How did you get into hunting and the outdoors?

[capoeirajosh]

My Dad started me out and I just never looked back. Now it's my boy and grangkids turn.

I am looking forward to passing down the tradition someday. Bring em up right.

[Phil Beavers]

Born and raised in Phoenix... My dad wasnt an outdoor type of guy just not his thing I guess. So I never went camping / hunting. As an adult I tagged a long with my best buddy and his brother on a hunting trip, never looked back.. I was hooked and now I have two boys of my own who I will take on hunting trips the older boy loves it and comes along with me when he doesnt have school or basketball going on.

[ivhunter]

just like many have said. I was born into it, as far back as I try and remember I've always been hunting or fishing. my son is 2 now and he will have the chance to grow into it also. He has caught 2 trout so far ;-)

[CouesPursuit]

Mom's side of the family have never fished or hunted. They think I'm nuts and don't where I came from, but love me nonetheless.

 

Dad's side are all huge fisherman. I spent lots of time with them in Washington state catching salmon with my uncle that lived on the Puget Sound, going crabbing with clams as bait that we dug up ourselves, fishing my other uncle's private ponds, and much more. His oldest brother hunted a bit but my dad never had the urge to kill anything with lungs, so hunting wasn't passed down to me in any way. Coincidentally we had a reunion with them all yesterday, sharing some of the same stories I'm mentioning here. It had been 15 years since we last met and of all the stories we told, those related to fishing made us laugh and look back the most. It's really amazing, and a great time to reflect on the topic.

 

Fishing has always been my dad and I's favorite thing to do together. Growing up and native to Arizona, we had many family weekends on the boat at Saguaro and eventually, Roosevelt. At 2 years old my dad says I couldn't shut up about fishing. Somewhere in the 4-5 year old range he would wake up and find me standing on the back of our beached Four Winns wearing the same neon colored life jacket I fell asleep in the night before, catching dink bluegill after dink bluegill on nightcrawlers cut up evenly with mom's scissors that would always go missing from her arts and crafts bin. People would probably throw the book at him today but that life jacket was my ticket to fishing unsupervised in the mornings (friends and family were camped everywhere around me). He said I would wear that life jacket for 72 hours straight some weekends.

 

Thinking back to George Strait's "The Best Day" - that trip for me was after I turned 10 in the spring of '97, he finally took me to the Black River I had heard so much about. Instead of doing his "Guy's only trip," he took just me. It felt just like the first verse of that song. Except we caught hundreds! Goosebumps! Just because he didn't like stopping them from breathing, doesn't mean he wasn't an absolute NUT for wildlife viewing. He was shouting yesterday at our gathering about that trip and how while he was pointing out a great heard of elk off the side of a primitive road on the San Carlos, when I said "hey dad, how about this one" where in the other direction I pointed out a massive bull that couldn't fit between the same two trees that our Chevy Tahoe could, true story!

 

As for hunting, I had tons of BB guns and 2 vacant lots on each side of our house. I was a fine marksman in my early years and I like to leave it at that. This was one of those times I could have used a hunting role model. Around 14, I had a buddy who's grandfather enjoyed taking him, and luckily me, clay pigeon shooting. I quickly learned the responsibly of handling real firearms and enjoyed dove and quail season as much as possible. This continues to this day but now it's more about ducks along with my black lab and best friend, Drake.

 

Other than those things that got me started, I spent almost everyday after high school fishing bass on the river for largemouth, traveling many weekends to Roosevelt continuing my infatuation with crappie, and I started bow hunting deer at 19 when I decided I wanted to go all out as an outdoorsman. Everything hunting has been a self learning process, and now it rules my life. These days I get to guide my dad on my own boat when fishing. He brings the beer and food and I do everything else. I wouldn't change it for the world. I'm recently married and I cannot wait to start a family of my own, teaching them all the rights and wrongs that my dad did for me. Part of the reason I invest so much time on this site is that not many people feel what I feel out there, thankfully several of us can get together here and talk about it. Great stuff.

[naturebob]

As a kid in Pa. I chased little leppracauns thru the woods.as I got older in my teens , I started chasing girls thru the woods. Boy could they run. Eventually I went to chasing animals.........BOB!

[capoeirajosh]

Mom's side of the family have never fished or hunted. They think I'm nuts and don't where I came from, but love me nonetheless.

 

Dad's side are all huge fisherman. I spent lots of time with them in Washington state catching salmon with my uncle that lived on the Puget Sound, going crabbing with clams as bait that we dug up ourselves, fishing my other uncle's private ponds, and much more. His oldest brother hunted a bit but my dad never had the urge to kill anything with lungs, so hunting wasn't passed down to me in any way. Coincidentally we had a reunion with them all yesterday, sharing some of the same stories I'm mentioning here. It had been 15 years since we last met and of all the stories we told, those related to fishing made us laugh and look back the most. It's really amazing, and a great time to reflect on the topic.

