How to get kids into hunting and keep them hooked.

Sometimes, as people who love to be outdoors as much as possible, we find it to be a little frustrating when the kids in our life don’t always share the same amount of enthusiasm.

I thought I would put together a few ideas that might help you get your kids or any other’s, hooked on hunting.

1. Don’t worry that their first few adventures aren’t necessarily in the pursuit of game.  My nephew Jacob absolutely loves to go “buck deer shining” as he calls it.  It’s fun for him to “ride shotgun”, and look at deer in the binoculars.  You will probably also see tons more deer than sitting back in the woods somewhere.
2. Glassing fields is another enjoyable thing kids love to do as well.  Usually the weather is mild and they don’t have to dress like the michelin man to stay warm.  Get them involved with the spotting scope, and the whole process of setting things up.  Help them get involved and let them do a little work (like carrying a chair or binoculars into the spots).

3.  If your are fortunate enough to harvest a deer or other animal, bring your kids along for the tracking job.  Kids seem to really  like following the trail and helping out.  It’s also nice to make the harvest of an animal, and dinner, a family event.  Having your kids along… I think helps a little with the woods → table connection (for a better understanding of where our food comes from)

4.  The previous point ties into this one.  It seems today that in school, kids are always told the stories of Bambi,  Thumper and other         Disneyfied characters.  Teachers don’t always want to (or won’t) teach kids about how harsh and cruel mother nature can be.  Sometimes I think the wrong picture is painted in that sense.  We need to be proactive in educating kids about how nature really works, and not let false associations dominate their thoughts of wildlife

5.  Let them take their game or tablet into the woods if they really want to bring it.  After a few trips try to gradually wean       them off any electronics all together.  But, if they insist on having to bring something with, show them how to look up wind directions, current weather conditions, or let them take some pictures of the critters on your phone while you are out there.  This can help them     stay occupied for a while, and not get bored because you aren’t seeing anything (eliminating boredom surely helps kids enjoy the process more).

Lastly, every kid is different in their progression and skill levels involved with hunting.  Pushing or forcing them to move faster than they naturally want to, probably won’t help them get there any faster.  Let them take things at THEIR pace and good things will follow.

I hoped you maybe got something from some of these ideas that have helped me out along the way.  Maybe none of this is news to you if you already are a hunter with kids, but for someone new to hunting with kids maybe, just maybe they will have a better experience because of one idea I may have mentioned.

Notably, this is a far from an encompassing list.  Feel free to leave a comment and add your own thoughts.

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