The first time I met my father in law

[Gellar]

@wllm1313 inspired me to write a story about my first time meeting my future in laws...

How did you meet your father in law? Was it at a formal dinner? Was it as he tapped on the back window of your car with you and his daughter in it? Or was it as you drug a pope and young whitetail out of the woods?

 

[Gellar]

The first time I met my future father in law we had been dating for about 6 months. I got a call on the old flip phone in late September and a gruff voice introduced himself. The chat was brief but he said “I understand you are a bow hunter, I set up a stand for you and I think you should come hunt from it.” Being in my early 20s and not taking my college to seriously I was packed and ready to go! The season didn’t start until October 1 and it would take an additional 9 days to finally make it to his farm.

 

[Gellar]

My future wife and I pulled into her parents driveway at their farm on a Friday in mid afternoon. Like most farms there was equipment scattered here and there, a calf was loose in the yard and my Mother in Law had huge cheeseburgers ready to eat. Still doing chores it was no time to bother my father in law. We went inside, the entire time I’m nervously waiting not to meet my future father in law but because the afternoon sun was sinking in the sky and I still had to get my hunting clothes on and find this stand that was hung for me.

My gf(now wife) showed me around her parents house that was an old log cabin filled with antlers from huge bucks, but only 1 shoulder mount. The shoulder mount was a 220” nontypical that come to find out my FIL was not proud of. He told me he was not proud of it because a bigger buck was right behind it, and he got the “smaller” buck. As I was admiring this buck, and others that should be shoulder mounted, the door flies open and there is my future father in law. Standing in the doorway, in his underwear! After working his cows all morning and afternoon he was dirty and covered in crap so he stripped down to his skivvies and came inside to meet his future son in law. He immediately began to apologize because he was not a bow hunter but he had put a stand up in the corner of a field and some woods. He didn’t know if it was a good set up but he had been seeing a buck back there.

I had just met this man and did not know yet that when he has a buck found you had better be ready! He told me about 4:15 every afternoon this buck walks from the west up a fence line and crosses into his corn. Around 3:15 he gave me a ride to this stand on his 4 wheeler and said good luck.

 

[Gellar]

The stand was a old steel ladder stand chained to a giant white oak tree about 12 feet off the ground. It was in a wooded pasture about 10 yards west of a fence to the corn and about 10 yards north of a fence to a crp field. I positioned myself facing south with the wind in my face. Sure as shit at 4:15 I saw movement down the fence line. I got my release attached to my bow and lifted into a position I could easily drawback. The buck was an obvious shooter and it did not take long to get into range. At 23 yards I let an arrow fly.

The buck went back the way he came and even jumped to my side of the fence. He was hit hard, but I was still in disbelief. I quickly gathered my things and walked back to the house. My father in law had been watching from an upstairs window and saw it all unfold. Even though the stand was more then a 1/4 mile from his house he new exactly where that buck laid down.

Another 4 wheeler ride on the back and we were following a blog trail. After crossing the fence we didn’t go another 60 yards to a multi flower rose patch and there he was!

 

[Gellar]

 

[Nick87]

Question is whetes the pic of the buck?

 

[Gellar]

Question is whetes the pic of the buck?

Circa 2005 the phones didn’t take the greatest photos.

 

[Nick87]

Circa 2005 the phones didn’t take the greatest photos.

I was talking about the father in laws shoulder mount.

 

[Nick87]

The wife and I had been dating a few months. I was supposed to meet up with them at a restaraunt couple towns over where he lives. I snuck out for an afternoon hunt and assured her I wouldn't hunt til dark and would have plenty of time. Ehhhh, I showed up at least an hour late to dinner. Father in law is super laid back, he didnt seem upset but my now wife was pissed. He took it better than I would have, thank god I dont have daughters. Women never forget the details as she constantly reminds me my excuse was, " I know I know, but the birds were really flying tonight.

 

[rmyoung1]

It was summer after my sophomore year of college and I was back home. 45 degrees at the house that morning in Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone NP. Caught a plane a few hours later from Bozeman to San Antonio TX to visit my sweetheart and meet her parents. It was 106 when the plane landed and I had heat stroke before I could walk the length of the jetway. Her dad greeted me in his kitchen with a baseball bat.

Things sorta went downhill from there.

 

[fishing4sanity]

I met my wife in college and we had gotten pretty serious before I met her family. I was raised on a farm and still farm today, her parents are city people (there's nothing wrong with that) and had decided what kind of a husband they wanted her to pick - and it wasn't a farmer. Their idea of a farmer was that I sat around in my bib-overalls and threw corn to the chickens once in awhile. We didn't get married for a couple of years and they frequently kept my now-wife informed of what her former boyfriend and their preferred pick for a S-I-L was doing. Things improved, but it's never been a close relationship.

 

[Nick87]

there's nothing wrong with that

If you say so.

 

[fishing4sanity]

If you say so.

There's gotta be people living in town, otherwise I can't enjoy my solitude out here in the country. My former-city-girl wife often informs me that my sons and I couldn't live in town without being arrested on a regular basis.

 

[Nick87]

There's gotta be people living in town, otherwise I can't enjoy my solitude out here in the country. My former-city-girl wife often informs me that my sons and I couldn't live in town without being arrested on a regular basis.

I'm in the same boat with my wife, she says the exact same thing about me and the three boys even though there little. Tried it in town once with her, not for me. Never been so uncomfortable in my entire life.

 

[Gellar]

I was talking about the father in laws shoulder mount.

I’ll get one next time I’m there

 

[Gellar]

The wife and I had been dating a few months. I was supposed to meet up with them at a restaraunt couple towns over where he lives. I snuck out for an afternoon hunt and assured her I wouldn't hunt til dark and would have plenty of time. Ehhhh, I showed up at least an hour late to dinner. Father in law is super laid back, he didnt seem upset but my now wife was pissed. He took it better than I would have, thank god I dont have daughters. Women never forget the details as she constantly reminds me my excuse was, " I know I know, but the birds were really flying tonight.

My dad was late to his wedding because it was opening day of pheasant season. he’d never missed one and didn’t plan to for that. That was 42 years ago and they are still married.

 

[F250]

When my Father-in-law met for the first time, we drank beer and talked about hunting and fishing.

 

[LuckyTom]

The first time I met my future father in law we had been dating for about 6 months. I got a call on the old flip phone in late September and a gruff voice introduced himself. The chat was brief but he said “I understand you are a bow hunter, I set up a stand for you and I think you should come hunt from it.” Being in my early 20s and not taking my college to seriously I was packed and ready to go! The season didn’t start until October 1 and it would take an additional 9 days to finally make it to his farm.

I'm guessing you proposed immediately after field dressing the buck... I mean who wouldn't? GF's family has a farm, first time you spoke with GF's dad he requested you come hunt (not the other way around), quick meeting of the family shows they are hardworking country folk and shoot lots of deer. On the surface it sounds like you struck gold in this situation.

 

[Mallardsx2]

The first time I met him I was with my wife (then girlfriend) and we met him at a boat ramp, stepped onto his bass boat, I introduced myself and shook his hand and then we were going 70 MPH down the lake and my "lucky" hat blew off and sunk to the bottom of the lake before we could circle back and get it.....lol

 

[duckhunt]

When I was dating my first wife she had told me that the only hobby her dad had was drinking beer. Ok so when I met him I had a couple beers with him and he acted like I was his best friend. That marriage didn't work out so unfortunately when I dated my present wife her father had died from a heart attack a few years before. I wish I could have met him because my wife tells me that we would have got along great.