 

Fishing has always been my dad and I's favorite thing to do together. Growing up and native to Arizona, we had many family weekends on the boat at Saguaro and eventually, Roosevelt. At 2 years old my dad says I couldn't shut up about fishing. Somewhere in the 4-5 year old range he would wake up and find me standing on the back of our beached Four Winns wearing the same neon colored life jacket I fell asleep in the night before, catching dink bluegill after dink bluegill on nightcrawlers cut up evenly with mom's scissors that would always go missing from her arts and crafts bin. People would probably throw the book at him today but that life jacket was my ticket to fishing unsupervised in the mornings (friends and family were camped everywhere around me). He said I would wear that life jacket for 72 hours straight some weekends.

 

Thinking back to George Strait's "The Best Day" - that trip for me was after I turned 10 in the spring of '97, he finally took me to the Black River I had heard so much about. Instead of doing his "Guy's only trip," he took just me. It felt just like the first verse of that song. Except we caught hundreds! Goosebumps! Just because he didn't like stopping them from breathing, doesn't mean he wasn't an absolute NUT for wildlife viewing. He was shouting yesterday at our gathering about that trip and how while he was pointing out a great heard of elk off the side of a primitive road on the San Carlos, when I said "hey dad, how about this one" where in the other direction I pointed out a massive bull that couldn't fit between the same two trees that our Chevy Tahoe could, true story!

 

As for hunting, I had tons of BB guns and 2 vacant lots on each side of our house. I was a fine marksman in my early years and I like to leave it at that. This was one of those times I could have used a hunting role model. Around 14, I had a buddy who's grandfather enjoyed taking him, and luckily me, clay pigeon shooting. I quickly learned the responsibly of handling real firearms and enjoyed dove and quail season as much as possible. This continues to this day but now it's more about ducks along with my black lab and best friend, Drake.

 

Other than those things that got me started, I spent almost everyday after high school fishing bass on the river for largemouth, traveling many weekends to Roosevelt continuing my infatuation with crappie, and I started bow hunting deer at 19 when I decided I wanted to go all out as an outdoorsman. Everything hunting has been a self learning process, and now it rules my life. These days I get to guide my dad on my own boat when fishing. He brings the beer and food and I do everything else. I wouldn't change it for the world. I'm recently married and I cannot wait to start a family of my own, teaching them all the rights and wrongs that my dad did for me. Part of the reason I invest so much time on this site is that not many people feel what I feel out there, thankfully several of us can get together here and talk about it. Great stuff.

Love hearing stuff like this!

[murfys69law]

Started out hunting in Louisiana. I was born in Phoenix but couldn't wait for summer as my folks would send me there at a very young age to spend the summer with PaPa. He was a huge cowboy into cattle and the outdoors. At 10 years old I was driving his truck to go feed the horses every night then rabbit hunting after but only if I sung the song "Jambalaya" while I drove. Guess it made him laugh cuz it sure embarrassed me. As the sun would go down I was allowed 5 shotshells for my single shot 20 guage. When the season opened around Dec. and we were there for X-Mas vacation, I got to go hunt ducks and geese. They lived right out in the marsh so I only had to walk about 150 yards and was hunting birds. I would always bring back at least 1 or 2 birds. I attribute this to him teaching me how to shoot and using a 20 guage single shot youth model shotgun. I had to make that 1st shot count!!! I will never forget what an inspiration this great man was to me. He taught me to hunt safe and respect all living things. Never shoot any animal you are not going to eat. Unless it was a skunk that got under the house....lark

[SwampMafia]

It's funny neither of my parents enjoy the outdoors much. I was truly born with a passion for hunting and fishing. At age 4 I started wandering into the forest in nebraska and in the creeks I would see small fish. I begged my dad to take me fishing and eventually around age 5 he did. I loved it! I begged him soo much he would get mad at me for it. And the passion has never gone away. Around age 9 i took up hunting and naturally my dad had to accompany me. Now I am 17 and still obsessed. I've taught myself everything I know and now tie my own flies, paint my own crainkbaits, break down my guns, filet my fish, and quarter my game, and still drag my dad around on my hunting and fishing trips. I have now converted him to enjoying them although he will always take the Mariot over a tent in the woods. Ironic how all dads wish for a son with this passion. I was a son wishing for a dad with this passion. It truly is a god given desire.

[AZkiller]

I was born with testicles and nature took is course.

[capoeirajosh]

I was born with testicles and nature took is course.

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!