Let’s make a deal…?

[Flatbrimmer]

My oldest never really had much drive for hunting when the weather started getting colder. We started last year going rabbit hunting and this year she came goose hunting with me. Now she is really starting to get the drive to go and is hoping to join me in some coyote calling tournaments this year. She’s already planning on “her rifle” for deer hunting in two years. Now my youngest is a cold blooded killer. She came with me all the time this fall when I could take her. She’s only 3 but when she sees the guns come out she’s grabbing her boots and coat

My advise is get them out on the easy less stress hunts now like your rabbits and birds and see if that gets them hooked. Some kids just never get hooked. I grew up in a family that did zero hunting or shooting and somehow I still got hooked.

Same same and same buddy my youngest is the exact same way, to the point I gotta tell him no you gotta stay behind on this one lol and idk what really got me so hooked into hunting. My wife tells me from time to time, “10 years ago when I met you I would have never thought you’d be a hunting, wild game food-fanatic. haha appreciate ya man I look forward to the small game hunts with him this year! He already said he thinks it’d be fun to go shoot some squirrels or rabbits or something if I had a little .22 for him. He shoots his BB-gun like an all-star it blows me away. Xmas around the corner….!

 

[Gerald Martin]

Nothing says fun like a .22 rimfire. It really sounds to me like it might be as important letting him have fun shooting and hunting small game as it is finding the right spot for big game.

 

[Flatbrimmer]

Nothing says fun like a .22 rimfire. It really sounds to me like it might be as important letting him have fun shooting and hunting small game as it is finding the right spot for big game.

Agreed

 

[Hem]

Agreed

If that is the case, find some gophers this spring.

 

[Flatbrimmer]

If that is the case, find some gophers this spring.

You got some gophers?

 

[FREAK]

Nothing like an antelope hunt with an A tag and a couple B tags. Usually lots of action/animals. Fun times at camp. Easy hiking/easy pack outs and lots of public land to check out. Also some of the best game meat IMO.

 

[Hem]

You got some gophers?

Just a few.
Fun for me (shotgun only), fun for my GWP's.
One dog will stand over the hole for HOURS waiting. No kidding. Eventually the gopher comes up for a peek. Nails em everytime.
Might be an angle for access elsewhere.

 

[Caseknife]

Get him one of these,
https://www.ruger.com/products/americanRimfireCompact/specSheets/8303.html
and put one of these on it with Talley lightweight mounts.

FX-II Ultralight 2.5x20 Wide Duplex

When every ounce counts, Leupold® Ultralight riflescopes offer the lightweight, high-performance optical power you need. The 2.5x lends itself to more applications, on more rifles, than any other scope in the line.

www.leupold.com

I put one together for my wife to shoot varmints, she loves it, simple, lightweight and accurate.
Take him ground squirrel hunting in the spring and then grouse hunting in the early fall.
He will get hooked.

 

[Flatbrimmer]

Just a few.
Fun for me (shotgun only), fun for my GWP's.
One dog will stand over the hole for HOURS waiting. No kidding. Eventually the gopher comes up for a peek. Nails em everytime.
Might be an angle for access elsewhere.

I was totally kidding trying to get some laughs! Shit I can go up norris road to elk creek for gophers!

 

[Flatbrimmer]

Get him one of these,
https://www.ruger.com/products/americanRimfireCompact/specSheets/8303.html
and put one of these on it with Talley lightweight mounts.

FX-II Ultralight 2.5x20 Wide Duplex

When every ounce counts, Leupold® Ultralight riflescopes offer the lightweight, high-performance optical power you need. The 2.5x lends itself to more applications, on more rifles, than any other scope in the line.

www.leupold.com

I put one together for my wife to shoot varmints, she loves it, simple, lightweight and accurate.
Take him ground squirrel hunting in the spring and then grouse hunting in the early fall.
He will get hooked.

Bookmarked! Thank you!

