Great day with my son

[bsa30-06]

I spent yesterday hunting grouse with my son Braiden(he's 4).Let me give you some background info on this story.
First thing your going to learn is never tell an excited 4 year you'll take him grouse hunting a month befroe the season opens.For the last month everyday i came home from work he would run out to meet me in the yard and ask"daddy is it time to go grouse hunting yet".I kept telling him it will be time to go soon.
So last week i clear a day off from work and tell him we are going on saturday.He then decided it was time to start counting sleeps before we left.This started at 7 sleeps.
Finally there were no more sleeps to count.I got up at 6am and loaded the truck.My daughter and her grandma decided they would come along and visit family in Lytton while Braiden and i hunted.
By 7am everybody was piled into the truck and off we went.I dont think we were on the HWY for 10 minutes when Braiden started asking that famous question"are we there yet"....yep you guessed it 3 hours of" are we there yet", and "how much longer", and one bathroom stop(not bad for a 4 year old).
We finally arrived in Lytton and dropped our passengers off to visit family.
I cleared a spot in the front seat , unlocked the .410, and my little man climbed in to sit beside dad and off we went looking for grouse.He slid over on the seat so he could hold the gun so it wouldnt slide around.The gun was fine where it was but you should have seen the smile on his face, holding that gun and driving in the front seat next to dad.
We only saw 2 grouse all day one was small so we let him live and the other didnt stay around long enough to shoot.Despite not shooting a single grouse this was a day i'll never forget.As we were driving around lookin for grouse he asked me if there were bears on that mountain, i told him there we lots bears around there and he replied with "do you have a bear tag" i was stunned that my little 4 year old knew you had to have a tag to shoot a bear,i told him i didnt have a bear tag, and he asked me"are bears open dad"again stunned that he knew about open seasons.He talked and acted like a true little hunter all day.
I guess kids listen a little more then we give them credit for sometimes.As we travelled around i showed him deer tracks, moose tracks,and a few bear paw prints.....oh and he was especially fascinated by bear poo(hey he's only 4).By the end of the day i had realized that it wasnt about how many grouse we shot, he was just happy to be spending time out hunting with dad.I cant say in words what a great day i had hunting with my little guy, and i know we will have many more great hunting trips together as he gets older.
So i guess what i'm trying to say is it doesnt matter how young or small you think they are, they just want to spend time with you doing the things you love to do.So get them out there and enjoy a great day together.At the end of the day i let Braiden shoot the .410, i held it while he pulled the trigger, he now carries that spent shell casing around as a trophy from our day together.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a275/deadbuck/DSC00938.jpg

[1/2 slam]

Thanks for sharing. That was great. The look on his face is priceless.

[The Dawg]

I always said its not always about the harvest, but about the experience- the look on his face proves that. Thanks for sharing.

[NaStY]

Thats awesome bsa. I too had my son out yesterday and he had a blast. We didn't see any animals but we saw tracks and scaled a mountain. He even went as far as to shoot my 7mm-08 and liked it.

[6 K]

That is what is all about! Way to go!
I've taken close to 40 deer 18 moose 7 goat 1 ram and a host of other things along the way. but the very best day of hunting in my life was the afternoon I spent riding the quad looking for grouse with my then 3.5yr old son. Of course the days and trips spent with my Wife, Dad, Grandfather, Grandmother, Uncle and Brother rate pretty high too.
Congrats on the discovery of the best life has to offer, enjoy every minute of it. And keep those pictures coming.:wink:

[Dragginbait]

My son is only 14 months, but I'm counting the days until dad gets to teach him and spend time together doing the things that make me want to get up in the morning. Thanks for the story.

[Rock Doctor]

Kids always make the best hunting partners, the things they say and do. It's always alot of fun.

[dukester]

Atta Boy your creating a great hunting partner.. good on ya:wink:

[Jimbo]

Sounds like a great trip for both guys !! He's definately soaking up a lot of info. Is he reading HBC over your shoulder ? LOL

[Steeleco]

That's just the beginning Lloyd, they only get better. Congrats on a great day.

[bsa30-06]

Sounds like a great trip for both guys !! He's definately soaking up a lot of info. Is he reading HBC over your shoulder ? LOL

He likes to see all the animal pictures, and is not shy of any of the kill photos.Guess it wont be long before were fighting over computer time on HBC.My wife says theres no denying that this one is definately my kid,he is definately daddies boy.:smile:

[steepNdeep]

Too cool!!! My kids 6 now and we've made alot of memories together in teh bush already. Nice work pops!

