Your hunting lineage

[shortbus]

Why do you hunt? What is your hunting lineage? I am not from a long line of tried and true hunters. In fact it is the exact opposite. I am a first generation hunter. I was introduced to hunting by my older brother and he was introduced by a couple of his best friends when he was 15. He has been letting me tag along with him since I was 9. I find that very commendable. Seeing how I was like any other nine year old boy, loud and obnoxious! I am 34 years old now. I am extremely grateful for it being able to hunt and fish with my brother for the last 25 years. A couple of my favorite memories that set me on the right path are, when I turned 11 my brother checked me out of school. In his truck he had a brand new ugly stick fishing pole and a new fishing vest waiting for me. We spent the weekend in Wyoming fishing the Ham's Fork River. The other one is when I was 12 we decided to go hunt the Wasatch Front after church. My dad was discouraging us saying you won't get anything on Sunday. Wouldn't you know it I watched my brother Arrow his first archery buck. Seeing him shoot 160 inch mule deer was all it took and the rest is history. One of the best hunting experiences that we have had together is in consecutive years we drew the same limited-entry archery elk area here in Utah. We were both able to kill bulls and be there to experience it with the other.
My brothers bull

My bull

 

[Dias454]

Your lucky my brother doesnt want to hunt with me cause im a better hunter and a better shot then him

 

[jtm307]

You have a great brother. I'm a first generation hunter. As a kid, I always wanted to hunt, but my parents weren't outdoorsy. I was very fortunate my grandpa took me fishing at a young age which kept me outside. It wasn't until I had kids of my own and some friends to help me out when I finally decided to get into hunting. I wanted them to grow up with hunting as a frequent recreation. I've taken my brother on his first bird hunt, my sister on her first antelope hunt, and my friend's sons on their first deer and turkey hunts. I'll be taking a friend on his first big game hunt, another friend on his first upland bird hunt, and a friend's son on his first antelope and elk hunts. If hunter numbers are dwindling, it's not on my account.

 

[Eric.MN]

Seems like you Have a great brother. I was fortunate to have a fauther that taught us kids to hunt and fish from the getgo. My older brother and I have spent a lot time in the boat together and on plenty of hunts. I'm taking him on his first Wyoming mule deer hunt this fall. I also have two young boys and I will make sure I introduce them. I can't wait to take them on their Firsts hunts.

 

[Don Fischer]

I always wanted to. As a kid there was no opportunity though My dad hunted and everyone in his family. Buy mom left him before I was a year old. My step dad didn't at all. Finely though he'd take us And got me and my older brother a 96 Mauser in 6.5 I never shot that rifle! Earlier in my life I got every hunting magazine I could lay my hands on. Had a bad case of the want's for a Savage M99, have not only never owned but never even shot one. When I was 17 we moved back to Oregon and there my mother's whole family hunted. The rest is history!

 

[MJE2083]

My lineage goes back to my grandfather on my father's side. My grandfather did not grow up hunting. His father-in-law(my great grandfather) was a hunter, but never "took" to my grandfather. My grandfather has told me that he wanted to learn to hunt from his father-in-law but that he refused to take a "greenie" in the woods with him. Instead my grandfather made friends with an outdoorsman at work and learned to hunt from him. My grandfather in turn taught my father to hunt and both of them taught me. Both my father and grandfather were/are almost strictly whitetail rifle hunters...once a year deer-camp type of guys. They sparked the fire in me.

On a side note, my grandfather is/was a fisherman but my father never fished. My fishing skills are entirely self taught.

 

[the nikster]

My dad took me on my first hunt the week Idaho said I was legal. I could always rely on the old man. He was there for my first deer, biggest deer, first elk, first bull and most of the others as well.

 

[HalfAce]

I’m also a first generation hunter. While he wasn’t a hunter, my dad is a fisherman and got me into that at a very young age. I probably wouldn’t have been a hunter either had it not been for the few Mule deer and one Bull Elk mount my dad bought from a taxidermist to hang in the “cabin” room in their home. I wonder what my interests would be if i wasn’t lookin’ at those mounts as a kid? I’ve introduced my dad and 8 other people to hunting since I started, I plan on taking a few new guys this year that seem to have the drive to try it. Noone’s become a freak addict to it yet though.

 

[Huntkook]

My hunting lineage starts with my Grandfather he didn't hunt alot just a few days a year. My father was my biggest influence he had me going out rabbit hunting before I was legal age. Just watching the dogs work was amazing to me. At 12yrs old legal age I got my first rabbit and a spike buck I was hooked at that point. I still look at that rack and can still remember exactly how it happened. I've been hunting for 50yrs now and it has never lost it's luster. I feel alive in the woods. My Grandson is 3 and I hope to be a big influence to him.

