One of the things I want to devote my book and this blog to is helping other hunters when they are teaching their sons and daughters to hunt. As a 44-year-old dad who had to figure it out on my own, I did a lot of things right - and a few things wrong.
I was really intimidated by the job at first. Hunting is such an important part of my life that I was really nervous about making mistakes. I didn't want to mess up and turn him off to something that has been so rewarding to me.
I want share what I've learned and what worked for my son and me, but I don't think I have all the answers, either, so I encourage any of you who have advice to share to do so.
I took my son to his first "deer camp" when he was 5, so this is written from the perspective of a dad who started teaching a child that young. However, I think most of this will be helpful in teaching a child of any age. Also, if you've already done some of the "wrong" things, I want to emphasize that its never to late to reverse that.
Step 1: Safety begins before leaving home - This should go without even saying. Safety is the most important thing you can teach your child and the lessons should begin before you ever leave the house. The key things here are to make sure your child has the proper hunter orange clothing, knows how to handle their weapon safely, and what to do if you become separated in the woods. Teach and re-teach these lessons. I know of a very experienced grandfather who lost his grandson to a senseless tragedy while hunting. Tragedies do happen, so don't ever let your guard down.
Step 2: Prepare for success - First, nothing ruins a child's first experience like getting hurt by the recoil of a weapon that is too big for them. Buy your child a weapon that is the proper size for them. It doesn't have to be an expensive weapon because they are going to outgrow it in a couple of seasons anyway. I bought my son a youth model single shot .410 made by Rossi for $80. It was perfect for him from age 6 until I got him something else at age 10. I opted for the shotgun for versatility, but if you want a rifle, a youth model .223 is another great choice (but check your local hunting regulations before buying anything). Second, make the time to get your child out in the field before the season to practice with their weapon. This is important for several reasons including safety, familiarizing them with what to expect when they pull the trigger, and helping to ensure they don't wound and lose an animal, which can scar a kid pretty badly. Third, give your child the opportunity to practice in a life-like situation. Shooting in a range setting is a lot different for a child than from a tower stand, for example. I took my son to the exact stand we would be using and let him practice shooting down at a target and it worked very well. I moved the target around to different places I expected deer to come from, at varying distances. The result was when we went on our first real hunting trip, he was familiar with his surroundings and confident in his abilities.
Step 3: Forget about hunting for yourself - Go ahead right now and re-set your own expectations about hunting for yourself during the times you are teaching your child. Consider yourself a guide. This is one of the mistakes I made. The first few times I took my son hunting I thought of it as a trip for us - when I should have been thinking of it as a trip for him. This attitude caused me to try to make him stay in the stand too long when he was bored, cold, and just wanted to go back to camp to throw things in the campfire. I got frustrated and the result was those first few trips were less enjoyable for him than they should have been. You have plenty of time to plan hunting trips for yourself during the season. On the days you set aside to take your child, make it totally about them.
Step 4: Don't over-do it - This goes hand-in-hand with Step 3. Keep in mind that kids get bored easily, feel cold more quickly, lose their patience more rapidly, and have to go to the bathroom more often than we adults do. My advice is that you don't plan a full week of hunting for a child who is first learning. Getting yourself way out in the boonies with a ton of gear and a week's worth of food could make you feel like you have to force a child to stay at camp longer than they want to. The most important thing for you to do at this stage is make sure they have a positive and enjoyable overall experience. If a day or two is enough for them now, be happy with that. You should also expect that you will get up early, get both of you dressed, and hike to your stand only to have your child announce they have to pee the moment the sun peeks over the horizon. If you expect it, you can smile about it and take them back to camp. Remember, bagging a deer is not how you define success for a young hunter-success is the child having a good experience. If they get a deer, its a huge bonus. This is one of the bigger mistakes I made early on. I'm willing to suffer bitter cold, pouring rain, biting mosquitos, and hours of boredom in my hunting - but my son, like most kids, wasn't there yet.
Step 5: Make it about the experience - Let your child help set up your camp, even if you are only going to be there for the day. Let them experience as close to a real hunting camp as you can. Set up a tent, build a fire, show them how to make some of your favorite camp foods (safely, of course). Go exploring, even if its during hunting hours (assuming you can do so safely - beware of other hunters and wear orange!). This is a great way to let the child have fun and also take opportunities to show them how to identify rubs, scrapes, scat, and other types of hunting education. Set up for target shooting or just plinking. When my son was little I let him take his BB gun, and I swear he had more fun with that around the campsite than anything else.
Step 6: Make it special - One of the best things I did was engraving the forend of my son's Rossi before I gave it to him. I sketched the words on it with a pencil first and then used my Dremel tool to engrave "Mitch Crider. First Gun. Nov. 03. From Dad." It turned an $80 .410 into a priceless heirloom to him, and even though he outgrew it long ago, he still pulls it out to show to every new friend who comes over. One day he will pass it along to his son or daughter - and I plan to be there to see it. I'm not saying you should do this, exactly, but I do encourage you to think of your own way to make the hunting experience a special memory for your child - something that your child, grand-children, and great-grandchildren will continue passing along long after you're gone.
Thats it for now. I am devoting a comprehensive chapter in my book to this subject. In it, I am going into a few more steps and will provide a lot more background stories about my experiences with my son as well as the experiences of friends who taught their own kids around the same time I was teaching mine.
Here's to a great season for you and your child, and I hope you will come back here to share with me how it goes.
Scott
