Ever Take a 4yr old hunting????

I did.

So my oldest son is 4 yrs old. Spent last weekend in MN with my nephew and niece hunting. Nephew ended up taking a decent doe. Niece.. Nothing. They just didn't want to come out for her. There's another story there, but that would be over a beer.

I had the whole week off hunted mornings evenings and pretty much everything in between. Hoping a decent buck would come by. Not even a fork walked by. Did try and help a buddy track his deer. I wasn't able to find it, but the next day he was.

Well this weekend, headed to my inlaws land up North. Was able to spend some quality time with the Father inlaw and his dad. Father in-law even shot a decent 4x4, which his wife said he couldn't take home so we get him. Not complaining as we eat primarily deer meat at our house.

Well while I was with them, my wife told my 4 yr old some he could go hunting with me. Luckily I had a blind out so it could work. He has gone ice fishing with me and even a couple times open water. I knew he had a short attention span, but had always managed to keep him busy while fishing. Had no idea how to do that hunting though.

So we packaged everything up and head home. Get home around 3:30 and checked to make sure my bow was on and fitted him up with some oversized orange. grabbed a tall stool so he could see over the edge of the blind.

It was a long walk out there as he was excited and chattery...... So this hunt begins. Got to the blind, its about a 1/4 mile out. Get in, set up the stool and he gets to his perch. Things I take for granted he had to point out. A squirrel chippering, birds squawking and the neighbor making noise. Each noise " what was that Daddy"... Oh boy this is not going to work (thats what was going through my head). We were seated by 4:30 and up and running. So I pulled up an ap on my phone that he can color on and he was content. Of course though, he has his winter jacket on which is not fleece or any material that is quite. So his arm is just going to town coloring in a sun, an alligator, and whatever else he found. Not more than 5 minutes after I have him playing o the phone 2 does and a fawn start walking in. I tap him on the knee, nothing. To busy. I tapped him again and whispered deer... Nothing, too busy. Finally I covered up the phone with my hand, he yanks it away... too busy. I do it again and this time, but this time I catch his eye and whispered again deer.

Well Hell, he starts whisper (almost yelling) deer! SHOOT Daddy SHOOT!

They stuck around (I don't know how or why) and I get to draw. He is just peering out the window. I look over, "are you ready" with and answer of "SHOOT DADDY".

So I touch the arrow off.

He went ecstatic. and you can see in the pictures below the results. After following the blood trail and finding her, he basically ran to the house as fast as his little legs could take him to tell mom. After he ate dinner, he had tome come out and watch me butcher her. Wasn't the first time for that, but he started telling what to do next. Smart little bugger.

After the arrow passed through her, it center punched a tree... So the pics are from getting out of the blind to the end.

Yes. It is one of my greatest memories. Those are great pics.

Can't wait to do that with my little guy. Memories that neither one of you will ever forget.

SWEET!

I had the distinct pleasure of taking a 7, 8, 9 and 10 yr old crew with me this past weekend along with an in-the-conversion from city gal to outdoors woman. Tagged an OK 4x4 that I would have likely let walk if I were alone, but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to fill the tag with this crew available to help with the drag.

Good, no...great times!

Yep!! Kids are a HOOT!!! Nice shot on a great deer!! Sounds like it's time to buy the youngin' some quiet clothes as you're probably not going to get in the stand without him next year. LOL!! Great Story!!!

Good job Dad, they grow up oh so quick

That is a whole lot of awesome! Great job!

Nice! :;:thumbsup

I have a nice 5x5 on the wall due to my son who was 4yo at the time. If he hadn't had to poop, we would have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. The next morning he told me he had a dream that we were ice fishing and we caught a big one. Then I took out my big knife and cut its guts out. I get a chuckle out of it every time I think of it.

Took the 8 year old girl out last weekend to do a little hunting, her first trip ever to deer camp, holy smokes what a jabberjaw we seen quite a few good bucks though nothing that got me real exited though. My family had a couple whitetail doe tags and bow tags as well as my youngest brother has the coveted 4c buck tag. We did sneak on a couple 155-170's, little legs in the sagebrush and and a million questions along with the occasional song, made it tough to close the distance but there was no way she was going to stay in the truck. Long story short I will never have to range another thing in the badlands again, once she got the hang of how to use the rangefinder nothing was safe, I think every cliff, rock, brush, and animal within 900 yards was tagged. It was a great time, tons of laughs, and songs about little deer running away from the road and crap like that, just like fishing trips, and I learned I can't shoot rabbits because they are fluffy, but prarie dogs are ok because they are annoying. She absolutely wants Santa's elves to build her a bow and arrow for Christmas, since she tried to pull every bow in camp back and couldn't, she is hoping elves make smaller ones(I don't take them to scheels I tell them it is a boring place that guys go to so they are still nieve). We had a blast though she got to glass a lot of deer, bighorn, antelope, coyotes, and prariedogs.