 

[Caseknife]

The thing with the fixed power scope is it as close to iron sights as you can get. Simple, nothing to fuss with, doesn't have too much magnification to accentuate wobble and it is just fun to shoot. Get him out shooting reactive targets and empty soda cans. Buy lots of ammo, and it is widely available again, he will have a blast. After you get him shooting ground squirrels and then grouse, take him with you when you are looking for deer and he can shoot all the grouse, and, no, it won't spook your quarry at all.

 

[Hunter4Life78]

I think getting him popping gophers is great idea. Maybe try 'yote hunting. No season, and with calving time around the corner might be a good time to start.
Might get hammered for this statement, been a lot folks in my neck of the woods using .17s on gophers and 'yotes.

Just a lil extra food for thought. If someone else threw this out there my bad for being repetitive. Been watching, The Searchers and Gunsmoke.

 

[antlerradar]

A big difference today in the quality of hunting between good private. and public Creating unrealistic expectations is a real issue.
My advice if you get on some good private is to make a hunt out of it. Just because you can road hunt up a buck on private doesn't mean you should. I would try to find a hunt were you have to walk at least a 1/4 mile.
Don't make this dads trophy hunt. Had plenty of kids tell me they want to shoot a big one. It is not the kids talking, the kids are happy with a 20 inch three point.

Kind of sad for me that we are at this point. My first three deer were all public land deer. It wasn't that I didn't have access to private, it was that back when I started hunting the public was just a good if not better hunting than the private.

 

[rmyoung1]

@FoodIsMemories , as you’re probably aware, MT lets the kids get a 2-day head start on everyone else for the rifle deer season. There are a lot of Block Management places that would offer your 10-year-old the chance at a deer. With a little research, you can put something together that would fit the bill and result in a lot of fun for the two of you. Check out this year’s Block Management booklet and make a plan. As my sons have reached hunting age, I have focused on game-rich opportunities. I wanted them to see animals! It’s resulted in a lot of fun for all of us. Almost all were publicly-accessible properties. Lots of smiles and tags punched.

 

[Flatbrimmer]

My advice if you get on some good private is to make a hunt out of it. Just because you can road hunt up a buck on private doesn't mean you should. I would try to find a hunt were you have to walk at least a 1/4 mile.

Of course… I wouldn never road hunt a public land deer let alone a private land deer.. I certainly hope my post doesn’t read in a fashion that I expect to set him on the front porch with a bag of Takis and tell him here you go have a nut! I want him to have to earn it too. Thanks..

 

[Straight Arrow]

Take them with you; make it fun. Keep them warm, fed, comfortable, and enjoying the outdoors. 'Took my kids and grandkids hiking and fishing from toddler age. My son came with me on antelope hunting trips beginning when he was six. First he tossed rocks at small game, then shot with a BB rifle, then a 22 cal, and gained proficiency. He evolved into an avid hunter. His license plate reads, "HNTMAX".
It plays/pays forward as his son, my grandson, is likewise an avid hunter, having taken a better buck each year since ten yrs old. Photos below illustrate the family legacy.

 

[Flatbrimmer]

You were sent here to incite trouble, weren’t you?

 

[Werty]

Best thing montana could do is do like Saskatchewan and not let non residents hunt anymore best idea any of us have had in a while

So "when" Canada's PM wont even let Canadians hunt, where do you plan on going then, if it such a great idea?

 

[Nick87]

For not letting Canadians hunt they sure kilo giant deer every year... maybe we should limit western montanans out east and north east as much as we do non residents since you guys are as much as a problem as all the non res and Washington dousches

Non residents are the least of your concern in montana.

 

[DFS]

Not at all just have watched where I'm living get completely ruined in the last 8 years by everyone shooting 1 1/2 to 2 year old deer it's really pretty sad to watch actually

You aren’t wrong. It comes down to management though. It falls squarely on the mtfwp for allowing it to happen.