Guiding a Youth and What About Blinds?

[SCGobbler]

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This is the first year that my son and I have really hunted hard together for turkeys; he is 9.

I have a question for the hunters that guide children on a regular basis.  Do you stay super mobile or do you put the youth in blinds?

My son can hang pretty good with the walking as long as its not super far and he's not loaded down with gear.  I think I am going to make him super lite and just let him carry his gun and a seat; I do all of the calling anyway.

[wmd]

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My son is 12 and has been the primary shooter since he was 9.  I carry a gobbler lounger for him to sit in.  I have found that it helps him sit a little more still and it gets him a few inches off the ground which helps with visibility (he is small for his age).  The only time we hunt in a blind is when it is raining.

[bamagtrdude]

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I'm hunting w/my 12 y.o. daughter, and I'm "throwing her out to the wolves" -- no blind, no nothing...  I try to get her in setups where there's quite a bit of brush to hide her movements, but give her a clear shot...  I'm finding she can sit in one spot for about an hour or so, and then, she gets "tired"...  Which is fine; usually, I'm ready to move by then, too...

[Bigspurs68]

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I have spent a bunch of time in the turkey woods with my 2 girls who are now 8 and 11. They have killed 21 birds between and it has been a roller coaster ride for sure. They love to walk and hunt, I do too so, that's what we do most of. It's tough to maneuver on a traveling bird and tough for them to get the gun situated but it makes for great days in the woods. That being said, it's much much easier out of a blind. They like that too but it's boring to them. Shooting from a blind is a piece of cake compared to open woods. I always have a blind ready if a bird shows up in the right place. It's nice to sit in it with them sometimes. Either way, have fun and enjoy being together.

[bamagtrdude]

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I have spent a bunch of time in the turkey woods with my 2 girls who are now 8 and 11. They have killed 21 birds between and it has been a roller coaster ride for sure. They love to walk and hunt, I do too so, that's what we do most of.

21 birds killed between them - serious?!?!  Wow, that's phenomenal!!

[Bigspurs68]

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Yep 21. I'm not bragging, just very proud of them. They hunt hard and love it. It's not all been smooth sailing!!  There's been misses, mistakes and hard times but it's all good in the end. Only those that hunt with kids a lot could understand. It's frustrating and very rewarding!! We have hauled them to sevral states to hunt and to see the look on Mekaylas face when she got her hands on her first public land merriam, was priceless!
  This isn't about numbers tho. It's just to say I speak from trial and error in response to the origonal post. Great luck and have a safe spring.

[bamagtrdude]

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Yep 21. I'm not bragging, just very proud of them. They hunt hard and love it. It's not all been smooth sailing!!

I didn't see your post as bragging, either - actually, it REALLY ENCOURAGED ME to keep on truckin' w/my daughter...  She's kind of a "home body" & so getting her out into nature was the primary goal; last weekend, she was walking around, and was like, "MAN, it's so pretty out here!!!" 

[Bigspurs68]

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That's awesome! I hope she enjoys it like my girls do. It teaches them about life, death and reality. Things most kids these days don't get. They also enjoy providing the deer meat and turkey nuggets!!

[Meatseeker]

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Taking your kids hunting is the best!  When my son first started I would have him sit in between my legs while I was sitting at the base of a tree.  We always just use natural cover and prefer to stay mobile.  I think there is less chance of them getting bored that way.  But if you have birds patterned that are using a field everyday, the pop-up blind is hard to beat for comfort.

Her is a picture of my son with his first turkey.  Little bugger, shot a 23.b lber with 11" beard, and 1" spurs as his first bird.  He is hooked!

[Bigspurs68]

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Good pic, happy boy!

[csgrizz]

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I sent you a pm with some information, been "guiding" youths for 14 seasons.  I use every method, pop ups are good and I even used to pack a carpet and toys when my son was very young, prior to hunting and I could just reach down and nudge him when it was time to see something cool.  For the youth hunters the x blind from mad teamed with a gobbler lounger works amazingly well.  As noted above, I started my brother out sitting between my legs so I could look right down the gun and whisper instruction when needed.

[dougell]

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My 9 year old just killed his 3rd longbeard this past friday.He goes out with me and scouts year round and shoots pretty much every week.I flat out refuse to let him sit in a blind or use decoys.He hunts the way I always have and he learns more because of it.His only aid in a gorilla monpod that I bungee to the forearm of his shotgun.Kids need to know the highs and lows of hunting more importantly than an easy kill.

[earl9932]

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My 9 year old just killed his 3rd longbeard this past friday.He goes out with me and scouts year round and shoots pretty much every week.I flat out refuse to let him sit in a blind or use decoys.He hunts the way I always have and he learns more because of it.His only aid in a gorilla monpod that I bungee to the forearm of his shotgun.Kids need to know the highs and lows of hunting more importantly than an easy kill.

This is so true. I took my 11 year old out this yea for his first time in the turkey woods. First morning out put two birds in his lap but no pull of the trigger, which ended in a very enlightening talk afterwards, one that confirmed he gets it and I couldn't be prouder of his reasoning and how he handled the situation, a true reflection of who he is a youngster. We then hauled butt and worked a bird for a half mile on the run, down the ridge, across the bottom, over and under barbed wire fence and then up the creek on the other side before we got busted. Back at the truck I asked him what he learned that morning. He said, "Dad, it would have been a lot easier if I'd shot the first bird, I'm ready now". I replied, "It would've been a lot easier on me also, lol". I wouldn't trade that morning for anything, what he learned that morning could never be explained without the experience.

[Bowguy]

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I've been taking youths out as long as I can remember. I've done it many dif ways. Here's how I do it now.
Normally if I can roost birds I do. That being said we set up close. I don't try n call them through 3 hardwoods so often when it gets light we can see them.
I use a blind for this. That way they can glass the birds, excitedly point towards the gobbling etc.
expecting a child to sit stock still when the birds are real close gobbling for extended periods is an almost sure way to get caught.
If you opt for no blind set back further, maybe just out of sight. After the roost hunt if things don't pan out I'd run n gun em. Hopefully the bird isn't too slow coming in and we can get em before the figitting starts. Remember we're not sitting an hour and half in the dark so hopefully it'll work out. Good luck