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Introducing a 12 year old to Deer Hunting

EverettJ89

EverettJ89

Active Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2020
Messages
142
Location
Fauquier County, Virginia
I'm really excited to take my 12 year old brother-in-law hunting with me this fall, and I am hopeful that some of you dads/brothers/mentors out there can give me some pointers on Do's and Don'ts or lessons that you have learned bringing a young person out hunting for the first time. I was not raised in a family of hunters, so I did not have the experience of hunting during my childhood, and didn't start until I was on the wrong side of 25. I have him enrolled in an online hunters ed that he is working through, and I know that he is excited about the idea of hunting as he loves the outdoors, but I'd like to do my best to give me an experience he will enjoy, and a desire to continue to hunt.

I am most concerned that his expectations of the hunt will not match reality. Do you have any suggested literature or videos that he could read/watch? Most publications and shows just don't paint a picture of what hunting really is. What's worked best for you to keep the young people in your life excited to go hunting?

Thanks all.
 
When I was taking my daughter at that age I just let her dictate what she wanted to do. Other than set her up in spots and sit with her, I made sure she knew the hunt was for her benefit, not mine. There was no pressure to take game or force a shot, it was all about enjoying the moment. Even if that meant she spent some time on her phone in the stand. I didn't push her to go if she didn't want to (luckily she always did) and we left when she decided it was time. Ultimately she ended up enjoying the experience enough she looked forward to sharing hunts with me. She's 26 now and we still hunt together in the same blind occasionally.
 
first thing, good on ya for introducing a kid to hunting and animal conservation. i agree with Bwhana, just dont take it too seriously, he is a kid. If you give him an enjoyable time he is more likely to be willing to do it again, or get more into it.

Dont set high expectations for the kiddo other than enjoying the woods and nature while having a good time, and youll be fine
 
A few suggestions:
1. Safety first! You're taking a deadly weapon into the woods, and if handled improperly, it could be deadly to him, you, or others, not just deer. (My dad told me a made-up/hypothetical story of a young boy who accidentally shot and killed his grandfather because he wasn't sure of what he was shooting at, and it resonated with me on a very serious level--I'm 30, and I still shudder at the thought of it.)
2. Communicate early and often that enjoying the outdoors and learning something new every hunt are the most important parts of hunting. Telling him what you learned each hunt, and asking him what he learned can set the right mentality early, and might even make him pay closer attention so he can impress you with what he learned, assuming he looks up to you.
3. Killing something doesn't make someone a successful hunter; not killing something doesn't make someone an unsuccessful hunter.
4. Expect a certain amount of wiggling and fidgeting, and do what you can to conceal it with blinds, blankets, etc. instead of forcing him to sit there like a statue.
5. Potentially controversial, but if he's really into tech/video games/iPhones, don't discourage him from using them sporadically when afield. In other words, don't make it a battle between nature and technology--they can co-exist!
6. This one's very tough, but try to help him learn to love deer corporately (which will ignite his passion), while keeping from becoming attached to them individually (which will make him hesitant to kill them). Be prepared to answer how you can kill something you love so much--tough question, but one many new hunters wrestle with.
If you want to show him some videos, you might consider a "good" vs. "bad" hunting video comparison. "Good" would be most any video from The Hunting Public guys when they don't kill one--they're still laser focused on learning, improving, and enjoying themselves. "Bad" would be one of the kill-glorifying hunting shows, where the host doesn't properly respect the animal (not going to name names).
Hope this helps, and as Jay said, good on ya for introducing him to it!
 
Thank you all very much, all very good points. I don't take my success too seriously because I am not a very good hunter lol, I just worry that if he doesn't see a big buck in a season of gun hunting he won't become disinterested. I've taken him shooting before and he has always respected the weapons and handled them safely. When we started his hunters ed, the first topic was gun safety, and he remembered everything from when we have shot, which I was pretty happy about.

I am excited that I will be able to put him in any stand if we aren't on the ground and I can be in my saddle with him in the same tree or near by. I'm hoping that he will show interest in trying my saddle out himself eventually and he can join me on some backwoods trips down the road sometime.
 
Agree with all of the above. I was soooooo ate up with anything hunting by 9-10 yrs old it didn’t matter what we did. I assumed my son would feel the same way, he didn’t he could care less about it. But he loves the experience, he likes eating & busting chops with the guys. He likes the hard work or dragging them out & being part of the harvest , genuinely happy for anyone’s success. He’s harvested a few but it’s not his focus right now. If I had it to do all over again I’d make it all about him & let him call the shots more & not worry about his game system in the blind or stand ( whatever it takes to make the lull in the action more enjoyable). Now when we go out I try & ask him When & where he wants to setup & roll with it. All that rambling to say less pressure & make it memorable (stay safe). Also pick less miserable days, not crazy hot or cold, or prep for the weather with some warm snacks in a thermos).
 
All good points above. A few I'd add/enforce:
Emphasis on fun in the field, enjoying the outdoors and seeing game. Harvesting is a bonus. Start him out shooting on a small caliber and work him up to large caliber if gun hunting. HEARING PROTECTION! My uncle introduced me to hunting by sticking a .444 marlin in my hands and told me to shoot the can. They thought me getting knocked on my butt was funny. I sure didn't and the noise made me gun shy for the longest.
Make sure he stays warm and dry. That'll ensure it's fun and he'll likely take to it.
For shows perhaps Meat eater and The Hunting Public. Both shows feature stand up hunters and also show failures alongside successes.
 
Exhumis said:
All good points above. A few I'd add/enforce:
Emphasis on fun in the field, enjoying the outdoors and seeing game. Harvesting is a bonus. Start him out shooting on a small caliber and work him up to large caliber if gun hunting. HEARING PROTECTION! My uncle introduced me to hunting by sticking a .444 marlin in my hands and told me to shoot the can. They thought me getting knocked on my butt was funny. I sure didn't and the noise made me gun shy for the longest.
Make sure he stays warm and dry. That'll ensure it's fun and he'll likely take to it.
For shows perhaps Meat eater and The Hunting Public. Both shows feature stand up hunters and also show failures alongside successes.
Click to expand...

I've got an old lever action .243 that I think will be perfect for him, nice and compact.
 
Exhumis said:
All good points above. A few I'd add/enforce:
Emphasis on fun in the field, enjoying the outdoors and seeing game. Harvesting is a bonus. Start him out shooting on a small caliber and work him up to large caliber if gun hunting. HEARING PROTECTION! My uncle introduced me to hunting by sticking a .444 marlin in my hands and told me to shoot the can. They thought me getting knocked on my butt was funny. I sure didn't and the noise made me gun shy for the longest.
Make sure he stays warm and dry. That'll ensure it's fun and he'll likely take to it.
For shows perhaps Meat eater and The Hunting Public. Both shows feature stand up hunters and also show failures alongside successes.
Click to expand...

Also, thats messed up haha. That is a big round. Are you okay?
 
Exhumis said:
My uncle introduced me to hunting by sticking a .444 marlin in my hands and told me to shoot the can. They thought me getting knocked on my butt was funny. I sure didn't and the noise made me gun shy for the longest.
Click to expand...
Yea i dont really find that funny, its a good way to turn someone off from guns either permanently or for a long time. Its a richard move

Not to mention someone could get hurt by not being properly prepared to shoot
 
Another quick thing that really helped my daughter, she struggled to find things in the scope. So we got a pellet gun w/a scope & she would plink all the time. Also we hunted from the ground a bunch a quick gathering of brush & a quick ground blind is worth the trouble.
 
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