First buck stories?
07-03-2003, 10:14 PM
#21
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Columbus, OH
Posts: 380
RE: First buck stories?
Beautiful stories from everybody. I' m glad I could do something to get all this good storytelling into one place. huntnma, I can imagine your situation all too well. Barefoot would be one heck of a fun way to stalk hogs. I' ve gotta try that sometime. It' s pretty cool how much alike the first buck stories from Florida are with those from Canada. 
Since I can' t contribute another first buck or first big game story, I think I' ll do the first thing I ever shot, my first squirrel.
For those of you who aren' t familiar, let me tell you what my birthday is like. I was born and raised in Daytona Beach, Florida, home of the Daytona 500, Pepsi/Firecracker/whatever 400, Bike Week, Biketoberfest, Spring Break, and a few other big tourist-y things. My dad is a retired cop, and every year he volunteers (for an hourly rate) his services as security/traffic direction for ' special events.' My birthday every year falls on or very close to the Daytona 500. This means that usually, my birthday celebration is squeezed somewhere around the hours my mom and dad both work for the race, along with all the traffic in town. It' s not the best time/place combination to have a celebration. That' s why these days I stay in Gainesville for my birthday.
Well, my dad and I had worked out an agreement. For the first seven years of my life, I followed Dad around the woods without anything in my hands, just learning. I had a lever-action BB gun that I used to hone my skills in the back yard, and that was that. On my eighth birthday, though, I got to go squirrel hunting with Dad. I got a single-shot .410 shotgun, and Dad was taking the day off (even though it would have translated into a lot of money) so we could hit the woods together.
So my first moments of being 8 were at 4 am, when my dad woke me up to go hunting. It was my first early-early morning wakeup (first of hundreds, with thousands more to come), and I got dressed drowsily and ate a Pop-Tart. Then me and Dad hopped in his old Chevy truck, and we cruised down the highway towards the hunt club.
Now, this is mid-February, and everybody knows February is the coldest, wettest month there is. Even Florida in February can be nasty. And it was. I was colder than I' d ever been. It was that ' just got pulled out of a warm bed, and my body isn' t generating any heat' cold. I was all wrapped up in old sweaters and hunting jackets, and I can remember rubbing my hands together in front of the truck' s heating vents.
We got out of the truck and hit the woods. To this day I can remember the sunrise. Later, when we had dinner at Red Lobster, I drew the sunrise on the placemat they gave me. The yellow and orange through the old oaks was something special. There wasn' t very much chatter from the squirrels, but I was bound and determined to draw blood on my first hunt. We walked all over the woods, my dad working the little handheld squirrel call, and me scanning the trees.
The moment was really weird - it was like it was meant to be. We were walking, and all of a sudden I turned my head to the left. Staring me in the face, 10 paces away, and at eye level, was a squirrel. He sat there and watched me as I turned, raised the gun, cocked the hammer, and hit him in the head. It was probably the easiest shot anybody' s ever had to make, but I made it. I walked over, and he was lying on the ground. I picked him up, Dad took a couple of pictures with the old 110 camera, and we started hunting again. A rainstorm blew in before we could get on any more squirrels, but it was enough for me. That day was complete - I woke up like a hunter, saw the sun rise, and bagged my game. Everything just worked perfectly, and I felt more a part of the woods than I' d ever been before.
And I was eight. Somehow that didn' t matter as much as, I was a hunter.
Since I can' t contribute another first buck or first big game story, I think I' ll do the first thing I ever shot, my first squirrel.
For those of you who aren' t familiar, let me tell you what my birthday is like. I was born and raised in Daytona Beach, Florida, home of the Daytona 500, Pepsi/Firecracker/whatever 400, Bike Week, Biketoberfest, Spring Break, and a few other big tourist-y things. My dad is a retired cop, and every year he volunteers (for an hourly rate) his services as security/traffic direction for ' special events.' My birthday every year falls on or very close to the Daytona 500. This means that usually, my birthday celebration is squeezed somewhere around the hours my mom and dad both work for the race, along with all the traffic in town. It' s not the best time/place combination to have a celebration. That' s why these days I stay in Gainesville for my birthday.
Well, my dad and I had worked out an agreement. For the first seven years of my life, I followed Dad around the woods without anything in my hands, just learning. I had a lever-action BB gun that I used to hone my skills in the back yard, and that was that. On my eighth birthday, though, I got to go squirrel hunting with Dad. I got a single-shot .410 shotgun, and Dad was taking the day off (even though it would have translated into a lot of money) so we could hit the woods together.
So my first moments of being 8 were at 4 am, when my dad woke me up to go hunting. It was my first early-early morning wakeup (first of hundreds, with thousands more to come), and I got dressed drowsily and ate a Pop-Tart. Then me and Dad hopped in his old Chevy truck, and we cruised down the highway towards the hunt club.
Now, this is mid-February, and everybody knows February is the coldest, wettest month there is. Even Florida in February can be nasty. And it was. I was colder than I' d ever been. It was that ' just got pulled out of a warm bed, and my body isn' t generating any heat' cold. I was all wrapped up in old sweaters and hunting jackets, and I can remember rubbing my hands together in front of the truck' s heating vents.
