How many of you took up hunting on your own?

That is, did you became an active and successful hunter even though the ‘deck was stacked’ against it happening? Statistics say that the majority of hunters are introduced to the lifestyle (I dislike the use of “sport” or “hobby” to describe hunting) at a young age, usually by their fathers. Not surprisingly, the stats say most young hunters either live in a rural area or at least have relatives that do.

If this is the case I can't explain my own four-decade long hunting career. I was born and raised in the heart of Milwaukee. As a youngster my only contact with nature was a summer “day camp” program that took inner-city kids to a large suburban park. My Dad, rest his soul, was a good man and I had the privilege of enjoying a close life-long relationship with him. We did lots of interesting things together but he was not an outdoorsman.

The urge to hunt hit when I was in my early teens. It hit hard. Other kids were into sports, reading about muscle cars (not being old enough to drive,) drugs and girls. Not me. All I wanted to do was be in the woods, rifle in hand, looking for game. The quarry didn’t matter, I just wanted be out there. Dad tried, in vain, to discourage my budding interest in hunting. He’d say things like: “Why bother, you’ll only get wet and tired.” Or, “You won’t kill anything, and if you did what are you going to do with it?” When that didn’t work he’d try scare tactics: “If you kill something you’ll have to gut it and butcher it. That’s the most gross, disgusting thing imaginable. When you’re faced with that job you’ll regret pulling the trigger.” It didn't work; I wasn’t discouraged in the least.

I hunted whenever I could, wherever I could. In the early days it was usually with an uncle who was more interested in drinking than hunting. The big day finally came on 10 November 1979 when I shot my first animal, a young doe. I was 24 years old. That doe was as great a trophy and symbol of perseverance as ever existed. She was the first of over 500 big game animals to fall to my rifle and bow. I’ve taken antelope, bison, deer and elk. None of them are real trophies, they're just some nice representative class animals. My specialty is agricultural deer damage control. It’s not difficult, mostly a matter of spending time in a stand, but you’ve got to admit that anybody who’s willing to shoot (and gut) deer year ‘round probably likes to hunt. In later years Dad was very supportive and he became an accomplished wild game chef.

I’ve always thought my interest in hunting made me some sort of a freak of nature. But the Internet has proven me wrong. I’m not the only one, not by a long shot. There are lots of city kids who became avid hunters all on their own, just like I did. These days it’s not unusual to find men (and even women) who first took up hunting when they were in their 20’s or 30’s. Somebody even came up with a name for it – “Adult onset hunting.” Maybe I was a prototype for future generations of hunters.

What’s your story? Was your father a non-hunter or “indoorsman?” Did you take up hunting on your own?

My father grew up in New York City, started hunting after he married my mother, who grew up on a farm. It grew on him slowly, but surely. He was 73 when he shot his last antelope, may have shot a couple more deer after that. He took us to target ranges early on, and took us with him hunting.

I started hunting with my dad, tagging along at about 8 or 10 yrs old. Then, about 12 started carrying a shotgun & by 14 packing a rifle with dad while deer hunting.

In early teens was avidly reading the outdoor mags: Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, Sports Afield. In high school, most of the guys I hung out with were into it also and we hunted & fished together. I am still at it 65 yrs later, although I am slowing down & do not do it as frequently.

I got to hunt with my dad a couple of times when I was a young boy. After his death, I didn't pick up a rifle for many years and in fact, It was my son who got me interested in hunting. I've only been at this for about 5 years and I'm 58. But I'm just getting warmed up!!

My Dad liked to fish, but never was a hunter, simply because he grew up during a time when hunting was done for a reason, to obtain meat, not as just something to do. I went to a small town school here in north Texas and got started hunting by going with folks I went to school with.

This might sound really dumb to the more educated, but I firmly believe that even though the desire to hunt can be planted and nurtured in people, the hunting instinct is something a person is born with.

I inherited hunting from my Dad, but he grew up in a non hunting house. He started hunting rabbits with a neighbor when they were boys, and it grew from there.

The hunting feat I am most proud of is starting two non hunters into serious hunters. Three guys my age have killed their first deer with me, and I was as proud as a papa.

I have four kids, they will all hunt with me.

I took up hunting in my mid 30's. Did not grow up in a hunting family.

I'm like Crazyhorse and Ann, started on my own. My granddad was a west Kansas wheat farmer during the dust bowl, so as a kid my dad hunted and trapped because he had to, not because he wanted to. Because of this, he had no desire to hunt. I started reading outdoor life and Fur, Fin, and Feather as a kid in the Denver suburbs. My dad and granddad took me out after rabbits in the Kansas wheat fields a few times, but it was probably only to shut me up. After my undergraduate degree, I started bird hunting with an old friend, went to big game because I was working on a large private ranch so I had access, and have never looked back. Multiple elk, two Africa trips, a couple of deer, lots of rabbits (fed a crew on a project in Wyoming one fall), more bird dogs in the house than I know what to do with, pretty much all self taught or learned from hunting partners.

