# Help!! Son wants to hunt



## donk18 (Jul 5, 2009)

Okay, so my 11yr old wants to go hunting next year when he is 12. That is the age I set when he started asking at 7. The problem is, I have never been hunting. I'm an avid fisherman and love shooting. ut if it doesn't have gills and fins I don't know where to start. 

I have had him shooting a pellet gun since he was 8 and a .22 since last year. He turns 12 in August and I am planning on getting him a Mossberg Bantam for his birthday. This gives him a couple months to get used to the stronger gun before I take him out for anything.

Now here is the question. Where to start? What to start going after? I don't have any buddies that hunt, we all fish. I am guessing we will have to use public land. Thanks for any help you can provide .


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## jonnythfisherteen2 (Mar 5, 2011)

Squirrel.
besides being extremely abundant and particulary easy to find, they also are challenging to hunt and are great shotgun game. I love to hunt squirrel. 
Now, thats not to say they keel over and die easy. They dont. I assume you must know about chokes. a mod choke will be effective up to 30 or so yards. As for pellets size, I have used sizes 8 up to 6. Of all, 6 kills best. Make sure your son doesnt hit them dead on at close ranges. That will shred them up and youll have nicely shredded squirrel with lead on the side. 
As for times to go, best days are calm, windless, and wet. You can sneak up on them and they wont be as easy to alarm. Public land is fine, just make sure you go check it out first. Youll want to try going a few times at sun up to near evening hours and find nut trees, nut pieces from them chewing on nuts, and shotgun/rifle catridges. This will let you know that squirrels are in the area and people have shot them there. 
I dont sit in one place when hunting squirrel. I keep moving, but move somewhat slowly to scan the trees and look for something out of place, silhouettes, flickering, and shadows. When theres leaves, squirrels can be quite loud when moving fast or unaware. But so can you. Experienced squirrels are a heaache. They will stand dead still, break line of sight with you, and move extremely fast when spotted. It may be pure luck if you spot one just by a little bit of tail fur. If you find one of those, take your time and wait for them to make a mistake and expose their upper half.


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## snag (Dec 27, 2005)

Well to start he will have to take a hunter education course, then get the appropriate license to go hunting. Then figure out where to go , depends where your located on areas. Won,t start listing any. But enough areas in n e ohio. Maybe your fishing friends have some property, that would help a lot..


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## buckeye dan (Jan 31, 2012)

Step 1.
Find and take a hunter education course and I mean for both of you to do that together. It's free. Go here:
https://www1.oh.wildlifelicense.com/training_map.php

Step 2.
Figure out what you want to hunt. This will dictate where, when and how you hunt.

Step 3.
Plan the hunt and hunt the plan.

What is he willing to eat? If he isn't given the opportunity to try different things, there isn't a lot of motivation to tolerate killing something and squish through it's entrails in order to deliver it to the dinner table.

Take him somewhere he will get an opportunity to try all sorts of tasty things and go from there.


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

squirrel would be a good place to start. I started taking my sons deer hunting at age 10. but we spent the whole summer on the range shooting our muzzleloaders. and the 1st and last thing I taught them was safety. they are both men now and if you ask them the most important thing to take in the woods with them, they reply safety. then the 2nd is Charmin toilet paper, LOL.

we hunt pigeon river wildlife area about 130 miles north of where we live. but its land that we can hunt. you have to check in and out to hunt. good luck and good hunting.
sherman


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## ironman172 (Apr 12, 2009)

buckeye dan said:


> Step 1.
> Find and take a hunter education course and I mean for both of you to do that together. It's free. Go here:
> https://www1.oh.wildlifelicense.com/training_map.php
> 
> ...


the step 1, is the best advice along with all the others....
only kill what you plan on eating, so you will need to hunt yourself with a experience hunter that know how to properly clean the game taken


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## Fish-N-Fool (Apr 12, 2004)

Where are you located? After you guys have taken the safety course
I have private land loaded with squirrels....just 16 acres. My 7 yr old boy just started 
getting me out looking for squirrels this year. If you are close enough you guys could 
join us and I will teach you how to skin, store and cook them.


