Young Female Who Won't Hunt

[mandrakeduck]

Ummm... I'm speaking of my 12 year old daughter; rather than my young female GSP .

Her name is Katie and she is the last child. She claims to be gun shy and doesn't want to go hunt None of my other daughters woudl hunt either.

Have any of you had any experience in how to convince your daughters to start hunting with you?

I'm think of making her go out to the trap range and shoot? Bribing her???

[ezzy333]

I think you have to start well before they are 12 and have there mind on boys. But if you want to try get the best looking young guy you can find and take him hunting and let your daughter tag along.

[Hattrick]

I second the second reply, that's ur only chance now . I started my girls out way younger than that an glad i did.

GOOD LUCK!!!

[balerseller]

If you take her to the trap range, or rifle range, Please Please start her out with a small gauge or caliber gun. .22 pistol on a short 7 yard range is so much fun to gain some confidence in the "bang" or a .410 with no kick shooting from the trap house or low house on the skeet field. As far as hunting my wife didnt wanna "hunt" but enjoed going to watch the dog work, I got her to go the first time by asking her to be my photagrapher. Now she cant wait to hunt.

[birddog1968]

My daughter was a fishing/campin/hunting fool until the age of hormones hit......

I like to think she got a great insight into how wonderful times can be had outdoors.....she is out of the outdoor lifestyle
now at 18 but who knows she may come back to it.....


One thing that helps with younger ones afield, I have found, is suckers, lollipops, or favorite candies.....can turn a bad day into
a good one from my experience. One of the highlights of my youngins fishing trips was stopping at the produce stand and stocking up on
grapes, peaches, plums.......she was good all day as long as something sweet and tasty was involved.

[BoJack]

Why would you want to force a child to do something that they don't want to do or have any interest in??

[birddog1968]

Why would you want to force a child to do something that they don't want to do or have any interest in??

Character, I know I had to do things growing up I didn't necesarily want to do.....In hindsight I'm glad I was exposed to
those things.

My Only suggestion is make it fun and light and don't overdo it......bribes work well.

[mandrakeduck]

As far as hunting my wife didnt wanna "hunt" but enjoed going to watch the dog work, I got her to go the first time by asking her to be my photagrapher. Now she cant wait to hunt[/quote

Katie likes taking photos. That's a great idea!

start her out with a small gauge or caliber gun. .22 pistol on a short 7 yard range is so much fun to gain some confidence in the "bang" or a .410 with no kick shooting from the trap house or low house on the skeet field.

If I can talk her into going out to the range.... I'll try and find someone to loan me a 410

[BoJack]

"Character, I know I had to do things growing up I didn't necesarily want to do.....In hindsight I'm glad I was exposed to
those things"

Yea we all had to do things growing up that we didn't want to do,but I don't think bribing or trying to force a kid to hunt when they don't want to is on lifes list of Character builders.

[ezzy333]

"Character, I know I had to do things growing up I didn't necessarily want to do.....In hindsight I'm glad I was exposed to
those things"

Yea we all had to do things growing up that we didn't want to do,but I don't think bribing or trying to force a kid to hunt when they don't want to is on life's list of Character builders.

I don't think anyone can make a decision on any activity till they have tried it. That goes for what you like to eat as well as what you like to do. Until that time you are basing your likes and dislikes on something some one else has said or done. But there is not a thing wrong with insisting someone try something before making up your mind as to whether you like it or not. However, it is common courtesy to try and do that is a pleasant way, and out of that came the thing you call bribery.

Ezzy

[Maverick57]

MY Granddaughter who will be 5 in Jan has gone with us since she was 2, she likes the water she loves to shoot, she has hunted with us many times and just loves it. Fishes too Kinda

You might try asking a Friend along with a young lad about her age who enjoys hunting Etc.. and See if that does not help break the ice a little. Good luck !, have 2 daughters of my own and I started with them late in the life on the hunting thing but you call and tell them you are going camping or hunting or just shooting they will be there before I can get the truck loaded.

