Yesterday afternoon my son and my self hunted at a buddies place that is strictly managed. My son has been hunting for 4 years now and we haven't had the opportunity for him to kill a rack deer yet. He has killed a bunch of doe and a spike and he has passed on a few bucks because he wanted to shoot something that he could mount. Well yesterday at about 5:20 a very good buck walks out with 2 doe. He was a 8 point that will score about 125 or so inches. While texting with my buddy to make sure he is something that we can shoot the buck and the 2 doe walk out of the food plot. the look od disappointment that came across the face of this 10 yr old boy was unreal. I felt oh so terrible for him. But it was at that point that I realized that my boy was hunting for all the right reasons. To be just 10 and to see the passion that he has for hunting makes me very proud. We spend a lot of time in the woods and it will eventually pay off for him. For his sake I hope its sooner than later. Turns out that we made the right decision by not just going ahead and shooting that buck. They saw this same deer during bow season and haven't seen him since. He is only about 3 yrs old and will score around 125 to 130 inches. so the right decision was made but you try telling that to a 10 yr old who was never had that opportunity before! Hopefully he will get another chance this year if not we will wait it out. Maybe corny to some people but I just thought I would share this.

Nothing corny about it! That's good stuff. I wish you would have been at my place, I would have gave the green light for your boy.

....His time will come ....Hopefully soon...

Another example of managing the fun right out of deer hunting.

Go get your popcorn.

Cool story, as the bible says, and i believ its even true in hunting, "train a child accordingly and he'll go out into the worl and............"

You are a better man than I am I honestly don't think I could have made my self keep from telling him shoot. A 120" deer is a stud for a kid and a lot of grown men. Sometimes it's easier to beg forgivness than ask permission.

I had the same thing happen with my nephew this year. A spike come out and he was ready to kill it and i told him it had to be 6 point and up.

Glad you enjoyed the expereince but there is no way I could've held any kid I had hunting with me off a 120+" 8 point....Heck, I "guided" my 9 year old cousin to a little 1.5 year old 5 point this past Sat and you'd think it was a 150"!!

Yep, if a 120" 3 year old isn't something a 10 year old kid can shoot I don't know that I would want to be hunting the place myself. I bet an adult has to shoot 200" or better.

Tough to tell him not to shoot I am sure, but you have to follow the rules of others when you hunt their property. Otherwise, you aren't going to get invited back, I can guarantee that.

A kid should be able to shoot a buck of their choice period!!!

The OP did exactly what he should have. Patience is not a bad thing to teach a child. Sounds like a great hunt to me.

It will happen for him, on an even bigger buck because you are teaching him the right way. I guarantee it.

A short example. About 7 yrs ago a friend on here (MarkBama) was kind enough invite myself and 8 yr old down to his club to try and kill a doe, just get a deer in front of the kid because it had been rough seeing deer where we hunted. Rules were 4 on one side and outside the ears, but we werent' really interested in that, just wanted a doe kill.

We are in a shooting house on a field thats about 180 yds long per the range finder. About 8:30am a nice 6 pt steps out at the end of the field. He gets all excited but I told him he was not big enough and to just wait on a doe. As I am looking at this deer in my binos, he asks "What about that one behind it?". I glass over and about poop my pants. Very nice 3+yr old at least with a good rack well outside the ears. My son is propped up and ready to shoot but I won't let him. One, too far and the deer would never get broadside. Both finally left the field. He was extremely disappointed. About 15min later a nice doe steps out at 50 yds. Now were talking, just what we came for. She feeds right at us, then turned directly away and back into the woods, never offering more than a brisket or a butt shot. I wouldn't let him shoot. He is about in tears with disappointment now. I could feel my heart about to pop for him, but he needed to learn how to do it right.

So, as we sit there licking our wounds it's about 9:30am. We are talking about getting out of the shooting house and calling it quits. As we start getting our stuff together, I hear the woods start boiling up behind the house. I told him to grab his gun quick and get ready. About 30-45 second later from our right about 35-40 yds away the 6 pt we saw early came high tailing it out of the woods like something was chasing it. I told him get "ready, I bet that big one is chasing him". About that time the bigger one we saw ran out and stopped broadside at 40yds. I asked if he was on him, he said yes, and I said let him have it. Perfect heart/lung shot and the deer ran maybe 75yds out into the field and piled up. To say we both were pumped was an understatement. After high fives and hugs all around, I told him "That's why you do it the right way, good things happened because you did it the right way". We went and checked him out and got him loaded up.

I think what was more impressive was the adults back at the sign in board. The high fives and congrats by everyone just lit him up even more. I know to have a guest shoot a nice buck on your club is not ideal for a member, but no one showed it and was very nice.

Thanks again Mark, 7 yrs later. You made a boys year possibly his hutning career until he gets a bigger one.

Our morning view



Deer was a 175lb 7pt.

I have been in your shoes and I can assure you when he kills his first "rack" buck he will look back and see the road he took to get it. We had to pass on several in past years but my son killed a 15 pt with a bow this year and he said he was glad he waited on the others. It's tough as a father to tell them to wait but you have to respect the landowner/lessee's rules when it's not your place and I congratulate you on doing that. This will result in many other opportunities to hunt this place more.

I spent 2 years teaching my daughter to shoot and she got her first when she was 14. It was only a spike but he was a moving target and I told her to take the shot and he made it 40 yards before he dropped. This year she shot a 9 point and could not be happier. YOU DID IT RIGHT. Give a child internal disciplne and the ability to determine right from wrong and they won't go wrong.

Im all about managing deer for size...but our standards are greatly loosened when a kid is hunting.

That 120+ inch buck wouldve been a buck of a lifetime for a young hunter,..and would have done A LOT for increasing his passion for hunting.
I think if a kid is hunting any nice racked buck is a green light for them.

This may well be true for some, or even most kids, but I know it wouldn't have worked that way with me. If I'd gone to someone else's honey hole and shot a big deer sitting in their stand when I was 10 it would've substantially reduced my drive to go more and get better. There's certainly nothing wrong with your first deer being a random hoss, but there's obviously something to be said for the self discipline learned and the memories of the time and work it took to find and kill a big deer. If you make it too easy it's liable to cheapen the whole experience for a child whose opinions on hunting are still being formed.

Both are very good points.

However, at the end of the day, you have to yield to the person that made the hunt possible. Otherwise your chances of getting a second invitation are pretty slim and the possibility of angering the person are pretty high.

I hunted my arse off missed several bucks and had a bunch get away before killing my first. He was a 120" gross 9 and I promise you it didn't dampen the fire in me for hunting just made it worse. Now you take a kid put him in a shooting house the first day 10 min in he kills a giant I've seen it fire them up and some think it's too easy and never go again. If I take my son hunting on a high end managed property and a good deer that doesn't meet there standards walks out I will gladly give him the go and smile paying the fine. The more a kid has to just watch and not blast the less his drive will be. I've seen it happen too many times.