Taking my son out for his first hunt. Suggestions?

[Coreym8565]

I started hunting again about three years ago. Before then I had only gone as a child for a few years in a row. So, needless to say, I am still an amateur hunter and haven't filled a tag in three years lol. I am taking my son out for late buck here on the west side and am hoping someone has some decent suggestions on where to get him into. I normally hunt east of Mt. Rainer but haven't seen a ton of deer so far. Mostly elk. But I have to stay on this side for black tail do to his schedule. Anymore these days I really don't know what's public or hunted out on this side. Thank you in advanced o any tips.

[Smoke]

lower elevation clear cuts, close to heavy cover and water (river valleys are good)

[elkinrutdrivemenuts]

Go scout with him, that half of the battle.  It will get him excited about opening day!

[Stein]

Take plenty of snacks and put him in for the youth draws next year.  If you keep them fed and warm (in that order), life can be awesome.


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[cooltimber]

bring a big bottle of Patience..this is the beginning of a great bond......learn together

[Grizman]

Make the whole event exciting.  Kids have a very short attention span so move from one thing to the next.  Point out tracks, cross a creek, spot a rub.  Make it fun all day even if you don't see or hear a thing.  Get excited if your son notices something that you are trying to teach him.  First trip success will be him saying "I want to go again Dad".

[Fl0und3rz]

Tag. How old is he?

[Stein]

Make the whole event exciting.  Kids have a very short attention span so move from one thing to the next.  Point out tracks, cross a creek, spot a rub.  Make it fun all day even if you don't see or hear a thing.  Get excited if your son notices something that you are trying to teach him.  First trip success will be him saying "I want to go again Dad".

 

Victory is in the eyes of the beholder, if you are jacked and tell him how great a hunt was (listing off the cool stuff), it will be a cool hunt - even if it completely sucked.

[KFhunter]

Tag. How old is he?

 


Doesn't sound like a kid he's taking out. 

[Coreym8565]

Thank you for the comments. As far as age goes my son is 11. He is a straight city kid. Always on his games n crap. I was kind of like that but grandpa pulled me out of school once a year and we went hunting. Being an adult now and remembering how great those memories were is why I am forcing him to go in the first place. I started making it fun by letting him pick his own first knife, his hatchet, and several other cool things he wanted. So I do agree with the above comment with this year being a total success if he says, "that was fun dad I want to go again." Thank you again guys.

[KFhunter]

I've been down that road with a few city kids 


They won't understand much of anything, stuff us country boys take for granted they're totally ignorant of and often don't want to look like a fool so they'll just nod and go along with it.  explain everything and no question is stupid.  If you're getting questions they they're participating = good!

Make a deal to leave electronics at home, if that's a deal breaker then capitulate to leave it in the camper/motel while you're hunting "so it doesn't get lost or wet or broken"   (used that line a few times)   and they'll usually agree to that.

show them tracks, they won't know a doe from a coyote.  Tell stories.  Keep it fun.  Also they won't know anything about gun safety or ethics and what you show them will stick with them forever. 

Don't zone into the hunt and ignore them, don't chastise them because he sounds like a herd of wilder beast on the run from a pack of lions.

Keep excursions short but sweet.  He'll probably be holding in a turd and uncomfortable so keep things like that in mind.

[fishnfur]

Tough one.  Good answers so far. 

I'm still dealing with this issue myself, and every child is different, so what works for one may not work at all for another.

- Make sure that he is dressed for the conditions.  If he gets wet and/or cold, you're likely going home, whether you like it or not.
- Have low expectations, especially if you don't do some scouting in advance of your hunt.  Find out what his expectations are, what type of hunting he would like to do, and try to plan along those lines.
- Expect that he won't sit still or be quiet in the woods.  Purchasing an inexpensive ground blind (try Midwayusa.com) that will hide movements, minimize your scent dispersion, and keep you dry in pouring rain,  is a nice way to get him started.  You just need to figure out where to put the thing. Maybe a rubline somewhere.
- Taking a stand over reprod and glassing might be a great way to achieve success, but most kids won't glass for long, and it can be a long boring process that ends in total failure.  My son won't glass for more than 5 minutes.  If I'm not right next to him, he just falls asleep. 

-I'd recommend:

1. hunting from about 10:00 am till dark - probably seven hours.  Fist light is a great time to hunt, but it is hard to get out there early - (getting up at 4:00 am sucks when you have to make it happen for both of you) and is often followed by three or more hours of boredom.   Often, bucks will start moving again around 10:00 am and be on the move, perhaps the rest of the day. 

2. Doing the morning thing, get hidden about 50 yards inside a timbered edge above 5 - 8 y/o reprod, sit quietly for awhile and then try some rattling.  Can call periodically.  Listen and watch carefully for any bucks that may come in to investigate.    Move a couple hundred yards and repeat every 45 minutes to an hour.  Pull trigger as desired.

[savagehunter]

North side of mineral lake has a pretty good road system not to steep walk in behind the gate get up top there are some nice cuts up there and some good reprod also saw a nice 4x4 come out of there two years ago. Plus it's a nice drive up there

[Coreym8565]

North side of mineral lake has a pretty good road system not to steep walk in behind the gate get up top there are some nice cuts up there and some good reprod also saw a nice 4x4 come out of there two years ago. Plus it's a nice drive up there

WHat is reprod? Thank you all for the advice again

[h20hunter]

New growth where it was cleared.