[hlq]

For me it was my great grandfather. He was a quiet, hard working man who worked to live and lived to hunt and fish.

He started me out gopher hunting the summer I was five or so, teaching me about how to safely handle a firearm and how to think like the animal I was hunting. After a couple of years of shadowing him I finally graduated to his model 12. The first time I shot it, it put me on my back side. He just kind of smiled and told me I'd get better at it.

His ideas were simple, hit what you shoot at or don't shoot, and pay attention to whats happening around you. Over the years from prairie dogs to elk those to thoughts have served me well. Thanks Gramps..

How about you?

[3pairs12]

My dad introduced me to hunting. The running joke is that I was his first bird dog. Apparently by age 3.5 I was retrieving his dove for him. I got my licsence at age 8 and it has been down hill from there. There are still some nights before certian season openers I can't sleep well because I am just too excited. My 11yr old daughter is getting to be the same way ecspecially for dove opener. I think she just likes theidea of getting to run through a lot of rounds where at deer season its 1 or 2.

[chas08]

My maternal Grandfather sparked the interest, but he passed away before I was old enough to follow in his footsteps. My Dad kindled and developed the intrest by buying me a 20 ga H&R Topper 158 when I was ten and taking me Duck hunting a few times a season, till I was old enough to drive. My dad quit hunting shortly thereafter. He said he really never enjoyed the hunting all that much and that he did it because I loved it so, and it was something we could do together in the fall and winter. I have His and my Granfathers shotguns now and my youngest Daughter has His Deer rifle that he never used.

[Bearhands]

My Dad, .... I WAS his birddog.. he'd tell me to "sneak under those bushes over there(briars) and "see if we can't grab a pheasant for dinner".
Or I'd gather up apples or whatever and toss em into the fence rows for him.... In deer season, I got to carry his knife "just in case a deer jumped me":D When I became old enough to hunt, he'd make sure I saw game.

[jbkebert]

My dad introduced me to the joys of hunting. My mom told me the story a thousand times that when I was born. Dad dropped her off at the hospital and went to the Ducks Unlimited banquet. In his defense he was the president of the Jackson county chapter of DU at the time. My grandpa even bought me the DU shotgun at the auction for my birthday. Dad quit hunting when I was around 12 years old. The death of our old lab really took it out of him. My brothers and I continued on our own and are now passing it on to our kids.

[Deer Hunter]

Father and Grandfather. Or Dad and Pawpaw as I called them.

[Funderb]

rd ryder co. and all the lizards in my back yard.

gotta feed the pet snake some how..

[Loyalist Dave]

Dad!



Ld

[lesterg3]

Sports Afeild, my Dad could have given a sh-t about hunting or fishing!!

[gotgcoalman]

Me;
as far as i can go back none of my family have owned guns
(for private use) WW1 and WW 2 included.

I'm the first to bring guns into the home for sport/fun.

By fun imeam a Sunday morning clay shooting or vermin
control on a local farm with my 2 sons.

[lukepriebe]

My dad and brothers. My dad has the uncanny ability to sit for hours motionless in the freezing snow. I tried but was never that good. I still remember him carrying his old Garand out every November until his back went out and he switched to a 30-30.

[Legionnaire]

My father-in-law. He and my wife conspired to buy me the first gun I ever owned--a Mossberg 500 combo. That gun has taken its share of deer, rabbits, squirrel, and even an occasional game bird over the years. My FIL fed my latent interest in hunting and it has become a great bonding experience. Further, he was there when my oldest son got his first deer, when I had to work. So I'm greatly indebted to my father-in-law. He's getting "up there," but I trust we will still have several more years of shared hunting experiences.

[testar77]

Mine was actually a close friend that I worked with. He is considerably older than I am, but that's the way it's always been with me, all of my closest friends are older than I. I bought a rifle in 1998 and he started teaching me a few things, once I got my first deer locally he started taking me over to "his spot" every year with him, which I did for about 4 years. In between deer season we would do some Bear hunting and such. Oddly enough we don't hunt together at all anymore, we are still good friends but I now have another hunting partner also considerably older than I (he's gonna bitch when he reads the considerably part LOL). He and I have hunted together for the last oh 7 or so years, and we have had a LOT of fun over that span, although sometimes I wish I still hunted with the last partner, my current partner is part Mt. Goat his only instinct is friggin UP!!! :cuss: But in all seriousness I wouldn't trade anything as far as the 2 mentors I have/had. I take great joy now in helping my current partner teach his 2 boys in the sport that we all love so much, and in a few more years my oldest will be starting his journey as well, and I know that my partner will have as much fun helping teach mine as I am in helping with his. It is so important these days to pass on our sport more than it ever has been, even if it's not family. We need to keep this sport going, so that it may never die. Sorry it went on so long but that's my story in a nutshell, there are of course MANY stories within that story, but who has the time to put it all down.


