I started deer hunting with my father and grandfather at 6. Shot my first deer at 6 and my first elk at 7, on my father's license. In CO, the law at the time said you had to be 14 to hunt big game. My father decided he knew me and my brother better than the state and he started us early. By the time we turned 14 we both had a lot of hunting experience.

By the time I was 16 I had an old jeep and was pretty much roaming the Colorado Rockies at will. In the summer I'd disappear for as much as 2 or 3 weeks and just hit the high country camping, hiking and fishing. I always appreciated the huge amount of freedom my parents let me enjoy. I learned a lot by being alone and doing things for myself. But I'm from a different generation. I don't know that I would do what my father did in this day and age.