What/who got you into hunting?

[Goldtip]

I grew up with a Father, Mother,Uncles, Aunts and Grandfather who all hunted and much like Draht, hunters safety was one of the classes you took in junior high school in Whitefish. Father was an outfitter, so we spent most summers at his base camp helping with horses or cutting/chopping wood and hauling water or making repairs for the upcoming hunting season. Dad quit outfitting when he realized whe wasn't with me when I killed my first deer, bear or elk. It just wasn't fun for him anymore, it didn't hurt my feelings as it was all that he had taught and shown me was the reason I'd killed those animals. Dad would drag me along when guiding spring bear hunts and teach me about tracks and how to judge bears and how to avoid getting yourself into a jam with a grizzly. Probably by age 8 or 9, my Grandpa would take my brother and I up to Dads hunting camp on the weekends and we would wander around behind camp while all the guides/dudes were out hunting. We learned all kinds of things running those woods with a 22 in hand.

Hunted my first year with a hand me down 7x57 mauser with a Lyman peep and killed a deer and a bear out behind Dad's camp. I worked a paper route and bought myself a Remington 700bdl in 30-06 with a Leupold 6x on it for my next season! I was king of the woods then. Got a spike bull and a nice buck with it that year, thankfully my Uncle was with me for the elk. Been addicted ever since. Have been fortunate enough to now take my Dad hunting and help him get some great animals, truly owe him for my passion for the outdoors and hunting. Hope to spend even more time in the woods with him this next fall!

 

[jlmatthew]

Dad did, started tagging along at 4 and took my Hunters Satefy at age 12 (1983) Shot my first bird (Snow Goose) and have been an addict ever since!

Unfortunately seeing a kid hunting is rare sight these days.

 

[BuzzH]

All my Grandparents and my Parents were outdoor oriented...hunting, fishing, camping...just what they always did. I still remember fishing the Blackfoot River behind our family cabin. When we'd get back from fishing, Gramps on my Dads side would throw scraps of lumber out in the Blackfoot and let me shoot his .22 single six ruger at them. Funny how I can remember stuff like that clear as can be. My Grandfather on my Moms side was a fishing fool, I cant tell you how many hours I spent fishing with him and the fish more than paid the piper. I've fished with a lot of good fishermen over the years...didnt realize it until much later that my Grandfather was in a league of his own.

Most all my friends I grew up with in Missoula all hunted, fished, and trapped.

What I always wonder is what the hell do people do that dont hunt, fish, or trap? Must be a boring SOB of a life they live.

 

[Horn Seeker]

My dad always hunted more than anyone I ever knew... and was a fanatic about shooting. I was shooting BB guns since I could hold one and shot 22's from 4 or 5 on...we'd shoot nearly weekly. I remember as a little kid shooting my dad's 06', then at about 11 shooting my dad's buddies 458.

When I was a little kid my dad was primarily a bird and deer hunter, but was always poking around the woods for some reason or another. Back then too, all we ate was deer and there was always an off season doe hunt to be had. Didn't seem like the wrong thing to do back then, though I've never poached a big game animal in my life... dont need to. If I was starving, it wouldn't phase me.

When I was 9, my dad got into hounds and it completely consumed our lives. We could hunt bear from Aug 1 - the 1st weekend in October... then deer for October and most November, then at the end of Novemeber we'd start lion and bobcat and coon hunting, wich lasted thru March, then on April 15th or so spring bear would open and last till Mid June... Then...again came August bear. We spent every single weekend of those open seasons pursuing something with the hounds, from the time I was 9 till a few years into college when I started going less and less with him (mostly due to living further from him and from having other interests (girls)... In high school and such, I missed most every weekend party cause I was hound hunting for something...

All those nights coon and bobcat hunting have put some pretty dang cool memories in my noggin...and all the summer days chasing bears... and fighting the snow in the winter after lions.

