re: Never Hunted Before, But Want to Take My Son

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Dove hunting is what I would do.

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It's more fun in a way. But it's more of a shooting event than a hunting trip. Squirrels you have to go find. Kids love that.

Cheap 12 gauge pump gun and a local WMA open to squirrel hunting....unless of course you have access to private land to hunt squirrels. I would bet about 80% of hunters get started hunting squirrels and about 80% of the remaining 20% start hunting rabbits. That's an option also but without dogs and a lot of land its kind of tough. I am sure Louisiana or wherever you live offers online hunter safety courses....unless you are well versed in gun safety thats the best place to start.

When he is 8 or 9 he will LOVE being in the squirrel woods on a chilly morning with is dad. Make it ALL about him. He will become a life long addict most likely. Take some snacks and don't plan to stay more than a couple of hours, and for certain don't stand or sit in one place too long....explore with him, turn over rocks and leaves and get in a creek and do the same...kids are naturally curious about animals and plants. Don't make it about the number of shots or kills but the overall experience of getting out in the woods and exlporing and fueliing his and your own curiosity. Its been said if you teach your kids to hunt you won't have to hunt your kids...and there is a lot of truth in that.

I screwed up with my son and fishing. When he was 5 and 6 I was mad as hell at fish....I went after them with a vengeance. A typical offshore trip started at 4 AM and when the boat was finally put to bed it'd be 6 or so in the evening. That's 14 hours. Bass and crappie fishing was just as bad....boat wet by daylight, put to bed at 8 or 10 o'clock that night. Meals consisted of a couple of granola bars and maybe a sandwich and 2 - 3 bottles of water. Other than that it was ALL fishing or ALL looking for fish. I didn't realize he was BORED out of his mind....riding in a boat was a BLAST for him but after about 30 minutes on a 2 hour offshore run he was bored out his mind. Not to mention beat to death from the seas. He was game though..,he wanted to go because he knew I wanted him to go. That eventually changed...he'd get grumpy...hell he was worn out and hungry and thirsty LOL....and eventually getting him to go with me was harder than getting him to go to school or the doctor. There is no fix for that....I fricked up. He will go with me now but tells me with no uncertainty that 3-4 hours is it...and most of this is trout fishing where the float length is limited or we are wading and have a limited amount of access. Make it all about the kid...otherwise you will ruin it for him like I did fishing for my son.

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There's also a spring squirrel season, so you could get started this spring.
Look up the dates and bag limit. Even a 5 yr old would love walking around in the woods

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Absolutely the perfect age to stoke his curiosity. There is no real learning curve to squirrel hunting other than knowing when the season is open and where there's a place where its allowed. Other than that it's basically walking through the woods with a gun. Kids LOVE being in the woods. There is no end to fascinating shite in the woods to get a kids attention. There is nothing a kid would like better than sitting under a tree in a pile of leaves eating a candybar, having their fathers undivided attention and digging in the leaves. If a squirrel happens to offer a target its icing on an other wise very tasty cake....

Hell I am 60 years old and haven't hunted squirrels in probably 30 years....reading this thread makes me want to go sit in the woods and dig in the leaves with a stick LOL....its a helluva way to spend a couple of hours in the morning....

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I have a friend that lets his son kill squirrels and birds and just leave them laying. Drives me insane. I was taught that you never kill an animal unless it’s a nuisance, or you intend on eating it.
Killing anything for “fun” just isn’t right.

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I grew up in the BB Gun era. When we weren't shooting one another we were shooting birds and leaving them where they fell. Not many of course because it was a BB Gun. This is not uncommon for kids who are humans and therefore predators. It ain't hunting, its killing. Hunting is a process which, when done successfully, leads to an opportunity to kill. Killing is not the point, its the hunting that is the point. Most hunters eventually wind up not taking about as many shots, or far more, than they actually take. I don't pass shoot ducks and geese. I used to, when I was really mad at ducks and geese, but for about 30 years the only shots I take are at birds that have at least swung to or buzzed the decoys once. Nothing wrong with pass shooting I just choose to only take ducks and geese which play the game....which means I have done my part properly. I can buy a dressed duck or a goose way easier or cheaper than I can shoot one....it isn't about killing its about hunting. That is something most of us learn over time....we start off measuring success by how many animals we killed. We then move on to how high the quality of the animal we killed was. Eventually most of us move on from there. My measure for success today is not to get in a confrontation with another hunter or a game warden....if I can avoid that I have had a succesful day afield LOL....