Thank those that taught you the hunt (please share)

[Bad Catcher]

This is a thanks to all of the people that have brought us to the point we are at today. I had a tragedy in the family several years before I was born so I have to thank my friends that lit my passion for hunting. I first hunted pheasants at 16 and my first deer hunt was last year at 30. My father was a firearms instructor and the extent of my shooting was at the range as he didn't like to revisit the past. He has been interested in what I get, but does not step in the field. I do thank him for teaching me my accuracy and abilites with a firearm.

[Deitz Dittrich]

BC- great post... I like you didn't get into hunting till later in life as my family are not much for hunting. I didn't start hunting till I was in college, but have made up for lost time for sure.

Thanks To Chad, Kent, Pa.Parrish, and the many others who have shared their love of hunting with me.

[stmichael]

My father in law (1dirtball), invited me to come along approximately 7 years or was it 8, I forget. Seems like 7 it is prolly 3 , Just kidding I have to keep the talk flying. I appreciate the fact that he asked me to come along. We have gotten very close and I hope that he feels the same way. Even though he has more talk in his little finger than Carter has liver pills.

My father hunted up until he was 17, I do not know why he quit, he does not talk about it. He also likes to hear about what I saw, and brought home. He always asks where the heart and liver went. I do not bring it home for him even if they were in one piece. I figure since they are not healthy for him to eat, after having a 5 bypass surgery, and a kidney transplant.

I would love to bring him home at least one or the other, are either one good for you? I should ask my mother she is on top of these things...of course if I talk to my dad he is going to say the doctors recommend....both.

[Ely Lake Expert]

Ya good post. I am glad my dad has had me sitting in the deer stand with him since I was about 5. Though he said I did alot of sleeping back then ( now when I am in the deer stand be myself, no one knows when I am sleeping ) Anyway, he has taught me to hunt alot of different things. Because of him I got my first grouse at 8 with a BB gun. First deer at 12. First duck at 14. First pheasant at 15. And many more of each since. I would like to thank my dad for teaching me what it took to be a good hunter and I appreciate others that taught their young hunters to be good at it and safe.

Ryan

[David Frank]

There are many people who have helped me along the way, but without a doubt it is my Dad who lit the fire that still burns deep within. Like many, I have an unbelievable passion for anything outdoors. Hunting, Fishing and Camping are where it all began as a child. Dad not only taught me how to do all of these things, but he taught me more. He showed me that it was not about killing or catching, but about respect for the outdoors, and quality time spent with loved ones and friends. I don't get to hunt as much with Dad as I used to, but my most treasured hunts every year are still with the man who started me on the right path to becoming a true outdoorsman...DAD!!!

I must also thank some of the fellas I have met since coming to college, as I have learned more than my fair share from them as well. Thanks to all of you...You know who you are!

Dave Frank

[Bassboy1645]

Mom and dad taught me how to fish at age 2 and i been fishign ever since....dad died when i was 6 and nobody in my family hunted. I always wanted to try it though and my neigbor down the street helped me out. Im not even sure how we met but i was like 8 and he was in his 30's. he and his wife helped out my mom and they became friends and so chriswas his name and i went fishing liek everyday for a few years. We were both bass nuts and hats wat we fished. he was from california and he had never hunted before but his dad was a cop and taught him how to shoot. he taught me and we set out that fall both of us never hunted in our lifes. we learned toghter and used our experiecnes to teach and help each other. in high school i met some friends at my new shcool who were hunting freaks. i learned alot from them over the years and now in college im goign to schoolo wiht them and i am one of the better hunters and fisherman in my family and friends. I thank all of u soo very much who made me who I am today and showed me what i was born to do.

[walterman]

I would like to thank my mom and dad for introducing me to hunting and fishing. They had the insight years ago to buy lakeshore property and took me fishing from little on. Also without them I wouldnt be in the woods chasing deer, bear, or whaterver without them. Looking back, its amazing how you progress through years of success and failure, and how my passion for hunting and fishing grew from something so small. Simply unbeliveable. Thank you mom and dad.

[harvey lee]

I have learned many things from many people over the years and they have all been thanked.

The biggest thank you goes to my father who always took the time to take me hunting for almost all game and fishing the summer and hard water.We had great times and the memories are and will always be the best.

Thanks to my Father.

