CONTEST!!!! "What got you into hunting?"

[DTP]

In honor of elk season kicking off in just a few weeks, Corey put together an awesome package deal for one lucky winner.

To enter the contest, please share a story with us on "What got you into hunting?"
Was it your family? A close friend? etc.

The contest will run August 16th through August 31st at 1200 CST.
On August 31 at 1200CST we will lock the thread and use a random number generator to select the winner.
To be eligible for winning the prize you must have no forum infractions within the last 12 months and must have a minimum of 3 posts.
(Mods and Admin are not eligible to win)


Now for the good stuff.....

The winner of this contest will receive:

Bully Bull EXTREME grunt tube (with Sitka subalpine cover)
Elk101 Temptress cow call
2 Elk101 All-Star diaphragms
Wind Detector
3-pack of G5 Striker 100 grain broadheads




Good luck to everyone!!!! I look forward to hearing a little more about each of you.

 

[ltsheets]

I'll break the ice here...

This question always cracks me up because my Mom always looks at me when I talk hunting and wonders "where I came from."  I'm the first hunter in my family.  Growing up, I had friends that deer and squirrel hunted but for many years I did it only when at their houses and never told my mom as she hated guns.  It wasn't until highschool that she finally allowed me to deer hunt on our land with a shotgun and I kill my first deer when I was 14 I think.  That was the only animal I was able to take, big game wise, until 2012.  I guess I have my childhood friends and their fathers to thank for at least getting me interested in hunting.

Logan

 

[Wyo67]

This is an easy one...  My family got me into hunting.  Growing up in central Missouri, my Dad would take me fishing and hunting (squirrel, frog, quail, rabbit, dove, turkey and of course whitetail deer.  After graduation, I left for the Navy and had limited hunting opportunities for the next 20+ years.  After getting out and moving to Cheyenne, I now take my kids deer, antelope, and elk hunting. 

 

[sn.outdoors]

I grew up in a hunting family, and because I was so young, I don't remember the first time I went hunting. I remember stories of my dad "babysitting" me by strapping my car seat to the tree he was hunting out of. I guess I was a solid sleeper when I was 9 months old.

I didn't realize other families didn't hunt until I was in the 1st grade. My mind was BLOWN. I had no idea... I just thought everyone hunted. What else do you do around thanksgiving if you're not doing deer drives before the Packer games or Thanksgiving dinner?

My father was the person who provided the fuel for my passion. He had no issues signing release forms to get me out of school to go hunting. He hunted all over the state of Wisconsin, and was not afraid to try new places near or far. Most importantly, he never hesitated to bring me along (at least I never noticed any hesitation.) Once I was finally old enough to hunt, he provided me with ample opportunities. At 12 years old we spent 2 weeks chasing bear and whitetail in Sept, 17 days in Oct on the Apostle Islands, and 3 days on a special youth hunt in the central part of the state. This is on top of hunting almost every day on my grandfather's farm. By the time I was 14 and legally able to hunt without an adult, I'd spent thousands of days in the woods. I have to thank my dad for fueling the flame in me, and my grandfather for doing the same in my father. Hunting is and always has been my life.

 

[FlyGuy]

My dad didn't come from a hunting background, but somehow caught the bug in his late 20's and started taking me along at about age 6.  I will always remember that 1st hunt - for squirrels.  It was a Sunday night and my parents asked me if I'd like to go out hunting with my dad in the morning.  Of course I said yes, then prayed all night that my parents wouldn't realize that the next day was a school day.  For years I thought I had really gotten away with something!



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[Ivar88]

Like the ice-breaker posted by ltsheets, I am the only person in my family that hunts. I have always had an interest in the lifestyle, but there was zero guidance in my youth. Growing up, my father was the type who paid professionals to do their jobs instead of taking a stab at things himself. Example: the drain in the bathroom sink is leaking, call a plumber. As a kid, I would watch my old man pass over a crisp $100 bill for another person’s 30 minutes of work. I decided then that I would not follow in those footsteps but in turn learn to handle all possible matters myself. Hunting falls right into that realm. After high school I started to work construction where I ultimately ended up creating my own roofing business. After a short lived entrepreneurship and immediate failure, I enlisted in the Air Force. After an initial assignment and few years overseas I was stationed at Cannon AFB in New Mexico; the Land of Enchantment. This is where I finally had to opportunity to learn, adapt and grow into the hunter I am today. I was surrounded by some amazing people who pointed me in the right direction, answered all of my questions, and educated me on the most important thing about hunting which in my opinion is its ethics. From that point on I have been fortunate enough to have harvested or be a part of multiple elk, deer, ibex, antelope, bear, barbary sheep, waterfowl and upland game hunts throughout several different states. So, at the end of the day, one could say that my family put me in the mentality to provide for myself and my close friends guided me into the lifestyle.

