Looking for any tips or advice from my fellow dads out there. I plan on taking my 7 year old out on his first turkey hunt this spring on youth day here in PA. I just picked up a youth 20 gauge Mossberg Maverick 88. Plan on having him practice with some high brass and target loads to get him comfortable with the firearm. I also have a single leg shooting stick to help him hold it in place. We will be hunting state forest so it will be run and gun. I know the area well and have harvested many turkeys there over the years but I feel like a blind will be out of the question with limiting mobility to get on a bird. Any tips or advice you have are all greatly appreciated! Plan on making it a whole extended weekend of camping, hiking, scouting, and hunting. And some trout fishing since PA only allows you to hunt until noon that way it should be fun whether we have success hunting or not.
Keep it fun. Tire him out but don't wear him out. Teach him what you know and show him. Answer a gazillion questions. Involve him in the decisions before and during the hunt. The goal is not to kill a bird, it is about fellowship and learning. If he kills a bird that is awesome, but make the hunt the reason to be there. If he makes a mistake, misses or anything tell him that is why they call it hunting, chin up, try again. Have fun. The memories you two make together will be priceless. My son's first bird was a great day. Him calling in and killing his own was even bigger. Enjoy the firsts.
Comfortable seats so he doesn't move too much and snacks. You have shooting stick on the list so that is good.
Practice on Turkey head target and pulling the trigger on your command in practice.
I'm excited for you both and hope you have a great hunt!
Quote from: g8rvet on February 04, 2022, 09:11:53 PM
Keep it fun. Tire him out but don't wear him out. Teach him what you know and show him. Answer a gazillion questions. Involve him in the decisions before and during the hunt. The goal is not to kill a bird, it is about fellowship and learning. If he kills a bird that is awesome, but make the hunt the reason to be there. If he makes a mistake, misses or anything tell him that is why they call it hunting, chin up, try again. Have fun. The memories you two make together will be priceless. My son's first bird was a great day. Him calling in and killing his own was even bigger. Enjoy the firsts.
I by no means expect to 100% successful. I want it to be all around fun that's why I'm making a weekend out of it so it's an all around fun experience. Him being able to harvest one would just be a bonus. He just loves hunting (he's been on multiple deer hunts and track jobs with me) and loves the outdoors. I've taking him to go scouting for birds the last 2 years and just hearing the gobbles gets him excited
Quote from: wbyman on February 04, 2022, 09:14:49 PM
Comfortable seats so he doesn't move too much and snacks. You have shooting stick on the list so that is good.
Practice on Turkey head target and pulling the trigger on your command in practice.
I'm excited for you both and hope you have a great hunt!
Great tips on the turkey head target and shooting on command. I'm wondering if it's best to have him sit between my legs for more support or beside him?
That's a good idea. I would try several positions and see what seems most comfortable and safe. The weight of the gun, as you know, gets heavy quickly. I'm so excited for you guys.
Don't forget pictures! It will be special with or without a shot. An arrowhead or a feather can make a day too.
Awesome job Dad carrying on tradition. Let us know how it goes.
I'm not a dad but have taken several kids on their first hunts. In my opinion have him practice at closer ranges with the lightest target loads possible. Recoil will not be an issue when shooting at a live bird but don't want him to be worrying about it from practice. I also think having him sit between your legs is the best strategy from back in my youth hunting days. Other than that just do as others have mentioned. Snacks and fun. If at all possible try to have a bird roosted that you know you can be set up and have a fun hunt right off the roost. Taking kids can be frustrating but is so incredibly rewarding. Good luck!
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I can share a couple of mistakes I made when my son (now 18) was about your son's age.
Warm clothing and boots that fit him, especially for early season. He will get cold faster than you will. Especially if he isn't accustomed to the fact that being cold is sometimes part of the deal. If he gets cold, his "fun factor" could run out pretty quick.
And I found he enjoyed shorter hunts rather than longer ones. 2-3 hours was about his limit when he was starting out. As he got older, he could stay out longer.
Good luck!