[iamgmc]

My teacher and mentor is in the winter of his life.The desire is there but the body has limited his hunts to very few.Each time I get him out the thought it may be the last crosses my mind.The good news each time he gets out is another page in the memory scrap book.Opening weekend we took him out in a cornfield unloaded his foldng chair into standing corn,20 mallards and 4 geese later we called it a day.Dad shot 1 goose when nobody else shot and 4 of mallards,special day my dad on side and my own son on the other along with two other lifelong hunting partners.If it wasn't for the hunting memories the pages in mine and my dads book would be very skinny.He's looking forward to one deer hunt!Maybe more we'll see.

[Coach1310]

It would be hard to imagine not learning from my dad. Dad let me go with him when I was 8. I know I cost him a lot more deer than I got him, he knew it too, but loved it none the less. He told me the other day he wouldn't still be hunting if it wasn't for me and my son. I don't say thanks enough to the big man upstairs for each year he gives us together. I just hope someday it will be as special to my son as it is to me! Thanks DAD!!!

[picksbigwagon]

3 and a 1/2 years ago, I lost my brother in law. Lew first got me interested in hunting when he talked me into going grouse hunting with him one fall on his family land near Houston. He took great pride in walking me up and down every ridge he could find. From that point on, I was hooked. I started Deer hunting, pheasant hunting, and we were starting to talk about duck hunting before he was killed.

I never had the chance to thank Lew, I never took the time to express to him how much he meant to me. Of course, when do guys who are in their early 30's, drop their guard enough to express that.

We married sisters, so we were kind of forced together, and I miss him more and more each and every time the Brides family gets together. Lew left behind his wife and a 3 year old daughter. I have Lew's prize browning gold hunter in my safe for his daughter or his grandson in 40 years., when they are ready to hunt. I clean it twice a year, and put it back in the safe. I don't know if he ever shot more than a box of shells through it.

I am leaving in an hour for a hunting trip up around Lake Wabedo, Lew is constantly in my thoughts when I am out hunting, fishing, and at High School football games, and the ride up tonight will be filled with thoughts of our past "adventures". God I miss him....

[Bad Catcher]

Thanks to all of you for sharing. I also need to thank all of you for the advice that I have seen on the board. I need all of the help I can get (hence the name). The neatest thing is that it is a chain reaction happening. Someone showed me the way, and now I am training the sons and daughters.

[FarByondDrivn]

I was not introduced to hunting by my parents (fishing was a staple). I would like to thank the guys who put up with the fidgety, hyperactive kid who couldn't shoot very well. They had hunted my family's land for years before I shoed interest. They took me under their wings and taught me the fundamentals but, more importantly, they showed me the enthusiasm and camraderie that comes with the outdoors. Thank you Scott, Jim, Dale, and Brad; I owe you more than I can ever repay. Great topic guys!

[Dee.M.Zee]

I would have to thank my grandmother I guess???. For all the years of field and stream/outdoor life/Fins and Feathers subscriptions I would recieve for x-mas gifts as a child.

My father hunted but never took me along,he was the type to go with his buddies and leave the kid at home with the wife."No" was the response I would recieve after begging til I was blue in the face to go with them.

As I got to driving age I took myself to any and all public land I could find and applied everything I had learned in those magazines.I found friends who enjoyed hunting as well and spent much time with them in the woods.It got to the point where Sept. would roll around and I would ask my Dad if he wanted to go out hunting with me and he would always reply "No",to which I would reply "C-YA!!" and be gone for days in the woods.

So I guess if I had anyone to thank it would be my grandma for lighting the hunting fire under my butt.I'm so glad it never went out.

With my own children I have made sure to bring them in the woods with me and to share in the great outdoors with them,be it hunting,fishing,hiking,etc. My 6 year old daughter accompanied me for the first time this year Grouse hunting and it is something I will NEVER forget,I hope she doesn't either:)

I hope when my kids get older they'll always remember our special times together in the woods and sharing in the great outdoors with Dad .

[bigbucks]

Dad always took me along to deer hunting weekend, which wasn't a sleep over or anything, 14 miles to Grandma & Grandpa's. He really didn't hunt beyond that weekend, still doesn't much, two weekends now.

My cousin who's the same age as me always wanted me to go with, so my Uncle's really the one that got me involved more heavily in hunting & fishing & taught me a ton. Either directly or indirectly through what he'd taught my cousin, it came from him.

