A local Sunday morning hunt with my lil' guy! Dads, let's hear your stories! :-)

[Singleshotneeded]

:-D Well, after finally getting my son ready, we headed out northeast of Kelowna for a bit of hunting, nothing serious, but have to teach my lil' buddy the rites of the hunt. We snuck to the edge of a clear cut together, and watched a couple of whitetail does at dawn, and climbed a hill and checked out a couple of muley does chowing down. Then we climbed to the top of a ridge, and my deer grunt call called in a moose cow and her calf! We limited out on Spruce Grouse in the brief time it didn't shower early this morning... Despite not seeing anything legal to shoot(big game), we had fun and Matthew learned a bit about hunting, while I enjoyed his compliment on picking a grouse out of the air when it flew across the fsr. All reflex, but the hero worship felt good, lol! You dads out there with young kids, feel free to share your experiences!

[huntingmom]

I have a girlfriend who has two sons 13 and 11 who would give a million to have a dad like you. Thier dad has nothing to do with them.
It's good to see dad's building a bonding relationship with their children. My daughters are lucky to have a dad that will do things with them. We just came back from Golden from a fishing and a grouse hunt.
Since we only have one atv (a 2-up) he could take only one daughter along (we have triplet girls, 8.5 yrs old) with him and they loved it..especially when daddy bagged some grouse.
Fathers are definitley needed in the lives of thier children.....it's to bad some fathers don't recognize how badly they're needed by thier kids.
Kudos to you and your son....may you two have a long lasting relationship together.

[Hemi]

I agree I have 4 kids my daughter gets mad when I shoot something. My boys I take with me my 10 year old has a good eye and loves it my 15 year old likes it not as much, doesn't like the early mornings. My 8 year old likes going out but more for the qaud ride. I am going out early October 1st with my 10 year old going whey back in the bush drive for awhile then drop the truck and then qaud for abit. I am going to fill my moose tag this year...Anyone else taking the young ones out for opening day calf...

[bigneily]

I was out with my 12 yr old son looking for a cow/calf or spike bull in the 4-03x zone, He ended up letting the air out of a small 6pt bull at 30 yards with his 7mm-08. Man was i ever proud of him, Just wished my dad was still with us so my son could tell him of his success.

[green machine]

my son just turned 10 in august and i bought him a ruger 10/22 for his b-day. so last sunday morning we deside to get out for a hike up our mountain. gate was still closed due to heat so we had to walk about 2km to get to the road were we like to go. so we are about a half k down the road and we here crack. we both stop and listen for about 3-4 minutes. i am looking one way he is looking the other. all of a sudden i here dad,dad,dad,dad, slightly panic voice. i turn around to see a sow and cub about 100 feet infront of us coming down the road. i turn and let out a hoot and she and cub turn and go the other way in a hurry. thank christ. so we deside not to push luck and turn around and go back to the truck. on the way back to the truck the gears start turning in his head and he asks me. dad what would you have done if the bear did not stop. i say well i would have fired a warning shot. he says what if that did not work. i say well if that did not work and she was still coming i would have shot her. he says but dad what if your gun jammed. i say well i guess i would do what i could with your gun. he says what if his gun jammed aswell. not really whanting to answer this one but i want him to understand, so i say well i guess i would pull my knife and you would go back to the truck as fast as you can and i would stay there. i hope i did not scare him but i think he understood that we had the best case senario happen. we went out again this friday for a hike and he was a little spooked but all is well. i just explained to him that you have to enjoy hunting more than being afraid of a possible bear encounter.

[tanker]

i wish my dad was a hunter, he wants nothing to do with it it seems im only 17 but i still go out with by best friend and his dad i just got my core 3 weeks ago and the next morning i got 3 grouse i fet like such a rookie i had soo much adrenalin goin my knee was shaking and i had an ear to ear grin. the first grouse i sot was awesome after dealing with it and hopping back in the truck my friend was like uhhh luke look there is another one so i loaded the 20ga and it him barley then i flew and i smoked it outta the air on my first day im still soooo happy i wish my moms dad was still around so he coud show me his secret spots for elk! im hooked on this sorta lifestyle the table fair is freaking amazing i live a good ol steak or roast. being in the great out dors is better than sitin in side playing those stupid video games!

[Singleshotneeded]

Thanks for the stories, guys, it was great to read about what other dads are doing with their kids! Thanks for the compliment Huntingmom, it's great that your family does things together like that! Tanker, congrats on the grouse, and don't worry, many of us were pretty excited the first time! Great attitude! :-)

[Steeleco]

I love hunting with my kids. It's not near as intense or the day as long as hunting with my buddies, but its just as much fun if not more memorable. Just yesterday my son now 15 took his 4th bear and my daughter now 12 nearly got her 2nd deer. The high's are higher but the lows are lower. Poor girl was nearly in tears because things didn't go her way. Makes a Dad well up and all!!!

[hunter69]

Having raised my 13 year old son on my own full time in the early days from 2 yrs old, we have created some great memories. I have been self-employed and very busy the whole time, and if I wanted to do anything outside of work, my shadow was with me. His first two trips to hunt big game in Northern Alberta were in the Backpack and diapers, and his last two trips were the types to make any Dad proud, where he filled the freezer with consecutive magnificent Whitetails and his first Moose last year as well.
Only missing one year north in the past 11 years due to him getting Chicken Pox hours before packing the truck, I think he was more bummed than me.
No doubt a sense of accomplishment to watch a young outdoorsman dress his own Moose out in 30 minutes, and his deer in less time than that.....pounding grouse on the fly with his 20G or rattling and grunting out our bucks, even when the Whitetails are being weary.. Salmon over 40, Halibut over 70, Ling Cod pushing 50 as well. I know that not only do I have a Hunting and Fishing partner for life who will have my back, but he will provide for himself and his family in the future. Growing up with a knife in hand has helped as well, as he can dismantle his game into roasts steaks sausage with my help. He swore he wasn't shooting a whitetail this fall unless with his bow, so we are going to make that happen if possible. A few thousand pracise shots at our 3D target in the backyard, I think he is ready...
My new wife and our young daughter are now showing interest to see what the hunting experience is all about, so we may be creating more family memories soon. Son wants to keep the fall hunt our personal thing, but if my daughter wants to try it, I can't deny the opportunity to help nurture another young outdoorsman. I hope to post some fresh pics later this fall...

[birosj]

Sitting on the top of a clearing at day break, when my son calls me on the radio "Hey Dad, do you see that?" My reply was "Isn't it the most beutiful sun rise over the snow capped mountains".