Good stuff !!
I'm 41; neither parent hunted. We did fish a lot, though, which maybe kept me too busy to try hunting. I finally just now got tired of begging venison from hunting friends and decided to get my own.
15 minutes into my first opening day of my life, invited with a friend's group, a big doe walks in front of me, I fire, she gets up and runs, only to be brought down in the next gully by another party. What a rush !
I hunted the remainder of the gun season mostly solo and did finally get a deer of my own. I put more time in to get my one deer than most guys I'm sure, but I wouldn't trade a minute of it away.
Over the offseason I'll get some warmer boots and gloves, and maybe a new gun and maybe a tree stand, or maybe not. I'll still have a blast next season and enjoy the anticipation of and the preparation for the hunt, the sharing of stories, and hopefully some more venison.
In the meantime, my daughter is old enough to small game hunt with me. We'll do some bunny and squirrel hunts, and maybe the youth turkey hunt in April, and lots of shooting practice in the summer.
I can't believe I've been missing out on this great pastime / tradition all these years.
-- Lee