No hunters at all in my family...no mentors in those endeavors at all. Started hunting alone when I was 8 or 9. I will say I was thoroughly well schooled in gun safety before I ever went out though. Parents done well on that part. I never really hurt much with that ol Winchester 37a .410 with the exception of my own ears


From there I moved on to rifles and deer and still hunt alone to this day. It would be nice to have a dependable hunting partner however it appears to be too much aggravation to try to find one that doesnt think the schedule should change unannounced at their discretion. So I guess I could say doing it all by myself taught me independence pretty early on.