Dad did let me use his .22 to hunt squirrels & rabbits around the farm, once I'd taken gun training. My folks bought me a bb gun & .22, helped me buy a shotgun, so they were definitely involved. Still remember when Dad was going to help me out before deer season when I was going to carry a gun for the first time. We walk out to the grove behind the machine shed with the 1912 model, single shot 12 gauge. He set's up a rusted out old metal chicken feeder on a stump in a small junk pile. He puts in a paper cased birdshot shell from who knows when, hands me the gun, & says try that. I blast the chicken feeder from all of 40' & he says, will that work? I said I guess so, & we walk back to the house. A great memory, in a hilarious way, didn't exactly help me know how to hit a deer with a slug, but I eventually figured it out. I shot more deer in 2004 alone than Dad has in his whole life, but it's still great hunting with him & the rest of the family.

Another great memory is Grandpa, on my Mom's side, where we hunt, always wanting to just go out & shoot a deer with the 30-30. We were in shotgun zone. He bought a license maybe 3 times that I can remember, "hunted" 4-5 different years... It didn't matter, the 30-30 was unscoped & he was a "terrible" shot. He never hit a thing other than dirt & trees to my knowledge. He also had the patience of a 3 year-old, he was hilarious. His biggest enjoyment of deer hunting was using the four wheel drive truck to pull out somebody's "worthless" two wheel drive that got stuck, or the tractor to pull out the four wheel drives. Going to pick up deer with the truck or tractor was a highlight too. He was pretty social.

[JigginIsLife]

Well i guess i will first start with my Dad. I was first seated in a boat at the age of 4 months sitting in my moms lap and my dad fishing. When I was finally able to hold my own rod and reel i was fishing. Wouldnt stop for rain, sleet, hail(that one hurt), the only thing stopping me was lightning, and the tornado siren. After learning how to fish from my dad i then took up hunting. My dad went pheasant hunting all the time when i was younger and i was always allowed to walk with but never to carry a gun, untill i had my gun permit. so when i was 13 i finally got in to get my permit and a year later my dad stopped pheasant hunting. so about 6-8 years later i have now taken up hunting on my own with only my buddies at my side. wished my dad would have been there to see me get my first rooster this past tuesday, but you cant get everything. his body just cant take the abuse, but atleast he lit that fire and the most important thing i learned from him was the respect for the outdoors and conservation. like catching a limit of fish and getting back home at 1 in the morning, and school at 7, but you cant let them sit out so fillet them out and get to bed whenever. the only thing i hope is that when i have a kid, i can pass everything i have learned from my dad and mom, along with my friends about the outdoors. and hopfully somone will be talking about me like this in about 40 years.

***Thanks Dad, you make me proud to be your son.**

[Gordie]

Thanks go to my dad and my grandfather they showed me the ethical way to hunt and fish and now I am proud to say that I can pass this on to my kids and someday theirs. I would also like to thank all of the volenteirs that put on gun saftey training .

[jigging-matt]

I would have to thank my Grandfather who passed about 9 years ago. He was always glad I was interested in hunting and fishing, as most of the cousins older than me were girls that were not interested. He showed me a lot, and i hope that my daughter who already has the interest in fishing at age 4 will benefit from my grandfathers teachings as much as I did.

[love to hunt]

Great post Bad Catcher, well done.

I will be thanking my dad foremost for bringing hunting and fishing into my life. Then it would be Dale, Bill, Billy, Bill, and Dave. They were the guys who we hunted with and they all treated me like a son and put up with "the kid" in deer camp.

I would also like to say that the best thanks we can give the people who taught us is to pass it on to the next generation. I will take any kid hunting that asks and teach them anything they want to know a maybe more then they bargined for.

I had the honer of takeing a kid last year who came from a nonhunting family. He harvested his first deer last year and it warms my heart to know that I was involved.

It is only a matter of time before my girls are ready, and I can hardly wait.

[HavocTec]

Well I have to thank my Dad for teaching me about hunting, fishing and the outdoors. He really only hunted deer and fished pike, but he was about the best at both them. This year I lost my Dad do to cancer, so this year its off hunting without him, for the first time in about 20 years.Its going to be a tough year, but I know dear old Dad will be with me in spirt. I did shoot a doe with the bow already and it was strange not having Dad around to tell the story and to help butcher. I guess this is one more lesson in life he is teaching me now. Funny how this seems to be the hardest..