As the subjest states I want to take my 3 year old duck hunting with me this year. He will actually be nearly 4 by the time we go. We will be hunting a slough so I won't have to worry about taking him in a boat. Him and I talk about it all the time and he is an expert with the duck call!!! Has anyone taken their younger kids with them before? Is 4 years old too early??? Any advise?

upto you to decide if he is old enough
Take him to clay range to push thrower button to get him acclimated to shotgun blast. Also you will be able to see if he can concentrate long enough and not run wild.

Took my son deer hunting at that age, he slept through the whole thing

He has been around guns being shot before, that doesn't bother him. He liked shooting the AR-22, with my help of course. I figure the first couple trips might be more of scouting than anthiny else.

I think that would be cool. Plan on an short hunt because little guys get cold fast and can start to lose interest if things are slow. Get a bunch of those shake up hand warmer things and that will help. Obviously make sure he has hearing protection. Set him up behind you and just make sure he understands when he needs to stay down. Kids can't stay still and get distracted easy so make sure the guns are pointed away. It actually might not be a bad idea to also bring another guy you trust with you so you can give your son more attention and have help with decoys and all that. Keep him away from the water...he will see you getting in when you are setting out decoys and he'll want to follow but that could end up getting him wet which would mean the hunt is over before it starts.

As for being an expert duck caller...this will be a good time to show him what calling is really all about and how you call based on the ducks and how you work the ducks and call differently based on the situation.

Make sure you post up pics.

I want to take my daughter at some point but I will wait until she is 6 or 7 though, and I will take her somewhere that we can sit in a blind. That's just because I know that she can't handle it right now. I know some people that have taken their kids at 4 or 5.

My oldest little girl is 4 now but will turn 5 in Sept. She has never asked to go and shows no interest but I'd love for her to go someday. I don't think she could really handle it. Little boys are more interested in this kind of thing and are probably a little tougher or at least act like they are.

All good points! We will hunt with my father-in-law and/or my dad; trust them both!

He has a toy gun that I plan on bringing with so we can continue to practice gun safety. Let Dad actually shoot the ducks while I work with him.

We have Doc's Texas rigged anchors on our decoys so we can toss them from the bank. He would probably feel like he was helping.

I can't wait! I think it will be more enjoyable for me than him!

Bring a jerk cord so that way he has something to do while hunting.
Last year I was out hunting and I watched this guy walk along by himself through some high grass and I heard him talking. thought he was crazy at first untill I saw the kid. He couldn't have been more than 5 years old. They were across a creek from the road and I was sure he had a kayak hidden somewhere but nope he made one trip across with all his stuff through chest deep water. Then he went back put the kid on his shoulders and walked back through the chest deep water with him up there.

Afternoon hunt is the answer.



She turned 4 last October not long before I decided to take her out. It wasn't too late in the season yet, a warm Sunday afternoon, so we went.

Saw some ducks, decoyed some ducks, never even shot at them. Did shoot once later to show her what it was like.

No problems at all. Just take your time and go easy. Explain things ahead of time and then let them experience them while they are there. Take snacks. Have fun!

Snacks...good point!

It will be awesome. Took my boy on dove hunts and afternoon duck hunts starting at 5. His first morning duck hunt at 6. He will be 11 this season. Getting close to shooting his own 20ga.

He really prefers deer and hog hunting in our blind. We've been doing that since he was 6. We play go fish and UNO while waiting for our prey.

In single digit land it is more about making it fun for them and spending time exploring new stuff than hunting.

I took my oldest dove and deer hunting starting at 3 and he did okay as long as he was entertained. Dove was easier because he could move around more. I took him goose hunting this year at 5 a couple of times and he laid in the layout with me while we hunted. He enjoyed it and wants to go back. I will take him everywhere as long as it is safe and he wants to go.

4 is young. I would start him out with dove and afternoon duck hunts before I took him out in the swamp in the dark 5am in the morning.

i took my nephew teal hunting when he was 4. it was awesome. he brought his "shootgun" which was a toy pellet gun and he brought some happy meal binoculars. we.... i mean "he" shot 3 bluewings at first light and then a dove on the way back to the truck. got him hooked. he is 10 now and lives for baseball and duck hunting. there is way worse things you could do with your son...

That's about how old I was on my first trip with my dad. I wasn't big enough to do much but it made a very distinct memory and that is probably why no hunting tops duck hunting for me.

I have a little boy the same age. He REALLy wants to go. I'm debating delaying until next year, but YMMV. The deal we've made is that he's old enough to hunt with me when he's old enough to sleep through the night with no diaper and no accidents. Since I told him that he's been waking me up in the middle of the night to tell me he went potty and needs help putting his diaper back on. Encouraging.

The first fishing trip wasn't very smooth. I set him up with a catfish rig on a miniature rod/reel and had him throwing stink bait. He hooked the biggest red-eared turtle I've ever seen. After a close call trying to get the hook out of that turtle's mouth I decided he would probably be fine after the hook rusted through and cut the leader. Oh well, the boy thought it was great.

EAR PROTECTION

That's great! So wonderful when kids like to do the things you do.

I started my son at 4 ,brought his red ryder and loved it. Still does,changed to a SBE now though.

I took my son out on his 3rd birthday dove hunting (he's 4 now). Didnt see much but he had a blast and it meant a lot to him. Thier attention spans is short so dove hunting may be best for a young one like that. Be prepared to have birds flare if they cant keep still. Plan on not shooting anything and doing it just for the experience of taking them out and if you do its all the better.

That's a great idea! At night is the only time we put a diaper on him. I might have to try that and see how it goes.

Starting deer hunting with my son when he was 4 - started duck hunting with me at 5 - if you can control the situation and are willing to make it a short hunt then it will be one of the best times you have all year!!

Took my middle daughter once when she was little and 10 minutes before sunrise she looked at me and said, "Okay, I think I am ready to go!" I made her sit until sunrise and then I picked them up! Still one of my favorite hunts just because of the funny story! Here is a pic of her on that trip:



Here is me and my son when he was smaller - he is RABID about duck hunting now - he fell asleep in the car the other day and when he woke up he said, "I had the best dream, I dreamed that I was shooting a million ducks!!!"



Here is my son with the first dove he ever shot out of the air - notice the blood we smeared on his face!!



Here is my oldest daughter on one of her first hunts.



Here she is with my wife - both are holding their first ducks (correction...my wife says that this is her ONLY duck)!



You will not regret starting them early!! GREAT TIMES!!!! COME ON SEPTEMBER!!!

Okay - one more picture - this is the entire family last Christmas Eve - FUN DAY!!!

Now that's a crew!

that is a great picture of the whole family!