I am curious to get some feedback from those of you who have kids on how you introduced them to hunting....specifically the killing of animals. I have 4 boys but my two oldest are 6 1/2 and 5 and they are absolutely enthralled with bowhunting. They want to shoot their bows all the time. It is totally cool to see them so interested but I am wanting to make sure that they don't get too caught up in the killing part and don't lose respect for the animals. I also don't wan them to think that it is ok to "hunt/shoot" every animal they see. Just curious what your experience has been. Maybe I am making more of it than I need to but I just want to make sure I teach them ethics, etc correctly as it relates to hunting. Thanks for any help you can give.
Greg
How young can they start truly hunting in CO? My suggestion is to take them with you when ever you can and make them do the grunt work, but not the actual hunting/killing. Also, make it a rule that if they kill it, they have to eat it. No exceptions. That will make them think before they act.
In reality, if you have good morals and ethics, more than likely your kids will too. Kids learn more from watching you than anything else.
My two daughters were brought to the deer camp at 3-5 years of age saw deer and other game killed and cleaned no problem.My grandchildren were brought to the camp before they could walk and my 9-year old granddaughter killed her first sq. this season and my 5-year old called me the day after Christmas.He killed his first bird with his Red Ryder bb gun and his dad threw it in the sauce he was cooking that day.Start them early worked for me.Kip
Kelly, I have three boys, now 21, 19, and 15.
21 and 15 are avid hunters and die-hard fisherman;
19 will take it or leave it...
We started fishing at age 2or3 with all of them; all three also went through a few years of Scouting (until school and sports got in the way)
They were all exposed to hunting from day one, in that they were always shown the day's "bag" when I got home, whether rabbits, birds, deer, etc, and they "helped" the cleaning and butchering process. As they grew older, they tagged along on short, easy hunts. All three took Hunters Safety and went on their first hunts when they were age 11.
Having said all that, I think you should realize that most young boys go through a "bloodlust" stage where want to kill SOMETHING...that's natural, and should not be repressed. I've got a few spots where they could go out and shoot a mess of cottntails (which were all cleaned and eaten) If you take the time to talk about the animals, where/how they live, etc, the interest can develop if they're inclined....
Great article by Gene Wensel in June/July 2005 TBM
"When Your Kid Doesn't Hunt"....you should read it.
Hunting is natural for boys, and girls if they're exposed and inclined. It's my feeling that if we get too esoteric in trying to raise politically correct hunters, we can stifle the "fun", which is what draws kids in....as long as they're mentored by ethical, law-abiding adults, they'll turn out OK. Try to remember the fun stuff that drew you in years ago, and go from there...
Good luck, and enjoy the ride!
I forgot to add my younger daughter has twin boys due late Feb. Yesterday we planed a sq. hunt and fishing trip for the spring sesaon in May and those twins will be there for sure their dad will see to it.Kip
My three girls shocked the heck outta their preschool teacher by telling her where pork came from at lunch one day....
Don't introduce them to killing. Introduce them to the idea that all thigns die, that death is a part of life. After that it's easy.
I showed my kids dead animals from a very young age. I always tied the dead animal to the resultant meal. My kids had seen me clean fish from an early age also.
When I was with my oldest and shot a deer, I was concerned about her reaction. Thankfully, it was a good clean kill with no bawling or thrashing. She didn't blink an eye at it. Here's the story: Emily\\'s Hunt (http://residents.bowhunting.net/sticknstring/hunt20053.html)
(http://residents.bowhunting.net/sticknstring/Hunt200509.JPG)
When James was with me on a kill a couple weeks ago, the doe required a finishing shot. She was thrashing a bit and I told James what I was going to do. I gave him the option to watch or not. He watched. Later on the trip home, he told me it made him "sad" when the deer was thrashing about before the coup de gras. I told him that it made me sad too but that what we do is natural and normal and if we didn't feel a little compassion for a struggling animal then we would have other issues to worry about.
