Why I hunt.
 

Why I hunt.
First off it is because I live in American and can own firearms and bows and have the right to do so.

I started hunting small game in a mostly to busy to hunt family, dad it seemed had two out side jobs and the farm to care for in spare time. It was those fall day with my little brother that instilled the love of partridge hunting, squirrels and rabbits.

Then in my early teen years attending school in town for the first time and meeting kids who's dads deer hunted I developed a desire to do that as well. Started as soon as I was old enough but was not very good at it having to learn every thing from books and listening to tales from school chums.
Met my hunting partner who grew up hunting a bunch with his family who were hunting some thing all the time. He took me under his wing for 46 years and taught me all I know today it seems.

That part of hunting was the best getting together with friends his family and going afield. Good natured ribbing about missing a shot accusing each other of shooting pats out of trees ducks and geese on the water. I feel today the best times of my life were those days.

Later hunting and teaching our kids who finally went their own way. so it boiled down to just my friend and I for 14 years before he passed away.

I only squirrel, deer hunt mostly now alone and coyote hunt with a select 5 friends which is mostly day hunts. Some times 4 of us will get together early in the morning to hunt coyotes and again in the early evening, but it normally will not be the same guys morning and evening or day to day.

We seem to enjoy at ribbing each other about being blind when we did see a coyote or missed what was deemed a simple easy shot.

With just the two of us living in this house Kids in other states I can be picky what I tag during deer season. The meat is nice but not all that important any longer. Even though we in my area can buy 5 doe tags a day over the counter I have not bought one in over 50 years.

Yes I am a old codger be 69 soon. My old partner said back in 2003 that we would have to stop hunting some day. 2004 was his last season passing away in 2005. I also plan on my last hunting season being the one that closed before the day I die.

:D Al

Similar up bringing; meaning no one in my immediate family hunted.

However, like you my neighbors did and also my uncle and cousins.

I started trapping muskrat and selling them to our local taxidermist to earn enough money to buy my first shotgun - H&R single shot 20 gauge.

You are also right about those times in our lives, as they still loom large in my memories.

I hunt now to keep me connected with nature, and try not to allow society to "neuter" me from the real world !

Nice story Al, thanks and may you have many more season in front of ya!

Good story and a good life you have going on so far alleyyooper. Getting together with buds & fam over hunting is a big part of it. A friend from our deer camp died this summer suddenly at 47, it won't be the same at camp this year. He used to bring some booze he mixed up called apple pie, we would pass it around the campfire at night and BS. I also enjoy getting together to cut and wrap up the venison, just as much as the hunt, it's all good times!

I have wrote about a lot of my hunting & fishing adventures. Not a lot of places where I can put them online. One hunting forum that had a section for hunting and fishing stories folded in March this year.
I still do some here but I fear it to will soon fold.

http://gardenersgumbo.com/modules.ph...viewforum&f=20

:D Al

Good to hear the stories Alley. May your seasons continue.

Myself I grew up and my father did hunt. Being a Marine though he didn't always have time and he either took time before work to go hunt or sometimes during his lunch. He used to clean and butcher the deer he brought home by hanging them on our old metal swing set (with the two swings). Because we lived on base, base would only allow us to hunt after completing the hunters safety course which was only offered if you where 12 or older. So we had to wait a long time till we where allowed to join him.

Once finally of age my dad started us out by taking us out squirrel hunting. As we got older he would take us out hunting but I will admit I never learned anything in those years. Lets be honest, you wake a kid up at 5am to go hunting we tend to fall back asleep in the vehicle so we really never learned where we went. We would wake when we got to the area and then holding on to our fathers belt or hand would walk in the dark to a location our father knew. There we would spend our time till we either got too antsy or too cold and would leave. I wont lie, we never really learned much in those years as we didn't know what to ask or look for and as my father still says then we discovered girls and would rather do that then go hunting.

Joined the Navy and after I got out and moved back home, I got really heavy back into fishing first. Spent year round fishing almost every single day (wife but no kids yet). But then I got an urge to join my father out hunting. Don't know what it was but just had an urge to get out there and hunt.

Now I consider my hunting life in two stages. The first was with my father and now with me over the last few years doing more solo. Or us taking two different locations. I ask him alot more questions now to learn what he knew and I spend time out in the woods to learn even more. You guys passing on information has helped alot as well. The reason I consider my hunting life in two stages is because most of the deer I have ever harvested was with my father by my side. When I have struck out on my own I have not been as successful, and I am OK with that. I am trying to apply what he has passed on to as many new areas as possible to learn from my mistakes and learn more areas that where not previously known by him. I think I am currently in the golden years you speak of and can only hope to go as long as some of you have.