One other thing I would mention for kids is decoys. It's a lot harder for them to just get on a bird and make a shot. Having the bird focusing on decoys allows him to get away with more movement and gives extra time for him to get on target and make a good shot
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I would let him practice with light dove loads and nothing more. I would also pick up the Lil primos trigger stick maybe gen 3 tripod. It's perfect for the Lil fellas sitting down. The monopod will get to moving on him when a bird comes in from the excitement alone. The trigger stick will give him more confidence hands down. Absolutely let him sit between your legs. He will likely need to be coached thru the process as one approaches. You sound like an experienced hunter and unlike him will be able the read the body language of the bird. Expect to bump turkeys cuz u will. My son is 11 now but when he was younger and when sitting apart he has jumped the gun a several times and shot too early just by inexperience . Those times I wish I would have been whispering in his ear and not expecting him to know. Unfortunately on those instances he missed.
Get him a Lil push pin call and let him scratch around on a slate as well. Maybe a crow call as well. Your the Lil fellas hero already so have fun with him. Good luck! I hope y'all kill a state record
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Practice is great but my boy, when he was about seven or eight, missed the first bird I ever called in for him. We set decoys and we're behind a stake up blind. I had a fiber optic sight on the front of the gun and he had practiced with it for weeks, but when that big bird came thru the woods and began strutting between the decoys, the excitement was more than he could compute along with keeping his head down and sight on the turkey. When I glanced at him, he was looking over the top of the gun barrel. I tried to quietly talk him into concentrating and keeping his head on the stock. When the turkey turned to us - at about 20 yards, he swore the sight was on it and shot. The turkey putted and trotted off, untouched by even a single pellet. All we had to show for our adventure was an empty shell ...and a hole in the blind because he was concentrating on the front sight. If I had only put a rear sight on there the hunt would have ended differently. The rear sight, paired with the front made all the difference in the world and he didn't miss with the gun again....
Love this. Nothing beats the time we have when spending it with our kids. I took my young daughter out hunting the first time about 3years ago and she's by far my favorite hunting partner ever.
Here is a tip that worked well for us:
I bought a Caldwell tripod and mounted her gun on it. I set it up (unloaded of course) and put it in our living room and played a turkey hunting video and had her track it's hard with the red dot sight.
This allowed her to feel comfortable with the use of the tripod and also gave me a feel of how much to loosen the knob so it moved just enough for mobility.
Also because you are hunting from a blind you can restrict their range of mobility to the main window dimension of the blind that they are hunting from (this will be more for you so you can judge if the seat your plan on using will actually be tall enough for them to use comfortably with the tripod and blind combined).
Example: I took 2 yard sticks and placed them to the right and left of her while she was t.v. practicing. She was centered and could only go that far. I then ran a piece of yarn from one stick to the other at the height of where the bottom the window was from the ground up. This will let you see if his chair will be tall enough.
As for the gun, my daughter is very petite and because she only carried it sometimes from the truck to the blind, I put some lead sinkers in the butt stock to reduce some of the recoil for her along with spray foam to stop them from rattling.
Only let him practice using low brass bird shot. You can get a rough idea of the pattern and then YOU do the sighting in using the turkey load that you plan on him using. I didn't want my daughter shoot any turkey loads unless you shooting in an actual turkey, and she never even felt it (she used a Mossberg bantam 20 gauge with low brass tss at 2 3/4 length of I believe correctly)
I have used some of these tricks with other youngsters before my daughter and I hope these tips help you and your boy too. Good luck this season.
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I picked up that same 20 gauge for my son when he was 6, now he is 13 and still uses it. That is a great little gun! Uses everything the 500 does but much cheaper. The only thing I did was slip a limbsaver recoil pad on it for him and it definitely helped. He shot low brass only out of the gun at turkey head targets and had no problems, loved practice. I also put a beard buster rear sight on the gun to make him keep his head down while shooting. I since drilled and tapped the gun and it has a Swampfox kingslayer. One big mistake I think people make for kids and adults is over choking the gun( pellet counting). We started out with a modified choke and the old Federal HVW 2 3/4 #7 shot with the flight control wad. I wasn't letting him shoot over 30 yards anyway and I wanted a more open pattern for him . Today he shoots a Carlson 575 extended turkey with Federal TSS and the little gun throws awesome hunting patterns. He killed the first Gobbler I called in for him at 7, no decoys, no blind just run and gun like you described. I used the terrain to make the Gobbler pop over a rise , when he did it was close enough. Sounds like you have it well planned to keep it fun for you son ! I wish you the best as there is nothing like hunting with your child. I always look forward to him going hunting with me for turkey, deer or whatever. Enjoy every moment and I wish you guys the best!
