Having a father-son bond is incredibly special. However, sometimes that bond isn’t as strong as you’d like it to be. With COVID, doing regular bonding activities like going to a sporting event or going to your favorite restaurant together have either been postponed or isn’t as special as it used to be. Planning guided hunting trips together is the perfect bonding experience. Not only is it exciting, but there are quite a few advantages to bonding over hunting.
Less Tech – Fewer Distractions
Our world has gone tech, and there’s not much we can do about it. While there are plenty of positives that have come out of that, a big problem is a lack of face-to-face interaction. Most people prefer to text, but a good old-fashion hunt could restore the lost art of communication.
A phone can’t be brought on a hunt if you want your mind and vision to stay sharp for spotting elk. Not only does this leave room for talking about weapons and trails, but you’ll have downtime to discuss whatever you want. Opening up and sharing what’s going on in both of your lives is a great way to strengthen a father-son relationship.
Building his Real-World Skills
There’s plenty to learn and plenty to teach when it comes to hunting. You’ll help him learn to shoot a gun, load a pack, read a compass, tie a bowline, read a topographic map, and treat a blister. The best part is the skills you’ll teach him will come in handy even in non-hunting situations.
Teaching these skills to him will help him grow into an independent, self-sufficient person. The best part is when he’s a teenager and the only one on his field trip who can use a compass, he’ll remember where he got that skill. He learned it from Dad.
Learning Life Lessons
Hunting is a great teacher for life lessons. It teaches patience, respect, ethics, confidence, responsibility, and emotional control. These are lessons that will turn your son into a well-rounded human. Above all though, hunting teaches the value of hard work.
If you’re chasing down elks or crawling through the bush to take a careful shot, you’ll show your son what it means to value something and put the hard work in to achieve it. This kind of thing can’t be taught with your words. It requires getting some dirt on your knees and sharing the experience.
Teaching your son life lessons through hunting is a great bonding experience.
Quality Bonding Time during
Nothing is better than spending time with your son. However, not all activities were created equal. Studies have shown that the quality of parent-child time is far more important than the quantity.
So, low-quality activities like watching TV together is less beneficial than high-quality activities like tracking an animal through the woods on a fall morning. It’s okay if you can’t take your son out to hunt every weekend. Going on guided hunting trips once in a while is an impactful event that will build a bond in a more lasting, meaningful way.
Starting a Tradition
The bonding shouldn’t stop after one trip. Planned guided hunting trips will leave a lasting impression on both of you, so why not make it more than a one-time thing? After all, hunters are made, not born.
Start this new tradition. Be a teacher in the woods knowing that your son, at some point in the future, will do the same for their own children and pass the tradition down.
Soap Mesa Outfitters
At Soap Mesa Outfitters, we provide the best guided hunts in Western Colorado. Plan a guided elk hunting trip for some father-son bonding, and turn it into your next tradition.
