Who taught you how to hunt/fish?

[RidgeHunter]

My dad was a lifetime trout fisherman and small game hunter. His dad was a casual fisherman and not a hunter, but he supported my dad in it when he was little. For some reason dad took an early interest in it. Bought him a pump shotgun and he'd just wonder about after quail and rabbits at 12 years old. He tought himself to trap and became a muskrat and skunk trapper extraordinaire, and I still have the old fiberglass spinning rod he won in the local trout derby in the late 60's.

Our family vacations were always fishing trips. Often just cabins at a trout park. We'd all gang up and hit the bell, but I'd head back out after breakfast and fish until they came and dragged me away or the bell sounded that evening. I started on a spinning rod and soon as I could hold one, and a fly rod when I was 12.

Deer hunting was something dad pretty much taught himself. He didn't start until the early 80's. A guy from work took him, showed him where deer would likely be and told him to make a stand or a ground blind. He'd build wooden stands and sit in them until the first legal buck came by (before doe days were common). Shoot it, tag it and go home. He was under-geared in the early days, and sat through some cold seasons. "I was dumb. I don't know why, but at the time I thought you had to get in your stand 2-3 hours before sunrise. It was brutal."

So that was how he taught me. He wasn't about to give up his hunt for me, and not only do I not blame him...I'm glad he just made me figure it out. "This is a rubline and it looks they trail through here. Find a place you like and make a blind." Off he walked to his stand. I wrapped camo netting around 3 trees, kicked the leaves out and sat there in a lawn chair (unarmed) while he bowhunted for the next 2 weekends. Didn't see jack crap. 30-45 minutes into opening day of gun and I shot a little buck 20 yards from that blind. 3 of us hung 4 deer from the pole that weekend. I was 12 years old. I was hooked the first time I saw the woods, but that solidified it. I picked up a muzzleoader and a bow quickly after that.

I remember my mom coming to get me out of school because my uncle killed a 6x6 elk waaaay back in the Arizona forest, and my dad thought I should see the process of packing out an animal. Plus I had to carry the backpack full of water while everyone else had elk parts strapped to their backs.

That's what it's all about. Some things are more important than school. I don't remember what I was studying in middle school, but I remember watching out the window for dad to pull up and waiting for the intercom to call my name on Friday before opening day of gun, so we could get to camp before it got late.

I've seen the sunrise every single opener since, on the same place, with the same guys. Things will change, and it it'll be hard to adjust. My dad and his buddy are my only true hunting partners I can count on. Nobody else makes it a priority like we do. No exceptions, we are there. The normal schedule is to go on Friday afternoons and come home Sunday from Oct. 1st to the end of rifle. And any weekday we can when the rut is on or the weather is nice. I have a guy that will hunt sometimes, and I might make my non-hunter buddy into a deer hunter eventually...but I guess I'll go solo most of the time eventually. Nobody is going to put in the time like I do. And that's not counting the time off season we put in. It will always be a priority over most anything to me. It was there for me when jobs and people weren't, so I'm not giving it up for either. Annoying people always tell me "your priorities will change". No, not really. Come to my camp on any Saturday night in November and tell these old farts they "never grew up" as they sit around the fire laughing and telling the same tired stories for the 100th time. Priorities only change when you want them too. If you love something, you'll find a way to do it.

^^That was a damn novel.

 

[Mark Munkres]

My Dad both fished and hunted, but had about quit hunting by the time I was old enough to. We fished a lot, I mean a lot. When I got old enough he taught me how to shoot and handle a gun. Then I went hunting with my brother and cousins and gradually started going by myself for small game. When I got to be about 16 I started deer hunting but there weren't many deer and you couldn't shoot a doe. I mostly quail hunted until the deer population got bigger and I started killing a few deer. Then about 12 years ago I bought a great hunting place and started deer hunting big time and then turkeys.

 

[RaysZ71]

My dad left when I was really young. I learned it all on my own. Started fishing when I was 7 using a bamboo stick. Hunting came little later.

