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

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My father started me and my five siblings as soon as we could holdup a rifle or shotgun. We hunted deer, dove, quail and lots of rabbits. About 35 years ago my Dad and brothers started hunting elk. I was always invited to be included but was consumed with falconry and our hunting trips always coincided. My father is 88 this year and is still hunting elk and my desire to hunt with him again inspired me 5 years ago to join the elk hunt fun. I thought I was going to die. 50lbs overweight and very out of shape! Much bettor today and really looking forward to the coming season. My younger brother (soon to be 61yrs) has convinced me that we need to do the archery hunt with our longbows. He leaves next week for that but I will have to be satisfied this year with the late rifle season. Next year we will do the archery hunt together with all of the knowledge of Elk University. I can hardly wait!
 
Been hunting since I can remember. Dad had me bring my BB gun with me when I was really little and he would set out his chew can and I would shoot at it. Then when I was in college, dad and I got into archery hunting for elk when my sister started dating a guy who invited us out for elk. Seeing my first elk in the woods up close was amazing and calling in my first bull sealed the deal. Been loving elk hunting ever since.
 
Started hunting with my Dad and his buddies before I could even take hunters safety in Montana.  That is what got me started.  I'm not sure where the obsession came from! If I had to guess though, it would have to be the repeated failure, landscapes and the endless learning curve and rewards that is hunting which feed the obsession.
 
My family always hunted.  I was duck hunting before I was 6 years old.  We hunted from Labor day to February--ducks, deer, doves, squirrels, rabbits, and more.  My dad took me all the time and I enjoyed it.  I've branched further into elk hunting and other western game, but it all started in the Sportsman's Paradise!
 
Started going out with my grandfather and it became our adventure very year.   
 
Growing up on an East Coast farm and as an only son following his father's lead got me started hunting. Actually it was a combination of a Dad's influence and reading outdoor magazines and books. Starting out defending the family home and crops from invading birds with a BB gun...and learning the rules about good birds and "bad" birds. Graduating through .22's, 20 gauges, to 12 gauges. Ours was a shotgun slug only county for deer, which were scarce in the 60's. My Dad didn't bow hunt so I contribute my archery influence to reading about Dr. Saxton Pope and Ishi, Howard Hill, and Fred Bear adventures. Bow hunting extended the hunting season and my first "Big Game" was a large doe with a Ben Pearson recurve in 1962. The western US and elk were as foreign as Alaska or Africa until a brother-in-law moved to Colorado and I started DIY rifle hunting for elk in 2006 and started bow hunting elk in 2010 after a shoulder operation allowed me to pull a bow after a 20 year hiatus.
Now I'm hooked on Elk!
My advice to all the "youngsters" on here....don't put off your dreams until you're too old and decrepit.....Just do it!
 
I was born this way.  There was never a choice to hunt or not to hunt, I was born a hunter. 


Maybe not a great one, but one who can't wait to go again.  From long before I can remember, my mom took me, or sent me, outdoors when I was unhappy just to adjust my attitude.  It never failed.  My parents and siblings tell me I stalked grasshoppers, rabbits, squirrels, or pretty much anything that moved.  Squirt guns, BB guns, and a finally a .22 cemented the deal.  Jack London's books inspired my imagination to live with the woods.  My first job, other than mowing lawns,  was clearing ground squirrels out of a horse pasture when I was in Jr. High. 


My first successful big game hunt was a fairytale trip with a friend who was connected to a homesteader in the mountains of the Salmon River in Idaho.  Besides getting my first whitetail, I witnessed someone else in the party harvest a huge mule deer buck in the air mid-stot.  The beauty of the area, bringing meat home, seeing an incredible shot look easy, and the lure of the giant mule deer completely captivated me and hunting became my top priority. 







 
:). We lived on a farm when I was young.  It was a way of life for the whole family.  Got to help clean whatever game was brought home.  Used a 410 on my first rabbit hunt.  Got one rabbit on that hunt.  I was in the 2nd grade, not sure how old I was.  71 now and still going strong.  Only hunt deer and elk now.  One of the few passions I have in this old age.  LOL
 
Not sure what got me into hunting. My mom or dad didn't hunt. I guess it was the small town I grew up in. All the other kids were always excited about opening day.  So I guess that started it.

Luckily I had an uncle that hunted everything.  However, it was hard to get him to take me hunting much, when I was young.  I remember my first hunt. We were duck hunting and the only clothes I had were camo pajamas. The lake was completely frozen and my uncle had to wade across the lake carrying me on his shoulders to get to the blind. I had a bb gun but no gloves or anything for warmth and I nearly froze to death. Sometimes I wonder why I ever went back. I guess if it's in your blood you have no choice.


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Hunting has always put meat on the table in my family. Raised in the 'Big Thicket' of East Texas, hunting with .22 for squirrel, rabbit, and hog with Daddy and my older brother. At age 5, my brother and I were sent out alone. Daddy said 'you got 5 bullets, that ought to be 4 squirrels'. Deer hunting came after I met the girl that I would marry. We provided enough venison and fish to keep our children fed on 'clean, pure meat'. Elk hunting began in '97 after last child had started in college. Before my first trip to the mountains, I did not understand why someone would want to leave Texas to hunt to bring home just one animal. The mountains, the camp, the elk and deer, a blizzard, and a 37 hour return trip made an elkoholic out of me! My wife of 42 years, my blood brother, and I are currently planning for our back country, DYI, public land hunt of 2017.
 
