1st shot

[burnnurse1]

Well, took little man out this weekend for the La. youth hunt. Hunted the Sat. morning with no luck.  We left out about 4 pm for the evening hunt, and man is it still hot down here. Anyway we braved the heat and things were going pretty slow until about 6:30 when we had a spike and 2 does come out in our shooting lane about 40 yds away. I helped my son ease his gun into shooting position and tried to calm his nerves as best I could. I imagine some of you could probably hear him breathing. The spike caught a little movement and gave us a little stare down which only exacerbated my sons anxiety. Once he realized we weren't a threat he went on about his business, giving us time to get the gun situated and the safety off. After helping him pull the hammer back on the gun I told him to take his time, put the crosshairs behind the shoulder, and just squeeze the trigger! He shot and all three deer took off. My son looked at me and said "dad that was the most awesome thing I've ever done!" We get down and head for the site where the deer were and nothing. No hair, no blood, nothing. He's shooting a 243 so just to be sure we made a pretty good walk through the woods. After an exhaustive search I finally had to say the last words he wanted to hear, " Buddy, I think you missed". Guys, if you could have seen the anguish on that baby's face it would have brought a tear to your eyes too. His little eyes started filling with tears and the bottom lip started quivering. I got down on both knees, hugged him and said " You did good! you are not the only person to ever miss, and this isn't the last time you'll miss either" he nodded, looked at me and said can we get back in the stand now. And of course, we did. I think my 7 year old is hooked!!!

[JOEL]

awww thats too bad.hey show him this"we all miss occasionally" just means ya need to go out and do it more [:D]

[vipermann7]

thats the kind of excitement and emotion more adult hunters should feel when shooting at does and spikes. thats the great thing about kids, they help remind us of why we do what we do.

[Patriot]

That's what it's all about! 
 
My dad used to always say, "Take your kids hunting, and you won't need to go hunting for your kids."

[8uck5nort]

Just tell your 7 year old that the buck I missed 2 weeks ago bow hunting almost had me in tears and I'm 41...[:(]
 
I love when my kids go hunting. My son Anthony (16) got his first deer and buck last year. My youngest Matthew (14) is showing an interest, but is having a hard time with doing the whole killing thing. I am not pressuring as I do not want to turn him off. Whenever he is ready I'll be there to guide.
 
Good luck and happy hunting. Your a special parent. Keep up the good work. 

[Goose]

Thats the good stuff son!

[shaman]

As much as we'd like it all to work out the way they show on TV, it seldom does.  Kids have an especially hard set of problems:

1)  They're kids, and it's hard enough doing it as an adult.
2)  You're not a full-time hunting instructor.

Remember this:  The bond that happens between an older hunter and a kid happens whether there's meat in the freezer or not.  You'll bond from the trophies; you'll bond from eating tag soup. You will probably bond the most from the stuff that happens together that you end up telling no one.

I'm just getting my second son over the hump.  #2 son is hunting on his own for the first time next weekend. Believe me it is not easy. Be ready for a lot of frustration and heartache.  I could tick you off a long laundry list of what's gone wrong since 2001-- everything from the kid snoring so loudly turkey hens came and looked in the blind to icky blown shots and long tracking jobs that came to naught.

When Angus was 8, he took Hunter Ed and passed-- youngest in the class. That was 2006.  However, when he went to shoot a centerfire rifle, he couldn't hit squat.  We worked 2 years getting over that hurdle-- this weekend was his first successful hunt.  I have no idea how many rounds we went through getting him to that point. Meanwhile Mooseboy, starting in 2002 has gone from the kid that could barely hit the barn standing inside it (Don't Say My Kid Can't Shoot . . . ) to a deadly cervid serial killer (Moose Bags a Buck)

Right now, I'm hoping and praying the season ends with everyone safe and happy and lots of deer in the freezer.  Part of me is wishing it'd all be over and all the extra worry and hassle of having my son off on his own was behind me.  On the other hand, I know next year, there will be something missing.  In a few short seasons, I'll be pining for these days and counting the Opening Days until the grandchildren need help whacking their first squirrel.

[passin through]

Sounds Awesome BN!  My little girl made her first hunting club family day this past weekend.  She's just 15 months but she was the belle of the ball.  She did every thing from petting on the deer mounts, walking around holding onto an old hound dogs tail like a ski rope, to eating an enormous amount of bannana pudding (with her hands of course--- much to momma's dismay)  every body had to hold her and take her around and show her something new.  She road around in my hunting truck and put-putted around the camp yard with me on the fourwheeler.  Cant wait for her to be ready to hit the woods with me!  

[burnnurse1]

Shaman you are exactly right. The bond we forged that day will forever be etched in his little mind. I was just as proud of him, deer or no deer. He has been shooting extremely well with his new little rifle, and is very safety conscious. That means more to me than anything! he is always asking me after we shoot "did you remember to put you safety on dad?" That's not something you hear from a lot of 7 year olds. One thing I didn't mention in the original post was that when we were walking to the stand he tripped and dropped his gun hard. the next day, after the miss, I went and shot his gun to check his scope, and sure enough it was shooting way off. Not making any excuses, because he was pretty excited, but it was far enough off to warrant an errant shot. Oh well, thats hunting! but he learned so much from that outing that will benefit him in future hunts, and I am so, so glad I was there to witness it!!! 

[DeanoZ]

Great post BN!  I have a 4 month old son, my first child and all I can think about are the days ahead when he is old enough to go hunting with dad.  I'll say this any father rading yur post who didn't have a tear welling up in his eye..well their damn good actors, lol!  Let us knwo when he bags his first one...I'll do the same