Hunting With Children by Heather Macy

Hunting With Children

Heather Macy

My husband and I both revolve our year around which hunting season is in progress and getting ready for the coming seasons by practicing and getting sighted in. From a mother’s point of view, some parts of hunting had to change after having kids. I knew getting out in the field would be extremely hard to do while bringing kids along, let alone making time for sighting in my bow, rifle, or practicing with my shotgun for duck and goose season. Some women and men hunters decide to put away their guns and bows for a few years until their kids are older and it’s easier to get out into the field. I feel that I have been able to change my hunting style to tailor to my kids in their younger years. Of course, maybe they would rather play at home with their toys, but a compromise had to be made so the kids were happy and the parents as hunters were happy. I’m sure many people have been successful in remaining avid hunters after the arrival of a kid or two. But if you have struggled like me, yearning to hunt but also wanting to stay close to your family (and not hire a babysitter), maybe after reading my story you can get some ideas. And please, if anyone has any suggestions for me, feel free to share.

In the course of about a year, I became the mother of three children. Yes, I said three in one year. I married a wonderful man who had a three-year-old son from a previous marriage, so I crossed into the world of step motherhood. Then I had my twins, a boy and a girl, so I got my three beautiful kids in one year. Luckily for me it was all in one first and final swoop. Now my son is four years old, and the twins are 13 months.

My twins were born September 1st, (the opening day for archery in WA), so I was very eager to get back in shape and get my muscles back for the coming archery season. In 2001 I was fortunate to be able to hunt deer on a place closed from the public, so I suppose that year was pure luck since my kids were so small at the time. It was during late archery season, I didn’t have to go far, and my husband watched the kids while I went out and visa versa. Needless to say, I did not hunt duck that year because my twins were so very small, but I still wanted to get out in the field.

We were able to find a local area to duck hunt where I could sit in the truck with the babies sleeping (we always timed our trips for when the twins were ready for a nap) and I could sit and watch my husband shoot. After he would shoot, we would quickly trade places and I would jump in my kayak to retrieve the shot ducks before they left the mouth of the river. With some distance and closed doors on the truck, the shots never woke the kids. As for my son, at four years, he would rather be out with Dad hunting, so we didn’t have to worry about him not having a good time. All hunters out there with kids know that as parents they are responsible for teaching their children about the safety matters that go along with hunting.

All winter I stayed in shape so I would be ready for the next year. I do emphasize being in shape for hunting; both your cardiovascular system and your muscles must be ready for hauling around a gun all day or pulling back your bow. If you have kids around, you will always have to do some kid carting, and as we parents know, they can get very heavy.

As archery season 2002 neared, I spent my kids’ nap time in the back yard with a monitor hooked to my belt, practicing my form and sighting in my 50 lb. draw weight bow using a target cube. Bow hunting has become my passion for many reasons, but one of the main ones is because it’s quiet, which means it’s much easier to do with kids around. In the evenings we would take the whole family to a local archery range and practice with our bows. When shooting the walking range, we would either pull the kids in the wagon or put them in backpacks as we hiked to the targets in the woods. Of course, it was impossible to stay steady with a child on your back while pulling a bow, so we would have to put down the pack before each shot. Again, this is another reason to take care of your body, and believe me, if you aren’t in shape by then, hauling kids in backpacks gets you there fast.

I would like to talk a bit about hunting styles. A good hunt, in my opinion, includes knowing the deer in the area, stalking, waiting, making a good shot, tracking, and dressing. All that is a bit (or should I say, really) hard to do with kids, especially with twins that have just turned one. I wanted to have a quality hunt, but also have my family close by; so I had to make a compromise.

As archery deer season 2002 approached, my husband and I talked about how we were going to get out in the field this year. We knew the area we wanted to hunt and knew the patterns of the deer fairly well. I wasn’t going for a big buck, just food for the table, so I planned on taking the first good shot when the opportunity arose. I’m sure there was a lot of luck involved this year also, but doesn’t any hunt involve a lot of luck? We went to an area where we knew deer visited and the whole family sat in the truck watching while a deer crossing a country road came into view. My husband dropped me off along the road and he drove off in the truck with the kids to wait. Meanwhile, I snuck into the woods and onto the edge of a small clearing where I knew the deer would be heading. My husband and I have always hunted alongside each other and were right there when we each shot previous deer, but this year I was solo. What a great stereotype reversal; huntress in woods with a compound bow while man waits patiently with kids. I didn’t have to wait long before the deer came into the clearing. She stopped and I took the shot. It was a great shot and she only ran 85 yards and then dropped in a farmer’s field. This was better than sitting out on the edge of the clearing for a day or more, which is ideal, but not realistic when you want your kids around. While waiting, you have to be very proficient at entertaining, and if the day gets long, include many short breaks where the kids can get out and run around where they won’t scare away any wild game.

As for duck hunting, this year we mostly do evening jump shoots, where one of us can shoot while the other stays in the truck with the kids. Although jump shooting takes less time, you have to go where there aren’t any other people waiting patiently in their duck blinds, or you would spoil the hunt for everyone. I do let my husband get out and do the early morning hunts, setting up the decoys and calling in the ducks. I do miss it, but I remind myself that it will only be a few years before all the kids are going to want to go out and duck hunt in a blind also. As for now, I just make him tell me every detail about the hunt when he gets home, usually cold and wet, ducks in hand.

Hunting with little kids can be done, so if you think you can’t get out and hunt just because you have kids, you just have to have lots of patience and compromise your regular hunting style or tactics. Once the kids get older, they will understand the meaning of staying quiet, sneaking, waiting for long periods at a time, and most of all, being patient. Until that day, I will be jump shooting ducks and getting my deer with archery in an area I know very well so the waiting is not so long. Maybe, someday, I will feel all right about leaving my kids with the grandparents for a three-day stretch and my husband and I can go on an extended hunt.