Looking for advice

[BryanL]

Taking my 11 year old out tomorrow for his first hunt. He's just observing this year. Looking for best possible chances on opening day because he is on the edge and I'm thinking he may give up if after a whole day he gets shut out. My scenario is I have two ladder stands in a valley on either side of a crick I can hunt depending on the wind. Unfortunately a straight west wind will not be perfect for either stand. Would be nice to have a little north or south to make either really good. Other problem is the area has been dead with all the standing corn. They were taking the corn out Thursday night and I'm guessing I will have a huge field of just cut corn nearby. So do you stick to the stands in the valley that have produced in the past despite not much action lately? Do you assume deer will be pounding the cut corn and just find an area to tuck into the field edge with a few chairs? Open to any and all suggestions.

[BryanL]

I should mention this is private land and I have quite a bit of area to myself. Shouldn't have to worry about other hunters but also won't have a lot of hunters pushing deer.

[nofishfisherman]

Maybe give him some options and ask him what he thinks is the best bet. Inolving him in the decision making might help him feel like he's apart of the hunt instead of just sitting next to dad all day.

If his first option turns into a bust then ask him what he thinks might be a good second option and then give that a try. If he's able to help put the game plan together for a succesful hunt I bet you'll have him hooked.

[BoxMN]

Have plenty of food along... Have QUALITY binocs as well. Not sure how patient he is, but my 14 yo grandson (on his first trip) I thought was pretty patient, but after hours of staring at nothing, he was on the verge... until he saw a glimmer of three deer coming out.

Prepare him for the "nothing" but hope for any movement. I would put yourselves in the best location to SEE deer, rather than focus on getting a shot, if that makes sense.

Have a good time! I love the idea of letting him help on the planning too. Good luck!

[JIvers]

With the obvious limitation that I don't know the layout of your hunting ground, I would say hunt the edges of the picked field tomorrow, and leave hunting on the ladder stands until the wind makes them a better spot. (On that note, different websites have different opinions on how the wind is going to shift this Sunday.)

Also a good idea to involve your kid in the decision-making process.

[snapcrackpop]

Most 11 year olds attention span is short, dont burn him out with an all day sit. Video games are evil in a deer stand but he will stay longer....

[Musky Buck]

go with the first sentence of eyehunter, these dark mornings kinda without moon etc. you may catch them at daybreak coming back into the wooded areas, don't scent out those ladder stands with a 9 day season, put the wind in your favor and if it's pretty breezy by legal light don't expect much maybe. I'm looking forward to maybe Tuesday morning more so than tomorrow depends on the forecast and if it's spot on, could be Monday evenings sit or Wednesday AM's depends.

[Wanderer]

This is an easy one for me.

If the wind is crazy tomorrow don't try to keep him out there all day no matter how much YOU might want to. Sit in the morning near the corn, whatever set is best. If you haven't seen anything by the time he gets bored, move to the ladders if the wind is decent enough. If that won't work and you have freedom to move, take him scouting for the fresh sign. Make a still hunt out of it. The wind will help you with a lil guy in tow plus he'll learn what to look for.

You might find something new to set up on for the night.

If the wind is like it's predicted, don't put so much stock in Saturday; Sunday may be your better day.

[CANOPY SAM]

Wanderer is spot on. I've been down this road a few times. Don't even think to push him to stay out all day. He'll be burned out in no more than a few hours.

Keep it fun, keep him moving, as in scouting, walking, looking for sign, and find the high percentage spots to sit for only a few hours at a time.

The last thing you want to do is make him dread sitting in the blind. 11 yr.old boys need stimulation. Their patience level is pretty limited. Nothing wrong with having electronic games, books, snacks, drinks, whatever keeps him content in the blind, as long as he's content until something shows up.

You have to help him ENJOY hunting. If you don't, he won't likely be interested in doing it again in the future.