Only thing I would add is replace your 40 lb turkey vest and the 150 fancy gadgets in it with a cheap doghouse blind. I'm not a blind kinda guy and never used one until I had kids. Nearly impossible to keep a 7yr old still for very long. Those blinds set up in mear seconds and work great for run and gun. Blind, one mouth call, trigger stick and a bag of snacks- done!
Skittles. Every time you hear a gobble you get a skittle. Makes them focus hard! Pro tip: Take more than one pack!!
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I love this thread. It takes me back to being a kid. I wanted to go to camp and hunt so bad but wasn't allowed to until 12. Your kid is gonna be a problem for turkeys.
1. Red dot on the gun eliminates a lot of the issues. Get one.
2. Snacks and candy. My old man used chocolate milk and little Debbie's to coerce me into everything. I look back fondly on this tactic.
3. You're in treacherous territory. Your kid is about to become your best buddy, in their eyes and yours. The wife isn't going to like being the disciplinarian!!!
Thanks for all the input! Love hearing all the stories! I appreciate all of it! Love spending every little bit of time I can with my kids! Makes it even better when it's a hobby we both enjoy doing! I'll be sure to update everybody on how our hunts go. Can't wait for spring! Good luck to everybody else!
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This post brings back great memories. I started my twin daughter and son and then my two grand sons turkey hunting. It was a great experience.
A few tips:
Get them familiar with light recoiling guns.
Give them a few callers to hunt.
Make sure that they have comfortable boots and clothes.
The hunt is to be a their terms, this is their hunt.
Don't push, they need to enjoy the hunt.
Snacks and chocolate milk are key.
Have fun and enjoy. I now have a great bunch of hunting buddies.
Pop up blinds are deadly, but one doesn't get the "full" experience. Those fence/stake type blinds work really well. If junior is seated in your lap or on ground in front of you set up blind where only his nose and eyes are over the top of the blind.
Lots, and lots, and LOTS of snacks.
Make it fun.
Keep a gobble count going as to how many you've heard.
Do some scouting with them. Let junior see the woods in broad daylight before sneaking in before dawn.
Fitted/warm clothing and shoes.
I'd highly recommend AGAINST shooting high powered shells at the range. All of us know the feeling of never feeling recoil when turkey is there and that's how it will be for junior. Shoot super low recoil shells out of gun for practice. Make practice a game too.
Good luck and post up photos of "successful" (bird or no bird) hunt!!!
Phattboy
Get yourself a collapsible half blind. I am not sure proper name but it is multiple stakes with netting, about 20" tall. Will give your hunting partner a little wiggle room and cover up some potential movement. Worked great for me and my 7-8 year old.
Quote from: TonyTurk on February 04, 2022, 10:08:14 PM
I can share a couple of mistakes I made when my son (now 18) was about your son's age.
Warm clothing and boots that fit him, especially for early season. He will get cold faster than you will. Especially if he isn't accustomed to the fact that being cold is sometimes part of the deal. If he gets cold, his "fun factor" could run out pretty quick.
And I found he enjoyed shorter hunts rather than longer ones. 2-3 hours was about his limit when he was starting out. As he got older, he could stay out longer.
Good luck!
This last paragraph is the most important thing. Two hours for us is an eternity to a 7 year old. Keep it short and sweet.
Brother I've got a phone full of pics of kids. My pic here shows my kids, I've done this for a long time w kids a newbies. Do not allow the child to shoot any high brass. That's insane.
You pattern the gun, without the child and set it up with sights if needed. Do NOT use anything super tight. A forgivable usable pattern will benefit you more than have one you can reach out with but a laser beam up close. Most shots will be closer.
If you use a blind, some sort of sticks or shoot support are a good idea. Practice moving and resetting. Imagine a bird changing direction, explain how you want the child to move and what to expect.
When the kid does shoot, hopefully he's acclimated already to .22s but when he first shoots a shotgun it needs to be as light a shell as possible. Don't scare the kid, that's all he's gonna shoot anyhow. The day of the hunt you give real shells. Adrenaline will overload his sensitivity to it and he doesn't need to know you're switching.
As he shoot, double hearing protectors. Inner foam plugs and outer muffs. It lessens sound and thus imagined recoil.