Having guided for that last 20+ years I have to say the folks who have taken hunting up later in life and are mostly self-taught are some of my favorite clients.

They hunt for the experience - not for ego, not for the score book and not to kill. They enjoy challenging themselves and appreciate the meat as a reward of the adventure. To me they are typically some of the most pure of sportsmen and women and personify the conservationists and fair chase hunters that keep our passion alive.

They're very active in politics and conservation and have quality equipment. They appreciate and enjoy all the outdoor experiences - not just those that involve spilling blood.

Hunting is not an easy activity to learn alone and the clicks at ranges and gun shops aren't broadly accepting of outsiders. I've always admired those who can take up hunting on their own and become proficient just by trial-and-error, reading and getting to know the right people.

I took up hunting on my own - did not really have much choice, nobody else in my (close) family hunted.

My passion was mountaineering, but I had a climbing accident (old climbers vs. bold climbers....) and a broken ankle put an end to those "dreams of glory". Alas, my sense of adventure was still alive and well, and hunting in the far corners of the World seemed just the ticket. First tentative steps were in Africa, but soon I found my true passion with mountain hunting.

These days, as the years go by, the level of ambition has been scaled back, but hunting is still my favorite pastime. I have not regretted it, and who knows, maybe my son (eight) will also take to hunting - we have started shooting his rifle together...

- mike

Thanks for the responses - keep 'em coming!

Can the experience of one's ancestors affect the chances of person becoming a hunter? It can be argued either way. On the frontier you either were a hunter, knew a hunter or went hungry. It was a way of life. But read the stories of the early pioneers and frontiersmen and you'll get the overall impression that they didn't mind having to hunt for their meals - except when game got scarce. But, chances are, they chose that lifestyle and most of them had the hunting 'gene' and an adventurious spirit or they wouldn't have been there.

On the other hand consider a youngster growing up on a drought-stricken, hardscrabble farm during the Great Depression. It's understandable how he might associate hunting with hard times and deprevation and lose any interest that he may have had. My own parents were children during the depression but grew up in small Midwestern towns. They told stories of bread lines, soup kitchens and charity dinners but never mentioned going hungry long enough to worry about survival. There are no frontiersmen or dirt-poor farmers anywhere in my lineage so I doubt that my ancestory had anything to do with my interest in hunting one way or the other.

War or military experience may also play a role. Dad served in the Navy during WWII. He was a coxwain on a destroyer and saw action in the South Pacific theater. Although he never talked about personally killing an enemy he probably saw enough death during the war and was unable to make the distinction in his own mind between shooting a person in anger and shooting an animal for food. If that's the case, he's not alone. I've heard of many ex-military people who won't touch a gun. On the flip side millions of city-bred G.I.'s got their first "hands-on" experience with firearms during their stint in the service and became avid hunters and shooters after the war. There is the story of a market hunter in Finland who was a sniper during the WWII. The Russians called him "White Death" because he had over 700 confirmed kills. After the war he went right back to his old profession.

I started this thread to expand on Crazhorseconsulting's theme on the future of hunting. My story, and those of the other respondents, should help to prove that the urge to hunt is an integral part of being human. Not everybody feels the urge or responds to it. But the urge is there and will express itself, sometimes when least expected.

I took up hunting on my own. My father and uncle instilled a love of the outdoors in general and fishing in particular. Neither one hunted and my mother was (and still is) very anti gun and hunting (but I have to admire her for cooking and serving the fist phesant I shot with a borrowed shotgun when I was 15). I had not given it much thought until now but even though they did not share the ride with me they did not keep me from doing it. Thanks Mom and Dad!

My Dad did not Hunt.He liked fishing and ice fishing.My Uncle and my Grandpa were hunters and took me to deer camp as a young boy.I was hooked.

My dad was not a hunter, he was a fisherman. I grew up in the So Cal desert and about all there was to hunt was rabbits and coyotes. I did hunt coyotes while growing up but never really gained an interest in hunting. I did start hunting on my own a few years ago and being in my mid 40's call it what you will, mid life crisis or just a calling to the outdoors, I am having the time of my life

No one in my family hunted or fished.

I started hunting quail when I was 17, did not hunt big game until I was 34 when I went on a cow elk hunt, went to Alaska was when I was 36, and my first safari when I was 37. All self initiated...I learned from guides, applied my law enforcement training, some from reading magazines, more from books.

