Time to take the boy?

[dannyvp]

Well at what age did you put you kid in a treestand?
I think its almost time to take mine. He's tired of me leaving him home every weekend. He's will be 6 by the time season gets here.

Has anyone used one of the fall guy systems?
Im going to get a youth safety vest for sure.

[Whip]

I haven't had the pleasure, so I am not really the one to be giving advice.  I would think though that each child is different, and no certain age will be right for all.  Also, I would really suggest looking into getting a ground blind to be used for hunts you share with your son.  Sitting dead still is tough for us, let alone a 6 year old boy who is curious about everything.  A blind would allow him at least a little movement and maybe make the experience more enjoyable.  And that is the whole point of taking him - always make sure it is fun for him, even if it means you don't have much chance of bagging the game.  
Have fun!  I'm envious of you!

[inthecrease]

I agree with Whip in that there is no certain age. I have a 15 year old son that I took along with me at 6. The "hunting" did not involve an elevated stand, only a blind built around a blowdown.Due to his age and the fact that he could not sit still I kept the hunts short. We usually would go out for the last hour and 1/2 of daylight and sit and watch.He would always take a gameboy or something like that to occupy his mind.I can remember to this day how his eyes lit up the first deer he ever saw from "his stand."It was the start of something great for the 2 of us to enjoy since he had 2 older sisters. Awesome! He now helps to fill the freezer each year with venison.If your son is ready and wanting to go, by all means take him this season. You will NEVER regret it... just be patient.

[Two Arrows]

I started taking mine with me when he was six. I agree with the blind suggestion. When we use the blind I make sure he has snacks and drinks and something to keep him occupied in case he gets bored.

 

[dannyvp]

I was looking at one of the new Primos GroundMax blinds for us to get in also. Just didnt know about a treestand.
I sure dont see tons of hunting gear for little youth.

[Ravenclaw]

I would rethink the elevated tree stand. Ground blinds a better idea and like they said before they need to be occupied with something. I have taken the boys out since they were about 6. One day I got home from work and my one son saw deer at the edge of the woods and he wanted to hunt them. So we got his bow and arrows and out we went. He was positive he was going to get one of those deer. I had to help him climb over the fence and handed him the bow. I told him to go slow and move only when they weren't looking. In about 5 minutes the deer were blowing and snorting and a 6 year old with a bow and arrow after them. I sure wish I had a video camera. Man that was a classic. One of the times I will never forget! He actually got within 30 yards. Since then he has been hooked.

[Bjorn]

From the age of nine my son occupied his time hunting ground squirrels and shooting the odd rubber blunt at things better left alone!
A stand or blind would have been tough, and he went at his own pace, and always on the ground, and always with a radio.
Every hour or two I would go look for him........it takes a while to develop a sense of direction for a youngster; but I wanted him to start being independent.
He took his first hog right after his 12th birthday, stalking on the ground.
He is 14 now, and has taken a sheep and another hog. Never pushed or nagged him, and even let him bring along video games to camp.
It has worked well for us.

[BowHuntingFool]

Good advice folks, When my son was young we would hunt from a natural ground blind we would build and hunt for the last 1.5 hours or so,  the perfect amount of time for it to be fun for him! Keep it short so he wants to keep going! Have fun!

[Oregon Okie]

just another "funny" story. If you do put you son in the tree make sure you tell him not to move unless he REALLY has to pee. I'm almost 40 and my dad still loves to tell when I stood in the tree so long when I finally moved I went all over myself. Hopefully i got some on him too. I must have been about 8 or 9 or so. It's not like it scarred me for life but I could've used a ground blind about that time.
By the way, my son is 3 and i'm making him a little bow so I'll be ready in a few years.
I like BowHuntingFool's idea of building a blind and then getting in it. keep the little guys busy.

[wtpops]

I dont know about him sitting still in a tree stand but at 6 yrs he more than likley wont have any trouble climbing up to one, at that age their like monkies.  

[Hackbow]

I took my oldest when he was 3 and the youngest starting about 5. I let them tell me when they wanted to go. They took their little bows, BB guns, books, snacks and even GI Joe's. Lost a hunting buddy over it because he said we couldn't kill deer with a toddler messin' things up. He was mostly right and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Both my boys now hunt with guns and bows. The oldest occsionally gets in a tree, but the youngest hasn't yet.....again their choice. They now account for more meat in the freezer than me.

Just got done flingin' some arrows with the oldest. I don't think it's a coincidence that a busy 17 yr old would want to carve out a few minutes to spend with the same guy who took him hunting on his terms when he was a little kid.

Take him now and as often as you can. Let any boy or girl know you're more interested in spending time with them than killing something and chances are you'll have a hunting partner for life.

Have fun!

