3 Tips to Get & Keep Youth Involved in Hunting

Please note the author of this blog post, titled "3 Tips to Get & Keep Youth Involved in Hunting" is Sam Jacobs. A brief description of the author and where to find him can be found at the end of this blog post. 

While I don’t remember my first hunt, I’ve heard my grandparents tell the story a thousand times.

One September morning, my grandpa took me to the back 40 acres to shoot a dove or two when I was six.

As we walked up to the pond on the backside of his property, a morning dove was sitting in a tree.

I took aim, pulled the trigger, and excitedly went to see if I could find it!

Little did I know I had missed entirely, and my grandpa tried telling me, but I was convinced I had just harvested my first bird.

And sure enough, I found a dead bird near the tree!

I proudly walked back to my grandparent's house with bird in hand to show my grandma I had shot dinner.

As the story goes, I showed the bird to Granny, and her eyes got huge because I was holding a bird that had been dead for at least a week or longer.

My grandpa was trying to tell her to play along with my story of shooting my first bird, and she did. She couldn’t crush my little dreams, so she got an old Walmart sack put the bird in it, and told me to stick it in my parent's freezer!

Since then, I’ve matured and can tell the difference between a fresh kill and a week-old kill, but my love for hunting which began as a youth, has only grown.

I’ve now begun to pass my passion for hunting and the outdoors on to my daughter. I had a few good mentors from which I picked up many excellent tips for getting kids involved in the outdoors and hunting.

Today I want to pass along three of those tips.

Let’s get started!

Leave Before They’re Ready

I don’t know about you, but there aren’t many things I’d rather do than hunt (maybe kayak fishing).

I can sit quietly or put miles on my boots all day, not pull the trigger, and still wake up the next morning wanting to do it all again.

My daughter, on the other hand, doesn’t feel the same. Nor did I when I was her age. Kids want something to be happening, which means they get bored easily sitting there trying to be quiet or wandering for miles on end, not to mention their little legs get tired much faster than our adult legs.

So to keep them wanting to return, leave before they’re ready. When you can tell they’re having fun, tell them it’s about time to go.

I’ve done the opposite more times than I care to admit. I would wait until my daughter complained and then tell her to stop complaining; because we were having fun.

No, Dad, you’re having fun!

Now I try to gauge when she’s ready and leave right before she hits that tipping point so she’s eager to return.

Use the Proper Gear

Growing up, my parents didn’t have a lot of money. My mom was a stay-at-home mom, and my dad worked for the local utilities company. So my brother and I got a lot of hand-me-downs from friends and neighbors.

Sometimes they fit, and other times they didn’t.

I hated wearing hunting clothes that were too big. They were uncomfortable and made it much harder to hunt because I was focused on keeping the butt of my gun from catching on my oversized jacket instead of focusing on the bird in front of me.

This is especially true when talking about hunting boots. If you’ve ever worn boots a couple of sizes too big, you know it’s a terrible time.

Get the kids properly fitting clothing and boots, so they’re not miserable! Trust me; it’s worth the extra money not to hear them complaining the entire time.

Their gun is the most crucial piece of gear that must fit them. I don’t recommend handing an 8-year-old a 12 gauge shotgun when they’ve only ever shot a BB gun. Not only is this dangerous but they’ll also probably be scared of the kick after one shot.

My dad and grandpa started me off with birdshot in a single-shot .410 shotgun, allowing me to work up to shooting a 12 gauge.

Don’t Take It Too Seriously

Whether bird hunting, fishing, or disc golfing, I used to take these activites too seriously with my family.

I had a specific expectation of how things should go in my head, and when they didn’t turn out that way, I got frustrated.

This, in turn, made my daughter frustrated and not enjoy it.

Nowadays, it doesn’t matter if we see lots of birds or none at all; I remember to enjoy the little moments. After all, as long as she's having fun, that’s what matters, not the imaginary scene I paint in my head.

If she has more fun watching the other wildlife, we will stop and enjoy seeing the other creatures, and if I miss a bird or two, it’s all good as long as I see a smile across her pretty little face.

Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to make everything perfect! Part of the fun is when things don’t go according to plan; at least, those are the stories I tend to remember the most.

Parting Shots

You can now take these three tips to get and keep kids involved in hunting and apply them to your next hunt with the youngster in your life.

I know they work because it’s what I grew up doing and how I’ve raised my daughter, who still loves to go hunting with me. That’s two generations of proof!

Bonus Tip: Since you read all the way to the end, here’s a bonus tip for you! Let the kids help clean and cook your harvest with you. It’s a great teaching lesson, and most kids enjoy it, but I wouldn't recommend it if they have a weak stomach.

About Sam

Sam Jacobs is a 2nd amendment advocate, lead writer, and chief historian, at Ammo. As a self-proclaimed outdoorsman, it’s his responsibility to use his knowledge and experience to educate others about ammunition, the outdoors, and conservation.