Here's his story: James\\' Doe (http://residents.bowhunting.net/sticknstring/jamesdoe.html)
(http://residents.bowhunting.net/sticknstring/jamesdoe01.jpg)
Peace,
John
I started with telling them the stories of each hunt. They would wait up late just to hear the story. I then started bringing home live game so they could see and took them scouting (that is what we called it but it was just taking care of the property ) with me often. We started learning the tracks each animal makes. The next step was to bring home cleaned game with the hide on and they watched and helped skin the animal. On the first hunt they took the little bows that tradgangers so genorously provided and that was all it took. They would take off after rabbits and come back so excited telling me how they shot just over the rabbit. The hunt has to be fun and not to cold. Also you can't tell them the night before or they won't go to sleep. They are 10 and 7 now and will always be daddy's little girls. Nothing more fun than to watch your kids hunt. God bless.
We have twin 5 yr old boys. They can't get enough of fishing and like to fry up what they catch. They are too young to hunt yet, too impatient, but they know what daddy does with deer. Plus they know what happens to their pigs, lambs, ducks, turkeys, etc that we raise each summer.
No need teach them anything specific. Just lead by example and kids will pick things up pretty quick.
Awesome pics John! I really like what Jeff had to say about the living and dying education. He is right. My oldest boy understood early on that death is very much a part of life. He witnessed it first hand from a cat we had who liked to kill birds,etc and bring them into the house. I have to say that I was a bit shocked when the first time I shot a cottontail in front of him and when we walked up to the dead rabbit, Isaiah said, "Daddy that sure looks like it will taste good". I will never forget that. T
I wish I could give you some great advice, but several others beat me to it. Just be a good example and keep them involved. You will do fine and they will be richer for it. Enjoy each minute of it.
lots of great advice...thanks so much. What most of you are saying pretty much is what I am doing but I just worry sometimes that they will become desensitized to killing and lose respect for animals. They are definitely "all boy" and i agree that they definitely have the bloodlust part or at least are very curious about it.
Lots of twins!!...my younger 2 boys are twins and are 18 mos old. I really look forward to the day when we can all hunt together.
My favorite story of kids and animals. My daughter was 3 when she saw me skin my first deer. She sat and watched for awhile, then got bored and probably went in to watch Bambi...or something. 6 months later we were in the truck with her cousin when we saw some wild turkeys. I told them to keep a look-out, we might see some deer. Cousin Sarah asked, "What do we do with deer?" My daughter matter-of-factly piped up, "We kill them!" Needless to say, this one turned out to be a huntress with deer, hogs and one alligator under her belt.
What did you do? I was given rules, boundries and limitations with a strong understanding and respect for the weapons. Then I went out and shot everything a Red Ryder BB gun would take down and when I graduated to the Pellet gun and started hunting rabbit, squirrel and Chipmunks. I also had a recurve bow that did it's share of damage on the local critter population. I look back and think that maybe there were some unfortunate frogs and things but it was part of being a boy on the hunt.
I say, teach them to respect the firearm, bow, weapon and what the rules are with each and then let them go. boys will be boys(so will some girls) If they have solid parents they will be fine.
JMO - Bob Urban
Don't forget that kids are primarily a product of their environment. Talk to them and let them know how you feel about it and remember they will make mistakes, who dosn't?
What you say will have no where near the effect of what you actually do around them. Be a role model for your children and they will mirror you, be otherwise and they will mirror that too. Include them in everything you can so they get the whole picture of hunting not just the hero shots.
All good advice here.I don't think you will have anything to worry about.If you show your children that you love and respect the animals you hunt they will too.
I agree that there is good advice here.
Kids will certainly do as they see, good or bad.
My kids have been around ALL that is hunting, from a very early age. My six yr old daughter, is the ultimate "bunny hugger", but she also knows where meat comes from. We raise a few chickens every year, and she helps raise them from tiny puff balls until the day they become a Sunday dinner. She loves them as new hatchlings, and she loves them roasted to a golden brown.
If a child is taught that dead animals are gross, and yuckey, that is what they will learn. If they are taught that it is normal, and a necessary part of life then thats what they will learn.
