4 EASY WAYS TO MAKE SURE YOUR KIDS ENJOY HUNTING
Many kids today are not very interested in hunting. Between sports and video games, many kids are busy or find hunting boring. Many kids think hunting is boring is because their parents introduce them to deer hunting before they introduce them to any other hunting sport. Let’s face it: spending countless hours in the deer woods can be boring even for adults at times! Below are a few tips to help you get your kids hooked on the outdoors.
- Introduce your kids to a fast-paced hunting sport long before you introduce them to deer hunting. I introduced my son to squirrel hunting and turkey hunting long before I took him deer hunting. Small game hunting and turkey hunting are action packed and the success rate is high, which will keep a kid longing for more. Let your kids kill a few critters with a gun before you take them bowhunting. If they like hunting with a gun, odds are they will eventually want to bow hunt.
- Adults sometimes lose focus of ensuring hunting and shooting are fun. Many bowhunters are worried about extreme accuracy. When you introduce a kid to archery, don’t be afraid to just let them have fun. Have them shoot a balloon; have them use a crossbow first if you have one. Make target shooting fun and don’t worry about accuracy at first. When I was a kid, I was forced to shoot my bow daily. Before long, I didn’t want to shoot anymore because it turned into work. Make archery fun and your kids will always enjoy it.
- Kids are competitive and enjoy competition. If your child really loves shooting guns or bows, consider putting them in a league. They might enjoy it and stick with it for life. Many of today’s top archers started competing when they were kids just for something to do on the weekends.
- Kids enjoy personalizing things. Archers everywhere are now personalizing their bows with accessories that are their favorite sports team colors or going with all camo or all black. Pine Ridge Archery offers kisser buttons, stabilizers, peep sights and a variety of other archery accessories in a wide range of colors. When you first buy your child a bow, they are going to use for a few years. Let them choose the colors and the accessories. This will make the process of setting up a bow even more exciting for them.
BY TRACY BREEN
About the author: Tracy Breen is a full time outdoor writer, consultant and game dinner speaker who often discuss how he overcomes cerebral palsy. Learn more about him at www.tracybreen.com