OIL Tag with a Kid... How Old?
Elk
Contributors to this thread:
I am debating the timing of when I should draw my OIL elk tag. I currently have enough points as a resident to draw units 2 and 10 and enough to have a chance at 201 for archery. I am not sure how long to wait. My biggest goal is to have a very fun and exciting family elk hunt. My wife hunts and is the best caller I know. My daughter is currently age 9 and my son is age 5. Next year I should have a good shot at drawing the tags in 2 or 10, assuming that some rifle hunters do not jump ship and try archery. I actually had enough to raw both tags the last 2 years.
I know every kid is different, but if you had to pick an age for your kids to go on such a hunt, what age would you pick? I am thinking when my daughter is 12 and my son is 8 would be a good mix, but I could wait or even go sooner.
Any thoughts?
PS both hunt with us now on deer tags and for turkeys etc. But archery elk is a little bit different and with the tag it will be a lot higher stakes!
12 and 8 sounds perfect to me, good luck to you and you're good dad for wanting to involve them in something so special!
I hate to always play Devil's Advocate, but don't forget it's your tag. If, with the weight of this tag and your personal expectations, this turns into a 20+ day hunt, it's no longer a "family elk hunt."
Whatever you end up doing, have a great time, but beware of trying to mold your family to the elk hunt just for the sake of making it a family thing and visa versa, trying to mold the hunt to your family and regretting how you hunted your OIL tag.
I think I'd make a small part of it a family experience and if not filled, send them home and finish my hunt.
One last thing, remember how teenagers can get: crappy. If you wait too long, they might be "over it" in a matter of minutes and being away from boyfriends/girlfriends/whatever else is important in their lives are now interupted by dad dragging us around in the woods. I think I'd take them now.
IdyllwildArcher x2. Trophy bowhunting and kids is very seldom a good mix. I have 10 and 8 year old boys. They hunt with me a lot, but the big stuff is for the big boys! Whatever you decide, best of luck to you on a once in a lifetime hunt!!!
Took my son on a bighorn hunt when he was 11, and he kept up fine and was the one who spotted the ram I killed.
That said, it depends on the kids. Both of mine would have been fine. None of their friends, except one, would have hung in there.
You may want to see how they do on some scouting weekends, first.
Seriously, you and your wife are the only ones who can decide this. Asking what to do with kids is about as reliable as asking what to do with marital relationships on Bowsite.
Like the other guys have said...they call them "Once in a LIfetime," for a good reason.
Idyll x3. I agree with Brotsky that including your young family in hunting is a wonderful thing...in most cases. However, a OIL hunt isn't one of those cases IMO. I'd include them in the scouting and planning, but for the actual hunt, I want ALL my attention on the hunt, without any distractions. I'd save the family hunt for OTC years.
Whatever you decide, hope you have a great hunt!
Those are not OIL tags, but I would imagine the Elk issue in Colorado will not remain how it is now indefinately.
We were in the same boat you find yourself in, we would have drawn unit 2 archery the last 2 years for certain, we are hoping we did draw this year.
The last few winters have been unusually easy and springs up here the last two years unusually wet- I suspect this fall will be much like 2005 for some above the norm huge bulls.
You should always incorporate your kids, family and friends in a special hunt at any age.
I appreciate the feed back. I have killed 2 bulls archery over 330 already in OTC units and can usually find a bull every year that is good.
I am struggling a little with the trophy hunt vs. a good family hunt. I might have to just give up a week hunting in an OTC unit and take the kids up and see how it goes on a fake hunt.
Again not so much about the kill but more about the experience.
Mathewsman, I agree that things are looking good this year for good antler growth. I wished that they would open up unit 2, 10 and 201 for some management hunts to take out bulls with poor genetics. I saw a 5x5 one year that was a beast but no one wanted to shoot it at all.
I would just take my kids on the OTC hunts, but very low elk numbers and minimal calling amounts to a lot of hiking and very little action.
After hunting unit 2 during a bad weather season, I'd be sure your kids are up to the task. It went from a week of very hot weather with bad wind and silent bulls to a week of solid rain and mud everywhere. Very difficult hunting conditions for experienced hunters motivated by the OIL tag. For a couple kids tagging along it would have been sort of an ordeal. It wasn't a "fun" hunt.
It might be cool to take them along if you get into a situation where there's lots of bugling, so long as Mom is back at the camper to keep them entertained if things get rough.
Maybe I'm reading this wrong but I'm reading that this hunt is more about the size of the memories made than the size of the antlers for you coelker? Using your OIL tag to get your kids involved in a hunt with dad where there should be plenty of action due to the number of animals and lower pressure? I think if that's the case a lot of guys would have a different opinion and agree with your ages.
Ny kids wont be tagging along till at least 14. Elk is tough. My 12yr old daughter was bear hunting tonight. . Her gun, her treestand, her decision to shoot or not. Bear n deer are easy hunts but chasing elk is hard on me and that leads me to believe that she wouldn't be able to run n gun. We took 2 17yr old boys out last year and they were fine. They woulda been ok at 15 but any younger i wouldnt want them there and after day2 they would be gassed.
