The Good 'Ole Days...
 

Alright i was listening to a story from an elder person and he was explaning that when he was my age (17) that all a person needed was a .22 and a good knife and he was set for the summer. cause the only hunting season there was was his own. because this is a rural area he hunted all year round for deer and squirrel and any other critter that came along. of course the family ate everything. but still where has all the simplicity he is talking about gone? Here are some of the points he made in the lecture.
1. I got my car searched b/c there was a gun in my car...and then gotaccused of poaching. he walked down the road carrying a gun and no fuss was made.
2. you cant hunt today without the "special camo of the year" or the deer scent. back then it was the NON sunday clothes and that was it.
3. You'd be hard pressed to walk 10 miles without trespassing. and then your nearest neighbor was 4 miles away.
I dont know about yall but I wish I could live back then for just a while to try it out. I know there are many things I wouldnt have but ive always wanted the most simple life possible. I think the goods would outway the bads in this situation.

Does anyone remember these days? if so I'd like to hear there views/storys

RE: The Good 'Ole Days...
 

i am 32 and I have been pheasant hunting since I was 20. I just started deer and elk hunting 3 years ago and have been enjoying all of this with moments of frustration. Yes, those days are gone. Regretfully, for good. I have never known of those hunting conditions and wish that I had never heard of them so I wouldnt be dissapointed with what exists for the new generation of hunters. I have had to all but give up upland bird hunting because hunting is in essence a rich mans sport. Land owners that used to be friendly to hunters have now seen big dollar signs and leased all of thier land to outfitters that charge 250 or more a dayjust to hunt birds. Well, I wish them the absolute worst! I cant afford 250 a day and there isnt much WIHA or CRP available in my state. At least big game hunting still offers a good amount of BLM and national forest land. Good luck and I wish you the best! Dont quit hunting. EJ

RE: The Good 'Ole Days...
 

Ahhhhh, how well I remember! I remember how bad all us youngsters wanted our first BB gun and my dad bought me a Daisy Pump.Then our first .22 rifle and my dad bought me a Remington Pump .22 repeater.When I was 11yrs old I started to want a shot gun and my grandfather gave me a single shot break-open .410 that he had brought from Spain in 1910 (which I still have) and my dadbought me a Winchester Mod.12 20ga for $65(which I still have). When I was 13 he bought me a J.C.Higgins Mod.51 .30-06 at Sears&Roebuck for $99.99(which I still have). When I was of age to buy my own, I had many rifles and shot guns which over the years I have either sold or traded. In 1966, my wife to be and my wife of 40yrs, bought me a Browning A-5 12gaw/28" Vent Rib at Sears&Roebuck for $176(which I still have).

I also remember Western Auto and their racks of rifles, shotguns and ammo!

Yes the good ole days!

RE: The Good 'Ole Days...
 

My first rifle was a stevens single shot .22 it was and still is the most accurate rifle I have. Then off to deer hunt armed with a 20 gauge mossbreg bolt action poly chock ,( my dad said it wouldnt hurt it and it was safe ) Killed my deer the first hour of hunting at a tender age of 11. Then off to the gun store cause I am hooked now. It was a mom and pop hardware store but they sold guns as most of you older gentlemen remember. He had a .303 spoterized for $60.00 now that was in 1974. That seemed like a million dollars to me . So that next summer I mowed 1000 yards and odd jobs as much as I could at that age but I made enough to buy it , Wow my first rifle. I told everybody about it , By the time deer season came around I had wore a groove for hand in it ,not from shooting from holding it .It was almost like a magical object. Okay so now I am alittleolder and my older brother had bought a 30-06 and he teased me about those peep sights. But I learned how to shoot them and I could shoot pretty well. So I was still out shooting him even at 150 yards.Then I traded for a mod 70 .270 win Now I was king of our deer rifles or at least I thought so.I wish I still had that rifle!!! Or even both of them. But as I jion the service I was already to shoot those peep sight, that old .303 taught me well I out shot just about everyone around me. Who would of guessed a old .303 would be worth so much ?

RE: The Good 'Ole Days...
 

The slower, simpler life of the past does seem like the "good 'ole days" . We have alot of "things", "new and improved" this and that, but in those days I guess we didn't know we needed them things. lol One of my first memories of hunting with my dad was when he took me and my first gun(Springfield 20 ga.) squirrel hunting. We eachpicked out squirrel trees in a river bottom and waited for them to move. ( not sure he picked out a good one, or just one from where he could keep an eye on me!). Anyway, just when he was preoccupied with looking up for squirrels, I saw a big fox squirrel come out to play. Dad was only about 20-25 yds away, but he didn't see the squirrel, which was right above him in the same tree he was sitting up against!! Needless to say, I think I scared the crap out of him when I shot. He looked over at me and said "did you do that?" . I think he only had to move a few feet to pick up my first "trophy" . Definately something I'll never forget.