Advise needed for taking young son out for opening day.

[Elkstuffer]

My little boy turns 3 the day before the opener. I plan on going up the day before and setting up the ground blind with a sleeping bag and a little heater. I plan on using my bow so the shotgun blast won't scare him (although he has been around while shoting gophers at the house).
 Any other tips from you dads would be greatly appreciated. I want to make this as much fun as possible for him.
Thanks.

[bow4elk]

Assuming you're talking turkey here  , I'm in the same boat with my 7 year old daughter...

[Wacenturion]

Comfort and comfort food is the best advice I can give.  Plan for different weather conditions....they get cold....game over.  If they get bored with snacks or lack there of....game over.

Something to play with in the blind would help from getting bored.  Good luck.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

get a push-button call and make a game out of calling softly.

[NWTFhunter]

Hunting turkey with a 3yo, your braver than I sir

[Elkstuffer]

Well it's not about killing a turkey. It's about the expeience. My little boy loves being out in the woods and for hinm to hear a turkey gobble would just put him over the edge. I may not even take a bow or shotgun. If I hunted strickly for killing animals I would have quit long ago.

[NWTFhunter]

What I was trying to say is that if I was going to try and hunt and harvest a turkey, there would be no way in hell I would have taken my boys at 3 with me!  About the time Mr Tom walks in I am sure one of them would make some kind of noise and blow the hunt.  Hell I dont think I would have taken my youngest son til he hit about 10 as he couldnt sit still to save his life !!!!  Hes good now though 
If you were going to just take him out to let him experience it, maybe a good time would be before the season opens and take just a locator call and see if you could get a response that way.

[Gutpile]

I didn't take my kids unless the Tom's were very vocal. They got bored on those days when the Tom's weren't talking. I also didn't take them unless the forecast was good. My eldest didn't come with me till she was 7 or so. She really loved turkey hunting till the teenage hormones kicked in now she's not interested in waking up that early. The little one is all fired up now, so hope to call one in for her this spring.
 
Here's her first and only bird from 05 youth season.

[tmike]

Take a bb gun, throw rocks, break ice in the puddles, have hot chocolate and candy, call a lot and pretend to get responses every time, look for deer, oh and don't plan on getting a Turkey 

[Elkstuffer]

I hear you tmike. I've killed enough turkeys. It won't matter if he blows it at crunch time or not. It's just another excuss to get out. A dead turkey photo session would just be icing on the cake.

[Grizzly95]

I have learned that once they are bored all interest is lost, always keep the ball rollin.

Gutpitle, I am getting into the same situation with my oldest daughter, just turned 13 and I think I am losing her a little. My next two are showing interest but I doubt I will get the youngest daughter to pull the trigger, but she loves to go fishing so I will take what I can get.

[yelp]

Involve them in the scouting, ID sign, look for feathers, talk with landowners, set up and make blinds.  Practice calling.  Buy a make a call kit and make it together and use it.  Go get camo for him.  Go to goodwill, garage sales, ...part of the fun is getting ready.  I let my boy make maps.  Go and shoot guns...make a turkey target...Practice setting up int the yard...practice makes perfect.  The killing will come.  It is better to spend the experience and time with your kids.  Also teach them it is OK to be unsuccessful that that is part of hunting...Also bring your camera.  Take lots of pictures  and videos.  I also suggest buying a throw away camera to give the kid so he can take pictures of what he thinks is cool too.  Get them developed.  Here is a video of my boy and me last year...he is learning how to call turkeys.

http://s301.photobucket.com/albums/nn52/yelpwashington/turkey%20video/?action=view&current=deuceturkey2008.flv

[Turkeyman]

Passing on the tradition that's what it's all about. Yelp cool video, I'm sure he will be a turkey killing machine.

[bow4elk]

Well it's not about killing a turkey. It's about the expeience. My little boy loves being out in the woods and for hinm to hear a turkey gobble would just put him over the edge. I may not even take a bow or shotgun. If I hunted strickly for killing animals I would have quit long ago.

+1  My daughter is dying to go with me.  I am thinking of heading east to up the odds of at least seeing some hens along the way.  I don't have anywhere to hunt, and haven't been east in quite a few years.  Probably wing it on public land around Kettle Falls.  It's such a nice time to be in the woods and the green up over there makes the scenery that much nicer.

[fishunt247]

My dad started taking me scouting when I turned 3. Back then he carried my brother because he was barely a year old. In those early days we would pick flowers to bring home for mom, cool rocks, cool sticks, cool trees...just show him everything out there. When I was that young I thought anything my dad said was cool was, period. Make sure he finds some stuff to bring home. And let him make noises on a box or push button.

[Tom Tamer]

If he can keep occupied bring a lot of quiet toys in a back pack. My daughter at the age of five sat in the blind for over four hours without a wimper. they WON't be as quiet as you'd like but I took the mind set of for my daughter and not me. I had NO visions of getting one let alone seeing any due to the kid's short attention span. I was extremely shocked at how long she held out. It also depends on their nature my boy at 3 now wouldn't sit still long enough to matter

 And on that hunt we actually had a hen come through and that was the greatest thing for my girl she had a kick. Good luck hopefully it will be a long great hunting partner you got there

[Elkstuffer]

Thanks everyone for all the great ideas and encouragement. Hopefully I'll have some pictures to post. If not of a bagged turkey it will at least be an entertaining story.

Good Luck this spring to one and all.