Got to help drag her uncles bow buck out of a deep ravine, and tell us how gross the deer look when they are skinned and cut up.

And learn how to take selfies with a flip phone when I am glassing deer.


All in all a fun weekend even though I didn't shoot one, take a kid hunting.....at least it's a good excuse to drink when you get back to the camper.

Not 4 yet, but I took my 2-year-old son out pheasant hunting with me on Sunday. Grandpa came with to walk along, but I wound up carrying the kid the whole time. Lucky for me, the only birds we got up were hens. Still had a fun time!

Duckslayer100 said:

Not 4 yet, but I took my 2-year-old son out pheasant hunting with me on Sunday. Grandpa came with to walk along, but I wound up carrying the kid the whole time. Lucky for me, the only birds we got up were hens. Still had a fun time!

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I have thought about that quite a bit, but haven't figured it out. Backpack with a seat, ear plugs is the closest I could figure that one out for. Haven't tried it though

The plan was to have grandpa hang back with the tyke while I pushed on with the dogs. That worked for about 10 minutes. Then he needed daddy, and that's how it was for the next two hours. Fine by me! I was just glad to get him out and watch the dogs. It was a good day to be out of the house.

Good story I like to bring my kids with when ever possible goose and duck hunting. I haven't been able to bring them deer hunting yet with bow or rifle but can't wait to.

Sweeney, you rock! Excellent pics and story.

I took my 2 year old daughter bowhunting with me earlier this year. On the walk in I almost stepped on a rattle snake. She thought that was cool and made me shoot it with my bow. And then she wanted to pet it. haha

We get to the ground blind and get her set up in her little Dora chair. She was talking non stop and I would tell her we had to be quiet and then she would whisper for about 4 seconds and than start talking loud again.

The first deer that came out was a little muley buck. I pointed it out to her and she basically yelled, "shoot it dad!" Well he was over 100 yards away and obviously I couldn't shoot that far. Later on we have like 6 or 7 does all around us. (We were hunting in an alfalfa field). Then she has to go potty. So I figured I would just let her pee in the blind because of the deer around us and I didn't want to spook them. So I drop her drawers and am holding her hands.....I don't hear any pee hitting the ground.....I knew right then and there that going potty meant taking a dump not going pee. That's when the big log dropped to the floor of the ground. Luckily I brought plenty of TP with and was able to throw out the log. Which I am also very thankful that it was solid

I never shot anything and we actually never spooked any deer. We had deer within 5 yards a few times. Mule deer does are dumb I decided that night. Was a fun night.

I have been having my boy go with since he was 2. It is a blast taking the kids out

My 2 younger kids have been in the pickup deer hunting since just months old, infact my youngest daughter was in mama's belly down in Hettinger when her mother put down a nice 4 X 4. She is 12 now, and has lost interest in hunting, I don't push it, if she comes back to it good, but if I make her she wont. She likes venison, and to watch me skin and process, just doesn't like the long days in the pickup anymore, and the beer drinking story telling at the farm afterwards. My farm buddy/hunting partner has a pretty fowl mouth, she doesn't go for that.
The boy on the other hand is 10 and has yet to miss a season, and loves all the swearing and bs'n that happens at the end of the hunt...haha

I'm happy to say I'm 72, still hunting and can say my best memories involve youngsters.
This year I got to return the opportunity to a young Dr (only 50) currently residing in Minnesota. I was welcome and eventually made part of the family on his parents ranch north of Carson many years ago. He started to tag along with me when he was 14. This year he shot a beautiful 5x4, his first with a bow. Now I look forward to a great niece. She is only 10 but has a gene passed from her uncle. There are no other "Wildmen" in her life. She has a bow which she practices with daily and enjoys the trail cam pictures and venison sticks and jerky I send her every year. Her time will come. Yes, I will fly her out here. Yes, I will teach her ethical outdoor behavior. I am an uncle, it's my job.
My only regret is that time and nature may take its toll and I won't get to witness my own grandkids evolution into the way of life I covet.
However, I trust those I have mentored will carry on the tradition.