How did you get into hunting?

[Funter]

Who influenced you? How long ago?

I started durring my junior year of high school when I moved to AZ.It started with quail then javelina and so on. A friend and his dad got me started.

 

[noharleyyet]

My son, at 9, would talk of nothing but hunting & got me enthused after years of non-hunting...was a better hunter at 11 than most guys I knew...he's now 20 and still better than most, especially his dad.

 

[csutton7]

my dad.........chris

 

[fairchase]

I got started hunting in Mexico at the age of 10. My job was to chase down shot birds and picking up empty shells for couple of retired Americans. I finally got my first gun for my 15th birthday.

 

[huntinfool]

Well I was born in to it... my family has hunted for as long as... well ... as any one can remember. First time I went hunting I was 2 month old and I been stuck one it since.
First deer I got I was 9 years old and it was a nice whitetail.

 

[BuzzH]

I got into hunting because my grandparents and parents were all outdoor oriented people and I listened to countless hunting and fishing stories.

We didnt go to disney land or any of that crap, we went hunting, fishing, and camping.

My buddy and I were talking the other day about how much things have changed for us over the years. We used to hunt all day with a fanny pack containing a sandwich, a pint of water, a knife and a couple extra shells. Now we have backpacks full of crap, fancy high-tech clothes, better optics, etc. etc. etc.

We both agreed we've come a long, long way since then...and also both agreed we miss those early years that seemed much more simple and rewarding in lots of ways.

The excitement level for hunting has not declined much over the years...but for me there was never a more exciting time than when I was finally 12 and had a rifle, a license, and opening day was tomorrow, thats the stuff dreams are made of...

 

[BigHornRam]

I grew up backpacking, camping, and fishing. At that time period my dad was losing interest in hunting being that we lived in California. I did tag along on an occasional squirrel or pheasent hunt. When we moved to Wisconsin, I got in to trapping and started to deer hunt, but fishing still was number one. After college, I moved to Idaho, and started to hunt deer and elk, and have been hooked ever since. What's neat is that recently my dad has renewed his interest in hunting now that he's retired, and we are now making up for lost time.

 

[1_pointer]

My dad hunted and I wanted nothing more than to be like him! I still remember the look on his face when I shot my first buck. I'm pretty sure he was more excited than I was!

 

[snake river rufus]

hunting is just something that I've always felt the need to do. My dad was a bird hunter but everything else was self taught.

 

[Pygmy]

My Dad and uncles all hunted everything from coon to deer...

When I was growing up in rural upstate NY, nearly all of my friends hunted..The high school used to be a ghost town on the opening day of deer season...

 

[MattK]

Family in general. I started to really enjoy hunting in highschool but always enjoyed a day out with the family. I gopher hunted for as long as I can remember. I received a 4-10 shotgun at 11 and a 6 mm when I was 12. I still feel the thrill of hunting but I enjoy stalking, being outdoors and hunting with family and friends a lot more. When I was younger, the thrill came from getting something.

 

[Wally Dog]

I was so fortunate to grow up in a small rural town with father, grandfather, uncles and friends that all hunted. In 48 years on this planet I really can't remember not hunting, or at least fondling the dead stuff dad brought home.
WD

 

[buckeye in ga.]

hunting rabbits and pheasants with my uncle and tracking fox in the all winter long in the 70's than deer and now ELK in the rockies

 

[DRAFTSTUD]

I guess I started in 1964 standing with my father as the "Family" ran dogs for Deer. This is before 4 wheelers and we would line Haul Roads and my Uncle would turn the dogs loose and follow on horseback. It was so.....Walton's Mountain! My Uncle had 17 brothers and sisters! The wind in the pines would blow and sound just like a truck coming down those Red Dirt roads and that meant that Aunt Betty was coming around with thick sliced ham samwiches, hot sweet potatoes and Hot Coco. If we could'nt get the Deer up, in the afternoon I would go squirrel hunting with my Aunt Betty, later on I found out she did'nt know squat about hunting, except that that's what Kids should be raised doing! John

 

[Steiny]

I was raised in a cave by a pack of wolves, so it just came natural.


Actually, we grew up hunting. Always had beagle hounds and could pretty much hunt small game; bunnies, squirrel, quail and pheasant right out the back door. Still can. Used to take the BB gun before dad would let us use a real gun and advanced to the single shot .22 before shotguns were allowed. Never got anything, but by gum, we were hunting !

Didn't have hardly any deer around here until the early 70's. If fact, it used to be a special treat to see a deer when we were kids. When they started taking off good, and we got to chasing them it really became interesting.

My three brothers all pretty much gave it up, but Dad & I still hunt. I can't get enough of it.

 

[KC]

MY father had grown up in rural Kansas and had hunted as a kid. But by the time that I came along, he had given it up. Somehow I just knew that I wanted to hunt. So when I was 14, I saved my money and bought a .22 cal Marlin model 25 from Sears and started hunting rabbits and squirrels. The next summer, I shot my first deer, with a 30-30 that I borrowed from my grandfather. Everything I know about hunting is self taught.

 

[tnctcb]

my dad took me as a kid. the older i got the more the passion grew. my dad doesnt hunt anymore but i am passing it on to my kids now.

 

[MarvB]

My dad mainly fished with an occassional dove or pheasant hunt. BIg game hunting was brought to me by a pair of (ex) brother-in-laws. Great guys guys but poor husbands They got me hooked at an early age (10+/-) and I took it from there.

When we moved from coastal to NE California my folks purchased 116 acres that bordered (at that time) open access private timberlands. I couldn't wait to get home from high school each day to go hunting/fishing. My school was 35+ miles away and a fairly long commute but before long I had all my high school buddies always wanting to stay at our house so they could go out hunting on the weekends. Squirrel, rabbits, coyote, coon, deer, etc. could be hunted right out the front porch...which is saying something for Kaliforny! Good days growing up in the 70's!