Scouting and/or hunting with a young family

[mds]

I've recently moved to Colorado, into the foothills just west of Denver. I didn't grow up hunting or anything, and I've only been out a few times for hog, deer and small game. I don't know if I've got full-on hunting fever...but I definitely have symptoms!

This being my first year in CO, I've been reading a lot on here and elsewhere about seasons and locations, gear and techniques. My plan right now is to go camping with the family as much as possible this summer, maybe leave them at base camp for a day at a time while I scout. It's important to me to include the family while I scout and/or hunt, but with two small boys (2 & 3 years old) I'm not going to include them in the actual scouting or hunting for a while. My wife loves venison and elk, and everyone likes to camp, so I figure it won't be too hard to mix it all in...

...or will it? Have any of you more experienced folks done this? Is it reasonable to get in some quality scouting as a day-trip from the family car-camp? Realistically, we aren't going to set up base camp too far from the car, I'd say a few hundred yards at most. I can spend a night solo, which especially in the summer I can do fast and light, and come back the next day. Depending on how things go this summer, they may want to come on my actual hunting trip(s). In that case, I definitely plan on going out solo for a night or two, though we'll have to take a winter camping trip or two, since as a Florida family we've never camped in anything colder than 50* lows.

This is happening one way or the other, but I'm posting here in hopes that some of you all have advice or experiences to share. My priority is to make sure everyone has a good time, including myself! I'd rather spend this year learning the countryside and figuring out the colder weather, and I won't be too disappointed if I eat tag soup my first year here.

Thanks in advance!

[bnsafe]

first of all welcome and glad your here.
second, it will be fine. im sure it will have its own challenges but everything does no matter what. take the family, enjoy it. as someone thats daughter is now a senior i can tell you dont take it for granted, it will go fast. good luck with all your endeavors.

[Swede]

MDS: Welcome To my lasting regret I never got my wife and daughters more involved. My wife has never shown an interest in hunting, but she would have had interest in camping if I had done more to make if fun. I think our girls might have become interested if I had taught and encouraged them, but they did not think it something girls should be a part of. You will have only one chance, so try to make sure they have fun and are not just baggage you carry along.

[CrazyElkHunter]

Welcome to the family! I have 3 daughters and 9 grandchildren. All 3 of my girls started camping with me before they were a year old. They are now taking my grandkids and teaching them everything I taught them. It's not just a guy thing. Getting your family in the outdoors is a fantastic way to connect and have fun. Though they are not into hunting as I am, they still love to be in the mountains. Pass it on!

[mtnmutt]

I suggest you buy 0 degree sleeping bags. If they are cold and do not sleep well, they may not return. Easier to vent to get cooler than trying to warmup in a higher temp rated bag. A cold front can quickly drop the temps down. Snow is possible in any month.

Find some easy games to do in the tent or under a tarp for those long monsoon afternoon rains.

There are lots of places that you can scout from a base camp without having to leave them at night. There are 2 wilderness areas that I can get into within 1 mile of a base camp. Granted that I could scout more ground by backpacking, but I still cover a bit of ground in one day from a car camp.

[Indian Summer]

Just put yourself in their shoes. Think camping not hunting. Camp where short hikes with the kids is doable and enjoyable. You need some games and a couple mountain pie cookers too. Also.. even though you won't be taking them with you on the scouting trips... there's no question you need to take them exploring around camp. Mini-scouting trips looking for anything and everything. To young kids everything within 100 yards is a wilderness area of it's own.... a whole world of new things to um....put in their mouths! lol

Also... what about chipmunk hunting with those Nerf bows? You don't have to kill bull elk to be a hunter! Get them llittle backpacks for "treasures" and some other things like little headlamps and binoculars etc. that dad takes when he goes on his grown up hikes. Yeah... they are young now but the list of options of what you can do will grow fast and now is the time to instill the desire to hunt and the idea that the mountains are a great and safe place to be. Help your wife keep them entertained while you get comfortable in the hills. Make double sure you are back on time or earlier so they don't worry.

