The Secret to Getting Your Youngster Into Hunting

The Pre-Rut is the Best Time for Young Hunters

We all understand the importance of recruiting more youngsters to the sport of hunting. They are not just the immediate future of the sport; they are the future mentors and teachers that will train further generations of sportsmen and sportswomen.

The key, though, is providing the right hunting experiences for them at a young age. An exciting, enjoyable, low-pressure experience may hook them for life, while a boring, unenjoyable, high-pressure experience may immediately turn them off to the sport.

Because of the time of year, the weather, and deer activity, the Pre-Rut is an excellent opportunity to create a hunting experience that is sure to draw a youth into the sport of hunting, while also allowing a parent or mentor to spend quality time in the woods with their new hunter. Let’s take a closer look.

Time of Year 

Hunting before the time change means morning hunts begin at a reasonable hour. Getting your young hunter up in the mornings will not seem like such a chore.

The Pre-Rut is a great learning time for young hunters. They get to see a little of the action that occurs during the Rut – the action that really excites the older hunters. This is also the best time to implement the use of scents, calls, and decoys to add to the excitement. Young bucks seem to get the itch to run first, which makes a young one’s odds of seeing one of the small trophies, or maybe the doe he is chasing around, much better.