It is indeed instinct, to hunt, fish, and gather our food. It has only been the last hundred years or so that some people have been taught, that they are not part of the natural cycle of life and death.
Respect, even reverence for animals will be learned automatically from watching your actions
towards animals. The more you show the more they learn. Natures best teachers, are the parents. Be it a bunny, or a little girl. Have fun with all of it.
In reality, if you have good morals and ethics, more than likely your kids will too. Kids learn more from watching you than anything else.
Yeah what bbassi said
I tell my kids if you kill it you eat it they have been around that stuff all there life we kill a hog every year and some times a beef i always say a small prayer after the kill and my kid do the same it has always been important to me for my kids to know that meat does not come from the store and that there are some steps in between that i think alot of kid don't see
The bloodlust that kids sometimes exhibit is embarrasing to us as adults because most of us have matured beyond it. I think that it is important to remember that the behaviors that they exhibit are natural and normal. Sure, we want to temper them. Sure we want to mold them. But I doubt we should repress them entirely.
Satisfying the innate hunting desire is a key component of a lifelong dedication to hunting. Part of the hook of any activity is the satisfaction of or realization of the goal. The "kill to have hunted" philosophy is where we try to be, but not where we started from. Some modicum of early succes is essential. Whether that success takes the form of gigged frogs, shot squirrels, or bigger game, it can not be underrated.
My son started hunting with me when he was in diapers and was with me on a deer kill at age 3. He could spot a rub or scrape by age four and started trying to tell me where to hang stands at five. He is ten now and has killed a total of ten deer and hogs with a rifle since his first spike at age five.
In five years, he has matured quite a lot as a hunter. Your boys will too. Just don't expect it all to come overnight.
I'll stop before I go way out on a tangent, but will make this last point. Many of the deer management practices that are espoused today (in their strictest form) actually work against hunter recruitment because they do not take this topic into account. What kids need (and novices of all age need) are expanded opportunities not growing restrictions.
Track down a copy of "The Old Man and the Boy" by Robert Ruark. Disguised in those classic stories by one of the great outdoor writers of all time is the proper way to raise a hunter. I hope I can use it to help turn my 4 month old into a safe, ethical, honorable conservationist/hunter.
Gregg, Outstanding post, you speak the truth.
"Many of the deer management practices that are espoused today (in their strictest form) actually work against hunter recruitment because they do not take this topic into account. What kids need (and novices of all age need) are expanded opportunities not growing restrictions". Well said! T
I just raised my kids and my grandkids hunting. I really can't tell you when I took my son the first time. My grandson was 3 when I took him elk hunting with me. I got in a little clump of cedars and called and a bull answered right off the bat. You should have seen his eyes. They literally popped and he crawled right into grandpa's lap. I moved him off to the side a little and made the shshshhhh sign with my fingers on my mougth and looked around and he just set there looking to see what would happen. Elk started running out of this little canyon and a whole herd ran right up to us. A big cow walked broadside 6 feet away and I popped her with little Stephen watching the whole thing. Then we got grandma and tracked her down. When we got to her and I started gutting her Stephen got great big tears in his eyes and grandma said num nums. Well he knew what num nums were , that was food and he brightened right up. From that day on elk were num nums and he had to have it all the time. When he was five and his dad and I were practicing our bugling he would do it with his mouth and was really good at it. The second day or so we took him with us and let him bugle and he called a real nice 5 point and his dad killed it right in front of him. Now that kid is a daddy and he is an elk hunter. One thing I have noticed with all our kids is no drinking and no drugs. They love to hunt and love the outdoors. Now if I can just wean em off those training wheels LOL. My son did kill a nice 30 in mulie with one of my longbows this year so there's hope.
great info fellas. really makes me feel better about what I am doing...sounds like I am on the right track. I am planning on taking them turkey hunting this spring but it should be interesting taking the both of them with me.
