daughters and hunting

[dewey1980]

any ideas to help me get my daughter intrested in hunting,she likes to shot bb gun, and shot the bow but says she doesnt want to hunt any ideas out there thanks.

[jigging-matt]

What kind of hunting are you thinking of? My daughter is 6, last year she came back to my in-laws during deer season. After I got my deer she stood over it holding the antlers and had her picture taken, then we got her a neat frame put it in her room for her. she still talks about it. I have also taken her out with the dog (Brit) and she thinks it is really neat to watch him work. Take you time, make it fun. I would love for my daughter to hunt someday, but I will be just as happy if she has a love and respect for the outdoors as she gets older. I figure is she just wants to tag along on pheasant hunts or sit in the stand when she is older that is just as good as her hunting with me.

[jigging-matt]

One other thing that I found helps to get my daughter interested in wildlife. Binoculars. She loves to carry them when we go out. Try to find wildlife for her to look at thru them.

[Powerstroke]

I think the biggest thing is to keep her interested in shooting sports and the outdoors. My daughters love seeing the animals I've taken. I try to show them every time I get something. They also love the dog.

When she's doing something she likes, try to find a way to relate it to hunting. DOn't push it too hard though.

With archery, get a 3-d animal target. Ask if she would like to come with, even if she doesn't do any hunting.

[dan z]

well she isnt my daughter(4 years old) but she is my girlfriends (of 3 plus years) kid and I have been in her life more than her real dad has and now she is always asking to talk ducks she now knows two full pages in the cabelas waterfowl mag. and she also knows the drakes from the hens and snows blues and specks. it just tickles me that she cares to know what kind of birds I shoot.

[Eric Wettschreck]

The youth waterfowl hunt would be a great place to start.

As stated, don't push it too hard. Just get her out there. You never know, once she sees ducks buzzing the decoys for the first time she may very well be hooked.

Just take her out, don't expect too much, don't push too hard, and above all else HAVE A GOOD TIME WITH HER!!!!

Good luck to ya.

[chris63]

All good advice,I have a 12 year old daughter. She was signed up for gun safety this season and two days before she begin she came to me and said "dad, I don't want to be with all those boys and just one girl in the class."So my next step was to offer to take the class with her.She said no that's ok.So that's ok........don't push and try to make fishing/ hunting (or ride alongs)experiences fun and they'll make their own decisions.c63Ps most schools have a archery program of some sort.I think this is a good way to gently introduce youth to firearms without the big bang of shotguns.If your school has no program this would be a good opportunity for a person to start one,c63

[tomfromblaine]

I just told my 8 y.o. daughter that I'll be going to N.D. for ducks in 2 weeks and she asked am I going? I told her this is the guy's trip and her bottom lip got all pouty but I reassured her that shes going duck hunting with me again this year. J.M. is right just having her with and or appreaciate the outdoors would be enough, keep it fun and all about her enjoyment and you'll have a huntin buddy. I know mine will be a little huntress

[HNTNBUX]

I started taking my oldest daughter duck hunting when she was about two years old. I picked warm sunny days and didn't go real early. I packed lots of snacks and made those trips all about her. We watch hunting shows and videos all year long as well as some of my own hunts on video, they really like those.

I let her carry and shoot a BB gun in the duck blind to keep her occupied during the slow times when she was younger. Now that she has stepped up to a shotgun she expects to go every time that I go.

I have two daughters one is almost ten and the other is four. I try to take both out together sometimes and out by themselves so the hunt is all about them. This weekend I brought both with for the youth waterfowl day and it was pretty enjoyable. My oldest daughter has been with and hunted for deer, turkey, crows and waterfowl. The biggest thing for me has been to keep it fun (dress up, camo face paint, BB gun) and keep the trips short.

I am lucky so far they beg to go with and know how many days until the next trip. They keep the neighbors and day care informed as to how many more days it will be until they are going hunting with dad again. My oldest daughter has already asked for a mounted turkey fan, duck and antlers for her room so it looks like our family room.

I have been very lucky that seem to want to do it on their own just by knowing that I have fun doing it. Good Luck.

[Tom7227]

Sounds like she doesn't want to kill something. That's OK. I have one daughter that likes to hunt and another who isn't interested. Try taking her out early some morning before it's too cold. If she has any appreciation for the outdoors the experience of being there as the night turns into day should be interesting for her. Of course you try to keep the kid comfortable but a little nip of cold, some of dads coffee and a snicker bar will take care of that. Just don't expect her to go behind a tree if she has the need. A sure fire killer for her outdoor career.

Maybe you should post this in the women's forum and get some ideas from them. They've all been through it and have stayed with the outdoor sports.

