
 
Good morning Nick, as others have mentioned, keep them warm, comfortable, and having fun. For my Audrey snacks are important. Thermoses of soup and of course hot coco are staples. Personally NO electronics except she has a camera she is allowed to take pics. Let them put out decoys, blow duck calls, see how many species of animals they can see, go for walks if on land, and we stay away from early mornings. Starting the day tired and cranky is no fun!
Here is Audrey at 5 years old on a sea duck hunt:

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and this past spring on a turkey hunt:

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I feel of you don't get them started young then it's more likely they will be influenced by outside forces to dislike hunting even if they have no problem with the death of animals. My wife is like that where she doesn't mind me hunting or the kids but doesn't want to take the animal or go hunting herself but she used to want to go as a kid but no one would take her.

For my oldest, which is 7 now, I took him out dove hunting when he was 4.5 years old. Warm, can move around, talk, and engage by picking up the birds I shoot. This made for a good first few hunts. I have taken him turkey hunting when he was 5 but was not the best experience due to trying to stay still.

Whatever age have in your mind that the hunt is not going to be the same as if you were alone. Put more focus on them and not on the hunt. If you shoot one bird then that is normally enough to get them hooked, don't be over pressuring yourself that you need to shoot a limit to "impress" them or hook them.

Snacks and drinks are a must. In the winter my boy loves hot hands and getting to engage by using calls or cleaning spent shells and whatever else that feels like he is helping.
 
A moving blanket is a good thing or a little4 extra warmth. Try hunting afternoons till sun down. Mornings are tough or late mornings like 8-9. Good ear and some kind of glasses [camo] works good for a present. Face mask as he may want to move around and have things for him to do. Make a pick up stick together, so he has his own. Let him help placing decoys, tie knots together. Two three foot pieces of 1/4" rope to practice with.
Yard sale together, get him his own back pack, used binoculars, call, food, juice and snacks that he carries. Take him with you alone and see how you two get along. Make it fun, you may have to re rig, untangle a few decoys, but think of the memories. A lot of pictures. My friend has a son and daughter, daughter likes hunting more so.
 
Nick

I have three kids, two sons and a daughter, in that order. My oldest went hunting a few times but showed little inclination nor interest. My daughter never even wanted to go. My middle son is as hard core as you will find. Having seen a lot of the spectrum in my kids, I think some just are born with the desire to hunt, while others are not.

Having said that there is a degree of fostering it and taking steps to get your son/daughter interested. By that I mean there is more to it than just taking them hunting. With my middle son he would go everywhere with me if it was hunting related. I took him shopping for gear, letting him pick out his clothes (with my guidance), looked at catalogs together, talked about what gear would work and what wouldn't. By this I mean I got him familiar with the basic equipment. We spent time working with our retriever and I took him on many scouting trips well before the season. On weekends we would hit the road and just go looking. Spent countless hours driving and boating showing him miles and miles of public places while looking for ducks. He was involved with getting decoys ready, working on the boat, clearing trails and timber holes, building blinds, and on and on. I mean literally every aspect of hunting, not just the hunt itself, he was made a part of. I got him started blowing a duck call at an early age and he really took to it (see link below taken and posted by his childhood friend). By the time he was 12 we were spending summers putting in food plots and he learned about basic tractor hauling and operation, tillage, herbicides, fertilizing and planting. A real good education very few kids get these days and a skill that has earned him a high paying ($15 per hour) summer college job.

Looking back we spent an INCREDIBLE amount of time together. Time that I cherish and it brings tears to my eyes when I look at old pictures of the two of us. I hope you are fortunate enough to share a common passion your kids. I do know that in today's hectic world it can be hard to find quality time to spend with your children. Well hunting with my son, and all the activities that went with it, afforded me more time with Thomas than probably 99% of fathers get. I feel so blessed we had all those adventures together. I hope you do too.

Eric

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmW6xkmorZk
 
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I danced around the hospital room holding our newborn sons singing a silly song about how we were going to hunt and fish together. I told them all about it the day they were born. I could hardly wait to get them started. Its a little easier in South Florida to get them started since the weather is usually pretty mild. Still we have to prepare for rain and there are days where it is in the 30's. We have 3 sons and started taking them hunting when they were 3 years old. Fishing started when they could stand up...about 10 months for each of them. We have 7 grandchildren, 5 that live locally. The other 2 are currently living in Guam. The local grands all went hunting for the first time when they were 3. The 16 year old grand daughter has a shotgun, likes to shoot but cares nothing for hunting. She does love to shoot wildlife pics with me, that's a plus. The 4 year old loves to go "Duck Camping" as she calls it. The 3 boys hunt with me regularly.
Here are a few pointers that I have used.

Keep them comfortable! If they are uncomfortable they are less likely to want to go again.

Bring snacks that they love.It is amazing the way their favorite snacks brighten their day.

Engage them in learning to identify the plants and wildlife around them. I have 1 grandson that especially loves doing that.

When they are ready to go home, even if you are not ready, even if it is inconvenient for you ...pull the plug on the hunt and go home. Do the first 3 pointers right and you will probably never have to employ pointer #4

Every child is different. People asked me when we first had kids "What are you going to do if they do not like to hunt?" And I would answer "Then we will discover what they like to do and pursue that together." Thankfully our sons all liked to hunt.
 
Thanks all for the advice.

Eric, your son is better than I was probably last year! I?m sure my better half will love having 3 of us wail on duck calls while in the car and at home. Both girls know I have at least one call in every vehicle. Andrea (the better half) is also a new duck hunter, but the calls in the house are still a touchy subject.

As for gear, do you put them in waders? I feel like these kids grow like weeds and we?re getting them new shoes every 6 months! Thankfully hand me downs suffice for my youngest.
 
Three weeks ago we kayaked down a river and identified ducks and geese, amongst other things. I sold that motoryak when I got the wrangler, and my oldest still hasn?t let me forget it. She loved the river float. We did start tiller training last weekend, and they are excited for the big boat to be registered whenever DMV gets their act together here (up to 4 weeks for a new registration). Even without hunting they at least like being on the water. It?s great to see them engaged even with just these activities. Teleworking has actually been beneficial in this respect. More time to get out there.View attachment 582C8DCD-573A-4E1D-9F9C-0BB44C308005.pngView attachment BB45BF9C-C7AF-4B01-A5E4-072C7B6ED03C.png
 
I did not get waders for my son until he was around 14, and then just hip boots.
He did boat duty, I did wading duty.

If you have kids to pass them down to, maybe justifiable, but like you noted, you'll be buying new ones every year and they aint cheap!
 
Nick

Wader were a must so we went through a new pair every season. I bought quality waders to keep him warm. He never had a problem with cold feet, but his little hands would sometimes get painfully cold at times on the boat ride. He toughed it out and we kept a gas heater in the boat.

Eric
 
Nick Zito said:
Thanks all for the advice.

Eric, your son is better than I was probably last year! I?m sure my better half will love having 3 of us wail on duck calls while in the car and at home. Both girls know I have at least one call in every vehicle. Andrea (the better half) is also a new duck hunter, but the calls in the house are still a touchy subject.

As for gear, do you put them in waders? I feel like these kids grow like weeds and we?re getting them new shoes every 6 months! Thankfully hand me downs suffice for my youngest.
Click to expand...

Since agressive alligators and 16 foot long pythons are an issue down here...I keep the little ones in the boat. Only adults are in waders and usually only me. I had Austin (our youngest) wade with me sometimes but I kept him on a short leash unless the water was ankle deep



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Today we set up the wrangler blind in the thunderstorm. Needless
To say the kids loved it. Hopefully they like it as much in october
 
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