We got out of the truck and hit the woods. To this day I can remember the sunrise. Later, when we had dinner at Red Lobster, I drew the sunrise on the placemat they gave me. The yellow and orange through the old oaks was something special. There wasn' t very much chatter from the squirrels, but I was bound and determined to draw blood on my first hunt. We walked all over the woods, my dad working the little handheld squirrel call, and me scanning the trees.
The moment was really weird - it was like it was meant to be. We were walking, and all of a sudden I turned my head to the left. Staring me in the face, 10 paces away, and at eye level, was a squirrel. He sat there and watched me as I turned, raised the gun, cocked the hammer, and hit him in the head. It was probably the easiest shot anybody' s ever had to make, but I made it. I walked over, and he was lying on the ground. I picked him up, Dad took a couple of pictures with the old 110 camera, and we started hunting again. A rainstorm blew in before we could get on any more squirrels, but it was enough for me. That day was complete - I woke up like a hunter, saw the sun rise, and bagged my game. Everything just worked perfectly, and I felt more a part of the woods than I' d ever been before.
And I was eight.
Somehow that didn' t matter as much as, I was a hunter.
07-04-2003, 01:47 PM
#22
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: palm bay fl
Posts: 4,504
RE: First buck stories?
huntnma-
i have got to hear you explain why you were barefoot.
i have got to hear you explain why you were barefoot.
my best friend used to give me crap about it, jokingly of course, one day we were scouting and his shoes were just a sloshin' , squeeking, they just held the water in em.......i kinda got upset at him, because he was makin' too much noise, we agrued[:' (].........well hunting season began and he was looking to make his limit, he walked through some water and he realized he' d never see a bird with his boots making so much noise, he took them off, he ended up seeing some hens, figured there must a gobbler with them and stalked his way to them, he took a trophy bird, 19 lbs, 11 3/4 in.beard and 1.5 in. spurs.....he contributed his success to him not having his boots on, with them he would of never of been able to get within range without being heard.....
quote-HUNTINMA, I would love to videotape one of your hunts. Barefeet and all. You are a true florida hunter. quote
i' ll try to get some pics/video one day, when i do i' ll share it if you' d like
......and i take that florida comment as a honor, thank you 
loved all the stories , they were all just great
we need some more now[:-]
07-06-2003, 07:56 AM
#23
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Calvert co. Md USA
Posts: 540
RE: First buck stories?
Opening day for guns in MD 1972. I was 14 years old. We were hunting the mountains of western Maryland. I didnt see anything from my first morning spot so I got up and started walking down the logging road about 8:30. I walked about 100 yards and saw 3 does coming towards me. It was bucks only back then. I froze and threw my 308 up and just hoped one of them had antlers. They crossed the road about 30 yards in front of me and went on down the mountain. About 5 minutes later I here boom boom boom. Right about where the does would have been. Bucks only alright.
So I walk down the old logging road about another 100 yards and I see all these deer tracks crossing in the dirt. I followed the tracks into the woods about 50 yards and there were deer tracks all over the place. I sat there in a spot were I could see real good all around me.
10 minutes later here they come right in front of me 3 does and a nice 8 pt buck. The first thing I saw was one of them deer has a nice rack. I must have been sitting there with my mouth wide open and my eyes popping out because I forgot to get my gun up. Then they all stopped. They must have winded me, they were 30 yards away. Thats when I aimed at his shoulder and knocked him flat.
He had an 18" spread and checked in at 140 lbs. Two other hunters heard the shot and one of my friends also heard it and came over and one of the guys said do you want the heart? I' ll gut it if I can have the heart. And he pulled a baggie out of his pocket. I watched him gut my deer.
So I walk down the old logging road about another 100 yards and I see all these deer tracks crossing in the dirt. I followed the tracks into the woods about 50 yards and there were deer tracks all over the place. I sat there in a spot were I could see real good all around me.
10 minutes later here they come right in front of me 3 does and a nice 8 pt buck. The first thing I saw was one of them deer has a nice rack. I must have been sitting there with my mouth wide open and my eyes popping out because I forgot to get my gun up. Then they all stopped. They must have winded me, they were 30 yards away. Thats when I aimed at his shoulder and knocked him flat.
He had an 18" spread and checked in at 140 lbs. Two other hunters heard the shot and one of my friends also heard it and came over and one of the guys said do you want the heart? I' ll gut it if I can have the heart. And he pulled a baggie out of his pocket. I watched him gut my deer.
07-08-2003, 10:56 AM
#24
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 11
RE: First buck stories?
I was night hunting with my uncle back when I was about 14 and we shined a massive 10 pt. that we heard was in the area. I was shaking so hard my first shot missed but my second shot caught him just below the skull plate. Thats my best wallmount to this day.
07-08-2003, 11:58 AM
#29
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 11
RE: First buck stories?
he' s just trying to get you (and others) worked up. Ignore him and he' ll go away. He' s probably a
Well , maybe just NUB.
07-08-2003, 03:47 PM
#30
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Columbus, OH
Posts: 380
RE: First buck stories?
Sorry, maybe I' m a little possessive of this thread since I started it, but -
why in the world are you trying to twist anything here? There' s no debate. It' s a fun, happy thread.
I respectfully ask that you edit out your remarks. If you want to make some sort of point, make your own thread for it.
why in the world are you trying to twist anything here? There' s no debate. It' s a fun, happy thread.
I respectfully ask that you edit out your remarks. If you want to make some sort of point, make your own thread for it.