Sixby....awesome story. you brought tears to my eyes!! LOL . 2 elk before age 5...He is spoiled for life! :)
You can definitely tell when kids are brought up around it. When I brought home a turkey in November some neighborhood kids happened to be at our house. My kids wanted to know the story behind the hunt but several of the other kids wanted to know what I was going to do with the turkey. When I told them eat it they all looked slightly sceptical. When the cleaning started my kids stood by and watched with interest but we lost all the other kids in less than 5 minutes, a couple even looked ill.
Brian
Well said Gregg. All good stuff here. I agree with the start them as young as possible and do more showing instead of telling. Leading by example is the only way.
My kids have been in the woods and around deer camp since the age of 2 or so. I used to carry my son to the stand on my shoulders when he was barely 3. They've seen my kills and have been eating all sorts of game for as long as they can remember and especially love venison. At 10 now my daughter isn't particularly interested in hunting, but certainly understands and appreciates what its all about. My boy turns 12 tomorrow and hasn't killed anything bigger than a turkey yet, but is very much into hunting and fishing and definitely understands the respect that goes along with killing. - eric
When my children were little, they were used to seeing me dress fish and game at home. Animals including deer, turkey, grouse, quail, rabbits, and squirrels. When I found the one of
our cats dead in the caport, my daughter(age 4) asked rather matter of factly " Daddy, are we gonna eat the cat."
(http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m84/TJReceveur/2002TylerBuck2.jpg)
The key is to make it fun. Let them decide when they've had enough. When I first started taking my kids they were 3 or 4 years old. I have four kids and three are pretty active hunters. The fourth, my oldest daughter never had it in her. She was exposed to all the same opportunities as the other three, but she just never found it to be something she enjoyed. She is a "City" girl now that I have no idea how it evolved. Following is a story about my younger son's first deer. He had been hunting small game and waterfowl for years, but this was his first deer hunt. As you will see from the story, we made it fun! Take the time to invest your hunt into theirs. As you can see from the story I did not hunt. I really believe this to be of the utmost importance. Make the hunt for them and make the hunt fun. I know it is hard to do in these days when your cherished hunting time is so limited, but IT WILL pay off in the long run. I now have the best hunting partners you could ever imagine. I also agree with those above that realize the kids need to have success. I know we often preach it being about the hunt and not the kill, but look back at your own hunting evolution. I know I had periods in my hunting career when it was all about killing something. My two boys are my biggest hunting partners now and my younger daughter is pretty involved in being a girl right now (cheer leader, etc.) but I really believe she'll get interested again. Anyway, best of luck.
Dead Eye Ty
by
Terry Receveur
"Whoa!" That little exclamation came from my 10-year old son Tyler and immediately got my attention. Tyler then followed it up with "There's a deer! It's a buck!" Sure enough, he spotted the buck before I did. I did have to remind him to get ready and try to take a shot.
Friday evening Tyler, Jeffrey and I made our routine commute to our Sullivan County, Indiana cabin. We made the customary stop at a quick mart and the boys made their selection of a 2-liter soda and a bag of snacks. I'm still not totally certain the boys enjoy visiting the cabin with me or visiting the quick mart. Most of the Muskox Hunt Club regulars were already present and we were heartily greeted with snide comments and little insults. Mack, the senior statesman, of the group was the most vocal in teasing the youngsters. This was my boy's 1st camp experience before the gun season opener and Mack, good friend Gene, and brother Tim, were going to make it memorable. The camp was experiencing quite a different flavor from years past. This was only the 2nd time the club had any youngsters on opening eve. Lil Gene was the 1st last year and the antics of the crew had been toned down a bit. Language was checked at the door and for the most part the old time club members behaved themselves reasonably well.
