early

[Paula]

I have a couple questions,

is the rut on at the beginning of October? How is that going to effect hunting if not?

I don't have kids so i guess i don't get it, but why would people want to bring kids hunting? I only ask because don't they talk like non stop and ask "why" all the time, all the time! how are you going to keep them quiet, i hear putting tape on mouth is not good lol

[Early]

Taking kids along on a hunt is a lot of fun. Yes, they can be noisy....but they can also be amazingly quiet once they get "into the game". I guess if I had the choice of leaving kids home and shooting a really big buck...or spending an unsuccessful day hunting with kids, I'd take the kids. Kids trump game animals any day.

[WNYBuckHunter]

I take my daughter with me all the time. We have been seeing deer the last couple of years probably 75% of the times she goes. My daughter has been going with me for 4 years, this will be her 5th season, and she loves it. The first couple of seasons were a struggle to try and keep her interest. Last season was the first that she was big enough to go up in a tree stand with me, and she is 100% all about it now. She loves being up in the stand, able to see more around her. Kids are great at learning, and dont make all kinds of ruckus once they learn that the more they stay quiet, the more deer they end up seeing. I love taking her, and other kids out with me, no matter what day of the season it is.

The thinking behind the youth season being in early October is that deer will be calm, and on feeding patterns which a a bit easier to figure out than when they are running all over the place during the rut, or running for their lives when the orange army enters the woods. The goal is to put deer in front of kids to up their interest. Also, with the chance that the weather is nice, its easier to get a kid to sit still than it is when the wind and snow are blowing. I can speak from experience on that one lol.

[Doc]

Actually, any kids that are taking part in the youth deer hunting season are not really little kids. They are of the age where they know that they have to be quiet. But also, they are not infants that have to be coddled as far as temperatures are concerned, especially given the quality of modern cold-weather hunting gear. When my sons were of that age, we did all kinds of hunting together, not just deer hunting. They never complained about the cold or made any undue noise. They simply wanted to hunt, and they understood the basic principles of hunting from prior instruction.

You know, it was a very, very, very , very, long time ago, but I still remember my first hunt with Dad. We were hunting for squirrels up behind the house, in fact I can pick out the very spot today. I already knew the routine and what was expected of me from discussions that took place before we even went out. There was no fidgeting, or whining about the cold. We just went about the business of sitting there waiting for the squirrels to appear. It was fun. No special season, just an afternoon on the hill hunting.

[WNYBuckHunter]

But all kids arent like that Doc. Ive taken a few out that were old enough to hunt, didnt really grow up around it as much as some, and had trouble sitting out there for very long, especially after a few sits and not even a deer sighting.

Alot of kids these days have a ton of distractions, so its not always so easy to get them interested in things other than video games and other instant gratification type activities. As we all know, deer hunting is usually not an instant gratification type of activity. The old ways no longer work, that much is clear. Having an early youth hunt, where you arent really sitting out all day long, that gives a good chance at a deer sighting, would be a great way to at least get the attention of the kids that dont take to it like some. Then, once hunting has their attention, they are more likely to be hooked and stick with it.

With my kids, Ive been making sure that they are interested, or at least fully introduced to it before all of the other distractions come into play very much. Thats why I started getting my daughter out there a little when she was 3, and out on actual hunts when she was 4. Now shes 8 and hooked. I plan on doing the same type of thing with my son. He has a couple of years to go, but I already take him out with me on walks, he loves seeing deer, etc.

I hope that NY will put more effort than just this into fixing our recruiting problems, but I do see this as a step in the right direction.

[moose]

they drive you nuts but all worth in the end.

[nyslowhand]

Paula; you need to do a search & familiarize yourself with buck & doe activities for early fall (Oct 1st).

Example of when the white-tail rut might occur: http://prohuntersjournal.com/article/?a=27

The new Oct 1st opening for bow in the SZ is not what is typically called the pre-rut yet.

The bucks are staging & preparing for that pre-rut though.

Until the pre-rut happens, food sources like corn or grain fields, acorns, apple orchards, etc are where I'll focus my efforts.

[landtracdeerhunter]

One word- family. The memories will last a lift time. Your kids grow up so quickly. Enjoy the hunting experiences with them. I am so glad, I did. It does make a big difference with them when they grow up, believe me. I applause people taking their kids afield. I know your enjoying every minute of it, and they are too.

