Who or what got you into hunting and the outdoors?

[OleRedbeard]

We all have that one person or that one defining thing we can probably peg as giving us the lifelong gift of the outdoors. For me it was my dad. I cannot imagine what my life (or my bank account) would be like without hunting and fishing in it and to be honest I wouldn't want to.
My dad passed away in February so this is the first season that we aren't calling or texting one another busting chops or setting up a overnight trip somewhere together and it has made for a somber fall.
If its any indication of how much he wanted me be a part of it all he had me in a backpack at 18 months old grouse and squirrel hunting wearing earplugs. I guess he planted the seed correctly because I can't remember a time in my life not having it on my mind. He would almost always let me tag along even if it meant missing a day of school here and there. Come to think about it I don't know that I ever told him how thankful I was for it. He sure missed out on what would have probably been much more productive hunting with less aggravation having me hanging on his coattail. He never really saw it that way though I don't think.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

My dad wasn’t a hunter but he instilled a deep love of the woods in me, I think of him every time I walk into the wilderness. Lost him 2 years ago...

Sorry for your loss

 

[memtb]

I was following my Dad, Uncles/Grandfather (Mother’s side of family) through the woods of Central Louisiana since I was about 5 or 6. My Dad’s brother was a handloader and made trips out west (Wyoming/Kolorado) with his cousins every other year. I was shooting at age 7, and watching my uncle handload was astounding to me. I bought my first centerfire rifle (Win. Model 88 in .308) when I was 14. I started handloading (Lee Loader) very soon after. I’ve been shooting, hunting, and handloading ever since! memtb

 

[daltrix99]

Here's a shameless shoutout...Big Fin was a huge driver for me! Him and Steve Rinella actually. I grew up having no connection to hunting, but I loved the outdoors and wildlife. So much so that I got a bachelor's in wildlife biology. After college I joined the Army, and when I got out, I thought about getting back into wildlife. On a whim, I looked for podcasts about wildlife, and stumbled onto Randy's, and MeatEater, about five years ago. I had (have) a ton of family in Montana, it's where my dad lives, so I moved out here when I got out, and took up hunting! I can't even say I'm self-taught, because I have learned SO much from Randy and Steve. Then living in Montana I was able to join an outstanding group of hunters and conservationists that are now some of my best friends. Some great mentors!

 

[406LIFE]

My old man.

 

[SFC B]

I grew up in what is affectionately called the ghetto, went to a crappy inner city high school and came from a broken home. Through some luck while living in ATL I got hooked up with scouts and got my first exposure to the woods. It was great. I got three years worth of camping and hiking before my mom died and I had to moved back to IN with my dad who lived deep in inner city INDPLS. From then until I went into the Army I did not get much time in the woods. My first active duty station was Ft Lewis, WA. While there I drove a Cherokee and one of my buddies asked me to driving him around the training areas on the fire breaks so he could scout for deer (he had a Civic). I did as 4 wheeling is always fun. He showed me sign, game trails, bedding areas and we even saw some deer and picked a shed. I decided to give it a try and the first night out I was sitting on a stump at the edge of a clear cut. Just before dark, in the gloaming, I hear a twig snap and freeze. A doe and fawn walk out within 20 feet of me and stop directly in front of me at about 30' and eat until dark. As they made it across the clear cut I slipped out and that was it....I was hooked. I was 33.

 

[Randi]

Born on a ranch in west Texas. I dont remember ever, not hunting. everybody in the family hunted.

 

[WyoDoug]

My dad got me into fishing and hunting. I went with him and my uncles and my dad's friends as far back as I can remember, well before I was able to hold my own fishing pole or gun. He also instilled the idea that we are the custodians of the land we access and it is our responsibility to leave it in as good shape or better than what it was when we used it.

 

[Howie]

I can only think that maybe TV....of the 3 channels we got in the early 50's....of just that I could run to a corn field or the tree line by the cemetery at the edge of the city. No immediate family or personal influences.

Now in later years, living in the forest finally, I believe it was just somehow in me and I used boy scouts and hunting as an excuse to be in the woods.

I now still hunt and love it but I'm not the hard drive, spend every minute, huntin' guy I used ta was.
I can only thank god, whoever she is, for putting that bug into me.

 

[mevertsen]

My family hunted when I was very young in Wyoming. Mostly subsistence type hunting. My dad archery hunted a lot. He took me on a bull elk hunt when I was 5. I still remember that damn bull bulging just out of bow range 31 years later.

