My story:

I grew up in upstate NY (also like Davidmil, I know the Adirondacks very well - my folks had a summer camp up there).

This only marks my third season hunting, and I' m 42 yrs old!! My dad and uncle have hunted back in the 50' s and 60' s and then way later in 1982, my dad tried hunting one last time with some friends - but by that time, I had already moved away and was serving in the Coast Guard.

With me being the baby of the family, I was way too young to tag along when my dad was really into hunting - heck I probably wasn' t even born yet for that matter! I never got the opportunity to hunt with my dad though, as he passed away last year at the ripe age of 80. We spent many many years fishing for trout and bass when we' d all go camping in the summer, which was great. But with hunting, I guess it was case of being born a little too late. You see, when I became of age and was ready to get up and go, my dad' s " get up and go" had got up and left!

So, still to this day, I have nobody to show me the ropes, except you great people on this board! {Awwwww, warm fuzzy feeling} My dad never shot a bow and wasn' t into archery, that I know of. He just had a .308 Winchester w/scope and a real old, break-your-shoulder-off, type of 12GA bolt action shotgun, that I remember.

Anyway, I just try to learn more and more each time I go out and without a hunting partner or my dad or uncle, I find it very tough to be successful. But I keep trying and trying and hopefully this season, I' ll get my buck, doe, or turkey or whatever game I am going after.

Butch