My 5 yr old wants to hunt this weekend

Wak · 11-15-2002, 04:24 PM

Actually 4 and 3/4 if you ask him. He wants to go duck hunting this weekend and so does the dog. I don't want to get him up at 3 a.m. so I was thinking of going to Sauvies late morning or early afternoon. Has the hunting been any good this late? I have never stayed out there past 10:00 or so and don't know of any other areas to take him. Any suggestions??

Thanks

Rauly · 11-15-2002, 06:11 PM

Who cares if the hunting is any good. You were just invited to go hunting with one of the most important people in the world. He just wants to go hunting with Dad. What an oppertunity. Dress warm,bring something to play with(maybe a call),and lots of snacks. The most important thing is to have a good time with him. Have fun!!!

Rauly

Perfect Drift · 11-15-2002, 06:33 PM

When my son was young he wanted to go fishing with me, I was so excited to take him. Suggestions - bring tons of snack food, his favorite drink, keep him warm and when he says' let's go home dad, GO. Our first trip lasted 30 minutes. 2nd trip, 30 minutes and then he was hooked for life. Make it fun, most important thing. You need to decide before you go, is this trip for him or me. If it's for him, he decides when to go, what eat and then you can stop on the way home for breakfast together. At that age, he won't wanta stay long. If the trip is for you, leave him home. There is no middle with boys that age. My .02 cents, been there.

Wak · 11-15-2002, 07:33 PM

Thanks for the tips. I have been waiting 4 and 3/4 yrs for this. Don't want to mess anything up. Was hoping for some action so he will want to go more often. I never thought of letting him play with a call, but that will probably be the highlight of his day when I hand one over to him. He has always asked me why I hunted, but didn't really get interested until I ordered the Outdoor Channel.
(I was always told TV wasn't good for kids...who would of thought?)
I never wanted to force hunting or fishing on him, wanted him to figure it out on his own. Hopefully he has.

KingFisher85 · 11-15-2002, 07:49 PM

He will have some fun just playing with that call. And then when some duck come by, let him know that he called them ones in, even if he did not.
You never know, he might be a good duck caller.
When I was about that age, maybe a little odder, I could bugle just like an elk. Some may not believe me but I could. I went on many elk hunting trips.

Booja 1 · 11-16-2002, 03:41 PM

Hey Wak....Rauly is so right...having the ducks fly is only a bonus...Your son just wants to be with his Dad who does everything the best..

His attention span will be short so just bag it when he says so,,,keep him warm and well fed

I use to just drive around the island looking at birds working the closed areas from the car when our son was 6...He's now 14 and is my hunting and fishing partner..

Please remember when you take him afield he can't walk as fast as you so don't get miffed if it takes twice as long to get someplace..something I had to learn but you've got a hunting partner in the making for life in the future..

Just curious where in Warren are ya...off Berg or Church,,,maybe Bennett....

Les

Lund · 11-16-2002, 05:48 PM

gotta take em, I took marty when he was 5. He'll never forget it.

mallard0311 · 11-16-2002, 08:57 PM

I would take him over to the East side Sauvie's. Lot's more birds flying than I have seen in the afternoons on West side. The rookie's make me stay all day because of there love for the sport and just wanting that one flock to come in. We have actually been pulling a few out the PM but real slow. Lot's of Geese and swans to look at.

Wak · 11-16-2002, 09:26 PM

That is where we are planning on going. I guess we will see what is avaiable when we get there. Wyatt and the dog are both excited. They watched me load up the decoys tonight and that was all it took. I told the boy he was going to have to do all of the calling and his eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning. Will report tomorrow night.

By the way the 3 yr old boy is all bent out of shape because he can't go yet. Maybe next weekend.

Wak · 11-16-2002, 09:28 PM

Booja 1
Bachelor Flat just off of Bennett. I take it you know the area?

Booja 1 · 11-17-2002, 05:57 PM

Heya Wak....How did it go today for you and your boy???

Yeah I know your neck of the woods pretty well..out there almost everyday...........

Wak · 11-18-2002, 07:33 PM

Well it didn't go as planned. Wyatt, the 5 yr old, stood me up at the last minute. Just decided he didn't want to go. He had a birthday party at 4:30 and thought he might miss it even though I promised we would be back in time. Since I had everything loaded, I asked Garrett (3 yr old) if he wanted to go. He was all for it but a little bent because he couldn't bring a gun.
It was a good thing I brought the decoy cart, because after about 25 yds, he was in it. The geese were flying low, and he got mad because I wouldn't shoot them. He also had a hard time wondering why they wouldn't land when he blew on his call. When we finally got set up, he got out all of the snacks we had packed. (thanks for the suggestion.) After he carefully peeled his banana, he broke it into 2 pieces and without hesitation, threw them in the water. He thought the snacks were bait for the ducks. While we discussed who the snacks were actually, for the dog swam out and got the bananas and scared up 2 greenheads from the tall grass. Gun was no where near. When he got done telling me I wasn't a very good hunter, we decided to go for a walk. He asked if he could carry the 'bullets'. I said no problem and handed him the box that I knew he wouldn't be able to open. He held on to them for dear life as we snuck up on some coot. As he stood diagonally behind from me, I sent out the dog to chase up the coot. They flew up and I shot twice. Apparently when I pumped the gun, the empty shell ejected and hit him in the foot. He chewed on me some more saying that I shot him and that I was going to be in trouble. We went back to the decoys and sat for about 5 more minutes while he practiced his calling and argued with me about the duck bait.
He didn't even attempt the walk out, I just loaded him up with the decoys.
We didn't get any ducks, or even have any work the spread. I didn't mention that it was the worse day my dog had ever had (The boy was more patient than he was) or the earplug incident, but it was great. We stopped and got milkshakes on the way home and he even blew his call at the guy in the drive through. My only regret is that I didn't bring the camera. We will go again.

skein · 11-18-2002, 07:42 PM

Watch him, Wak, he'll be bugging you for a ticket to Stuttgart next!

Nice story. I think we all went on this hunt.

(that's root beer)

Skein

Rauly · 11-18-2002, 07:45 PM

That sounds like it was a great trip. Did you let him know that it was illegal to bait the ducks.

My daughter love to ride in the decoy cart. Just wait til you find out when you shoot a duck and the dog brings it back to you that it is not yours. Then when you get a few you have to guess or help count them a million times. I love it.

Congrats on the great trip.

Rauly

Dan Christopher · 11-18-2002, 09:08 PM

i love it. [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

Flatfish · 11-19-2002, 09:43 PM

High fives all around! Them bananas are bad duck luck ya know

. Keep him hollering into the call. My old man cant call (but he still highballs em once in a while to see if he can flare em..he can)but I wouldn't trade those memories for the world.
Mark and the happy to hunt with a kid dog.

[ 11-19-2002, 10:44 PM: Message edited by: Flatfish ]