A little late, but.......

[DeadNuts]

A couple weeks ago, I took my oldest daughter (9 yrs old) on her first bow hunt with me! I got her up at 3:30 AM, she put on her camo, ate a bowl of Cheerios and off we went. I took her over to the closest public land hunting area near us, (1 hour away) San Luis Reservoir. We got there pre-dawn and the wind was blowing like crazy and it was COLD. I opted to keep her in the car for a while longer and head out just before first light so that she was not sitting in total darkness and freezing her buns off. Once it got close to first light, we headed down the trail. I was so proud of her. Before I knew it, she was blazing trails in the tall grass, looking under old oak trees and peering into bushes like a pro! Here I was worried that she would be board and never want to leave the road, but NO WAY, she was on it! We glassed at the high ridges and stalked down into some deeps, she was all over the place. At the end of the hunt when we called it a day and started heading back to the car, she held my hand and told me that she liked hunting and wanted to go with me again. I was very proud of her, and she made me VERY happy. Even though we saw everything except Elk (which I had hoped to see some of the herd) and hogs, (which is what we were actually hunting) I got to spend the morning with my daughter doing something it seems we both enjoy! That right there made it a most successful hunt! It is my hope that this is the start to a long family tradition!

Oh, and did I mention, she also said "Dad, you so need to get me a bigger bow, mine is too small. I want to shoot next year's turkey for Thanksgiving." I told her, "It is ON!"

DN

 

[richardoutwest]

Congrats, I will alway remember my kid's first hunt! We tend to underestimate the potential of kids. Glad to see you made it fun!

 

[kelly106]

Sounds great,I bet you'll never forget the look on her face,or yours when she said she wants to go with u again,thats what its all about,good job dad, she's hooked!fun in the outdoors,needs to be a lot more of it!

 

[AZ Jim]

Congrats on taking the daughter hunting. It will be something that bonds the both of you for the rest of your lives.

Hunting with my kids is the best times I have ever had.


AZ Jim

 

[LKN4HOG]

DeadNuts, great story. My favorite hunting partner is also my daughter. She is now 16 but gother licence as soon as she could. Took the safety class, passed with flying colors, ahd off we went. She now hunts deer, pigs and a variety of birds. I sure enjoy the company, especially since it is my daughter. In doing so, she has seen so many things that the average city kid will NEVER see. She keep a log of different animals we see. She is hooked, and I'm glad.

Keep the fire burning in her, but do it on her terms and you will ahve a bond that will last for ever...

Congrats,
r

 

[rtbx15]

Good job, you are making memories she will never forget. I recently took my son to San Luis and we also had a great time. Did not see any pigs or deer, but we did see the elk herd. That was worth the trip!

 

[el_vaquero]

That's awesome! I can't wait till my boy is old enough to get out there. He just turned two and I was fletching arrows last week....he pointed at them and said, "deer!" That made me sooo happy!

 

[jvle95]

Hey Deadnuts,

I am assuming you were hunting in the San Luis Wildlife Area down by the launching area?? If so , have you seen elk in that area before?? I am looking for some photo ops of elk and if there is a chance they are in that area I think I will take a ride there.

 

[beastslayer]

Taking a ride in Highway 152/Pacheco Pass Rd between I5 to H101 will give you plenty of opportunity for sighting of elk. They are so plentiful and almost tame, some 20 of them feeding beside the road, I thought they are farm-raised.

 

[DEERSLAM]

Awesome...getting the kids outdoors is what it's all about

 

[DeadNuts]

jvle95,

Yes it was the wildlife area. No we were not that far down this trip (by the boat launch area), we were closer to the check in station up top. There was elk sign everywhere. We even found a few fresh bedding spots that were still wet with urine from their morning "business". They are there, but each time I've been there, I have missed them (just like the pigs). We did see a few deer within bow range. Keeping that in mind for July....

Good luck with your photo ops!

DN