Like mtnmutt said make sure they are warm dry and comfortable. Don't want to get you too concerned but a can of bear spray might make your wife... and YOU feel a little better in camp. Especially if you're gone.

Also as mm said... there's really no reason you can hike and scout without returning to camp at night. I wouldn't plan on leaving them for at least the first few trips. Work the bugs out first.

Florida to Colorado.... so far so good!!!

[mds]

Thanks for the tips, everyone! I'll especially make sure to err on the side of warmer sleeping bags - the colder weather is new to us and it's the biggest x-factor that I worry about in terms of making sure everyone has a good time. I love the idea of letting the little ones "hunt" with nerf guns or water guns or whatever, and having a little backpack for them to carry their own "gear." If the boys are warm and happy, the wife is warm and happy - and if the wife is happy, I'm happy. The idea is to have them begging me to take them into the mountains.

[LckyTylr]

One thing that I'd suggest is doing your best to camp right next to water, either stream, lake or pond. Young children, especially boys, can be easily entertained for hours and hours for days in a row just exploring around the shores and trying to catch whatever is swimming in the shadows. Get them some fishing poles and teach mom how to bait a hook. They will be so proud to show you the dinner that they caught when you come marching back into camp. They won't even know you are gone if they are having a good time.

When you do get back into camp, make sure you make up for lost time with regards to camp chores. Mom may or may not be a Mountain Mom, but either way, taking care of your two young sons in an environment where potentially everything either bites, stings or shouldn't be swallowed is different than watching them for a weekend at home. Make sure you pull your own weight and allow Mama to sit back in a camp chair and enjoy the fire. If Mama aint happy . . . aint Nobody happy.

[easeup]

thats right.

The great outdors will speak for itself and you do not have to sell it.
when you take them, they will always return with you if.....you keep them well fed, warm and dry.

Even better, feed them their favorite food when camping. none of this you got to be manly and tough stuff.

[cnelk]

I couldnt wait to get me 2 kids out camping when they were little.

I set up 'camp' in the yard so they knew how to help and what to do.
I even built a small camp fire and we burned marshmallows.
They may not sleep out there, but they will sure play!

You will find that kids love to camp. The advise above is spot on. Keep them entertained, warm and fed and you will be set.

Water is a great asset. Lake or stream. Fishing or skipping rocks.
In a couple years, get them a sling-shot and there wont be a small rock anywhere near camp

You are on the right path... tread lightly

[Lefty]

My three daughters are 18, 21 and 22.
We camped as a family nearly every Friday night from spring till hunting season.
I included my daughters in nearly every thin’ its not just a boy /girl or an age thing. Each of my daughters deer hunted out of a back pack and walked on level ground, As they got older we sat on hill sides in the evening.
Start your kids as soon as weather permits. When young don’t take your kids in windy, wet/snowy, or cold unless it is short,.. very short. One of my daughters best hunts, we jump-shot a pond in a snow storm, 2 minutes and a limit of confused ducks, my girls in their pink and purple jackets and gloves
Hunt kid friendly , whatever that my mean, short hunts, nice weather, close to home,
Make sure they have what is need to stay comfortable’ including good boots and snacks
I set trap lines that were kid friendly driving in a warm truck with snacks. . We camped, we hiked, we scouted, each of my kids deer hunted their first year( ands 2nd and 3rd and 4th ).
Your hunts need to be geared towards your wife and kids so killing game ends up being lower on the priority list. You will be rewarded in the end
My daughters spent huge amounts of time duck hunting,.. Basically reading coloring, doing homework and snacking in a willow patch throwing sticks for the dog. Good times!
Don’t bore them, Staying out too long or too extreme, such as long physical hikes.
Ive been reaping the rewards; Four years ago my daughters wanted to "bear hunt" so we do. My one married daughter showed her husband the tricks of antelope hunting, the day they hunted without me he was able to take a nice buck,.. because of my daughters help. Really neat, my youngest two daughters deer hunted a number of days on their own, and with her husband’s family. Or my youngest just graduating this year, her senior picture is her and her moose. Or all three of my daughters were the envy of all the water fowling boys with the number of geese they killed and hunts they were on
There isn’t anything wrong with taking your kids very young, teach them to blow calls at home, take them shooting(my girls were in 4-h shooting sports.
When Im an old man,.. Ill be able the cherish( now too) all the pictures of our hunting adventures.
To be a good dad, You just need to “do it “ with them.