[Hattrick]

Danny , ur in for some good times. My daughter had her 1st sit in a stand at age 5 an it went well.I set climbing sticks up because there safe an brushed in the stand real well,if you can see the deer before they get close it makes it a lot easer an i bet ur son will be quite as mouse. My daughter aslo started gun hunting at 7 an bowhunting at 8. The biggest thing is keep it exciting an keep the hunts short. One of the things i do, an its legal in my state is i set up a special stand(2 sideby side) just for my kids an i bait it really hard, so when we sit it, its a lot of action. I no baiting is a hot topic but if that helps keep my kids interested in huntin so be it. It allways seems gust when u think they can`t,they WILL, so don`t underestimate their age. I have also used blinds as well, i set 1 up in sight from my house an my daughter  would set it after school(by herself whick she thought was cool) an do her home work, nothing is cooler when u get the call on radio that she sees deer coming her way.I really think the younger the better. Last tip  TAKE VIDEO  becouse they grow up fast!
 
Take him now and as often as you can. Let any boy or girl know you're more interested in spending time with them than killing something and chances are you'll have a hunting partner for life.
I CAN`T SAY ANY BETTER THAN THAT

[bmfer]

I took my oldest daughter at 8. Get an xtra small saftey harness and tie his little self to a tree. He'll thank you for it when he's your age!

[bmfer]

P.S. make it a short hunt, meaning worry less about shooting deer, more about his attention span.

[mike hall]

My son was with me in the deer blind at age 4. He lasted two and a half hours in freezing temps. No deer but we had a good time. Thought I might have pushed it a bit but the next day he asked to try again. We made it out the next day.
I think most kids just love being out with dad. Good luck this season.

[gregg dudley]

Like Hackbow, I started taking my son at age 3.  Sometimes we hunted and sometimes we went for a walk in the woods.  Often we napped.  We did use an elevated stand sometimes.  It was a double ladder that had camo blind material all around it.  He spent most of his time with his head in my lap and his feet propped up on the blind sleeping.  He did wear a safety belt that in retrospect was probably tethered a little too loose.  It was either that or velcro him to the tree.

We always took a backpack full of food, toys, books, and crayons.  We came close to getting a shot at a couple of deer with bows and did shoot some with a rifle.

He shot his first deer of his own while sitting in a double ladder with me when he was six.  By then he could babble on about scrapes and rubs and droppings and food sources until you were tired of hearing about it.  

This last year he was ten and he took his first deer while hunting in a treestand by himself.  He was about 85 yards away and I could see him from my stand.  It was without a doubt the most exciting hunt of my life.

He is about ready to start bowhunting and I am obviously very excited about that new experience.

I never pushed his endurance level more than a few moments beyond his statement that he was ready to leave.  Even now that he is an experienced hunter and avid little outdoorsman, I recognize that there are days that he would rather do something else.

I think the key is to include kids early.  They will naturally want to do the things that you do.  I see a lot of guys wait to include their kids until they are "old enough." By the time the kid reaches this ever changing target age, they are no longer interested in hunting.  THe second thing is to let them dictate the time and the level of their participation.

My son might decide that he doesn't like hunting tomorrow.  If he does I will still have eight years of fantastic bonding memories with him that will serve us both well over time.

I hope your experience will be equally rewarding.

[hunter jenkins]

i am 22 years old now and i just got off the phone with my dad and uncle and they were takeing me bowhunting when i was about 5 or 6 i can barely remember the stand but they said they took a 4x8 pice of plywood and cut it down to 4x4 and doubled it up they had a old swivel boat seat and mounted it to the plywood they would lock me in the safety belt in was only about 9 or 10 footin the tree i had a little red bear bow and dad let me have one broadhead he showed it to me the other day it was a 145grain bear head they would go to there stands and come get me about 10:30 the first deer i saw from that stand was a basket rat buck it ran right buy me i thouth that something was wrong with it , it went north out of sight a little later dad came runing through woods he ask if a deer came buy me i told him that something was wrong with it he said i just shot him that was dads first deer with a bow that is something that i will never forget so i guess what i am saying is u are never to young or to old to start bowhunting

[dannyvp]

Im excited about this, but i dont think my wife is. We went once or twice last year and i let him rattle some and blow the call. The spot we went didnt have many deer though. i hopeing our new spot this year is different. I just need to keep him warm.

[GrnMtnTradNut]

Both of my kids hunted in ground blinds starting at age 3 and both watched me kill a deer with my training wheels out of a tree at age 5 I used climbing sticks and stands with rails for them my son will be 9 he is going into his third year of hunting and second year of bow hunting all from a tree bow, rifle or smokepole my daughter has told me now she is 6 and knows the hunter ed book cover to cover and shoots .22, .223, .410 shotgun and her compound and long bow on aregular basis she says she is ready and I agree she is as safe or safer with and around all wepons than most adults, It depends on the child they will tell you when they are ready and you will just know.