Here's a big one, you're responsible in every way. Think about the gun you use. A semi may not be the best option as it reloads. It might be too as it absorbs recoil but you need to keep your wits and make sure the gun gets instantly safe after a shot. Too many guys kids shoot their first bird, they start high fiveing and hugging with a loaded gun off safe.
Have him practice shooting and everytime the safety goes on. After the shot that day, safety on, gun unloaded and opened. Than checked again than placed in a safe position and than the biggest celebration of your life starts.
Another thing I should add is hunt only to the kids pace. If he's had enough it's enough. On that front I don't take any kid without roosting birds. They need to be in the game in the morning. We don't want things always impossibly easy but they need a chance and may be limited time wise especially at 7. Nothing is cooler fir the kid than hearing a bird hammer 70 yards away first light.
Quote from: cbillet22 on February 04, 2022, 09:05:04 PM
Looking for any tips or advice from my fellow dads out there. I plan on taking my 7 year old out on his first turkey hunt this spring on youth day here in PA. I just picked up a youth 20 gauge Mossberg Maverick 88. Plan on having him practice with some high brass and target loads to get him comfortable with the firearm. I also have a single leg shooting stick to help him hold it in place. We will be hunting state forest so it will be run and gun. I know the area well and have harvested many turkeys there over the years but I feel like a blind will be out of the question with limiting mobility to get on a bird. Any tips or advice you have are all greatly appreciated! Plan on making it a whole extended weekend of camping, hiking, scouting, and hunting. And some trout fishing since PA only allows you to hunt until noon that way it should be fun whether we have success hunting or not.
My 5 year old was fortunate to harvest 2 gobblers with me last spring and I've been privileged to be a part of a lot of kids kills over the past 15 years.
The easiest thing for a parent and child to work on prior to the hunt is manipulating the gun. Whether your child is going to be sitting between your legs and you're going to prop the gun or you're going to set up a tripod, the kid needs to practice extensively from this position.
Manipulating the gun, moving the gun to get on a target, and DRY FIRING the gun are probably the most important elements for success. As a guide, I cannot tell you the number of times I've heard a kid tell their dad, "Daddy, it's moving too much and I can't get on it."
You wouldn't throw a kid into a basketball game and tell them to play if they've never played basketball. Dont put your kid into a hunt without extensively teaching them the most basic skills they will need to be successful. Shooting a few low brass rounds here and there isn't sufficient. They need to be comfortable with moving the gun to the target gun and dry firing at it. My son and I would practice in my trophy room on various mounts and random objects I would move around. I'd point the gun 4-10' off the object he was going to dry fire at and tell him, "Move the gun to the turkey/deer/bottle/teddy bear and kill it when you're ready." I would watch the tip of the barrel to ensure he wasn't jerking the trigger or flinching. We did this 2-3 nights per week for the month leading up to turkey season.
I saw the merits of this practice when his turkeys came charging in to the decoys and were jumping all over them. He needed to move the gun back and forth to stay on the birds and I never once had to tell him to do so.
We had practiced for the scenarios he encountered and he was prepared to execute. In my opinion, don't put your kid in a game theyre not prepared to play.
In terms of the hunt itself and managing kids, I believe it's critical to have turkeys roosted. That way, you're not walking the kid all over the place wearing them out. If you've roosted the tom, you can get in there early before daylight, get set up and the show starts quickly.
Quick hunts are best for those with short attention spans and kids only have so much bandwidth before they're over it.
One last thing, make the investment in the right gear. Cold weather gear, warm weather gear, a buddy heater, etc. You can't predict what weather conditions you'll encounter on youth day/opening day/etc but their comfort is the highest priority. Make sure the gun is set up for your child's length of pull; recoil will ruin a kid fast. Have the stock cut down and the trigger lightened to accommodate little hands and weak hand strength.
I wish you both the happiest of hunts and the highest success.
Bring there favorite snacks / don't over gun them / let them get involved in the hunt , let them call some /
Ps . All kids are different, my youngest son got his lst gobbler last spring at age 7, but my older son wasn't " ready " until he was 9 . If you bring him and he shows he isn't ready ? Don't force it . Try again next year .
Good luck ????
