Hunting with wife and toddler advice

[jlong17]

So after providing elk meat for the family last year I was really hoping to repeat that success this year. I picked up a CO archery tag and a MT general tag this year. Long story short, I got my arse handed to me this fall. I’m a firefighter, so I spent most of the scouting months on fire assignments throughout the west. When I was finally able to slip away for 2 weeks to hunt, I wasn’t able to punch a tag... total bummer. Upon my return home I was deployed to another fire, and as I write this thread I am (you guessed it) on yet another fire. Needless to say, I have left my young family for FAR too many days this year between hunting and fire assignments. Now on to the point of my thread. Has anyone had any luck rifle hunting Montana general elk with their family? My wife really wants me to get some meat, so I’m looking for anything legal to shoot. Heck, at this point I’d even pay a trespass fee to harvest a cow on private. I want to hunt, but I’m not willing to leave my wife and young daughter again... I’d much rather spend the time with them. Thanks in advance for the advise my fellow hunttalkers, I really appreciate it.

 

[2rocky]

No local advice but I think you are gonna have to drive door to door with your family looking for someone who is willing to let you protect their haystack. Provided you are presentable and know a little bit about how life on a ranch goes, most ranching families will likely warm up once they determine you aren't a slob who will mistake their prize bull for a cow elk. But they WILL be on guard to start. I'd recommend you ask if they know of anyone having an "elk problem".

If you can talk cattle and horses so much the better but don't try if you can't.

 

[jlong17]

No local advice but I think you are gonna have to drive door to door with your family looking for someone who is willing to let you protect their haystack. Provided you are presentable and know a little bit about how life on a ranch goes, most ranching families will likely warm up once they determine you aren't a slob who will mistake their prize bull for a cow elk. But they WILL be on guard to start. I'd recommend you ask if they know of anyone having an "elk problem".

If you can talk cattle and horses so much the better but don't try if you can't.

Thanks for that nugget. Maybe if I let my little one do the talking and I just shut my mouth?

 

[Seeleylakehunter]

Use hunting pressure to you advantage. Get into a pinch point on elk exit routes . Hot chocolate and lots of hand warmers. Not that it has ever worked for me but if the elk came through the opportunity would have been there. Or drive till you cut fresh track and give that a go. Good luck

 

[Dsnow9]

I am in the process of buying a camper to bring them along on some hunts. They can hang out at the camper during the day and I can come back and hang out with them. I say some hunts because if your going deep they likely can’t tag along. If your only going in a couple miles they could hike in with you one day, hang out at the camper the next day. Camper when cold out, hiking around when nice out. We will see how it pans out but that is my idea to spend more tine with them during some of the hunting season

 

[jlong17]

I am in the process of buying a camper to bring them along on some hunts. They can hang out at the camper during the day and I can come back and hang out with them. I say some hunts because if your going deep they likely can’t tag along. If your only going in a couple miles they could hike in with you one day, hang out at the camper the next day. Camper when cold out, hiking around when nice out. We will see how it pans out but that is my idea to spend more tine with them during some of the hunting season

I’m kicking around the same idea for next year. Going through the options. Thinking about a small trailer or an older little motor home.

 

[Wallydeuce]

So after providing elk meat for the family last year I was really hoping to repeat that success this year. I picked up a CO archery tag and a MT general tag this year. Long story short, I got my arse handed to me this fall. I’m a firefighter, so I spent most of the scouting months on fire assignments throughout the west. When I was finally able to slip away for 2 weeks to hunt, I wasn’t able to punch a tag... total bummer. Upon my return home I was deployed to another fire, and as I write this thread I am (you guessed it) on yet another fire. Needless to say, I have left my young family for FAR too many days this year between hunting and fire assignments. Now on to the point of my thread. Has anyone had any luck rifle hunting Montana general elk with their family? My wife really wants me to get some meat, so I’m looking for anything legal to shoot. Heck, at this point I’d even pay a trespass fee to harvest a cow on private. I want to hunt, but I’m not willing to leave my wife and young daughter again... I’d much rather spend the time with them. Thanks in advance for the advise my fellow hunttalkers, I really appreciate it.

How did the 2020 season go for you and your family? Were you able to find a hunt that worked for the 3 of you?

 

[jlong17]

How did the 2020 season go for you and your family? Were you able to find a hunt that worked for the 3 of you?

I ended up spending the remainder of the year stuck on fires... terrible season/year. Then came December and I had to get ankle surgery from a previous injury, and was unable to get out for anything else.
We did however decide on buying a 4 season travel trailer this year. We are going to try and make my hunts a bit more family friendly. It was a fair compromise considering how understanding my wife is with amount of time I spend away at work and hunting.

 

[T Bone]

I hunted with my toddlers plenty. They loved it and we have some fond memories (youngest is now 15).

I hunted with my wife once. She is no longer invited.