My maternal grandpa hunted a bunch. But by the time I was old enough to go he was too old to go. Neither of my parents liked to hunt. I was born wanting to hunt and finally started going, with a bow, at 15. I had no one to teach me. I was 22 before I killed my first head of big game, a bull elk with a bow. Since then I've switched more to rifles and even hunt with one of my grandpa's.

Those of you who grew up with fathers, uncles, or gpa's that took you and taught you have my envy.

quote:

Originally posted by Ralphie:
My maternal grandpa hunted a bunch. But by the time I was old enough to go he was too old to go. Neither of my parents liked to hunt. I was born wanting to hunt and finally started going, with a bow, at 15. I had no one to teach me. I was 22 before I killed my first head of big game, a bull elk with a bow. Since then I've switched more to rifles and even hunt with one of my grandpa's.

Those of you who grew up with fathers, uncles, or gpa's that took you and taught you have my envy.

Don`t matter how you started,arriving is all that matters!!!

It's a journey, not a destination.

I was born and raised in Boston, MA. I taught myself to hunt ducks first (bad choice I know now but I've learned that if you can handle the grueling years of trying to learn to become a duck hunter and still enjoy it you can pretty much handle anything hunt wise ). I didn't start hunting until my late 20s. Wish hard I'd had family to show me the ropes but it just wasn't in the cards...

Interesting thread.

I can't say that I took it up late in life, but I did take it up on my own.....

My dad passed when I was 5 years old(of a rare heart defect, he was 29 and I was the only person in the room when he died) and I was left to be raised by my mom and my great extended family. Before he died, my father, bought me a Daisy Red rider. I had no doubt he expected me to be a hunter.

With this BB gun I was hell on birds. In fact no telephone wire was high enough to keep a bird safe.

Unfortunately a family member was murdered by rifle, so my mom was pretty anti gun.

After my dad passed I took his guns(Win M88, Rem 870 and Ithica .22) into my room for safe keeping. I'm not sure how I got away with this..

Several times during my early teenage years my mom urged me to sell them to "buy something you want", because after all, "you could get several hundred dollars for them." As much as you would think this would tempt a teenager, I never wavered. I knew that I would become a hunter.

My grandfather and uncles' hunting had tapered off during their transitions from bachelors to husbands and fathers. By the time I was old enough to hunt they were no longer hunting.

At sixteen I got my driver's license and purchased a car. Within months I had enrolled myself and my 11 year old brother in a hunters safety course. The class was 30 miles away, but I always found a way to get us there.

I had snuck in a bit of hunting(poaching) before getting my license, but that license was like a free pass into the wilderness.

I was able to introduce several new hunters into the sport before I was 18. And several of them are now avid hunters. I have even gotten some of my uncles and my grandfather back into hunting.

I really had to shame one uncle back into hunting. His son was dying to go after finishing his hunter's safety course, but my uncle was always too busy to go. Kinda odd seeing that he has tons of vacation time saved up.


I had a really(really) hard time finding local hunting mentors when I was young. As in, I never did find a single one..... And trust me, I tried. But looking back I probably could have done a better job of searching for a mentor(hanging around the local gun club, etc.) but like most 16 or 17 year-olds I didn't know the best ways to go about such things.

Now, I have been on several African hunts and have taken lion, elephant and buffalo along with a ton of plains-game. All on my own dime.

Oddly enough, several of the guys who have MAJOR local hunting access(and had promised to take me hunting when I was younger, but never did) have asked me for advice on hunting Africa.

I should tell them to go F*** themselves, but I always do research and offer good advice.

I wonder if I will ever pull my head out of my ass.

Funny, they are proud when they show me photos of their 12 year-olds with big four pointers.

I am bitter, but at the same time I'm green with envy.

Wow, I am pretty much the opposite.

I can honestly never remember a time when I wasn't a hunter. sling shots, wrist rockets, BB guns, pellet guns, bows, then on to firearms.

Tagged along on a bunch of hunts with Dad, and friends. Shot a bunch of small game and graduated to big game at age 12 in 1979.

I find Kyler's statement interesting, because growing up in SD hunting pheasants. The newbies are the ones that scared the crap out of me with poor gun handling skills.

quote:

Oddly enough, several of the guys who have MAJOR local hunting access(but have never taken me on a hunt) have asked me for advice on Africa.

I should tell them to go F*** themselves, but I always do research and offer good advice.

I wonder if I will ever pull my head out of my ass.

Funny, they are proud when they show me photos of their 12 year-olds with big four pointers.

