Introducing a First Time Youth to Elk Hunting

[Harmy]

This season will be my 12 year old son's first ever elk hunting adventure. We will be hunting the Utah rifle season in early October. We are planning a combination backpack (2-3 mile) base camp for a few days coupled with several day trips out of the camp trailer and maybe a day, later in the season, to sit on a waterhole (no way we have enough patience to do this early in the season). I am curious if any of you can provide any good lessons or experience stories I can relate to my son as we prepare and execute this seasons hunts. Lessons I am going to focus on are handling a weapon, reading sign, walking quietly, watching wind, basic first aid, wilderness survival, reading maps, using compass and GPS, etc. Of course, the gutless method, assuming the opportunity arises... Do any of you have any methods or stories that I could share with my kids?

[cnelk]

Let him make some of the decisions in the hunt.
Give him ownership in the time spent too.

He will not have the stamina you do, if he wants to take a nap, let him.
If he wants to build a fire, let him...

Who cares about the elk...

My son and I had a grand time at that age...

[ElkNut1]

Sounds like you're thinking in the right direction, I'm sure you'll have a ton of fun!

My two boys went out with myself when they were younger, they're both grown now, one still hunts the other does not. Make sure you make it enjoyable for them & don't push them more than need be, yes you're hunting elk but they most likely won't have the same mindset on success. At that time of year I'd be heavy into getting to vantage points & glassing my rear off with binos along with a spotting scope to reach out even further than the binos are capable of. Make sure your son has his own binos so he too can be part of the hunt & glassing. Once critters are located & a stalk is in order that's when the hunt becomes fun! (grin) This is where some serious teaching in stealthiness can apply.


Here's a story when my Son Paul Jr & I were elk hunting when he was 12-13yrs old.

We had left the rig on an old logging road an hour before light in Idaho, we were parked at an old trail that was rarely used, we were up this trail a mile & a half & still dark & I decide to let out a bugle for location. A bull responds back well above us aprox 1/4 mile away, since the trail was heading in his direction we continued forward with no more bugling since it was still dark but now we had a reason to put a little giddy-up in our step. (grin) My son was as excited as I was without a doubt to locate a bull on the seasons opener & a bugling one at that. We both had a tag & a rifle.

As we made our way up the mtn a few 100 yards this bull now bugles on his own but is now above us & to the right side of the trail & seems to be continuing that way. We cut off the trail & head his direction but stay under him to maintain the wind in our favor. It's very thick brush & heavy timber so visibility is no more than 30-50 yards at best as it's now getting light. We move towards his last sounds as quietly as possible & cannot see or hear anything for about 10 minutes so I let out a location bugle, he answers immediately about 300 yds slightly above us & to our right. We are aprox 2 miles in now & things are really getting exciting, no doubt my son was enjoying it as much as I was. We made our way to the last spot we'd heard the bull, 10 minutes had past since last hearing him & we were pulling pretty good elevation to get up the mtn, Paul Jr had no trouble getting up it.

We hit a wall of thick type chaparral brush 10' high & 20'-30' in depth, we last heard the bull on the other side of it so we knew there was no going around it so we had to crawl through it, I led the way on hands & knees with my son behind me. He was carrying a winchester .32 special lever action with no shell in the barrel so I knew all was safe behind me. As we got through the chaparral & stood up the bull was standing there 50yds away with 2 cows staring at us!!! I was up front & the 5 point was getting fidgety as to bolt so I clicked off the safety on the .308 aimed & fired, I hit the bull through the corner of his lungs closest to liver, as I attempted to bolt another shell in, the gun jammed, NO WAY! The bull is in semi shock from the impact & is trying to gather himself & I look at my son who is now standing 3' to my right & I say shoot him! Paul Jr levers a shell in & hits him square in the lungs, I said shoot him again, he does, the bull is still standing & he puts a 3rd round in him & he collapses right there! What a team effort there! That's a hunt that took place 23 years ago & I'll never forget it! Hope you enjoyed reliving it with me! (grin)

Take a camera & get photos of the camp, the hunt & all that goes with it. I did not have a camera on the above hunt but wished I had later on in life.

ElkNut1

[WindedBowhunter]

Let him make some of the decisions in the hunt.
Give him ownership in the time spent too.

He will not have the stamina you do, if he wants to take a nap, let him.
If he wants to build a fire, let him...

Who cares about the elk...

My son and I had a grand time at that age...

Well said, the only other thing I would add, is let him make a few call himself! I am sure Paul has some stories of adults and children calling elk, with lets say less than award winning sounds!

While not elk hunting, I let my 5 year old use the both the turkey box call and pot call this year on his first turkey hunt. He called in 6 birds!