Toby

[MCgunner]

Maternal grandpa. Bought me my first Benjamin, still have it, don't work anymore. He gave me my first shotgun and my first deer rifle. My dad beat him to the .22. He and my uncle taught me to shoot. I pretty much am self taught for small game and waterfowl. He took me dove and deer hunting and he absolutely loved to fish.

[Art Eatman]

My first .22 shots were from my maternal grandpa's Monkey Ward rifle around age seven. Got my first Daisy Red Ryder from my mother that following Christmas, 1941.

But hunting, as such? I guess that was in me from the git-go. My folks had split up, and my grandfather never hunted much. He'd hand me the rifle and point to the back pasture and woods to get me out from under his feet. The training was, "Don't shoot a cow."

I didn't.

[inclinebench]

My dad didn't hunt, but every summer at 4-H camp I took the rifle and small arms class, and sat for and passed the hunter saftey certification they offered. Finally, when I was 10 years old a friend of the family, a former UDT guy took me hunting. That sealed the deal for me. I now have two sons, both too young to hunt, but I hope to get them out a little sooner than I went out. My four year old is determined to sit on the stand with me next deer season, right after he turns 5.

[PT1911]

throwing rocks at squirrels:banghead:, figured.. there must be a better way:evil:

[357sigRog]

Father and Grandfather

[AKElroy]

Maternal Grandfather; He bought a crossman pump when my dad bought me a daisy powerline so we could shoot together. He pointed out my first cottontail---Major "buck fever", I missed that rabbit 7 or 8 times (from 7 yrds!) & could not believe it just sat there while I reloaded & pumped 10 times for each shot. (with hindsight, I am sure I hit it; I learned later in life rabbits are prone to freeze). I was 9 then; When I turned 11, he passed down a stevens autoloader .22 that I shot the barrel out of over the next 20 years. To this day I bet his acreage in Fredericksburg, TX could be classified as a super-fund site for lead contamination. Most patient man I have ever known--I miss him.

[TIMC]

My dad introduced me to hunting when I was very young starting me out with .22's then a 410 for squirrels and quail. In 1969 I took my first deer with an M1 carbine while out hunting with my dad. Today 40 years later we still hunt together but it is becoming more I take him hunting than him taking me, I guess we have come full circle. I hope we have a few more hunts left before he passes on but at least I have 40 years worth of memories! We all should be that lucky.

[wankerjake]

My Dad taught me to shoot and then to hunt. We have had some great times doing both of those things. I started out with me pellet gun for quail and rabbits, and then squirrels with a .22 and quail with a shotgun. Big game hunting has always been the pinnacle for both of us I think. You just can't beat elk burgers grilled over oak coals, or fresh deer liver fried with onions and mashed potatoes. I sure am lucky to have had a dad who wanted to teach me about shooting and hunting, and I can wait to teach it to my kids.

[bad_aim_billy]

Grandpa, dad never hunted

[Water-Man]

My grandfather did about 55 years ago. Deer and rabbits.

[dagger dog]

My father. Serving in two theaters of combat in WWII Europe and the Pacific," had seen his share of killing"
in his words. But still had the fore thought to see that his son was versed in firearm use and saftey.

Having gained his confidence that his teaching were well heeded, allowed me to hone my natural instincts as a young hunter first with a .20 caliber air rifle then progress to a .22 caliber rimfire, and shotgun by my 13th birthday.

Being raised in the country was a plus, and in the early '60's there was plenty of small game in the form of rabbit, squirrel, quail dove, bullfrogs. Crows and groundhogs, were open game then which allowed me and the neighborhood gang to persue our quarry year round.

My father taught respect of the animal you were hunting, and the game laws , plus the land owner recieved as much, for letting you use his property in the legal pursuit of the game.

Lessons well learned from a man that gained a respect for life, in the hardest way.

Thanks Dad.

[jimmyraythomason]

My dad.

[The_Dude]

My Dad. Thanks Dad! Now I'm totally hooked on getting out early in the morning for anything in season pretty much. On the night berfore opening day of Turkey or Deer season I'm like a kid on Christmas Eve.(Barely sleep a wink.) Drives my wife nuts:). Unfortunatley my Dad is kinda banged up and we have not hunted in a while together:(. Those were the best times.