[birddog1968]

I think anything that gets a kid up and moving and out from in front of a computer/Tv screen is a good thing, bribe or no.......

Now it would make good sense to try and make early exposures light, comfortable and fun......fishing in my mind
is always a good way to introduce a youngin. A pit on a January day with 5 other guns might not be the best way.
A duck spot for a couple people on a warm fall morning fits the bill IMHO. My daughters first experience with hunting
was along a beaver pond waiting for woodies and teal.....BTW she was the one who alerted me to the incoming teal
at 6 years old, enjoying a lollipop. Good stuff.

[Grouse Dog Guy]

The best trick I have seen is take them out to a bird dog club or a pro trainers grounds and let them play with a bunch of pups. Let them see what the pups can do and how they our trained, showing them one is boring and like work but show them a bunch of puppys and letting them play with them gets them interested.
As for shooting, start them with something fun like a 22rf and some pop cans shooting a shotgun with a load report and kick will quickly turn them off, if its not fun and something that they can see results quickly they become bored.

[dawgmama]

You have your work cut out for you if she is already 12. Perhaps instead of insisting that she shoot, ask her to bring her camera, and take pics of your dogs pointing, or retrieving. If she likes the dogs, she'll be proud of how well they do their job and enjoy being part of the show. If you take her shooting, for sure start with a .22 or .410. I teach hunter ed, and the girls are usually really scared of the recoil. Once they shoot however, and hit something, they love it, and especially with the rifle, usually outshoot the boys. If Katie thinks she is guy shy, use ear plugs with ear muffs over so the sound cannot bother her. Oh, and take her shooting when there is not a bunch of people at the range, 12 year olds are really self-conscious of goofing up in front of other people!

Is Katie into sports? Do you go to her games etc. If so, appeal to her sense of fair play, and tell her just like she likes to share her activities with you, you'd like to share yours with her. Apologize for all the times you left her home in the past, and tell her that you know, that in 6, very short years, she'll be off to college, and you'd like to spend some quality time with her. The shooting is just a small part of the overall hunting experience, so maybe don't insist she shoot. Exposing her to the hunt just might 'trigger' that interest.

Also, make sure she is well fed and dressed warm enough for the weather. If you go early in the morning, drive thorough Starbucks to make it special and... bring snacks, especially chocolate! A cold, hungry kid is going to get crabby, and not want to go again! Also, if you are doing something like pheasant hunting, don't make her trudge for 5 miles through the cattails! Keep it a short easy hunt, so she wants to come back. Make her feel special, and don't bring a bunch of buddies, you will end up ignoring her.

Turkey hunting is a good first exposure to hunting for kids. Set up a pop up blind so they can fidget without you hollering at 'em. Let 'em use the box call, bring snacks, show them how beautiful the woods are as the critters wake up in the morning. Some up close encounters with wildlife usually gets kids excited.
We started our kids at around two, and both my daughter and son are avid hunters, I really hope that Katie sees how much fun it is! Remember, bring her along a few times without forcing the gun issue on her, and she might like it so much, she'll ask you to teach her to hunt.

Oh, and maybe let her watch that bow hunting show with Lee and Tiffanie(you know, the really cute blond),maybe that will show her that girls can hunt too!

Most of all, don't push, at 12, they love to be obstinate, and if you force the issue, she'll dig in her heels, and you'll have lost her.

[wems2371]

Good post Dawgmama and great advice.

I was trying to think back to that age :roll: , and

12 year olds are really self-conscious of goofing up in front of other people!

that is really true. Sometimes as a kid, it was easier to say "No I don't want to do such and such" than to break out of shyness and give it a try.

Denise

[Devils Creek]

My daughter, now 30, grew up a pacifist vegetarian, even though I made a point of taking her and her younger brother hunting at least one pleasant afternoon from the time they could walk. They grew up among an assortment of wild and crazy pointers, setters and vizslas.

Almost naturally my daughter got a degree in biology, and concerned about the future of the planet, took a job as a research biologist in the Northern Studies Centre in Churchill Manitoba.

After about 2 years of watching the bloated population of snow geese raping the tundra she came to understand the importance of regulated hunting to control wildlife population.