We moved to Nevada and we didn't hunt for a few years until I turned 14. I have had a tag in my pocket all but once since 1998. I hunt with hounds. I hunt all the time. I have to live in the woods.

Just yesterday, I learned how I am bleeding off in my kids.

My four year old was examining various tracks in the dirt. It was quite entertaining seeing her reactions and "looking for clues" as she put it.

 

[Jappenz617]

My dad and grandfathers. When young kids, we'd always tag along for the seemingly daily rabbit hunts with the beagles. Started off hunting rabbits and squirrels, then on to deer, ducks, and geese. Opening day of gun season was anticipated all year long. Thankful for all they taught me growing up. Unfortunately they've all passed away now, but I'm passing what I've learned/know to my own kids. Good memories.

 

[Sawtooth]

My Dad and Grandfather hunted birds around their farm. They also were avid outdoorsmen and loved to fish. My big game hunting was sparked by my best friend and his father.

 

[np307]

Well I was always interested in hunting while growing up, I had uncles who hunted and my dad, brother, and I would go fishing often. But my dad's knees and back were already in too bad of shape to take us hunting back then and I was too busy playing sports to really care. When I got into college, I finally just asked my uncle if he would let me hunt his property since he wasn't going to be able to that year. I had my dad's old Bear Whitetail II and three arrows with no quiver. I didn't shoot anything that year, but I did at least have an encounter with a doe that kept me going. The next year I started hunting public land. It wasn't until my third year of hunting, fall of 2017 that I finally killed a doe, then another doe. Last year I killed my first buck and another doe. This year I've got one spike under my belt already and looking forward to the rest of the season.

The more that I got involved in hunting, the more I looked for more opportunities. I started squirrel hunting and enjoyed the laid back atmosphere and the freedom to move around more. Then I started turkey hunting and I got hooked.

All in all, I can't point to one person or thing that got my attention. I had plenty of influences around me and several people who encouraged me, like my uncle who let me hunt his land. But ultimately, the desire to hunt came from my enjoyment of the first experiences I had in the woods and the peace and tranquility of these crisp fall mornings.

 

[noharleyyet]

Growing up in a small town in Texas before billboard lawyering, we could call just about any landowner to hunt birds, rabbits, yotes...some even let us hunt deer. Some insisted you stay for supper.

You minded your manners, picked up your hulls, said thank you & yes sir/yes m'am.

 

[mtmuley]

Just a family thing for me. Normal Montana activity as I grew up. mtmuley
.

 

[RidgeRunner76]

My dad. 1st generation hunter. However, going all way back to 1800s family was outdoorsmans and big fishers. Hauling food, cast iron pans into the wild day in and day out. Weeks at a time.

What I took away, and continue to try emulate is sweat of the brow.

In today's day and age, we give it all away for a song and a dance. Convenience and all.....

 

[hank4elk]

Dad taught me to fish and Grandpa gave me books & pointed me to the mountains. An Uncle was the catalist.

 

[rideold]

Growing up we just always camped, hiked and fished. Always thought everyone did until I got old enough to realize differently. The hunting part is my own impetus

 

[KipCarson]

I owe it to my dad, I grew up in a farm out in the country and he started taking me deer hunting with him when I was 4. At 8 I started squirrel hunting with a .410 and then at 9 he got me fixed up with .410 slugs to try and kill a deer. It took quite a few years to kill a deer because he never made it easy on me but when I finally did it’s been full throttle ever since! He got me started bow hunting when I was 12 And now my brother and I are full blown card carrying addicts. We’ve made 18-19 trips out west hunting together now. He’s still in relatively great health but he’s probably made his last backpack trip above timberline with me unfortunately, that never was his thing anyway though, he prefers a nice camp with a full size cot down by the truck! He’s traded in his tiny treestands for a big 5x6 heated box stand I just built him (the kind railed against by so many on here lol) and sits day after day after day just watching and only pulling the trigger when just the right one comes along. We butt heads occasionally but I’m sure glad he’s still around! And as long as he is I’ll keep doing whatever it takes to help stay in the woods, it’s the least I can do!

 

[Big Slick]

Listening to the yarns of past hunting trips from my Dad, Grandpa and Uncles always had me on the edge of my seat as a young whipper snapper. I couldn’t wait to get my hunter safety card. I love to hunt, I can still hear the stories from years long past.