My son killed a spot stalk black bear in Alaska when he was 10. This has been so far my once in a life time hunt.
He kept up fine and actually showed great control. We took a nap on the side a mountain and when I awoke he had his head on my arm and the warm sun touched my face and I remember this much more than the kill itself.
When it is all said and done once a trophy hits the ground I am ready for the next hunt. For me it is all about the hunt.
Go with your gut!
8 and 12 sound reasonable to me. When my now 6 year old daughter was 4 she did great hiking around the Grand Canyon and mountains of southern Utah. At 8 I'm sure she will be able to handle some pretty tough hikes. Now my second daughter might be doing good if she could handle it at 12. Only you know best what your children can handle and I'm sure you do.
Have you asked the kids? Or the wife? lol!
What about school? I took my kids out of school for family hunts and the learning experience outweighs public school learning by miles. Some schools wont let you take your kids out for stuff like that. Check that out.
My take? I have taken my kids on many fun OTC hunts. Thats where they learned. You OIL hunt may not be the place for that. You have years to take them on MANY family hunts. This hunt may be one for the Big Boys as stated above. There will be distractions that arise you wont foresee.
Its a delicate balance, only you and your wife will know whats best.
Good luck!
My dad took me when I was 5 years old. We ended up get stranded in the snow and had to walk out a few miles. I hung in there until I got a rock in my boot! Lol Then, I started crying a little bit and my Dad carried me for a while then I was fine to walk again. My Dad called a friend from a local farmhouse and he brought us home. I was hooked from then on. I had two older brothers with me and I did better than the oldest one. I went out at 5 am and back after dark.
Killed my first deer at 10 years old with a rifle and my first 6 X 6 bull at 14 with a bow. Being out with my Dad for many years before I could hunt are some of my best memories. He would take me out on a weekend with him and my brothers then back to school on Monday while he continued to hunt. We got our time with him out in the woods and he got his time to seriously hunt when we were in school. I plan on doing the same with my kids. Taking my son on his first fishing trip this year at 3 years old. My daughter will have to wait a bit, she is only 5 months old now and has me whipped!
Another idea to float to you. When my son was 10 I took him to elk camp and I had three non-hunting friends who came out for the camp experience. They were "unrelated" in my mind but it ended up working out perfect. Most mornings, my son stayed at camp. Hung around the campfire and had a blast with the guys who stayed around and every evening he went out with me and the other guy who was hunting.
My non-hunting friends had a great time and my son didn't get overwhelmed, exhausted and I didn't get frustrated about not being able to go where I wanted to go.
If your hunt allows for truck camping, think about if there are any others who would enjoy going with you. You can take them along for an evening hunt or two and they will have a blast and it will give you flexibility in that you won't mind letting either of your children sleep in or stay at camp instead of hitting the hills.
Think back to when you were 5. How much do you remember? OK, now when you were 9? I don't think you remember that much.
Its important at that age for the kids to Enjoy spending time and "going hunting" but you killing a 330"+ bull vs shooting a cow or nothing will make little difference to the kid at that age.
I see little to gain by trying to give kids that age the full rut hunt experience and a lot of potential problems you may run into on your "OIL" tag. Of course its your tag and your hunt.
When I take kids hunting, its all about them, on their terms. When I have a tag its on my terms. Sometimes the there is overlap but the younger the age the less overlap there is.
If you just want them to see lots of bugling elk go to Estes Park in September.
I remember a lot from when I was 5 years old. Not everything but I remember the important things. My dad, brothers, and myself still talk about hunts we were on before we even actually hunted ourselves. Guess it comes down to what's more important to you.
I still remember when my dad shot a 340 bull with his muzzleloader, I was 5 or 6, I remember that bull bugling and stepping out broadside at 35 yards more than I remember any other elk encounter I've ever had...
One other thing to consider is that the unit 2 hunt isn't like a walk in the woods with bulls bugling all around. It will likely involve long rides on very rough, dusty, bone-jarring trails in the dark on an ATV, then humping it quickly after you spot the bulls. Or riding all that way before sitting at waterholes for hours.
If you truly want to do that hunt with your kids, for their sake you should consider hunting the Walker ranch for a trespass fee where you can stay in the cabin or camp near good waterholes that kids can share with you from a ground blind. They'll see elk and hear elk, can be with you when you shoot one if the opportunity happens.
It won't be an ordeal where they're asking when they can go home, like it can be on public land, DIY.
I choose family every time as well. I still remember hunting with my dad. Not sure how old I was but I fell off my horse and couldn't get back on. A few decades later I remember it fondly, even though I was probably crying at the time.
i would ask myself...would I rather shoot a 300-330" bill with my kids there or would I rather shoot a 350" bull by myself? Easy answer for me.
If I was doing an OIL I would go by myself. My daughters had to turn 8 to go with me. When they turned 10 I put them in for hunters ed. so now my daughters have their own tags if they draw. If they don't draw I ask if they want a youth encouragement hunt for a cow elk. It is their call and they usually say yes. That is when I make family memories. It is all about them and they call the shots on what they want to do. There is less pressure and more fun times.