I came from a hunting family but turned out to be the odd-ball who had much more athletic ability than hunting common sense. 


So I played sports mostly and when I did make it into the woods, just pissed everybody off because I would get bored easy sitting in a tree stand.


Then I moved up to Alaska for work and lived down the street from an obsessive, compulsive hunter who preferred to walk straight up mountains when he hunted.  He taught me to shoot a bow and I was hooked.  Exercise and giant, dangerous animals.  What could be better????


Now I live in CO and still get to walk straight up the mountains but chase the elk instead of caribou, bear, and moose.


I've learned a lot from Corey's stuff.  Thanks for putting it together.


Rainrunner8
 
What got me into hunting, my dad. 

Dad is probably one of the worst hunters to walk the earth, seriously.  He hunted whitetail in Wisconsin for 30 years before finally tagging a small doe, than he retired.  Dad was in the hunt because of family and tradition but hated the cold and he couldn't sit quiet, still, and stunk like a stale can of beer. 

One of my favorite dad quotes was, "I can be just as close to the Lord in the woods as in a church".  Which got him hunting Sundays.

Have great respect for my dad for sticking in there 30 years.  Taught me to be patient and that the hunt is not all about tagging a trophy. 

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I grew up on a horse ranch in central CA. My first hunting was for squirrels with a .22. I moved away and didnt do much hunting til a college buddy invited me duck hunting. That re lit the fire for me. Now I am living the dream living in Idaho with my brother and we are raising our families together, spending time in the outdoors year round and providing meat for our families. Im so thankful for this lifestyle. God has blessed me!
 
Hunting has always been a family affair. But my dad and grandfather had the biggest impact in regards to fueling my passion for the outdoors.  It's something that i look forward to continuing with my kids and hopefully theirs for many years to come.
 
My first introduction was quail and pheasant hunting with and his buddies.  Growing up we spent a lot of time at the family farm so we were always outdoors so chasing critters around just became second nature.  Whether it was squirrels, doves, ducks or deer my brother any myself spent a ton of time together out running after something once fall hit.  This will be my first year getting an elk tag, have walked along on some hunts and caught the bug that way.  3 weeks away from our hunt now and I couldn't be more excited.
 
I got into hunting on my own then drifted away from it while going to school in the city. I then relocated out of the city, met my wife and her entire family lived and breathed hunting so it was a natural transition right back into it.
 
A family friend took me on my first elk hunt 5 years ago. After seeing him harvest a bull and missing one of my own, I was hooked!
 
My dad got me into hunting when I was about 6 years old. He gave me a BB gun and turned me loose on birds and squirrels. He took me out deer hunting with him a few times before I was old enough to get a tag. I got a rifle for Christmas in 1984 and went deer hunting the following season. I didn't get my first deer until we went to Colorado in 1987 and that got the ball rolling for many more successful deer seasons. I didn't start elk hunting until I was 42 and now I'm addicted to that more than anything else. I can't wait to get out there in less than 3 weeks!!
 
I grew up with several members of my family who hunted, but in my immediate family only my little brother hunted.  My parents taught us to camp, fish and enjoy the outdoors, but hunting wasn't a priority with them.  I was always too busy with my horses (4-H and rodeo) to join my little brother when he hunted with my Grandpa, aunt and uncles, but I always loved hearing the stories and sharing in the meals of wild game.  Occasionally, as I got older, I would accompany my aunt or brother on their hunts.  But it wasn't until I turned 30 that I suddenly had the burning desire to hunt myself. 


The first year was tough, and a hard learning curve that ended with un-filled tags, a frozen travel trailer and a burnt truck (that's a very long story!).  But it just made me more determined to be successful.  I got my first deer the next year and have filled my deer tags every year since, even doing 100% solo hunts the last 2 years. I am completely obsessed with hunting year-round, and want to keep learning and getting better and better. Now my sights are set on elk.  I have been unsuccessful the last 2 years, but after going through the UEH online course I'm confident that this year will be my year!


I'm so blessed to live in a country where we're still allowed to hunt, and for the hunting heritage passed down in my family. 
 
woodrow said:
Hunting has always put meat on the table in my family. Raised in the 'Big Thicket' of East Texas, hunting with .22 for squirrel, rabbit, and hog with Daddy and my older brother. At age 5, my brother and I were sent out alone. Daddy said 'you got 5 bullets, that ought to be 4 squirrels'. Deer hunting came after I met the girl that I would marry. We provided enough venison and fish to keep our children fed on 'clean, pure meat'. Elk hunting began in '97 after last child had started in college. Before my first trip to the mountains, I did not understand why someone would want to leave Texas to hunt to bring home just one animal. The mountains, the camp, the elk and deer, a blizzard, and a 37 hour return trip made an elkoholic out of me! My wife of 42 years, my blood brother, and I are currently planning for our back country, DYI, public land hunt of 2017.
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General Eisenhower once said "In preparing for battle I have found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable".
 
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