[Glacier Country]

I agree, with the advice given above. I would also add... do not forget the Hot Chocolate! I also think you should get your son his own bite call. You can teach him how to use it in 3 minutes and it can be used to locate elk,call in elk and keep track of each other in the woods. Make sure he has some cotton balls and some petroleum Jelly and a lighter and matches. Let him build the fire.
One of my fondest memories is tracking a bear in fresh snow with my son when he was about 4 or 5 years old. ( the whole story is better ,but the short version is...)We were following some black bear tracks in fresh snow up a gated road. After climbing a short ways up a steep slope and looking at the tracks thru my rifle scope going up the skid trail up up up the mountain. My son says is that bear way up there? I said," I see tracks going almost to the top of the mountain." I said," should we go up there after him?" He looks at me and says "Well I was hoping to go get some of that Hot Chocolate Dad." I looked up at the top of the mountain and said," Mr bear today is your lucky day!!" Then , I looked at my son and smiled " OK Buddy lets go back to the pickup and get some Hot Chocolate!"
My point is the Hot Chocolate was a far more important part of the hunt to him than getting the bear. I knew my chances of getting on that bear were going to be pretty good. I will admit the Hot Chocolate was pretty good though! Oh FYI We make a High Heel Hottie bite call that is fantastic. If you are interested... Enjoy your Hunt. ------> Troy

[Swede]

Everything is new for a kid on his first hunt. The questions they ask are great. Usually they are still ones you can answer. Later they become more difficult. One Friday afternoon many years ago, just after work, my son who was very new to hunting and I headed out for a weekend in the elk woods. I had plenty of food, but planned to stop by a restaurant in the local town near where we were headed. After dinner it was well past dark, as we drove on to where we would park and set out our camp. Luke asked several different questions about elk as we got ready to climb into our sleeping bags. After settling in, we got quiet, and I was mulling over some of his questions. One that was on my mind was about whether our camp bothered the elk. All of a sudden we heard a herd moving our way, down the slope that rose up just above us. The next thing he whispers is, "can elk see in the dark?' No longer was he concerned that we might scare them off. He was concerned that they would soon be walking over us. "No problem" was the answer. "Just listen." That was the first time my son had ever heard elk.

The tip I would leave with you is, keep an eye on where his gun barrel is pointed. Twelve year olds have a tendency to let their minds wander.

[RockChucker30]

Has he done any backpacking before? Or hiking?

My advice is to know what his limits are on pack weight, distance hiked, and elevation gained. Make sure he stays warm enough, and well fed. There's nothing like a kid eating candy bars and the sugar crash that follows usually results in a terrible mood.

Take time to teach. As an experienced hunter you react to the information the environment is giving you without thinking about it. Take the time to point out the clues you're following, and the strategy behind what you're doing.

Teach him to build a fire, and insist on good firearm safety. My Dad wore me out on firearm safety as a kid, but when I was about 12 a family friend commented at a dove hunt how I could hold a shotgun in a lot of different positions and switch between them without ever sweeping a person with the muzzle.

Ask his opinion on how you should hunt that day, and let him make some decisions. Responsibility is still the best teacher.

[AmericanBwana]

When doing youth outreach hunts we focus on a 'positive hunting experience' (Safety first).

One way we do this is to tell the kids that they don't have to shoot if they don't want to. This takes a bunch of pressure off them, and allows them to take in the entire experience.

Other program guidelines include;

Limit the shot to 150 yards.
Female animals only (even if you have en ES tag). This helps eliminate competition within the group
All shots are from a rest. No offhand shots. Every hunter is required to bring and demonstrate their ability to shoot from sticks

I personally take the time to explain what will likely happen if we get into a shooting situation. By this I mean, tell them that they may only have a second or two to decide to take the shot or not. We also remind them what a good shot is, broadside or quartering away, not moving. If you wait to long the critter may take a few steps and stop. If so then you get another chance, if not, well that why you call it hunting and not shooting. I'd say about 1/2 of the kids will not take the first shot opportunity. Be supportive by telling them they made the right decision.

Oh and every youth hunter receives a program knife when they harvest (We carry them in our pack). Not a big deal to us old timers, but you should see the kids faces light up when you give it to them. The knife will be around long after the hunt is over. Actually the kids get the knife either way. We present them with the knife at the end of the hunt if they don't harvest.

AB

[Bullnuts]

Sounds like you have a lot of good ideas for lessons! Having 3 boys of my own who have been hunting with me for several years now, I would say that one thing you have to remember is to have fun and let your son be a kid! My kids are 17 and 14 year old twins, and they have a lot of kid left in them, so we always take time out during the day to simply mess around - throw pine cones at each other, build a fort (blind) with downed timber, that kind of thing. I'm 47 and that kind of stuff still brings out the boy in me and we have a lot of fun while we're doing it.
Also, remember the snacks! Kids burn energy like crazy so I always hump a bunch of candy bars, power bars, nuts, jerky, that kind of thing in my pack and feed them whenever we stop for a break. Last, bring the extra stuff they will probably forget - toilet paper, nail clippers, hand warmers, etc. They will thank you for it!