It's been said already but I want to stress it again. Ditch the monopod before yall start practicing and get at least a bipod. A nervous kid on a monopod is a wreck and it's not much better than having nothing at all. My kids shoot off of a telescopic Bog Pod bipod and it's great. It straps to their gun with a rubber bungee and the legs telescope out in 3 different sections. It'll get short enough for them to shoot sitting down and it'll get tall enough for them to shoot standing up (oldest one is 10). I paid around 50 dollars each for them and it was the best piece of gear I bought for taking my kids hunting. Between my 2 hunting age boys they've killed about 10 deer combined off of these sticks and my oldest killed his 1st turkey off of one last year.
Lots of really good advice given already. A few things that I would reiterate from my personal experience with my oldest daughter who is 9...
Nothing more than the lightest bird shot until the moment of truth in the woods. My daughter shoots a Mossberg 500 youth 20 ga, and even those light bird loads kick more than you'd think with such a light weight gun. She's a tall, strong, athletic framed youngin, closer in size to most 11 year olds, but recoil must be considered seriously.
Have them sit between your legs facing about 2 o'clock to where you expect birds to come from. I have my daughter in front of me with the gun on a trigger stick where I can reach the trigger stick to help hold it steady with my left hand, and my right hand rested against the butt stock to help absorb a little bit of recoil, even if it's the tiniest amount.
Bring about 5x as many snacks as you think you need.
I wouldn't take a kid hunting without a red dot sight. Just too much to keep in mind if you have a bird in front of you.
Create games/competitions out of the experience...who can find the most turtles/turtle shells, who hears the first/most gobbles, who can eat the most snacks, who can find the first turkey track, etc. My daughter loves this, and it keeps her engaged even if the hunting is slow.
Finally, be perfectly ok with them not shooting if they aren't comfortable. My daughter has had a few really good opportunities to shoot a bird, but just couldn't calm down and take a good shot. I celebrated those experiences with her for making a great decision on holding off rather than taking a poor shot. Praise your child in these situations rather than making them feel bad for "blowing a good chance".
Lots of good advice in this thread. I can't speak from experience as my little guy is only 15 months old. As far as a blind goes, Primos makes a simple stake blind that is easy to set up and pick up that would hide a good bit of movement. Can't wait to be able to carry my son with me in the woods like my dad did with me
This thread brings back a lot of memories...and some really nerve racking hunts !!
I can't stress enough the bipod. And also a open shooting gun. My daughter killed her first at 7 with a 2 3/4 high brass and factory full choke so don't get to caught up in the tight shooting rigs and keep your setups close when possible.
I know it cost them birds but we never used blinds or decoys. And when they spooked a bird I explained to them why....nicely but very honestly. I feel it taught discipline that shows in how they hunt today. That's just a personal preference and not really a tip to improve success !!
I always sat beside my kids, I just felt I could reach over and help control or adjust the gun easier. If I knew the bird was closing I would hold the barrel and the bipod together in my hand and could gently ease it to one side or the other if needed.
One thing I haven't seen mentioned is to Always take a look at the setup from their point of view. When hunting public land and setting up quickly on a bird, I have on multiple occasions over looked the fact that their little eyes were a good 12 inches lower than mine. Quite a few gobblers have lived to see another day because I neglected to think about the low vegetation, log or slight rise in front of us that they couldn't see beyond....but the bird and I could. Your saying shoot him... and they can't see squat. A turkey chair will help give them a bit of height and aid in comfort too.
Good luck and have fun and please don't forget Safety and Ethics. To many people running the woods these days that were never taught either one.
Quote from: born2hunt on February 15, 2022, 10:42:15 PM
Good luck and have fun and please don't forget Safety and Ethics. To many people running the woods these days that were never taught either one.
this. this. this.
success is important to foster future enthusiasm, but that success should never ever be at the sacrifice of either one of these
Its all about having fun. I've taken my daughter the last 2 years with me. She just turned 7. Luckily I was on private ground so we setup in a blind the 1st hunt. She had more fun watching the decoys. She's been learning to run a box call, tries to use a tube call. We made 2 wing bone calls and I let her paint them. She plays with 1 of them trying to call. Most times she falls asleep in the chair. She's gone dove hunting with me before we're all we did was play in the tall grass and take pictures. Never even shot at a bird that day. But she had a blast. Deer hunting she does pretty good at sitting still. I'd trade the single stick for a tripod.
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I started my kids out in a blind. They both have ADHD. The blind allows them to move a little and it not be torture for them. Shooting sticks and food:) Good luck!!
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