Do"s and Dont's with a child's first hunt.

[Rex]

 I am taking my 10 year old daughter on her first hunt in a couple of weeks.  I am looking for some good tips for me!  I have came up with the following:

1)  Stay patient
2) Failure is a reward in it's own.  I failed in the past, She will learn from her mistakes also
3) Don't chastise, if things go wrong
4) bring plenty of snacks!  LOL

Anything else  you can add?

[Rex]

[Candyman]

Make sure it's all about having fun. Take in all that Spring offers not just turkeys. I made a deal with my daughter when she started deer hunting- she doesn't like turkey hunting. The deal is we leave when she is ready to leave.  Don't push your daughter because you want to hunt. Make the trip about her and it will pay off in the long run.

[Rex]

Thank You!

[Bill Cooksey]

You got some good advice. I assume she's tagged along with you on hunts without a gun. Regardless, the real truth is usually a kid will either love it or hate it no matter what you do (within reason). I've raised two boys. One would rather hunt and fish than anything on earth. The other will go and usually have a decent time, but it's obviously not his thing. I honestly don't expect him to hunt or fish again once he leaves home. Too bad, 'cause he's the one with a lifetime license.

[Marc]

Get the child as involved as possible in the hunt...  NOBODY enjoys being told to shut up and sit still.  Have her help set up decoys, show her how to run a box call, and give her a pair of binoculars.

·   Make sure the child has practiced shooting the gun, understands the sights and so forth.
·   Do NOT have the child practice with turkey loads.  Buy some light recoiling target loads and let her practice with those (you sight in the gun for pattern density with the hotter turkey loads).
·   Have the child practice shooting in the same position and same situation they will be when they turkey hunt.  If you are shooting from a blind, set up a blind and have them shoot from it.


Have the child practice "aiming" at a jake or tom turkey decoy.  Show them where the hold point will be, and let them practice dry firing at the correct hold point on the decoys at different ranges. 

[Farmboy27]

Make sure it's all about having fun. Take in all that Spring offers not just turkeys. I made a deal with my daughter when she started deer hunting- she doesn't like turkey hunting. The deal is we leave when she is ready to leave.  Don't push your daughter because you want to hunt. Make the trip about her and it will pay off in the long run.

100%.  The surest way to ruin an experience for a kid is for them to get bored.  I have always told my son to let me know when he's had enough and we'll hang it up.  Don't get frustrated if she misses.  She will be frustrated enough and needs reassurance at that point.  Point out interesting things other than turkey hunting related that you see.  And if she kills one, let out a war whoop for the world to hear, hug her and savor the look on her face!! Trust me, it will be something you'll never forget!

[Bowguy]

Make it fun, go in early enough to be sucessful but remember a tired kid won't be having fun. Let her run some calls before season n make a fuss over her for doing it. Spend nights explaining to her what may happen perhaps on a trip for ice cream.
Tell her how hard it could be so her hopes aren't sky high n leave when she's ready. Ask her!
A point many guys will disagree on but don't expect a 10 year old to be a marksman, no forty yard crazy tight patterns, give her a gun that's forgiveable even if she's gotta shave off a few yards.
Oh n of its buggy, don't forget the thermacell.
A child imo shouldn't be patterning her own gun. Certainly not a 10 year old. You pattern it n let her shoot light target loads, real stuff when it's time. Pre season shoot sessions should be short n to the point, tell her where to aim n let her do it. Double hearing protection is key w little kids imo. Makes the gun seem to kick less when it's less noisy

[Happy]

With my children I tried to make it comfortable. No long walks or freezing their tails off. Also I only took them when I felt the odds were pretty good of having an interaction with whatever game we were hunting. I think I coddled my daughter a little more than my boy.
My daughter still hunts however if it involves getting up before 7 then she is out. The boy is game for anything. As long as the have fun then they will continue to do it. And when they are done then they are done. No point in pushing it with them. A trip into town for breakfast or a treat after a hunt always seemed to perk them up too. We had a lot of "almosts" before there was success. And most importantly of all, cherish every minute of it. Time flies and  you won't have them forever.

[bbcoach]

Rule 1. Make it fun
Rule 2. When in doubt repeat Rule 1

[born2hunt]

Most of the common points have already been covered very well but I will add a few that I have picked up on in the past couple seasons.

Along with target practice, play with different scenarios as if set up one way, and bird comes in the other, getting her used quietly communicating with you and smoothly moving the gun and (sticks) which I also recommend. We have set up in the yard with the BB gun and done this with multiple targets at different locations while we whisper back and forth and I help her slowly move and acquire each target . It may sound stupid but often it takes a team effort to get them on target and this really seems to help, and its fun !!!

Let her nap when she wants, you can always wake her up when needed and besides, that may be the only time she is still.

Do not forget to MAKE her pee before fly down because if she is anything like mine she will be about to bust just as a turkey is coming in.

Lastly, don't get to caught up in the hunt and forget to take pictures along the way, just soak it all in and thank God for letting you experience it. Its the best thing ever.

I have spent the last two weekends hunting with my 10 y/o daughter and I'm taking my 7 y/o this coming weekend. I have yet to carry my gun but Its starting off as one of the best seasons ever. Good luck..

[Rex]

Great tips everyone!   Born2hunt,  bladder emptying before flydown is a MUST!   Tonight we will work on target acquisition using the trigger stick as support.   I stopped this morning and listened and I have never heard that many birds gobbling on the roost.   I really hope they stick around until April 2nd. 

I really appreciate everyone's help!

[Hooksfan]

You have received some good advice so far.  You mentioned the trigger stick.  If it is a mono pod or even a bipod, I have found the gun rest V that screws into it is also compatible with most camera tripods and you can have a much more stable rest for the kids and much less expensive than the Trigger stick tripods out there.  I would also highly recommend a red dot scope if you haven't already done so.
In addition to keeping it fun, snacks, and all of the other good tips, my best advice is to set the kid up for success and not failure.
Several years ago I saw a "hunting show" where the host had his kid who couldn't have been more than 6 years old attempting to kill a turkey with a bow.  The kid missed several birds and you could tell how frustrated he was getting. He finally did hit one that flew off and you could tell it took quite a while and quite a distance to recover the bird.   I wanted to reach through the TV and slap the Dad to reality and tell him to check HIS ego and let the kid blast one with a shotgun..

[harpj1972]

I took my 12 year old daughter this past weekend for the Georgia youth special hunt. Ground blinds are great for concealing movement and getting out of the wind of an early season morning. Lots of good advice, and I agree, when she wants to nap, let her...

[Lefty]

Some may frown upon this saying it takes away from the "experience" but I let my 10 year old bring her iPad on her first youth day deer hunt.  I told her we would stay until she got bored.  She made it the entire day minus a short 1 hour break for lunch.  She never once complained of being bored and I feel like having the iPad helped keep her entertained.  She was rewarded with a nice 8pt 30 minutes before sunset.