[tunrevir]

Ask your daughter if she'd like to sit on stand with you. She doesn't have to shoot but you can enjoy each others company. Some things I have done with my 8 y.o. that help. Take her out in the afternoon when it is warmer, brief her on what to expect for sitting, seeing animals, and being quiet. Dress her to fit the part, get her camo or blaze orange that fits her. Make it a fun thing, I bring snacks, juice boxes and some candy. My daughter carries her own pack with a compass, binocs, pocket knife, headlamp and a whistle as well as her snacks and water bottle(camo). Talk about the wildlife you see, the sunrises/sets, listen to the different birds and try to idetify them. If you shoot one have her help track it with you. Lastly, make sure to tell her how much you enjoyed the hunt together whether you see game or not and how much you enjoyed her company on stand! Good luck and good hunting!

Tunrevir~

[Mark Christianson]

I have a 7 year old, and she hasnt been real keen on the hunting stuff.

Until last year I finally got some hooks into her.

I set up my ground blind in the living room and the kids had fun with it. They pretended it was a tent.

So, I then had the "tent" set up behind the house on a food plot and asked Kallie if she wanted to go see where the tent was.

It worked enough to get her out there, and we sat in the "tent" finally. I brought some snacks and a drink, and those were devoured in no time. A small button buck came out, and I let her take pics of it with my camera.

Needless to say, that was huge.

Last week she asked if we could go hunting two different nights.

The "tent" was the key starter for us.

[Sandmannd]

Sounds like she doesn't want to kill something.

Maybe you should post this in the women's forum and get some ideas from them. They've all been through it and have stayed with the outdoor sports.

That's what I felt when I read the original post. Big thing is not to force them. Talk to her about it and ask why she isn't intersted. If she doesn't want to shoot anything, then that's about all you can do. If she enjoys shooting have her go to a gun club and enjoy the clay sport.

[papabear]

awesome that she is interested in shooting the more the better.

I have three girls two tom boys and a girrly girl, one is now getting ready to hunt with me next year. other two want to shoot bb and bow may decide that animals are ok to hunt. We may never shoot an animal for one reason or other but any time spent in nature with a kid is going to pay off in many ways

[jkjkoda]

I bow hunt my daughter is now 10 she loves going with in the ground blind and stand to take pictures wth the camera. The trail cams are a must for her she loves to see if she can capture the same deer with her camera she now wonts her own ground blind. Is she hunting? I wont push the envolope were spending time together although she wonts a bow of her own if she hunts this way or not she's not in front of the TV or the cumputer. And she's with me with something I love They grow up way to fast

[tomfromblaine]

Well my 8y.o. almost 9 daughter just saw a hunting show today with a young boy7-8 maybe and his dad shooting a deer, I've been telling her she has to wait until she's 12 to shoot a "big" gun after gun training and she saw the boy shoot that deer and she looked at me and said you think he's 12!! Looks like I'll be getting an extra tag and it Looks like she will be coming with me to the range in a couple of weeks so she can get used to the noise and see thru the scope. we will be hunting private land so I hope it will be ok, I just dont think she can keep quite long enough .. If "YOUR" not ready don't let em watch huntin' shows. I'm still LMAO remembering that look she had.

[muc33]

My daughters love to fish, and my oldest (11) wants to hunt. or so she says. I have bought her a couple of guns. A .22 and a 20 guage. She has shot neither. She knows how I stand on the rule of gun safety first. Just my rule and that is how we did it. So, she simply likes to come along. I want her to really know that there is not ALWAYS excitement. Sometimes just walking for a mile with no shooting. I think the anticipation is part of the eagerness to hunt?????

[ccarlson]

My two daughters both hunt with me. One is 13, the other is hunting for the first year at 11 years old.

I have to comment on what they see as the number one thing they don't like about hunting and that is the Loud Noise. I say this because a post above mentioned taking his daughter to the range to get used to the noise. There is no getting used to the noise. You either have good hearing or you have damaged hearing.

What I do to help my girls is always have earplugs for them. I also have a set a Walker's Range Muffs that amplify the sound until you shoot at which time they muffle the sound of the gun blast. These are my daughters favorites. I'll have to pick up another pair or two soon so we all have them.

My girls enjoy the duck hunting the most for the simple reason that I do the work of putting out decoys and they get to sit and watch the wildlife, the sunrise and shoot at ducks. Pheasant hunting is ok for a short time but realize how hard it is for your daughters to walk through long grass for long periods of time. Don't push them on that or they will not like it.

Grouse hunting on trails is easier for them than pounding brush as well.

Deer hunting is good as long as you set the time in stand according to their comfort and not yours.

The number one thing to get your daughters interested in hunting is to start early. For my girls it was part of who they were from the time they can remember. They tagged along etc, we talked about it all the time, they know I love it, etc.

I have friends that try to take their daughters out hunting when they hit 12 years old and wonder why they don't like it. Gee, I wonder. You can't expect a girl to wait and look forward to being involved in your hunting activities (like a boy might) if you don't get them really involved long before they are old enough to actually hunt.

Also be sure to broach the subject of how not all girls will agree or like hunting and how to handle that with their friends.

ccarlson

[tomfromblaine]

I hear you cc, she already has 1 of my sets of muffs adjusted to her head and she has been wearing her new hat with her pony tail sticking out the back just to make sure she looks good and it feels alright her hat says "shoot like a girl"

Tom.