At 5:00 AM Saturday morning November 16, 2002 the alarm went off but the boys were already awake. Today was opening day of Indiana's deer season and the excitement in the room was almost palpable, let alone extremely noisy. Our little cabin had turned from a 4 adult semi-civilized abode, to full-blown chaos with 4 very excited youngsters. The crew consisted of Lil Gene, Jeffrey, Tyler, and Sam. The strategy for the day would be for Lil Gene and Jeffrey to man their own stands and Tim and I would sit with Sam and Tyler respectively. At around 6:15 AM, Jeffrey, Tyler and I headed for the woods. We walked to Jeffrey's ladder stand and got him all arranged, then Tyler and I headed across the levee to our ambush site. Tyler and I set up a blind, made up of camo netting and brush. We were all set and flush with anticipation as the first rays of dawn hit us. The morning was pretty brisk, with temperature in the low 30s. Tyler was bundled up pretty well and didn't get cold at all. He didn't even bother to put his gloves on. I kept asking him if his hands were cold, but he said they weren't. I'm guessing the heart was pumping pretty good. The 1st hour of daylight was fairly slow with no deer sightings. We counted the number of shots were heard and were all the way to 107 when we were rudely interrupted by the deer mentioned above. A big old fox squirrel was scampering around and Tyler asked if he could shoot it. I told him he could if he wanted, but it would scare the deer off. He chose to wait for the deer.
At approximately 8:30 AM a squirrel chattered his alarm signal and I explained to Tyler that the squirrels would often let us know when deer were around. I told him to get ready and to look for a deer. Not two minutes later, when I was looking in another direction, the infamous "Whoa" was uttered.
The Hunt Continues...
After settling down and realizing he should take aim and shoot. Tyler took control of the situation and clicked his safety off, took aim, and prepared to fire. After watching the muzzle of his gun dance around more than Jennifer on a sugar high, I was pretty confident the deer was fairly safe. BOOOMMMM! I looked in amazement as the buck dropped in his tracks. We calmly approached the fallen buck and placed a coup de grace shot in his boiler room. The 1st shot was an absolutely perfectly centered shot in the bucks left eye! The bullet never even clipped an eyelash. I asked Tyler where he was aiming and he said the "heart." When retelling the story to his wise Grandpa Joe, Grandpa offered the sage advice of aiming for the deer's butt next time. At any rate, Tyler and I exchanged some high fives and I congratulated him on shooting a great buck. His big brother Jeffrey had walked over and offered up some hearty congratulations as well. Jeffrey was quick to point out that he had helped Tyler get the buck by scaring it over the levee. Seems the buck had came by Jeffrey and didn't slow down enough to offer a good shot. He used his grunt tube to stop him, but Jeffrey let me know that since he wasn't a big buck he was probably afraid of the call. Jeffrey showed absolutely amazing restraint and maturity in refraining from taking a questionable shot. I told him I was more proud of him for being responsible than if he had killed the buck. Jeffrey then went back to his stand and Tyler and I burnt up some camera film to savor the moment for years to come. We completed the field dressing and headed for the truck. We were met at the truck by Tim and Sam. Seems Sam wasn't nearly as well bundled and had gotten cold. Tim took Tyler and Sam back to the cabin after which he was returning to finish off his morning hunt. I headed back to Jeffrey and asked him if he wanted me to sit with him or to get on the other side of the levee and scare any deer toward him. He elected to have me on the other side of the levee. Smart boy! After another hour or so Jeffrey had enough of the cold wind on the unprotected side of the levee. He did great hanging on as long as he did. There's nothing like a cold wind to slip through your clothes and chill you to the bone. We headed to the truck and drove down to where Tyler's buck was. I quickly dragged it up the levee and loaded it into the truck. Back at the cabin, Tyler was basking in the glory of his newfound fame. Grandpa Joe, Uncle Tim, Mack, Gene, Lil Gene, and Sam all soaked up the excitement of Tyler's 1st deer. Needless to say, his Dad was pretty excited and proud of his young hunter!
Great topic and information being spread here. Seems like lots of folks have experience in this area.
I will repeat what KellyBender said and thank you for confirming I am on the right track. My boy's 3 and loves going out in da woods. He helps me "find" all my deer, and has no problems at all but is reluctent about me squirrel hunting. We have several that eat out of our bird feeder, and he thinks I am kiling those. I think I am going to take him out aand get one or two to show him how the taste, etc. Anyway, thanks for starting and contributing to this topic. I think this fall he will go out in his grandpas blind with mom and I to watch the hunt. I think he will love it, especially if mommy or daddy get a deer!