Rube

 

[neckofredness]

My Dad wasn't really into hunting, but he loves the outdoors. As a kid I was always doing something outdoors, camping, shooting, fishing. But never hunted that I could recall. Being raised in California really did not provide much opportunity as well. I have always been really into guns so I did a lot of that in my teen years. Joined the military and was stationed on Okinawa so really no hunting opportunities there as well.
I got into hunting big once I was stationed in the states. Had a good buddy help me out so much to figure out how to apply for the draw( even though I got skunked for the first 2-3 years) and to show and teach me all that goes into hunting. He also took me to other areas and that is when I got hooked on bow hunting. He has a lot of knowledge and always offered to kind of hold my hand and help me out. When I didn't draw any tag I did alotttttt of dove hunting. Then last year I drew an antelope tag, and of course he was there to help me out with everything leading up to that hunt ( but was unable to go). He continues to help me out all the time.

So in short had a great buddy get me into it.

 

[cnelk]

Finally. I contest I can actually enter


I can give all the credit to my hunting experience and tradition to my dad.
He was a great mentor, terrific marksman and outdoorsman.


The attached photo taken about 1968 or so, I remember climbing up in an old jack pine tree with a couple boards nailed down for seats. We sat there one evening and this doe came out in the small meadow we were watching.
I watched my dad draw his bow and sent the arrow into the doe.


I remember being so excited, but dad made me sit still after the shot. Then after a little while, we slowly got down and then he told me I could do the blood tracking.


I recall the trail going into the woods for a short ways, but the blood was easy to follow, but I was the one in front!


Not too far into the woods there she lay!


I will never forget that moment.
Dad has been gone for 16 years, but when I am out hunting in the woods, I know he is never too far away.


BTW. I still have that old Bear recurve

 

[DTP]

That's a great picture, Brad!

 

[Boom]

I don't need to win, but I'd love to tell my story..


10 years old:  I didn't realize the ramifications, but a doctor told my parents that Dad had cancer. My parents went into this weird mode; Survival. There were doctor visits, treatments, trips away to Houston for more aggressive methods.  I remember hours where my brother and I were required to stay quiet. Dad needed his rest.  I remember meals eaten outside so the smell of food wouldn't make dad sick. We had a rotation of baby-sitters. I remember one meal where the school crossing guard took us to her house for dinner.  It was the first time I tasted white rice with salt and butter!


Anyways all that kid time left me very little options. I started to read. I picked up the book BIG RED. the hook was set!  I got really interested in the outdoors. We would use flashlight long into the night reading everything. Hunting magazines, the Sears catalog, etc My brother and I dreamed of the day my dad would get better and take us hunting. 


My parents went insane and bought me a .22 when I turned 11. My brother got a pellet rifle. Oh-o. The stage was set.  My dad even mustered the energy and drove us to the desert. I kid you not, I hit a rabbit on the run.


My dad died when I turned 13. But Word got out in the Chinese community that we wanted to hunt. Two church guys from Tucson. (Family friends) talked my mom in letting us go with them to Tucson. It was a long trip for us shooting guns, bows, and bass fishing.
Randy and Norman. I don't know what compelled them to drive to Texas to get us. But they did. It was the best time of my young life. I still remember feeling guilty having fun with my dad dead. I now know that it was all right. ..the quiet time allowed my mom to grieve.


I never stopped loving the hunt. It's all because of folks OUTSIDE my family. My family doesn't hunt. Even my first big game was with an old school principle.


I hope to pay it back one day and take a kid out with me.

 

[MT_mulies]

It has always been in my blood to hunt. Since I was little I've hunted everything that moved with bb guns then .22 until I got my first big game rifle at 12. My dad is the one that took me for the first time. I remember he shot a nice 3x4 mule deer and took my brother and I with him to get it on the 4wheeler. We almost ran out of gas and so when we went up hill dad turned on the bike and anything down hill he turned the bike off and coasted till we got back to the cabin. When we got home he took it to the taxidermist and I cried and cried and cried because I wanted the horns so bad. Well the taxidermist is my dads best friend, and the taxidermist is my best friends dad. So for Christmas I got a HUGE box and when I opened it, the horns were inside.That was 23 years ago. Those horns hung in my bedroom till I got a house of my own. Those horns are now hanging in my man cave at my own house.

 

[Bowhunter1]

My dad got me into hunting. He came from a poor family who lived off of what they could shoot orcatch. He use to get home from school then hunt for supper with his stick bow. We hunted for all kinds of critters when I became old enough. He also took me fishing every Sunday for years.

I started bow hunting in 1991. I arrowed a nice whitetail buck my first year and have been hooked ever since.

I started elk hunting in 2000 and didn't have a clue. My second elk hunt was 2006 and I have been going every year since. I hope to be elk hunting many more years. Till my legs won't carry me through the mountains anymore. Then I will fall back to the trusty whitetail deer till I can't walk.

 

[cohunter14]

Some awesome stories so far! I'm not eligible for the contest, but figured I would still throw in my story...


My father and grandfather got me into hunting. The first hunt I got to actually go on was an antelope hunt with my dad when I was 9 or 10 years old. Left early in the morning, got out to a field, snuck out to an area in the dark, and as soon as the sun came up the antelope were there. He dropped one and we packed it up and headed home. Hunting was easy! LOL!!!!


Outside of that, I was left at home when all the guys would head out for the annual elk hunting trip. The closest I got to it was getting to play in the wall tent when they came home and set the tent up to spray out. I'll never forget that smell of canvas!