[gary mok]

The story was so sweet,I think I am going to have the same experience as you soon,cause I will take my son who is 8 year old and go for duck/deer hunt this season,tell you guys story when we come back,good luck to all Dad and son,when hunting together !!!

[Huey]

AWESOME!! I've got another 2.5 yrs to wait for my boy to be that age and come out with me! Guess I'll count sleeps till then, can't wait!!

[guest]

Great story,
good to hear theres more up and coming hunters. I'm off on a 3 day deer/grouse trip with one of my daughters. She is 12, has her Jr. Permit to be with dad and is stoked about going. She is not quite ready for tagging a deer but she wants to see dad do it and shoot the grouse her self. It's making me feel like the first time I went deer hunting with my dad .... cool !
C/T
PS proud of our heritage and sport.

[In4TheHunt]

Thats awesome. my daughter is 3 and maybe next year I'll take her out with me. I hope she likes hunting, and if not....then I hope she likes shooting cause thats fun too.

[newhunterette]

Lloyd

the picture says it all - quite an adventure for Braiden and you - I love his smile

a chip of the dad's block for sure

[Big7]

Sounds like a good time! My son is 3 and he loves going hunting with "Daddo"....we went the other night and saw a moose...he wanted me to shoot another one (we got a 2 point earlier in the season) so I had to explain to him why I could only harvest one a year. He said he would shoot it and that would be ok then! Priceless!

[bsa30-06]

There is nothing better then hunting with your little ones.For those of you that think your kids are to young, take them out they just might surprise you with how much they have learned from listening to and watching dad.

[Phreddy]

That's a great experience bsa. Looking back, I think the best times of my hunting career were when I got to take my boys out hunting. Back then, we were dirt poor, but on those days I felt like the richest man in the world.
The beauty of it is, I have a short trip each year with them and really look forward to it. (They get older, I get older, but the experience is still one of extreme satisfaction.)
I now have two grandsons whose father is passing on the family tradition, and I have had the priviledge of driving the road looking for "chickens" while their dad went into the bush looking for a deer.
In my work, I do a lot of counselling of single parent families, mainly mothers, and mentoring their kids. It is so neat to see the bonds that grow between the kids and their moms when the moms realize that they don't have to have a man in their life to open the doors to the great outdoors for their kids. A couple of moms have now completed their CORE programs with their kids and are getting involved in this wonderful sport.
Good on ya for doing this for your son.

[beeker]

that was a good story...thanks for sharing that

[Elkhound]

My wife says theres no denying that this one is definately my kid,he is definately daddies boy.:smile:


Hmmmmm..........spent all day hunting......came home empty handed.......yup...definitely your kid Lloyd:tongue: LMAO


Thats great Lloyd. At least it's for grouse and he isn't taking up your tags yet. My oldest really wants to shoot grouse this year too. They are a blast to bring along...and you are right. They definitely understand more than most of us give them credit for. Glad you guys had a fantastic day.

[bsa30-06]

[quote=Elkhound;337668]Hmmmmm..........spent all day hunting......came home empty handed.......yup...definitely your kid Lloyd:tongue: LMAO

Thats funny, real funny.....True but still funny.:smile:

[newhunterette]

Hmmmmm..........spent all day hunting......came home empty handed.......yup...definitely your kid Lloyd:tongue: LMAO
.

OMG Lloyd, Dave just owned you big time hehehehehehehe:razz:

[bsa30-06]

OMG Lloyd, Dave just owned you big time hehehehehehehe:razz:

YEP.....and theres no possible way to even defend myself.Unless i come home with a moose next week, then we'll see who's laughing.:smile:

[ÜberJumper]

I'm 35, and the last two hunts with my now 65 year old dad have been the same experience for me that your son had with you. We've not hunted together for 20ish years.

So, from this son, thanks to all the dads out there that are like bsa30-06.

(As an aside, I've got 2 daughters, and they both wanted to go with me on the last trip. The 2 year old was even more excited. "Dadda, can I go hunting with you?")

[BigfishCanada]

Sweet storey, taking my boy next week, Do you think a 20gauge will work for a 7 year old, He seems pretty tough and doesnt mind the loud bang!

[rock]

Good to see a dad and son enjoying time together, Remember they grow up fast, take all you can, great experiance for him as well something he'll never forget.
Good on both of ya