Edited July 30, 2012 by landtracdeerhunter

[G-Man]

it won't effect hunting any more than the army of weekend warriors that show up 2 weeks before season, slam car doors, light fires in fireplaces/wood stoves, zoom around on atv, hammer nails in tree stands, do their "scouting". As for deer they will still be in summer feeding patterns more than likely or bachlor groups will just be splitting up first week of october. Why take a kid? why wouldn't you? the look on their face is pricless when they see some thing let alone if they get an opportunity to hunt,shoot. w I hope the dec closes bow season for 3 days so the kids can get their gun hunt in(get arounf the stupid legal language of guns not allowed in bow season.....

[Cabin Fever]

I don't have kids so i guess i don't get it, but why would people want to bring kids hunting? I only ask because don't they talk like non stop and ask "why" all the time, all the time! how are you going to keep them quiet, i hear putting tape on mouth is not good lol

I take my kids hunting to share with them what I love to do and hopefully plant that seed in their head. Of course they ask questions, but you want them to. It's sparking interest! I love sitting in a 2 man stand or a blind with my son or daughter and whispering back and forth as they get excited to see something. That's spending one on one quality time with the kids! Sure is different at home when they are too busy with friends and video games to sit down and talk to you for any length of time!

[wdswtr]

Yes you have multiple times where they are fidgety and asking questions. It might even be a couple seasons. But those things go away in time. I spent a few seasons with one of my kids and she just got bored after an hour and insisted we played tic tac toe in the dirt lol. I didnt care one bit and we played tic tac toe. Why because I was in the woods enjoying time with my daughter. Then one day walking through a store she picked up a deer call and said dad buy me this. So I did. That single purchase changed the whole hunting experience for both of us. She would sit in the blind learning ho to blow on that call. The 3rd time out she had a buck come running in and was so excited that she did that by herself. That moment forward she was now a hunter in her eyes and not just a tag along. One of the boys just couldnt sit still. I made him a deal if he could sit still and we seen deer he would see what its about instead of looking at woods all day. Thankfully it worked out very well, we had about 5 doe get run by us from a small buck chasing them. Those doe stopped and milled around us for a few minutes and one came so close to him he could of jumped on her back lol. The look in his eyes is something I will never forget and he tells everyone about that day. It does take time Paula but the rewards of watching your kids slowly turn into a hunter you mentored is worth every second of the WHY questions and the excuse of throwing there glove down that hill like it was an accident so they can get up and move around. Some of those hunts lasted 5 minutes some of them lasted a couple hours but now thats all they talk about come fall. Lets go hunting dad!

Edited July 30, 2012 by wdswtr

[Doc]

But all kids arent like that Doc. Ive taken a few out that were old enough to hunt, didnt really grow up around it as much as some, and had trouble sitting out there for very long, especially after a few sits and not even a deer sighting.

Alot of kids these days have a ton of distractions, so its not always so easy to get them interested in things other than video games and other instant gratification type activities. As we all know, deer hunting is usually not an instant gratification type of activity. The old ways no longer work, that much is clear. Having an early youth hunt, where you arent really sitting out all day long, that gives a good chance at a deer sighting, would be a great way to at least get the attention of the kids that dont take to it like some. Then, once hunting has their attention, they are more likely to be hooked and stick with it.

With my kids, Ive been making sure that they are interested, or at least fully introduced to it before all of the other distractions come into play very much. Thats why I started getting my daughter out there a little when she was 3, and out on actual hunts when she was 4. Now shes 8 and hooked. I plan on doing the same type of thing with my son. He has a couple of years to go, but I already take him out with me on walks, he loves seeing deer, etc.

I hope that NY will put more effort than just this into fixing our recruiting problems, but I do see this as a step in the right direction.

That is one reason why I believe that deer season is not the right way to initiate a kid to hunting. You really can't beat squirrel hunting for getting kids in the woods, and keeping them in the game with non-stop action. That is one of the "old ways" of introducing kids to hunting, and it does still work. Stir in some rabbit hunting and bird hunting, and before you know it you will have a kid on your hands that will be completely ready to deer hunt. Starting at the top is a huge mistake that can serve as a big frustration. A kid with a year or two of intense small game hunting under his belt is pretty well indoctrinated and ready and eager for the bigger challenge of bigger game. The small game season is custom made for hunter introduction as well as learning about woodslore and animal habits and hunting skills. I am a big believer in that and have seen it all work first hand with my own kids and nephews, and now grand-kids. It all happens with no hassles, no boredom, and a wealth of good hunting mentoring to boot. No special season required for properly building hunting skills and dedication from the ground up. And no hassles from bored kids that have short attention spans. And the season lasts for a whole lot longer than just a couple of days.

[WNYBuckHunter]

I agree with you on the small game hunting, unfortunately, the hunter numbers are dropping off for that as well. I like to go small game hunting when I can, its just tough enough trying to make time for deer, if I tried to take that much more time for small game, Id be single with another child support payment lol.