Who or what got you into hunting and the outdoors?

[ZBB]

My dad, when I was a kid I longed for the days of going to the bighorns with my dad, uncles and cousins. About the time I started hunting they all quit getting along and I was pretty involved with wrestling so it never happened. I hunt with a recurve or longbow mostly now due to my dad, uncle mike and Barrett stubbornness.

 

[Twolftg]

Even though my father hunted it was a story he told me about hunting with my Grandpa(his father in-law) that really was my inspiration. He had taken my father hunting shortly after my mother and father had gotten together. In the late 70s the drove up to northern MN for a cold deer opener. They just slept in the back of the truck, my dad said it was colder than hell. He woke up to my grandpa making coffee on the tail gate with nothing but his boxers and a pair of hunting boots in a light snow. As a little kid I always thought that was the coolest thing, and wanted to be as tough as him. Grateful for the past hunts we have shared and hopefully more to come.

 

[JMBC]

Trapping by myself at 10 yrs old started the obsession of the outdoors.

 

[Europe]

I dont remember not hunting and fishing. It has always been a part of my life as I was born and raised on a farm. As was my husband, so hunting and fishing was just something we did as children and continued to do as adults. We hunted and fished our farm's as well as the neighbors farms and they did the same.

Noharleyyet ---good post ---also-----Good Luck Today !!!!!

 

[deer_shooter]

My father was not into the outdoors and never had much time for me so I kinda got into it on my own. As far back as I can remember I was enthralled with any outdoors/animal programs, especially those out west. Our neighbor hunted and subscribed to the 3 main outdoor publications and would give me them each month after he was done. I would have been 5 or 6 sitting in the living room surrounded by Outdoor Life and Field and Stream magazines. I read them cover to cover, over and over. My mom would supervise me shooting a 22 starting at age 6 and lord only knows how many rounds I put through that little rifle over the years, a box of 22 shells at the time was around 50 cents IIRC. I was hunting small game around the house at 12 and moved to deer at 16 when I could do so on my own.

 

[devon deer]

My mother, she was a farmers daughter, she told me how she used to skin and cook rabbits and got me interested.
I have 3 brothers, none of them hunt, in fact looking at the rest of my extended family I am only one one who fishes and hunts.
But I lived on the edge of the city, whilst my friends went into the 'smoke' I used to head into the countryside, a polite knock on the door of the local farmers and I was given the ok to shoot.
I was too young to own an air rifle at 10, so I made my own bow and arrows, shot my first rabbit with it, then I got pretty good with a catapult, but when I was around 14 I got my first air rifle, I seriously damaged the bunny population, so much so my mother insisted I start to sell the bunnies to the butcher as my family had eaten enough.
Anyway, enough typing for one day, I'm off out deer hunting, not with my air rifle though!
Cheers
Richard

 

[Straight Arrow]

Kicking leaves traipsing through the aspen grove as a ten-yr-old, following my Dad hunting deer with his open sights 30-30 carbine, hiking and camping in the Little Belt Mountains of Central Montana. As a Boy Scout, spending time each summer at Camp Napi on the Blackfeet Rez on the shore of St Mary Lake with the taxidermy mount of a fur bearing fish from Iceberg Lake on the mess hall wall, and being transported into Glacier Park to hike the iconic hikes: Iceberg Lake, Ptarmigan Tunnel, Grinnell Glacier, Cracker Lake ... finally realizing as an adult what a wonderful boyhood I enjoyed!

 

[recon6036]

Around here, when growing up, if you didnt hunt you were part of a very small minority. Schools still close for opening day of rifle season. Like others, it was my dad who got me obsessed with hunting.

 

[Irrelevant]

Growing up in rural WA the outdoors was just what you did and by extension what you cared about and wanted to do more of. In terms of hunting it was 100% my grandfather. Unfortunately he developed dementia and we only got 2 years of actually hunting together, since then it's been a learn on my own type of thing. I few friends have also brought me into their family circles.

 

[jtm307]

I didn't grow up in a hunting household, but I was always interested in wildlife and had the desire to hunt big game. When I had kids of my own, I stopped procrastinating and found friends to show me the ropes to ensure my kids would grow up in a hunting household. Bird hunting was never on my radar until a couple of WYG&F employees took my family pheasant hunting. I was hooked instantly and bought a Brittany puppy that very same season.

 

[LuketheDog]

I've had an incredible draw to the outdoors and natural world for as far back as I can remember, and I could never get enough...still can't

 

[Talk2elk]

My dad for sure, he took me out as soon as I was 10 on a few learning hunts, before that I remember dad would be hunting and I would take my hunting stick rifle in the hills behind our house and pretend to shoot a big buck. My brother in law sparked my interest in elk as my dad was older and seem not to want to walk as far. My dad been gone since 06 but he is with my every day I'm outdoors.

 

[Artemis.Agrotera]

Hank Shaw. I was always interested in hunting growing up, but was told that "ladies don't hunt", and no one in my family ever hunted. I taught myself to cook when I left the nest, and slowly got more and more invested in techniques, ingredients, and knowing where my food came from. That lead me to Hank and Holly's (his girlfriend and a great hunter/writer) respective websites/blogs, and Hank made a post about BOW and related programs for new adult hunters. I signed up for the local BOW weekend, loved it, moved a few times, and finally got a chance to do a women's only muzzleloader hunt 2 years ago with a state agency and got two bucks. I was hooked. I'm still the only hunter in the family, but I take the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors on my own time and in my own way.

 

[Europe]

Hank Shaw. I was always interested in hunting growing up, but was told that "ladies don't hunt", and no one in my family ever hunted. I taught myself to cook when I left the nest, and slowly got more and more invested in techniques, ingredients, and knowing where my food came from. That lead me to Hank and Holly's (his girlfriend and a great hunter/writer) respective websites/blogs, and Hank made a post about BOW and related programs for new adult hunters. I signed up for the local BOW weekend, loved it, moved a few times, and finally got a chance to do a women's only muzzleloader hunt 2 years ago with a state agency and got two bucks. I was hooked. I'm still the only hunter in the family, but I take the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors on my own time and in my own way.

This is a great story ! Thank you for sharing it with us and congratulations on your muzzleloader hunts

do you only ( or perhaps prefer ) hunt with muzzleloaders ? Perhaps you already upland hunt, but if not, it is another type of hunt that one can easily get hooked on. Some of my "years ago" memories are just me, my dog and a shotgun somewhere on the back 40 (-;

 

[Artemis.Agrotera]

So, I'm very comfortable with rifle and muzzleloader, as those are the things I have the most experience and success with. I did try a state agency's dove hunt in 2018 and I was HORRIBLE. I was hooked on that, too, though. I'm saving up for a good upland gun (and a separate duck/goose gun!), but there is going to be *a lot* of range time before I go after woodcock, dove, or pheasants. I think I went through 2 boxes of shells and I brought home a single dove (this was a 12 hour round trip in just driving), which I showed my husband how to clean and I made into two very precious jalapeno poppers for us. I'm also hoping to get invested in archery this coming year, so I know where all of my spare time and money are going.

I know what you mean about your dog! All of my outdoorsy overnighters are just my dog and myself in a tent exploring where the road or the trail takes us.