Deerslayer_37

My dad started me out fishing when i wasnt even two years old. we got my first bluegill on video somewhere. it started from there. i fished a little more each year, then he started me on bushytails. i got one the first time out. i was 9 or 10. we got a four wheeler when i was 11 and he let me drive it behind the house by myself and let me hunt squirrels alone. i used a little Winchester model 67 single shot bolt acttionthat he used when he first started. i came along hunting deer when i was 10 or so. i walked drives. at age 12, i finally got to hunt deer and turkeys. got a nice tom that fall, and then followed up with a buck and two does. he's never pressed hunting on me like some parents do with their kids. i've expanded on what he has taught me, picking up ducking hunting, predator hunting, and i taught myself all the skills needed for bowhunting. Hunting has always been in our family. his dad hunted during the depression to put meat on the table. his parents hunted, their parents were from Norway, so i dunno if they hunted over there or not. either way,my dad got me into the outdoors and i've expanded off it.

slayer

BowHuntingFool

My Father got me into hunting. I loved it, when I got out of high school a buddy of mine wanted to try bowhunting so we did!

ButchA

Well, I grew up in upstate NY where people hunted deer and pheasants. Being that I am 43 years old, I am the youngest of 5 kids (4 older sisters, 0 brothers. You guessed it, I am the only boy, the baby of the family, and the spoiled brat! ). Anyway, my dad and uncles hunted back in the 50's and 60's, and I was just a small baby way back then. But, later on, when I came of age to hunt, everyone around me had given it up. So I had no one to show me the ropes. So I just let it be and never got into hunting as a kid. My dad got back into it back in the 80's when he was retired, but I never got a chance to hunt with him, as I was in the USCG and stationed all over the place. Ever since my dad passed away (in May 2002), I carry his old 1982 NY State hunting license with a single deer tag removed.

Anyway, getting back on track to this post, I had nobody around to show me the ropes on hunting, but all you guys (and gals). You all sort of "took me under your wing" as the saying goes, and I appreciate it a lot!

Butch A.

young_gun

well i remember shooting my dads .22 pistols when i was younger and shooting a vew of his other guns. and i also remember him coming home with some geese every now and then. my mom and dad divorced and i stayed with my mom. she wasnt a hunter. but she remarried to a man that hunted some so i remember going out pheasant hunting every now and then when i wasnt old enough to take a gun. but i went fishing every day of the summer for a bout 5 yrs straight and just loved the outdoors. when i was old enough to take hunters safety i did and my then stepdad bought me my first gun a 12 gauge kind of as a present for passing and also so that i could go pheasant hunting. i went pheasant hunting alot with a friend and his dad. eventually my mom and stepdad got divorced and we are still in touch hes one of the best men in the world in me and my brothers eyes. ive gone deer hunting the past 4 years with him. and im sure that there will plenty more years of it to come.

Moose_Maximus

I didn't come from a hunting family. My father had hunted Commies during the Korean War, and afterwards wanted nothing to do with guns or killing.

When I was in my early 30's, a neighbor (avid bird hunter) talked me into trying dove hunting, which I liked a lot. In the last year or so, I got more interested in big-game hunting.

I went on my first deer hunt two months ago (didn't see any). I've been on a couple of feral hog hunts, which I've enjoyed immensely.

I've still got a lot to learn about hunting, and wish I could get more experience locally (without going broke).

Allen Denton

I always liked walking in the woods up at my grandparents house. My uncle lives in Southhampton and has hunted all of his life. We went and visited them during hunting season and I hung out at the clubhouse and helped pick up dogs. I them went with him to run dogs and that was it, I was hooked. I just finished my 18th season.

NJ Deer

My father started letting me tag along when i was not even 3 years old...i remember sitting in a duck blind with him and a few of his friends loving everyminute of it...he took me bird hunting every saturday of the season before i could cary a gun and now i just love the outdoors...we hunt all fall and winter and fish all spring and summer...just cant get enough of it no matter what....im hooked for life..i hjave a younger brothewr who comes along and he has shot some pheasnat n ducks/geese but hasnt gotten a deer yet..he likes it but not to the extent that i do...i bet that once he shoots his first buck his feeling mught change a bit..lol

Murph095

Hey gang, new to the site and new to hunting. I thought I could give a point of view from a 35 year non hunter who is going to start hunting. I grew up in Northern Ohio and my father was not an avid outdoors man. He was a sport fan and coached my little league football team and supported traditional team sports. I always had friends that hunted, mostly whitetail up in mid and northern Michigan. Imet my wife about 11 years ago and the first time we visited her family was awe inspiring. her parents lived just outside Cadillac Michigan and their property butts right up to state land. First I was up there her father got a buck, her brother got a buck, and her uncle got a buck. I helped the men clean and butcher their deer. From being around my in laws I really began to appreciate the outdoors and the animals that are a hugh part of it. My father in law as an avid hunter-fisherman. He had gotten elk, bear, boar, ram and so many deer I don't think I could count. My wife hunted growing up and has/had a love for it. She discontinued shortly after we started dating. I have spent the last 10 years visiting northern Michigan. Mio, harrison, harrietta, Wellston, Cadillac, Elk Rapids and much more. My buddies and I routinely attend wild game dinners and share venison recipes. We shoot trap together and I have spent many night listening to their many stories about the hunt. Until next year my wife and I have always gotten our venison from family and friends. I have made a decision that it is now my time toget involved. My son is 3 years old and I want to be able to bring him up appreciating the outdoors. I spent this year going with my buddies and observing their hunts, knowledge is best gained in the field and while I have read many books on whitetail deer and their biology and their life habits, the experience of being out there cannot be replaced. Next fall I will venture out and attempt to get my first. This passion inside of me has grown over the past 10years and I am ready to begin. I apologize for this long drawn out post and look forward to talking to the lot of you about this lifestyle we all seem to love.


Murph