DADS ?

N8Will

N8Will

Member
I have question to all the dads out there. My son is 13 and I cant get him to hit a coyote. Weve been hunting together for 3 years and I cant count how many misses he has had. He hits any target youput in front of him. Killed his first deer last year one shot nerves of steel. Any sugestions on the yotes would be great.Im at a loss.
 
My blood pressure goes way up when I have a coyote to shoot at. so maybe he is the same way... Is he shooting a gun he is not afraid of? recoil? no ear protection so it will be loud?
 
It will come. Just keep repeating the basics followed by more encouragement and the next one will be a bang / flop.


ELJ
 
The rifle is a 223 and he has no prob with recoil. Just the fever, but I feel bad for him, I will try the target idea that might work. Thanks to all for the advice.
 
Maybe try some life size coyote targets. I think caldwell makes them. That might make the fever go down just enough to connect. Good luck!
 
use a shot gun , and after he gets the taste he will concentrate better and overcome the adrenaline rush!!!1
 
If he's killed a deer, then ask him why he misses coyotes. Might just be too much expectation making him nervous. How close have they come in? I shot my 1st coyote at 7 feet....
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I like the shotgun idea, myself.
 
I remember when I was 13. I was like that on pheasants. I clearly remember it took a couple seasons to connect. Not afraid to admit it. Once I did, it was game on. Of all my friends back then that hunted, I am the only one that still hunts. I have thought about this alot as my son gets into coyotes. I don't know what the answer is other than breathe in and out and have confidence. It will happen and once he hammers the first one, it will all start coming together.
 
Started my son @ age 7 he would set stands with me, I would have him gunned up but with no ammo . When he did get to start shooting them he didnt miss .
One thing i did was to have him watch videos with me , This started real early on, as the coyote would come in i would tell him when to bring up his rifle ( in the living room watching while on sticks) When the coyote stopped he would dry fire .
After doing a lot of this they tend to become very relaxed about a coyote coming in to a stand .
try it it may just cure the blues.
Jared is 13 now and one of the best callers i have ever hunted with , Only problem now is he sees them before i do most of the time and has them dirt napping before i get a chance.
Carefull what you wish for , You just might get it.LOL
 
I got a buddy whos son is the same way. Frustrating for sure when you call a coyote up into his lap and he misses. But we laugh about it later. Its all fun.
 
As for close we had one jump through the fence we were leaning on at 15feet yesterday. Imissed also I was laughing to hard, watching Jake was priceless.
 
He may be just to excited or sense your anxiety. Just tell him to focus on the crosshairs. Nothing else. Tell him to focus on where the crosshairs are when he's pulling the trigger.

My son got his first coyote and mule deer last year at age 11. Like your son, he will hit any target in front of him.

Best of luck to him....
 
I believe someone once told me that Byron South did this with his kids. I might be totally wrong on this but i think im right. He would set targets up at various unknown yardages and would call them 12345 he would in no certain order name a target and give them like three seconds to fire on it before he called them out the next one and wouldnt take them on stand with a gun until they could complete this without missing and goin over time.

Ive taken several grownups that get the fever too. O started using this method with buddies at the target range and its improved all our shooting.

Coyotes and deer are two different critters. Deer generally are moving through slow abd give ample time to take a shot. Coyotes show up and dont offer to much studying for shot opportunities so ya gotta be fast on the trigger
 
All the above suggestions will work. Just figure out which one works for your boy.

My son was plenty nervous on his first called coyote and didn't make a good shot. If you can make a stand where your son can shoot from the prone position, could help get his first. Might make getting the cross-hairs steady a little easier. He'll get it done, just keep tryin'.
 
Practicing on coyote size targets with colored post it notes for the vitals...the old saying "aim small...miss small" was in a movie once too. I like what Byron South did with his kids, that is just good practice for anyone.
Happy Hunting, and best of luck with your son.
 
My son did the same thing, miss them at any yardage. I put a shotgun in his hands and he killed the first one he shot at. My youngest son shot his first with a rifle but he didnt really seem to be to excited about it I think I was more excited than he was, I guess thats how it works. Make sure he knows he gets first shot, may not seem like much but if he thinks hes gotta race for the shot he will rush the shot.
 
He knows he get first shot , im going to try byrons method that sounds fun and a real tool for getting on target faster.
 
Your are hunting with your son and seeing some action. Sounds like your already a winner of the game. Just have fun
 
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