 

[fmnjr]

Your brother has his head screwed on very well. First gen here, have hunted a handful of times. Hunts I went on didn't capture the imagination well though. Some friends took me with them here in NV one year, shot a deer from the road. My thoughts about this experience were something like "this is not what I thought it would be". After that, other distractions in life kept me occupied. Now I've been bitten by the bug and am determined to hunt two or more times every year going forward.

 

[Stillhunterman]

Pop's was the instigator to my hunting adventures, although he died when I was 16. I took to the forests, fields and streams myself afterwards and became totally immersed in the outdoor world of hunting and fishing. Honestly, since the beginning as a very young lad, I've no doubt this lifestyle was in my blood, so to speak. I consider myself very lucky to have had the experiences I have while hunting...

 

[R.K.]

Small game hunting in Southern IL. My grandfathers, and theirs, and so on. Squirrels, rabbits, ducks, quail, and whatever else would fit in the skillet in farm country. The love of waterfowl and squirrels was passed on early, but quail are almost extinct locally, and access to big game wasn't worth the headache in my dad's mind. I think my brother killed the first deer in our lineage while in high school, after we gained access to 15 acres of swampland. It was a good little spot before the neighbors turned their piece into a shooting range, and gave up a good number of deer through the years. Since then, deer numbers have grown, access has expanded, and I've put more than a dozen in the freezer. Turkeys, on the other hand, are a bit more elusive, and my first mature gobbler went down this spring, on public land in MO.

And now I'm making the jump to the Western game- moving to Montana in the next month. Hoping to focus on birds this fall, with maybe a NR doe or cow tag, if I can figure out how to get my hands on one. Hopefully I can figure things out and have family come visit to hunt next fall.

 

[SFC B]

I have no lineage to my knowledge. Hunting was one of the great things I got from my military service. While stationed at Ft. Lewis I was driving around in a Jeep XJ. One of my buddies ( a Texas guy) asked me to drive him around the training areas so he could scout for deer hunting season. I didn't even have an idea of what he was talking about. I motored him around all summer learning about game trails, scat, bedding areas etc. When the season came he didn't actually get to hunt (damn Army ) but I was sure I wanted to. So I went out and bought the cheapest rifle setup I could (Remington 710 combo) and hook up with another buddy who was going to hunt. We decided which TA we would hunt and scoped ourselves out a couple of clear cuts. The first night out I was planted on a tree stump at the tree line. As the last 20 minutes or so of shooting light was passing I heard a sound to my right I froze and moved my eyes only. Out comes a doe and fawn who proceed to walk to about 10-15 feet in front of me and stop and eat for a good 5min ( the area was 3 pt or better buck only). My heart was racing. That was it for me....I was 33 yo. Since then I have had the good fortune to be with both of my kids when they have harvested their first animals and hopefully have been the start of my families hunting tradition. I am very grateful to have had friends who have helped and guided me along the way.

 

[JTHOMP]

As for linage, my grandfather on my Mom's side was one of the best hunters I've heard of. As many did in those days he grew up hunting and fish commercially. In his adult life he made is money first on the oil rigs then a successful shrimping business. From then he lived to hunt. He passed before I was born, but I grew up with the stories from my family and friends that knew him.

My grandpa of my dad's side didn't care to hunt but still helped my dad to do so until he could hunt on his own or with friends. My dad had me shooting when I was 6 and hunting that fall. The hunting wasn't very good, but he always did what he could with what we had. When I moved for college if I was going to spend ample time hunting it would have to be on near by public land. That same season I bow hunted for the first time on a family friends property opening day. Never drew back, but ended up having a group of does walk within 10yds at ground level. I feel in love with bow hunting after that and really got serious about hunting public land. Joined a Louisiana hunting forum looking for more info and started a new adventure that I'm enjoying today.

That one hunt completely changed my life. Everything from friends, especially those I now consider family, my career, lifestyle...I can trace everything back to that one hunt and fire it put in me to start bow hunting on public land.

 

[BluegrassBilly]

My grandfather started me fishing - bluegill and crappie from the dock with a fiberglass "cane" pole and jugging for catfish. He also hunted deer before I was old enough to remember, but he stopped with the death of his brother/hunting partner.

My Canadian ex-pat step-father was the first to take me hunting. Squirrel first, deer later. He also taught me to fly fish from an early age, and took me to his stomping grounds at Lake of the Woods, Ontario several summers for walleye, perch, and small mouth.

My mentor at church was a gentleman in every sense. He gave me my first "big" gun - a break open 20 single - introduced me to upland birds, and gave me a now well-worn copy of The Old Man and the Boy.

September dove season was a ritual with my dad. Southern Illinois waterfowling was a thing for a few years until a guide came along and offered more money for the whole field.

I filled in the holes with my brother and college friends. But I'm ashamed to say I haven't introduced anyone new to the sport. (My daughter's only 3 months old, though!)