[Waygoner]

One suggestion I have for scouting is to get up early and head out before the rest of the family is up. Spend a few hours in the woods and then get back in time to help with the kids. I do this with my wife and daughter when we're camping.

[mds]

One suggestion I have for scouting is to get up early and head out before the rest of the family is up. Spend a few hours in the woods and then get back in time to help with the kids. I do this with my wife and daughter when we're camping.

Good idea! The boys wake up around dawn, but I could get to high ground in pre-dawn low light and meander back after full sunup so I get good daylight for glassing. I'd like to cover a lot of ground, though, since I've never been to any of these spots. We'll see what happens when we get there. The good news is that the answer is more camping.

But either way, the overwhelming advice to make family-fun camping the higher priority is well taken. "Tread lightly" - I like that. Seems like patience and thoughtful preparation are key to success in more than just hunting. I'll try not to let my October Dreaming steer me too far from that...

The responses have been really helpful, thanks again!

[cnelk]

My daughter (19) has her own canoe, sleeping bag, and tent and can build a fire without 'boy scout' water
She loves to fish and hunt, and just yesterday reminded me that she wants me to take her on an antelope hunt upon graduating from college.

I got lucky I guess

[pointysticks]

'boy scout' water

hahaha...we call it Girl Scout juice.. eww, that sounds bad typed out. heeh.

[mds]

Quick update. We've been camping 2-3 times a month this summer. We started slow and had to work out a few kinks but the boys are loving it and are asking for it now. =) I haven't had a chance to do any scouting but I'm looking forward to our first camp in undeveloped woods this weekend or next, will hopefully get a little scouting in.

Thanks again for the advice!

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[Kleinpm]

I don't mix camping family trips with hunting/scouting. It has never worked very well when I tried it. My son is 5 and daughter 2. We camp a lot, fish a lot, float the river a lot but its not really scouting.

To scout I wait for the right moment. There is almost always a day here and a day there that my wife takes the kids to town or whatever for the day.

I watch the kids A LOT when my wife wants to do things that are hard for the kids to tag along, then comes hunting season and it's payback time.

I took my son antelope hunting when he was 4 and that was great. Just the two of us, winging it with no real plan on where to camp. He did great and had a great time and we killed two antelope. This year he went grouse hunting with me. A little more challenging but we still killed a few limits of grouse and he has learned a lot on our jaunts.

The difference between elk droppings and deer droppings. What a moose track looks like. Bear scat ( is it fresh or not) bear tracks, elk rubs and why they do that. These are just every day things that kids seem to find fascinating but are easy for an adult to overlook.

My kids friends know none of these things, because their parents don't want to be bothered to take them for a walk in the woods. I will get off the soap box. Go outside with your kids, its the most important thing.

Patrick

[mds]

Thanks for the insight, Patrick. I'm not terribly knowledgeable as an outdoorsman so it's a learning process for all of us. Sites like this one have saved us a lot of grief as we set out to enjoy the mountains, and specifically the advice in this thread.

You can bet that I'll keep focusing on exploring outside with them - they love looking things up in the guidebooks, identifying tracks and scat, finding berries and etc. They love helping me set up the fire, finding/sorting wood, making tinder, etc. Again, I don't really know what I'm doing, but it's fun to figure it out together with pointers like yours.