Old enough to hunt from a tree?

[wdog]

Have him practice in the yard... I have found it takes some work getting kids comfortable climbing and with heights. Most importantly, keep it fun and about what he wants... I made the mistake of pushing my boys to hard thinking they were little me's and driving them hard to succeed.

This is great advice here...

I’ve got 4 kids and have taken them all out now to “Hunt with Dad” I start them all out in blinds and take things like hot chocolate and snacks to help break things up a little to pass the time. I give them a set of binoculars and try to find anything at all interesting in the distance for them to “find” with their binos. Like Dan mentions, that whole hunt has to be completely about them. If they get tired and done then I’m done, I do try to get them to push their limits a little, but not to much. Deer hunting is tough for little ones right off the bat since we spend hours doing essentially nothing to be in a spot to ambush something. I’ve found that my kids at that age love the idea of going hunting with Dad but not so much the actual hunt after about two hours and can get very fidgety. At 7 years old I’d recommend sticking with ground setups during season. Take him scouting with you to teach woodsmanship. And then take him squirrel hunting to teach him how to finish the process. Squirrel hunting is like a high speed deer hunt with plenty of action for the younger ones.

In my own experience, I found that my kids were more ready for tree stand deer hunting at about age 12.

I agree with both comments.

The biggest piece of advice I can give is practice everything ahead of time. I took my daughter last year (5 yrs old) and we ended up figuring out Dad didn’t plan accordingly and she was scared of sitting 8’ up. 100% my fault for not practicing at home. she’s normally a dare devil...

If you really want to hunt mobile with him, practice in the yard first. Then if it goes well do an experimental summer observation.

7 is still young. I can tell you’re like me and can’t wait to get your kid out there. It’s hard to be patient. Like Dan said the worst thing you can do is push him too hard. Rule #1 is have fun. When I take my girls I’m 90% planting the seed, 10% trying to kill something.

Good way to put it. Not gonna lie when I first took him out Turkey hunting I probably pushed too hard and was little too worried about “killing”. I have now adopted that 90% planting the seed and 10% trying to kill mentality and can tell it is more enjoyable for the both of Us.


Might need some short beast sticks now, the originals might be too long for him lol.

[wolverinebuckman]

I would go straight saddle from the beginning... It's how you hunt, why not him? And I believe there is no safer way .
You can go to Amazon and pick out a rock climbing harness for his safety. They are virtually impossible to Fall out of, even upside down... I tried. Buy the appropriate tethers and equipment, and rig up a fleece sling for comfort. Give him the rest of the summer to practice swinging around the tree at safe heights...he'll feel like a ninja!
Once he's comfortable, practice climbing in tandem with him to the appropriate hunting height. The two of you can set up in the same tree, or close to one another. He can carry his whole set up in a backpack.
And when things are boring, you're still swinging in a tree! Lol!

[wdog]

I would go straight saddle from the beginning... It's how you hunt, why not him? And I believe there is no safer way .
You can go to Amazon and pick out a rock climbing harness for his safety. They are virtually impossible to Fall out of, even upside down... I tried. Buy the appropriate tethers and equipment, and rig up a fleece sling for comfort. Give him the rest of the summer to practice swinging around the tree at safe heights...he'll feel like a ninja!
Once he's comfortable, practice climbing in tandem with him to the appropriate hunting height. The two of you can set up in the same tree, or close to one another. He can carry his whole set up in a backpack.
And when things are boring, you're still swinging in a tree! Lol!

Now we’re talking! I’m looking into this!

[Lockdown]

Have him practice in the yard... I have found it takes some work getting kids comfortable climbing and with heights. Most importantly, keep it fun and about what he wants... I made the mistake of pushing my boys to hard thinking they were little me's and driving them hard to succeed.

This is great advice here...

I’ve got 4 kids and have taken them all out now to “Hunt with Dad” I start them all out in blinds and take things like hot chocolate and snacks to help break things up a little to pass the time. I give them a set of binoculars and try to find anything at all interesting in the distance for them to “find” with their binos. Like Dan mentions, that whole hunt has to be completely about them. If they get tired and done then I’m done, I do try to get them to push their limits a little, but not to much. Deer hunting is tough for little ones right off the bat since we spend hours doing essentially nothing to be in a spot to ambush something. I’ve found that my kids at that age love the idea of going hunting with Dad but not so much the actual hunt after about two hours and can get very fidgety. At 7 years old I’d recommend sticking with ground setups during season. Take him scouting with you to teach woodsmanship. And then take him squirrel hunting to teach him how to finish the process. Squirrel hunting is like a high speed deer hunt with plenty of action for the younger ones.

In my own experience, I found that my kids were more ready for tree stand deer hunting at about age 12.

I agree with both comments.

The biggest piece of advice I can give is practice everything ahead of time. I took my daughter last year (5 yrs old) and we ended up figuring out Dad didn’t plan accordingly and she was scared of sitting 8’ up. 100% my fault for not practicing at home. she’s normally a dare devil...

If you really want to hunt mobile with him, practice in the yard first. Then if it goes well do an experimental summer observation.

7 is still young. I can tell you’re like me and can’t wait to get your kid out there. It’s hard to be patient. Like Dan said the worst thing you can do is push him too hard. Rule #1 is have fun. When I take my girls I’m 90% planting the seed, 10% trying to kill something.

Good way to put it. Not gonna lie when I first took him out Turkey hunting I probably pushed too hard and was little too worried about “killing”. I have now adopted that 90% planting the seed and 10% trying to kill mentality and can tell it is more enjoyable for the both of Us.


Might need some short beast sticks now, the originals might be too long for him lol.

When my buddy takes his son (4 last fall), all they do is stalk through the woods. He doesn’t even bring his bow They make all kinds of “discoveries”, pretend to shoot bucks, and have a good time. But they still go home and talk to mom like they were really deer hunting.

One thing I try and do is include my kids for the recovery/extraction. I did that with my muzzleloader doe last fall and they enjoyed it. Plus they got to stay up extra late and use monstrous flashlights, which, what kid doesn’t love that. I had them “lead the way” out of the woods that way they feel like they’re an important part of it.

It’s pretty easy to make the outdoors fun as long as you make them the priority.