Worst part was, my dad was never into elk hunting until I started while in college. In September, bear hunting, we always had nice bulls bugling at us while we were trying to listen for dogs or chasing dogs and I just never made the move to hunt them... arrrgh! One of my biggest regrets...wish I'd started after elk earlier!

Anyhow, short answer, "my dad"...

 

[Slam]

I was fortunate, grew up on a farm in eastern Ohio, and my father was an avid shooter and hunted birds with pointers. Most Sunday afternoons while we were small (2 brothers) my dad would set up cans for targets and we would shoot rimfire rifles and revolvers. At 10 he introduced us to shotguns and skeet shooting. It was all the primer I needed. Christmas of my 12'th year he gave me a 20 gauge mossberg pump & a case of Winchester shells along with a hand Lee Loader and told me I was on my own from then on. All my buddies hunted/fished & trapped...it's just what we did for recreation (this was the late 60's - 70's). My how times have changed! In the eavenings now when I am reading I can here my son (14 yrs old) on his Xbox war gaming on line with a head set on communicating with his friends and people overseas....blows my mind. However, I used the same template on my son that my dad used on me. This past fall I took him on his 1'st western adventure to Wyoming hunting antelope & mule deer (DIY). He shot a nice lope in a blinding snow storm and had the good fortune of tracking for several miles and taking a real nice 4x4 mule deer. My daughter is 9 and is next in line.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

My Dad hunted a lot and we had two coonhounds when I was a little tyke. By the time I was five (1952) I had bugged him enough that he finally took me one night. I took the NRA course when I was six and got my first gun in 22/410 that had a plastic stock and I haven't looked back since!!!

 

[Bambistew]

What I always wonder is what the hell do people do that dont hunt, fish, or trap? Must be a boring SOB of a life they live.

Same here...

I grew up on a small ranch in southwest Montana, and had access to friends and family ranches, as well as being surrounded by 100,000's of acres of NF and BLM. My dad, uncle and grandfathers were big influences, they might not have been there all the time, but they gave me the basics and the killer instinct took over.

My grandfathers both guided/outfitted for a while, one for about 20 years. They hunted just about everything they could, one ended up moving to Canada just to hunt sheep once he 'retired'. We had tack, stock and gear out the yinyang. When we went hunting it was a production, with 4-6 pack hores at times.

I would say 80% of my hunting expereinces with my family revolved around elk. I honestly have no idea how many elk I've seen shot, or how many we packed out, but its more than a pile.

I had free run of a couple ranches that were absolutly loaded with deer. I'd hunt deer on the way to school in the morning sometimes.

Leaned how to bow hunt completely on my own, with the aid of Bowhunter magazine.

I had a good friend who was into water fowl, and since I had the access and he had the gear and knowlege, we killed truck loads of birds.

Fishing was influenced by many around me. I grew up on the Madison River, and finding someone to fish with was easy. My dad helped me a bit but he only fished small creeks, and mountain streams but wasn't really into fly fishing. I typically fished 4-5 times a week in the summer, usually after work. I broke more fly rods than most people will probably own. I managed to break 2 in one evening, one of which was a Winston... I quit buying high dollar rods soon there after.

 

[mixedbag]

My oldest brother took me along on his muskrat trapline when I was around 8.After catching a few 'rats I was hooked on trapping.Trapping lead to hunting at age 14.Now I take my boys fishing,hunting,trapping any chance I get.My 12 yr old ran his 1st coon line for a week this year and got a few.Along with a doe and first buck.He's hooked,I hope.My 5 yr old does alot of scouting trips with me and I'm amazed at how good he is in the woods.he knows I want him to be quiet in the woods and I swear he's better at it then me.Another yr or two and he'll be on his first deer hunt where he can shoot.We have mentored hunting here in Pa with no age limits.They both talk about how in a few years they are going to have to take me out and help me cause I'm old,lol.I think I have a few more years left

 

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What I always wonder is what the hell do people do that dont hunt, fish, or trap? Must be a boring SOB of a life they live.

No kidding..,