[Scarlet1]

It drives me nuts when my hubby does that, too...but I love him anyway...LOL

[TehK1w1]

Like most of you here, my father introduced me to hunting, with the help of a very good friend of our family, the father of my best friend. I never met my paternal grandfather, who taught my father, as he died when my father was 18. However, he was a good hunter and an excellent shot who passed his skills and his rifle down to my father. My brother and I both got our first deer on that rifle, a J.C. Higgins Model 50, and it will get many more. As an interesting aside, my maternal great-grandfather was an accomplished safari hunter, but after his death his wife (my mother's mother's mother) who had alzheimers, gave away his entire collection of guns and africans trophies. All we have of it now is an old photo of him in the trophy room, and a 95% Remington Model 11 that he gave to my maternal grandfather as a present one year. It sat untouched in his attic until he remembered it about a year ago and gave it to my mother. He told us the only time he ever took it out of the box was during the '68 race riots (he lives just outside DC).

[kjohn]

My Dad. He liked to hunt Prairie Chicken and Ruffed Grouse here in SE Saskatchewan. When I was a kid, there were lots of little country roads with bush along the sides, as well as nice open grain fields. I was basically the "dog", and would run and retrieve any downed birds. Dad passed away 44 years ago, but I still hunt the same areas, and still think about him when I hunt. I have his old Tobin double 12 ga.. I can still see him getting out of the car, putting a couple of Imperial Special Long Range shells in the chambers, closing the Tobin, and walking around a little bush to pepper a partridge or a chicken. I can still hear the silence in the car when he would spot something.
Thanks Dad!!:)

[moooose102]

for me, it was my dad. he introduced all of us to it, took us until we were old enough to go out on our own, and let us choose where and when we were going to hunt, or even if we wanted to. my older brother went for two years, and quit. in the past 40 years, i think he has hunted maybe 4 or 5 times. i can not imagine how bad of an experience it must have been for him. my dad and him always fought like cougars and wolfs. just nasty to the bone. and hunting was no different. plus the fact that he is horribly alergic to poison oak, and sumac. and both years, he used one of each to wipe with, and he ended up with a rash where a man (or woman) does not want a rash! when i turned 18, i went hunting with my buddies. my younger bro went with dad until dad quit hunting. that was nice, at least my dad had company, but younger bro was dads favorite anyway. i know there were years my dad would just as soon stayed home, and went just not to dissapoint little bro.

[ripcurlksm]

no one, I am still waiting. I grew up in NJ and live in S. Cal and would love to go bird or deer hunting.

[Inspector3711]

Dad... He was a Hunter Safety Instructor for Oregon state. He tought me well in that regard. While I hunted birds and small animals well before he took charge, the real hunting (deer and elk) followed hunters safety training.

He would take me to the Blue Mountains with grandpa, uncle Bob and a few family friends. My first elk hunt was miserable though. He had furnished me with Wolverine work boots (no insulation) and it hit -20ºF on that trip. I was quite convinced that I would lose my toes after a week of it.

On occasion I hunted deer on my own after that in the coastal range in western Oregon. To this day I've never had a clean shot at a deer or an elk in season. Of course I haven't hunted since 1982. I may go next year.

[t165]

Me, I introduced myself to hunting/trapping...I knocked birds out of trees and off telephone lines with rocks before I had a BB gun. I used to trap cats with food and a cardboard box propped open by a stick with a line tied to it. The feral cats would rob our trash pile and I patterned them. Sounds silly but I would lie in wait for hours. I grew up in the country...(1) TV and two channels...computers and game consoles were unheard of. No other boys my age for miles. A common mouse trap baited with bread will catch small birds. I had way too much time on my hands as a young lad! After I got my first .22 rimfire I became PETA's worst nightmare. :o

[JackOfAllTradesMasterAtNone]

Dad introduced me to the outdoors. Camping hunting and fishing. Mostly salt water fishing. I'll call that hunting... The process is the same. Analyze the environment, prepare for the species, put yourself in position, let God provide opportunity, develop skill in setting the hook, (making the shot), recovering the reward, caring for the environment, appreciating the bounty. As I got older I got the hunting on land bug. A fair amount of solo trips and over the years I've happened into three hunt partners (other than my two boys), that really stand head and shoulders above any others. Each of them has passed on their love for the outdoors to their youngn's.

Other than when I was there for both of my boys first Deer harvests, one of the times that stands out is when I was there for one of my nephew's 'first buck' when his dad couldn't make it. I'd like to think I taught him a few things that day. He was true to his aim and got a dandy Mule Deer. I haven't been hunting with him since then since we hunt different areas now, but he has taken other bucks. Every time, I like to feel I had just a little part of those hunts. I'm very proud to have had that original time with him.

-Steve

[jgibbs]

I've always liked shooting at boy scout camp and at grandpa's property. The great outdoors have always felt like home to me.

But one day two years ago I said to myself, what else can I do with guns that is fun... Unfortunately for me, I'm still trying to gather hunting partners. I do have a few guys who are willing to go hunting with me if I twist their arm and at least one friend who is willing to shoot any animal that is legal. I enjoy any chance I get to go hunting.