I grew up in a family of hunters, I lived on a farm til I was 10 so all my uncles came to our place the first day of small game season to hunt with my dad. Watching and listening to them laughing and telling stories as kids were like to do back then instead of being off playing some computer game,there was never any question that I would be a hunter when I was 12. I started hunting during the hay day of pheasant hunting. The area in PA where I am from was the heart of pheasant country and brother, we had pheasants and pheasant habitat. Lots of rabbits and squirrels as well. I would get home from school and if my dad was on day shift, my gun and shells would already be in the car, I changed clothes and we went for the last hour of squirrel hunting. I have two younger brothers, they were raised the same way. We did hunt deer, but there were not many in the area of the state where we lived, small game was king. Why do I hunt? Because it is in my nature to hunt!

This topic is quite old. Alley I hope you are still with us.
I started hunting because it was what my dad did. He worked his ass off pouring concrete his whole life after the Marine Corp. Semper Fi to all you leather necks out there. He took the time to take me out and appreciate the outdoors when he had time. In high school sports had pretty much taken over my life. But we still made time for a couple weekend trips camping out in the back of the truck. Then deer season came around. I have been away from home for every thanksgiving since I was 13. The rule at our camp was you had to have hunter safety and hunt with your dad for a year before you could come up.

My dad took the time to teach me how to build a " post" as they called it. Looking back it was sketchy to cut sapplings down to nail to a tree and climb up 30 feet to a platform you just nailed in. Its amazing we didn't loose and family members in camp from that. He watched me shoot my first buck, from a distance as he kicked it up walking over to get me at 13. He then gave me his rifle that I use to this very day every gun season. He and my grandfather also experienced my getting lost in a 12 mile square patch of hardwoods and iron swamp that same year. When dad says stay put from then on , I did it. Luckily I heard a chainsaw off in the distance and walked toward it. And recognized the road I was on when I came out. My compass kept pointing north in that swamp. We laugh now but boy did my ass hurt for leaving the spot he put me and said to stay in. After they hugged me and made sure I was ok of course.

Camp consisted of my father, grandfather, and great uncles Dale, Dennis, Douglas, Rollie, and Delain. We had a 16 x 22 cabin with a wood burner queen size bunk beds and cots. Some of my best memories of hunting came from that camp.

Then I went off to play college football, Made it up to camp for a weekend but I made it. Left after 1 year and I felt a calling to serve as all the men in my family did so off to the Army in honor of my grandfather, dad wasn't overly pleased but proud. Hoo Ah. I missed 1 season while I was in the Army, but my buddies made up for it by taking me bow hunting. I fell in love with bow hunting.

I came home after my enlistment was up and then started bow hunting and really got in deep with it. everything I did revolved around bow hunting. My dad took notice and asked me to teach him how to Bow hunt. I still enjoy that with him as well as gun Hunting.

My grandfather Cliff is still with us at 95 years of knowledge. As I have stated in another reply on the forums, His short term memory is fading but he can tell you about a hunt he was on back in 1935 so detailed you can picture that you are next to him watching the deer come in. He had to hang his gun up 5 years ago, as his eyesight and health prevent him from even coming up to the cabin anymore. He tells the stories and I try to record them for my son who is 3 and my nieces and nephews. I know take them up and take them out to a blind at least once a year and give them an unloaded 22 and teach them gun safety, muzzle awareness, and hunting techniques at least once a year. When they get home their great grand father wants to hear all of the details so he can still be a part of CAMP.

I am now 38 and still feel like a kid the day before opening of any season. I hope you enjoyed this story. I will post more about adventures I have had and any my grandfather Cliff or "PAPA" as I have always called him, that I remember.

Alley, I applaud your commitment to hunting, and the relationships you form in the process of hunting. I pray you are still with us even if it is only to hear the details of CAMP. God Bless you and your Family. and God Bless America.

This post isn't all that awful old and I am still alive and kicking. I just bought my 2015 tags the other day even so am starting to get excited looking forward.

At our UP deer camp a compass isn't all that accrete either. I was going to show my hinting partner a way thru a really thick cedar swamp to a hard wood ridge on the other side after a wet heavy 6 inches of snow one year. I could almost get to the start of the trail thru the swamp and the compass said north was that away, take one step and it said north was over there another step and it pointed even another direction. Lots of iron ore in the area so the compass just goes nuts in some spots.
I got a GPS as soon as they came out with a 12 channel job. Yet there were even places in thick hemlock cover you could not get a signal with it even.

:D Al

I mistook you joined date for the post date, my bad new guy lol