She started by pass shooting geese from the roof of her cabin, bought her own shotgun for ptarmigan, and is now looking forward to her first caribou hunt with her new .243.

Sometimes it does happen.

[Doodle]

We usually suggest the "ladies hunt" with our local Pheasants Forever chapter. It seems alot less intimidating if it's a whole gaggle of girls on the first try. Many organizations have opportunities for the ladies these days.

[Sapper]

Good reply Dawgmama,

I got custody of my daughter when she was 12, needless to say her mother MF me to her to no end. Trying to bond with my daughter I talked her into going hunting with me and our new GWP. She is into photography, so I gave her our camera and asked her to take pictures of Buck on points and retrieves. At the end of our hunts we'd go home and down load all the photos and I would praise her on how well her pictures turned out. We are now closer and she is interested in going hunting and has gone on several hunts with me

[dawgmama]

Good going Sapper! She's lucky to have you! What kid can resist a Wirehair puppy? Keep up the good work, and keep making her feel special, and needed!

[Sharon]

I started at 8 with my Dad. I think you have to start young. At that age it's being with Dad that is the pleasure , then it becomes a habit. If I could carry the .22 without getting any mud/ snow in the muzzle then I was allowed to shoot it when we got back to the car.

One day I picked up a dead mouse. I put it in side my jacket and said nothing. Well the warmth brought it to life and it started running around in my shirt. I started screaming, my Dad didn't know what was wrong. He quickly pulled the car over. He got a big laugh out of that.

When I started hunting on my own with a beagle, my Dad would give me 3 - .22 cartridges. He expected 3 rabbits to be coming home. He taught sharpshooting in World War 2 so he had no patience for missing. I miss those days.

[dawgmama]

Wow, Sharon, 3 for 3, that is setting the bar high, but... you helped put food on the table, and I bet you wouldn't trade those times for anything! I've hunted my whole life, was blessed to find a husband who shared my passions(I was the first woman in their deer camp), and we brought our kids hunting with us since they were 2 weeks old. One of us would carry the kid in a baby sling or 'backpack', and the other would carry the gun. That way we both got to enjoy the dog work.I think one of the big things that turns most women and kids off of hunting is being left out. I see a lot of our buddies wives who hate that their husbands hunt, won't eat the wild game they bring home, and because they are ticked off at their husbands, they poison the kids minds against their dads and hunting. No one likes to be left behind, or feel less important than a sporting activity, so guys, invite your loved ones along.

For years, grandma would come and watch the kids, and my husband and I would head to SD pheasant hunting. It was OUR time together, and I treasure those trips. Last year we brought our 17 year old son along, and now he is hooked on pheasant hunting too! We were hoping to go this year over Christmas break but... the money for the trip went to the emergency vet because our Wirehair almost died from lyme disease. But she's doing better, so next year she'll be in SD with us, and it will be just the 2 of us again, because our son will be in college.

Now, we just need to find a nice guy who hunts for our 21 year old daughter.

[birddog1968]

Im a nice guy, love to hunt and love 21 year olds

[zzweims]

Tell her she CAN'T go hunting with you. That was all it took for me. After I whoa broke the family terrier and started shooting at tweeties with a slingshot in the bacdkyard, my mom made my dad take me along

If that doesn't work, get her a puppy and let her train it herself.

Aline
http://zzfarms.com

[dawgmama]

LOL birddog1968. But if 1968 is the year of your birth, umm... that would make you 20 years older than her! But... you have really nice looking dogs, so... JK.

Aline, reverse psychology or a puppy- both good techniques.

I hope some of the techniques presented work to get her out in the field. I treasure every moment I've spent with my kids in the woods. When they started outshooting me, I was more proud than any 4.0 they brought home (of course, I liked those too).

[birddog1968]

LOL birddog1968. But if 1968 is the year of your birth, umm... that would make you 20 years older than her! But... you have really nice looking dogs, so... JK.

Oh no, Im over 40???? Darn! Guess Ive reached dirty ole man status