I may be taking a youth hunter out for the youth season, what advise would you give to keep them interested and quiet during a long sit? Book, video game( on mute), etc?
Thanks
Great stuff here guys! The one bit i haven't seen yet happened with my daughter who is an avid archer and hunts with me every year for deer and elk. I started her out at age 3 with her first bow. i still have the whole collection as she slowly graduated to bigger ones....We raised our own beef at home and did chickens and even a a pig one time. Audra was exposed to the taking of an animals life from day one and it never seemed to bother her much at all...over the years she turned into an ace on the 3D course, and piled up more trophies than her dad did by a long shot.... As she approached her teenage years her love for hiking in the mountains excelled and she helped me field dress and pack out a lot of animals too. but when it came time to buy her a tag and talk about a hunting bow for her... she decided she did not feel comfortable in the killing part....
You know something? I wasn't disappointed at all really. Actually i was kind of proud of her in a way.... i had always stressed the most important and enjoyable part of hunting is the journey, not the conclusion, or the kill.....My daughter is going to be 21 in about 2 weeks. She prefers to shoot pictures now at wild game rather than her bow.....I'm thinking GREAT!!!! Now i got a camera man that will gladly help with the mess without sniveling!
So in summary what i'm saying here is that you can do everything right raising your kids about hunting, the kill, respect for the game, and obeying the laws of the land.... but when it comes right down to it, they develop their own take on life...and it's OK!
Kirk
Thanks T and Eric. I know that you all will agree with me when I say that there is no greater fun to be found than taking a kid hunting. I never really knew what chronic buck-fever was until I started hunting with my son. Whenever it looks like he is about to get a shot I start shaking uncontrollably! Have fun!
KellyBender;
I just noticed you said you had twins. THe wife and I are finalizing college plans four our three 18 year old daughters right now.
Yep...three. I'm sneaking a Texas trip in early this year before the college bills start rolling in...
Birth and Death are part of the circle of life in the Orton household. Children have been born into the family, Grandparents have died off, as recently as my Dad's passing last April. Circle of life is serious stuff around here. The taking of a life isn't to be taken lightly, as it is a permanent thing. However our hunting is a serious thing too. The basis of our hunting orginates in the book of Genesis, God gave man dominion and control over the plants and animals. Therein lies the responsibility issue built in there. We have fun, enjoy our hunting, but we are responsible about the act.
That said, this Christmas eve I sat up in the living room with my bow and a quiver full of broadhead tipped arrows. My 6 year old twin daughters asked me what I was doing. I told them that I still held an unfilled deer tag and with any luck we'd be feasting on ole' Rudolf's backstraps come morning.....they went to bed just a bit pissed off at Dad....come morning they looked for a gut pile on the front lawn. Dad fell asleep and missed the danged herd when they passed through the neighborhood. :-)
Here is a thought. You might just either 'have' it, or not 'have' it. one of my young second cuzzins at my parents for christmas this year was asking me all kinds of questions about hunting, killing especially. His mother (my cousin) never allowed anyone in thier house to hunt, even her husband stopped long before the boys were old enough to notice. Now they are 19 and 20 and are asking me to take them out hunting. They dont 'know' whether or not they will actually be able to kill something or not, but I can assure you either way, they are ok with me. I personally never got the gene that says killing food is a bad thing.
i was allowed to hunt when i was 5-not tag along but hunt! that is when my bro and i were given our first firearms (pellet rifles). We were told regardless-you kill it you eat it (except black birds on moms feeders). Didnt bother us cuz we liked squirrels and rabbits. Teach good ethics and you wont have a problem. Ma and pa instilled into us at a very early age that GOD put those animals here for us to co-exist with and not to take life for granted (be it human or furry critter)!
My two daughters have been involved in all aspects of hunting and fishing since early on. They help with the cleaning and processing of all types of game since they were toddlers. I don't think either of them are too keen on the whole killing piece, but they understand that it is part of the process.