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## Waterline (Jan 20, 2007)

I agree that squirrels would be an excellent start. Either a .22 or light gauge shotgun would work and squirrels are about the most abundant small game animal in Ohio. It is a long season in some of the best Fall weather so would be very comfortable for a young Hunter. You can be in the woods at first light which is always kind of exciting or really anytime that fits your schedule. Hearing the nut shells falling throughout the leaves as a squirrel "cuts" high up in a tree is great fun too. You can sit still and wait or you can slowly stalk through the forest looking for sign and activity, which keeps a young Hunter from getting bored. Post what part of the State you are in and I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions as to areas to try next year, scouting is half the fun. You can't beat an offer like that from Fish-N- Fool if you're in his vicinity. Good luck, be safe, and enjoy time spent in the great outdoors with your son.


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## donk18 (Jul 5, 2009)

Thanks for all the reply's!

The safety course was the plan and have already talked to him about it. He is looking forward to it. We are located in Groveport which is on the southeasabout teaching e of Columbus. I am all about teaching him respect for the wilderness and already do it with fishing. We never harvest more than we can or willing to eat. I was also thinking squirrels would be the best place to start. I know he would love to go after deer but he would never be patient enough for that right now. Any help would be grately appreciated. Fisn-n-fool, shoot me a pm, if your not too far that would be great..


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

Fish-N-Fool said:


> Where are you located? After you guys have taken the safety course
> I have private land loaded with squirrels....just 16 acres. My 7 yr old boy just started
> getting me out looking for squirrels this year. If you are close enough you guys could
> join us and I will teach you how to skin, store and cook them.


As so many others have replied, squirrel! If you're going to hunt public land, they might be one of the under hunted species. Don't take that to mean they are unhunted! If there's a good squirrel woods, you will find squirrel hunters in it from time to time. One thing I've noticed about squirrel hunters is that they dearly love the sport! That's how my BIL started some 50 years ago, and he's still mad for it to this day!

Fish-N-Fool, that is a fantastic offer! And I heartily recommend that donk18 take you up on it for the part I highlighted. There's a "trick" to skinning squirrels. They're not easy. If you can get that down, anything else will seem like a piece of cake! And squirrel are delicious. Very rich!


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## James30 (Apr 13, 2004)

Go to Odnr website and find a hunter education class and start there. You both can take the class and while your there you can ask the instructors almost any question you have and they are more than happy to answer them for you. That is where I would start. Good luck James. 


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## phishyone1 (Jun 27, 2008)

Good to hear there is still some youth wanting to get into hunting.......... Seems less and less are interested in the sport...........


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## POPEYE68 (Mar 6, 2014)

You can always bring him to the OhioWaterfowlerAssociation "Boot Camp" its the last weekend in July Held at the Cardinal Campground . It is geared for the youth hunters and is a lot of hands on . 
Good luck my friend , what a great way to spend quality time with your son .


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## James30 (Apr 13, 2004)

There is another youth camp that he can get hands on experience and earn his hunter Ed certification. First weekend in October and held at camp muskingum, leesville lake. Go to lakeandtrails.org. Outdoor youth camp... They don't have 2015














dates yet but like I said first week of October. 

It's a 4 year program and I have attended with my daughter for the past 3 years. Her 3rd year she got her boaters safety course and in their 4th year the learn to field dress a deer, wild game cooking (think to a degree) and go on a pheasant hunt. Every year is shooting and covers all aspects of outdoor experience, archery, tree stand safety etc .... Great program that's geared around the kids and the organization does a fantastic job. 


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## POPEYE68 (Mar 6, 2014)

That is a great program


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## jonnythfisherteen2 (Mar 5, 2011)

James30 said:


> There is another youth camp that he can get hands on experience and earn his hunter Ed certification. First weekend in October and held at camp muskingum, leesville lake. Go to lakeandtrails.org. Outdoor youth camp... They don't have 2015
> 
> 
> 
> ...


WOW.....sure wish I had done that when I was first learning. Whats the price on that camp?


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## James30 (Apr 13, 2004)

$120-$130 per person. Most of the kids that go are sponsored in part by some organization, hunt club etc. which makes it affordable for parents to attend. 

They also do a fishing camp in the summer, I have not attended but the campers that have speak very highly of it. 

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## ironman172 (Apr 12, 2009)

start early on line for the course and get a head start before the test 
some things to look at to get ready for the course

main page http://hunterssafetyeducation.com/ohio-hunter-safety-course/

study guide
http://hunterssafetyeducation.com/course-material-study-guide/

scroll down to the home study course and get to work....will make the actual course so much easier 

http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/education-and-outdoor-discovery/hunter-and-trapper-education

hope any and all help


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