 

[dennishoddy]

Ridge, I envy you and everybody else that had a parent to mentor them.
Having a deer camp would be one of the things to make memories.
Was on a lease once for one year only before it sold. The guys had a deer camp for many years. I loved hearing the stories.
Oh yeah, I'm one of those that needs to get into the stand a couple of hours before daylight.

 

[257wby]

My Dad tought me most that I know about both. I'm learning a fair bit about shooting though and might even be able to teach him a thing or two!

 

[RyAn007]

Well I grew up with my dad teaching me how to fish, went out all the time. Caught my biggest fish with him, had great times, boy do I miss killing the Salmon out on Lake Michigan and Walleye on Winnebago. Good Ol' days ha. Walleye on the Mississippi was also good and shovelhead during the spring/summer, and nailing channel cats out on small rivers.

For hunting my dad never did that, so when I got old enough I pretty much taught my self everything from gun safety to how to call in deer. Wish the pops was into hunting but I think it all turned out well.

 

[MyMonkey]

Longish story I suppose. Will render only the highlights. As far as shooting, my father was the one who always took me with him to the range. He was a sniper/SWAT member for many years for several LE agencies. He finally left the US Marshalls office just a few weeks ago after having worked 38 years in LE. Living off the land so to speak was from the Boy Scouts. More camping there than ever since.

As far as hunting goes, I was hoping someone on here would let me learn from them!

 

[dpparker2001]

learned it on my own. my father was in the war and didn't care for killing after that. left it to me to figure it out. when i shot my first tree rat i ended up burrying it cuz i felt bad for messing it up so bad. there wans't much left after i "butchered" it. spent a lot of time reading books and learning from them.

 

[WFT]

Same for me, my dad was in WW2. I guess when he got back home he had no interest in guns. Didn't stop me and my brothers, we lived in the woods and just learned through trial and error. Would have been nice to have had a mentor to teach me the ethics of hunting, took me a while to learn that. We loved to trap but didn't know anything. Never forget when I was in the 4th grade I ran my trap line before school, caught a skunk one morning, and wasn't about to give up my trap. So having no gun, I had to kill that skunk with rocks, finally did it, and went on to shool. Never forget the response from my teacher, couldn't go back for two days. My mother tried every remedy should knew of to scrub that smell off. Didn't bother me I was only 10.

 

[r00s7a]

My dad never hunted and never had any grandparents to speak of. I got a Red Ryder when I was young and there wasn't a bird or squirrel in the yard that was safe. I graduated to a pellet gun and took many rabbits and squirrels with it. When I was 12 I got my first shotgun, a sawed off 12 gauge. I mean, who doesn't buy their 12 year old a sawed off shotgun? Luckily I found a longer barrel for it and it all started there. I knew that I enjoyed shooting guns, but I still hadn't really been introduced to real hunting. Pretty much everything I learned, I can attribute to old men that have come and gone in my life. My mom always told me I had an old soul, but I never knew what she meant. Now I can look back and see that I have always enjoyed hanging out with old timers three times my age. Their stories and knowledge have been priceless to me. I learned to noodle from a man that was nearly 70. He taught me something that he learned as a kid, and had done all his life, and passed it down to me. Had it not been for him, I am pretty sure I would have never stuck my hand in a hole to save my life. Now it is a summer sport I will never quit. He is also the one that introduced me to rattlesnake hunting and pig trapping. He was in decent health, good enough to go get in the river, but for some reason I was always the one getting bit, or the one crawling in the pig trap to drag out the pigs. He was passing his knowledge down to me and I didn't even realize it. Turkey hunting was something that was totally self taught through reading and many hours of sitting afield. Old men have by far had the most impact on my hunting and fishing activities. I don't have children of my own, and my niece and nephew are dictated by a Nazi anti-gun mother, so I will never get the opportunity to teach them anything I have learned. But I will find someone one day to take under my wing and pass down all that has been passed to me.