Congratulations on the birth and health of the new baby.
Missing the hunt is good, it gets you ready for the next time. By next year you can be taking that son into the woods to experience all of that for the first time. When that look of wonderment gets on his face and he and you are laughing together watching the sun go down, you will enjoy it x 10 from what you have so far.
I think I managed to wait until my son was six. And it wasn't him or me holding things up, if you get my drift. I didn't get to go with him as much as I wanted when he was young.
But my first Grandson was two when I took him on his first turkey watch. I say watch because we just went and sat in the blind no gun just a camera and watched the turkeys graze and go to roost. I think that was what hooked him, seeing his first flock of turkey fly up to the roost.
After that until about six he would yell at the turkeys to fly
it worked, but it wasn't roost time yet and I was armed that time.
I would take him to the range so he understood there was loud noise going to happen. He had his own set of ear muffs and never had a problem with the boom.
His mom had asked me if she could go deer hunting when she was 13. Her and her sister had both spent equal time in blinds watching the whole process, but until then they only wanted to watch. They would shoot at the range or field and still like to shoot them orange birds that taste like dirt.
So I decided until she decided she was really going to do it, I started her practicing with my .243. She could shoot it ok but it was a little long, so I took an SKS one day and she was hooked, that was her gun (still is)
She would spend 5 minutes between each shot working the sand bags and getting a good sight picture, then bulls eye every time, the first day she went to 100 yards the 50 was to easy for her. I just had a little fixed 4x on it.
Anyway her first kill, I had made a pvc pipe frame with duck blind ca mo on it so she could get a good sight picture. Two young play full deer one a three point cull, the other a doe.
I had it in my mind she would be doing the five minute adjustments, but gun came up, found the rest bang. The tree point was a good 40 yards broadside, She shot and he bowed his back and ran around in a 40 yard circle , she hit his liver. Finley he just stopped right where she had shot him and I told her to shoot him again, but before she could he just fell over dead.
So she asked about the doe, I said it run off. No it didn't its right there can I shoot it? Yesfireitsdown. She was about the same 40 yards but head to her and she shot her right in the heart.
She was 11 one shot kills for 12 shots, 7 heart shots. But the best one was when we took the boy along, he was about 4. I had looked the place over the day before and the deer were climbing a wooded hill up to a solid wall about 40 high. I had on notch they were going through and over the top.
So I had to set up where she would actually be shooting up hill about 30 yard with that 40 foot rock wall behind them, I had some camo cloth up to hide us and but her with her back against the tree so she could prop on her knees. So I held the boy, I think he has 4. Two came in right where they should have he points to them but doesnt say anything and his behind cloth. She shoot the first one straight in front of her at about 30 yards she rolled and sled almost to where we were siting. The boy yells shoot deer, he ssshhhhus him because a buck had followed the doe. The buck stop with his head on one side of the tree and his belly on the other and we lost the light . She shot exactly where his heart would have been it the tree wasn;t in the way
SO he is there helping drag he doe down the hill and wants to know what every piece was inside it. She cut the heart out and showed him that was where she shot him and put a bullet into the hole and out the other side so he could see what it did,
My sons first real deer hunt he was maybe 8. First we were in a scaffold stand watching deer move from bed to water. It was too far for him so I shot a buck through the neck and hit one behind it in the head. He didn't get a shot that morning so for afternoon I put him in a cabin type stand and told him where to watch and shoot. He was facing a river with a good crossing and my job was to flush some past him. I flush he shoot about three times before I yelled and ask if he hit one, yyes ok were coming up don;t shoot; It was just dark, he shoots, stop shooting he shoots, stop shooting. but somethings out their yes its me stop shooting be fore you hit me.
I went and picked him up and said where are your deer. Between the river and where he was sitting was about 60 yard to the rive, we found three one shot kills between him and the water.
it just seems so much better watching them finely understand what is going to happen and the whole process is new and amazing to them.
That first year of his was perfect everyone got three deer and to turkeys and had a great time.
it worked, but it wasn't roost time yet and I was armed that time.