[Funderb]

On second thought...

THE SQUIRRELS.....

[jim in Anchorage]

Ted Trueblood,field & stream.1969. Many pleasant reading hours,and [I think] good moral lessions.

[rugerman]

My dad and I wish he was still around to hunt with. He used to walk me to death quail hunting when I was a kid but when I got out of college I returned the favor, we were hunting & fishing buddies til the day he died. Wish we could do it again, just one more time.

[Michael & Tanner]

I can't tell you all how much I enjoyed reading this thread.

Funny, too. I expected that most people had their dads take 'em out. Mine died when I was really young, mom never remarried, and I grew up in a non-hunting household in the city.

I was an anti-hunter for many years, although I fished, and I'll never get those years back that I missed, while I was bitching about things I knew nothing about.

My grandfather was an active trapper and woodsman in northern Michigan. My best memories were with him, although I regret not having many many more with that man. He was too old to continue hunting by the time I was old enough.

I turkey hunted once in my 30's, and now, in my 40's, consider myself a new hunter. I certainly don't feel I have the skills to teach others to hunt, but I do take them out to watch game, pick mushrooms, and teach them to fly fish. I try to teach at least one new person a year, and I try to get out as much as I can.

15 months ago, I brought home my first bird dog, a Vizsla named Tanner, and we started training for upland birds. We had pheasant for Thanksgiving. Awesome.

I live in Washington now, and have changed my life a LOT. The only people I really associate with are outdoorsmen. My spare time is spent hiking, fishing, or reading forums. This one, the Kifaru forum, Backcountry Hunter, and the Washington Fly Fishing boards get much of my time.

Anyway, thanks for sharing your stories.

Michael

[lgbloader]

Dad, Uncle Joe, Uncle Louie, Uncle Bill, Uncle Ernie, Grandpa Joe, Grandpa Alexander, Uncle Presse, Uncle Max, many cousins, etc. so on and so forth. My family hunts.

LGB

[61chalk]

My dad, started me out shooting a BB gun....I was so young I had to shoot it off my shoulder like a bazooka, then go find my sister to cock it for me, it was one of those daisy lever action....

[308win]

Dad and Grandpa. They started me on squirrel & rabbit with a single shot Stevens .22 that I got for my 6th Christmas. A couple years later my Uncle lent me a single shot 12ga and when I was 11 or maybe 10 Dad bought me a new Sportsman 58 20ga that I still have. I also have Grandpa's single shot .22 and Dad's Auto5. Grandpa's .22 shows a lot use; he used it for everything from coon hunting to slaughtering beef and hogs on the farm. He didn't hunt any kind of birds but was death on squirrel and rabbit with that .22.

[SomeDude]

My Grandpa. He bought me a BB gun when I was five. Drove my mom crazy. When I was six he took me squirrel hunting and I can still picture shooting it and seeing the BB hit it. My grandpa finished it off with a .410 and we ate it that night.
We walked probably thousands of miles together through the Loess Hills of western Iowa hunting pheasants. A lot of times I'd have two birds and I would pass on a rooster because I knew if we limited out that we'd have to stop hunting.
He wasn't one of those "fancy hunters" that came in from Omaha on the weekends wearing the Filson Tin Cloth bibs, fine leather shooting gloves and the Citori. He was a humble working guy that wore beat up Carhartts and hunted with a shotgun that he bought the year my mom was born. A good guy, probably the best.

[gallo]

From my grandpa and great uncle, two old timers that knew everything. May the latter rest in peace.

From them I learned hunting, trapping coyotes, farming, cattle ranch administration, branding, marking, castrating calves, horse ridding, and bunch of other skills.

[mitcz17]

My twin brother got me into deer hunting. When I was a kid my dad thought us how to shoot a gun (.22lr). He stopped hunting before my brother and I were old enough to go but often told stories of hunting with his best friend. A few years ago, my brother decided he was going to start hunting. I went with him as an extra hand, spotter, and to take pictures. The excitement of his hunts, made me want to hunt and I wanted to be able to share tales of 'buckzilla' when we are older.
My grandpa and father see the excited and the joys my brother and I had the last couple of years, now they both what to go hunting with us to share the experience (and to pack out there animals).
Now every other though in my head has something to do with hunting.

[CoRoMo]

Daddy.:)

[Mainer2009]

My dad, when I was a really little kid. He'd let me tag along with him, also let me come along when he did a lot of trapping years ago, fond memories. I don't do any trapping (would like to try, someday) but I going hunting as much as I can now, he &I also do quite a bit of fly fishing together. I've got him to thank. He also gave me my first gun...a 410 shotgun, then a few years later a 44 mag ruger carbine. The first deer I shot...was a hunt he set up for me, I was able to take a 180LB 8 point buck that year...man was I happy!