 

[jlong17]

I hunted with my toddlers plenty. They loved it and we have some fond memories (youngest is now 15).

I hunted with my wife once. She is no longer invited.

I’m thinking I’ll bring my soon to be 3 year old daughter out hunting this year. I’ve been taking her shed hunting a lot lately and she loves it despite the lack of “treasures” we have found. She has even done really well with staying quiet when we get into deer.

 

[ntodwild]

I found with my son and wife (years ago) that the absolute best time to hunt OR have family in camp is definitely Sept. The weather is much more tolerable and having a wife or child (toddler is a bit young) in a ground blind or help build one is super fun (my son was 8 when I first took him). Fort building (ground blinds) and good weather made everything pretty fun and enjoyable and on top of it he got to see his first 3 elk. It surely wasn't about filling a tag, more about being in the outdoors/wildlife/camping/fire pit at night and no early starts. It's extremely hard to be "serious" about the hunting without turning a child or wife off really quick. As long as your head and heart are in the the right place it can work. My son watched me stick a Coyote when he was 9 and that was pretty traumatic (had some splanin to do). Thankfully it didn't' destroy his hunting ambitions. He hunts whenever he can with me these days (busy with college, work and trying to start a life).

My advice is do it, just don't be too serious about filling a tag.

 

[tillicant]

Wife always hunted with me, deer,WI. Took our daughter out from the time she was 5, tagged along, she really enjoyed the outdoors. Then we got her a iPhone, lol. Anyone looking for a 243.
Wife still hunts & this season will be her 3rd CO hunt. Actually have a more interesting trip hunting with her, also getting older, tend to watch out for each other.

 

[Nick87]

Wife always hunted with me, deer,WI. Took our daughter out from the time she was 5, tagged along, she really enjoyed the outdoors. Then we got her a iPhone, lol. Anyone looking for a 243.
Wife still hunts & this season will be her 3rd CO hunt. Actually have a more interesting trip hunting with her, also getting older, tend to watch out for each other.

Use said 243 to shoot the iphone.

 

[Cornell Cowboy]

I ended up spending the remainder of the year stuck on fires... terrible season/year. Then came December and I had to get ankle surgery from a previous injury, and was unable to get out for anything else.
We did however decide on buying a 4 season travel trailer this year. We are going to try and make my hunts a bit more family friendly. It was a fair compromise considering how understanding my wife is with amount of time I spend away at work and hunting.

I have 3 boys all close together (3 1/2 years between the youngest and oldest). My oldest is now 11 and my youngest is 7. I have taken them elk hunting with me (and my wife) since the oldest was 6. In the past 5 years they've watched me take two bulls, my wife take a cow, and my dad (their grandpa) take a cow. Given that I typically only get to hunt elk for a 3-day weekend and I'm on NF land with a general tag, I feel like we're doing pretty well.

Here's what I had to do to modify our hunts to make them family friendly:
1) Shelter/warmth: I like to camp deeper in and get away from folks, but its too hard to get kids warm and out of the weather during elk season with this approach. So, I've taken to renting FS cabins as my based camp (the one I usually get even has running hot water for showers, which my wife really likes). In this regard, I think your 4-season travel trailer is spot on!
2) Terrain/Location: Deadfall sucks in general, but for kids it is pure misery. I had to find a new hunting spot that was a bit more navigable--there's still deadfall, but we can walk miles without having to step over more than a few downed trees. I also tried to pick a spot that in general wasn't too rugged.
3) Distance: My kids like to hike, but probably not as much as I typically think I need to to get into elk. I broke down and bought a side-by-side a few years ago with a bench seat so that the smallest kids could sit in the middle. We still have to hike into our area, but the Ranger cuts off the first mile or so, which makes the rest of the hiking more manageable for them.
4) Grandma: Most kids aren't ready for the commitment of a full elk hunt. They might hike all day with me and then just be beat and want to stay in the cabin for, say, the morning hunt on the next day. Since I almost always hunt with my Dad (grandpa), I always try to invite Grandma too--she likes hanging out around the cabin with any grandkids that don't want to go out at the time.

You can probably guess that I see more hunters in the area that I describe compared with the numbers that I see if I'm by myself and hunting harder country, but the pressure isn't enough to move the elk out but it does move them around, so the kids actually seem them! Also, I thought a September archery hunt would be easier with them than a colder October rifle hunt -- WRONG! The weather was indeed warmer in September, but the morning dew on the grass SOAKED them after about a 1/2 mile of hiking and they were frozen for the rest of the day. It's much easier to bundle them up in heavy coats to block the cold than to try to keep them dry when the grass is wet!

 

[glass eye]

It all depends on your wife and how much she loves the outdoors and being with you.
My wife loves camping and going on hunts. She does everything except pull the trigger.
She's been tagging along since our first born was 2 weeks overdue.