Finally the day came when I turned 12. Got my hunters safety and got to join the guys for my first elk hunt. I was probably addicted to the idea of hunting before that, but to say I got the bug on that first trip, even though I didn't punch a tag, is an understatement. I haven't missed a year of elk hunting since then and have continued to add additional hunts to the one annual hunt we had back then. My grandfather can no longer join us but my father still comes along on every hunt and puts the miles on the boots. I'm excited for the day I get to pass it on to my three boys!

 

[UtahJimmy]

Great stories fellas!

I grew up in a non-hunting family. My pops loves fishing but didn't like the idea of "killing something that was thinking" so we stuck to fishing.

It took me forever to convince my folks to let me get a BB gun, I think I was 12. I shot a few birds here and there. I also went squirrel hunting with a neighbor and his old man using his 410 was a blast.

But my passion was fishing, and moving west made it easier to pursue fishing.

Then I met my now wife, whose father is an avid archer. He's got stories and decades of experience hunting as he came from a hunting family. He has two daughters but no son to pass on his hunting passion to.

Since I was set to become his son, he gifted me an old bow of his (executed during Christmas just like when Ralphie gets his Red Ryder) with a note:

"I can't imagine having a son who doesn't bow hunt"

Well, I took to it! Got my hunters safety done, started flinging arrows,and drew a deer tag!

I didn't kill anything other than grouse that first year, but learned a lot. I picked his brain as best I could, messed up a ton, and kept at it. The following year I killed a fork horn mulie, while he was with me, with his old bow. It was such an amazing experience!

And now I'm hooked!

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[Bowfreak]

My grandfather got me into hunting.  He never took me but he told me stories that lit my fire.  He was one of the only people I knew when I was a kid that had ever killed an elk and his shoulder mount hung in the mess hall of the local conservation camp.  As a 12 year old kid I was so proud to tell the other campers that my grandfather killed that elk.

 

[Bull_Fighter]

My dad got me into hunting. I remember when I was very young and he would come home with a buck in the back of the truck. My brothers and I would rush out to get a look and take some pictures with it. On my 12th birthday I received a Winchester 30-30 and went deer hunting for the first time that year. It took me several years before I got my first deer, but I've been hooked ever since. My dad did some bow hunting in his younger days, and I was always fascinated by his bow. A few years ago, he gave me that old bow. It's been retired, but I've since bought my own and have been hooked on archery elk ever since! Can't get enough of it. My first archery elk was done all DIY, OTC, Solo. After packing that big boy out of a deep canyon, I swear I had PTSD for the next year but still found myself out there trying to do it all over again the following year. Can't wait to get after it again in a few weeks!!!

 

[Don K]

My parents

I was lucky enough to have my mom and my dad that bow hunted. They had a truck camper that slid in the truck and we all would head up to Wisconsin for deer. Mom and dad both started with recurves, wood arrows that  they fletched themselves. Mom has hung up the bow for many years but dad is still out there deer hunting and hes been doing it for 55 years.

 

[ILbowhntr]

My first hunt was a rabbit hunt with my grandpa at 10 years old. Didn't get to shoot, but was in heaven. Bought a .22 off a cousin at 12 and was hard on squirrels are the farm. First bow at 14. First deer hunt with a shotgun at 16. Didn't care for it much so I picked the a bow again. Never looked back. Best hunt I ever had was when my boys were 11 and 12. First shotgun deer hunt, both tagged out the first morning. Could not have been prouder.

 

[F M]

I was raised by my grandparents that didn't hunt. A couple of my uncle's bow hunted and gave me a old recurve when I was about 10. They didn't really teach me a lot so I read everything I could get my hands on. They took me out with them when I turned 12. They told me to take my stand down to the end of a field and and go in the woods and little ways. I found a trail and found a tree and set my stand as high as I could reach. Didn't have any screw in steps yet so I pulled myself up into the stand and sat down on it. I had no idea about having shooting lanes. After a couple of hours I see a does and fawn walking up the trail to me. My legs are asleep by now and I set my stand facing the trail. As the does gets to the only spot I can shoot a hole about the size of a basketball between two trees. My heart is pounding out of my chest as she entered the hole I shoot and dead centered the tree. I was hooked and I definitely learned a lot of what not to do.

 

[Rooster]

I was destined to be a hunter. My old man lived and breathed hunting 365 days a year. Ill always remember the first day my father took me elk hunting. I was eight years old in the 2nd grade. I remember I had been begging my dad opening weekend to take me with him. At some point during the week I was woken up early and was told I wasnt going to school that day. I must have been in a big hurry becouse i can still remember how cold it was since I didnt have any socks on and there was 4 inches of frozen snow on the ground. We were hunting in central Washington, in the east slopes of the cascades. We got out of the truck right a first light. I remember we got into elk right off bat.  We were walking through a broken forest of pine and tamarack, when a herd of elk ran right into us. Even though it was only cows, i was hooked. From that point on I wanted to be a hunter. And now after hunting elk for 25 years I still look forward to going hunting with my old man every fall.