I am sure we each have unique hunting experiences and thoughts that have shaped us throughout the years. I am curious about each of your hunting backgrounds and how you have evolved throughout the years in terms of your mind frame and overall hunting techniques. I will start.

I started hunting in 1992 at the age of 17. I remember wanting to hunt so bad that I went to the local Elk's lodge and sat for 2 days in a freezing cold little shack listening to some old timers talk to us about safety. No one hunted in my family, but I was always out in the woods fishing and walking. My first hunt was uneventful as I did not see a deer and froze my butt off for 3 hours. I must have picked the coldest day of the year. I remember walking out into the woods with my buddy who was smoking a cigarette, not even thinking of scent control, the wind, or even as to where the deer where coming from...I had NO plan at all other than to be quiet and stay warm.

So in my teens my goal was to kill any deer, I didn't care. I used to get up early in the morning to drive out to public land hunting spots with no idea what I was doing. I hunted from the ground with an old used .3030 my dad bought me. I did not see a deer until year 2, and I missed a doe at 30 yards with that rifle because I was so nervous. I finally killed a deer year 3, when I killed two bucks on my buddy's private property in Loudoun County Virginia. From that day I was hooked. I remember reading about Tinks 69 and other lures and I tried them, but with no success. I began washing my clothes in no scent detergents and being a little more cautious of the wind.

In my early to mid 20's I still just wanted to kill any deer as I was still very inexperienced. I began putting deer down consistently at about my 10th year hunting. I finally purchased a climbing stand and loved it. I picked up a bow and started hunting with it around 2001.

In my late 20's I started to became more selective, trying to kill bucks of 4-5 points or better along with does. I started hunting with a bow during the gun season and eventually put my guns away about 4-5 years ago as I had been bitten by the bow bug. My scent control regimine became a lot better as did my success on taking deer on public land. I also began scouting for the first time, something I never did for the first 10 years of hunting.

In my early 30's I transitioned over to trying to kill bucks of 6 points or better. Now at 34 I feel I am better than ever but still have a lot to learn...It may take me a lifetime but I am committed. I still have not killed a mature buck but when I look back at my entire evolution I know that I am just a slow learn I believe and not killing a mature buck is just part of my learning process....it will come but in due time.

So how about you, what has been your evolution?

ps...I forgot to add, Davidmil may use two pages on this post as he is in his 100's.