 

[Wallydeuce]

I have 3 boys all close together (3 1/2 years between the youngest and oldest). My oldest is now 11 and my youngest is 7. I have taken them elk hunting with me (and my wife) since the oldest was 6. In the past 5 years they've watched me take two bulls, my wife take a cow, and my dad (their grandpa) take a cow. Given that I typically only get to hunt elk for a 3-day weekend and I'm on NF land with a general tag, I feel like we're doing pretty well.

Here's what I had to do to modify our hunts to make them family friendly:
1) Shelter/warmth: I like to camp deeper in and get away from folks, but its too hard to get kids warm and out of the weather during elk season with this approach. So, I've taken to renting FS cabins as my based camp (the one I usually get even has running hot water for showers, which my wife really likes). In this regard, I think your 4-season travel trailer is spot on!
2) Terrain/Location: Deadfall sucks in general, but for kids it is pure misery. I had to find a new hunting spot that was a bit more navigable--there's still deadfall, but we can walk miles without having to step over more than a few downed trees. I also tried to pick a spot that in general wasn't too rugged.
3) Distance: My kids like to hike, but probably not as much as I typically think I need to to get into elk. I broke down and bought a side-by-side a few years ago with a bench seat so that the smallest kids could sit in the middle. We still have to hike into our area, but the Ranger cuts off the first mile or so, which makes the rest of the hiking more manageable for them.
4) Grandma: Most kids aren't ready for the commitment of a full elk hunt. They might hike all day with me and then just be beat and want to stay in the cabin for, say, the morning hunt on the next day. Since I almost always hunt with my Dad (grandpa), I always try to invite Grandma too--she likes hanging out around the cabin with any grandkids that don't want to go out at the time.

You can probably guess that I see more hunters in the area that I describe compared with the numbers that I see if I'm by myself and hunting harder country, but the pressure isn't enough to move the elk out but it does move them around, so the kids actually seem them! Also, I thought a September archery hunt would be easier with them than a colder October rifle hunt -- WRONG! The weather was indeed warmer in September, but the morning dew on the grass SOAKED them after about a 1/2 mile of hiking and they were frozen for the rest of the day. It's much easier to bundle them up in heavy coats to block the cold than to try to keep them dry when the grass is wet!

Well done Cornell Cowboy. Well done indeed!

 

[jlong17]

I have 3 boys all close together (3 1/2 years between the youngest and oldest). My oldest is now 11 and my youngest is 7. I have taken them elk hunting with me (and my wife) since the oldest was 6. In the past 5 years they've watched me take two bulls, my wife take a cow, and my dad (their grandpa) take a cow. Given that I typically only get to hunt elk for a 3-day weekend and I'm on NF land with a general tag, I feel like we're doing pretty well.

Here's what I had to do to modify our hunts to make them family friendly:
1) Shelter/warmth: I like to camp deeper in and get away from folks, but its too hard to get kids warm and out of the weather during elk season with this approach. So, I've taken to renting FS cabins as my based camp (the one I usually get even has running hot water for showers, which my wife really likes). In this regard, I think your 4-season travel trailer is spot on!
2) Terrain/Location: Deadfall sucks in general, but for kids it is pure misery. I had to find a new hunting spot that was a bit more navigable--there's still deadfall, but we can walk miles without having to step over more than a few downed trees. I also tried to pick a spot that in general wasn't too rugged.
3) Distance: My kids like to hike, but probably not as much as I typically think I need to to get into elk. I broke down and bought a side-by-side a few years ago with a bench seat so that the smallest kids could sit in the middle. We still have to hike into our area, but the Ranger cuts off the first mile or so, which makes the rest of the hiking more manageable for them.
4) Grandma: Most kids aren't ready for the commitment of a full elk hunt. They might hike all day with me and then just be beat and want to stay in the cabin for, say, the morning hunt on the next day. Since I almost always hunt with my Dad (grandpa), I always try to invite Grandma too--she likes hanging out around the cabin with any grandkids that don't want to go out at the time.

You can probably guess that I see more hunters in the area that I describe compared with the numbers that I see if I'm by myself and hunting harder country, but the pressure isn't enough to move the elk out but it does move them around, so the kids actually seem them! Also, I thought a September archery hunt would be easier with them than a colder October rifle hunt -- WRONG! The weather was indeed warmer in September, but the morning dew on the grass SOAKED them after about a 1/2 mile of hiking and they were frozen for the rest of the day. It's much easier to bundle them up in heavy coats to block the cold than to try to keep them dry when the grass is wet!

That's some solid advice! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. Man, it does sound like you're doing something right. I think the hardest part for me is accepting the fact that the hunt will be a bit different with the family in tow. I won't be able to be as selfish and just march into the backcountry with the bare essentials. I'll have to slow down, and have fun - but that's what we should all be doing in the first place, right?