Have you ever expressed an interest in wanting to deer hunt to any of those folks?????

Could be that because you have hunted Africa and have knowledge of how to do it, they might not realize that you would like to hunt ordinary deer.

My guess is that since they know you have hunted in Africa, evidently you have talked about it enough for them to come to you forhelp/advice, they just assume that you are not interested in something like deer hunting.

The next time one of those folks shows you a picture of a nice deer, you might accidentally say something like, "I sure would like to shoot on of those" or "I don't get the chance to go deer hunting very often".

You might be suprised how easy it could be to get an invite.

My father passed away when i was 5 but I remember pheasant hunting with him when we lived in Iowa. I got his shotgun and growing up it was my prized possesion. I can remember being at my Grandfathers when my Uncles would come for deer season and I could hardly wait until I was 12 years old to get to hunt too. I hunted several before I got my first deer, but I was hooked by then. I can still remember (like it was yesterday) shooting my first Greenhead with Dad's shotgun. My wife says my eyes light up when I talk about hunting. I have truely been blessed to have gotten to hunt worldwide.

Hawkeye

my graddad never hunted, so my dad got into it on his own in the late 60s. he was high school age or so then. he has been hooked ever since.

i was very fortunate to have that growing up. dad took me hunting as soon as i could walk basically. i got my first shotgun at age 5 and started squirrel hunting. at the time in TN i had to wait until i was 10yrs to start deer hunting. so in 1991 my big game hunting career started, and it escalates every year. i'm as hooked and addicted to the lifestyle as much now as ever. probably more so as i have more money to pursue more game. dad and i still hunt together every year, its a time i absolutely cherish.

i too believe that hunting is an instinct born into all humans. as animals we have the instinct to go out and gather food. in most cases it is suppressed from birth and never allowed to mature, i was one of the lucky ones that grew up in an environment that nurtured and encouraged my hunting. but some people i guess its just really strong, and those, like my dad, take out on their own, and find that there is no thrill, no adrenaline rush, no adventure quite like it anywhere.

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:

quote:

Oddly enough, several of the guys who have MAJOR local hunting access(but have never taken me on a hunt) have asked me for advice on Africa.

I should tell them to go F*** themselves, but I always do research and offer good advice.

I wonder if I will ever pull my head out of my ass.

Funny, they are proud when they show me photos of their 12 year-olds with big four pointers.

Have you ever expressed an interest in wanting to deer hunt to any of those folks?????

Could be that because you have hunted Africa and have knowledge of how to do it, they might not realize that you would like to hunt ordinary deer.

My guess is that since they know you have hunted in Africa, evidently you have talked about it enough for them to come to you forhelp/advice, they just assume that you are not interested in something like deer hunting.

The next time one of those folks shows you a picture of a nice deer, you might accidentally say something like, "I sure would like to shoot on of those" or "I don't get the chance to go deer hunting very often".

You might be suprised how easy it could be to get an invite.

Crazyhorse
I edited my post before I read your reply. I wanted to make it more clear that my beef with these guys was that they had no interest in taking an eager youngster hunting, even though some of them had promised to take me at different times.

I still feel bitter when I think about how badly I was dying to hunt when I was younger, and these guys would make promises to take me along, but never did.

Now that I am older I have the means and knowledge to take myself hunting, and I don't want or need anyone to hold my hand(not that I would turn down any offers). The truth is that when I was a kid I did not have the knowledge or the means to take myself.

One thing that I learned early is that you can't rely on anyone but yourself.

I do like your advice regarding letting guys know that I would like to hunt locally. I will have to give it a try.

Interesting thread.....

My family is anti-gun/hunting; mostly associating it with the beer drinking,shooting road signs, deer tied on the car hood set.

I started when I was in my mid-twenties on my own. Had a co-worker take me to a trap shoot and prompted me to take the hunter-saftey course. Never really hunted together with him, but he did get me started.

Family is distressed enough that there are guns in my house and taxidermy on the walls; haven't been to visit here in 18+ years now. LOL

I think much of my inspiration came from my paternal grandfather. We did live trap squirrels in his garden in home made box traps and did some fishing together. He had long given up hunting but he had stories from his youth in Europe and deer hunting here in the US; always found them exciting. He was still alive when I first started, and I would take my grandparents half a deer each year. Fun to have my own stories to tell him.

I hear quite a few stories of new to hunting folks especially here just north of NY City. Biggest challenge is where to go as it can be tough to get access to prime land. We have a good portion of public fairly close, but its hard to cut your teeth on some of it without any skills for deer. Just like youth hunters, it's tough to keep someone interested if they are not seeing something.