For me, I recall my granddad taking me on a few dove hunts before he passed away when I was 9. Did a ton of fishing with him though. Did some bow hunting with my dad until I went off into college. Getting back into the swing of things this year.

Got anyone you're trying to pass down the tradition/experience to? My son is only 4, but certainly want to get him out there as soon as I can. The attention span isn't quite there yet, even for things where you don't have to be silent/still.

My dad. The funny thing is that I hated going with him. It was cold.

My dad.

Pops....

My dad never hunted and didn't know the first thing about it. Lucky for me a family friend who didn't have any kids had land and patience. He picked me up at school every Friday and took me to his farm where we did everything from tractor work, cows, hunting and fishing. Widowmaker10 came along several years after me and was lucky enough to have this same mentor in life and the woods. He's become like a little brother to me even though he graduated from AU with a degree in Forestry but still pulls for Bama .

I became who I wanted to be in life because of someone who had no obligation at all but he did it anyway.

I guess my dad, but everyone in our family hunted - it was expected. Whatever we killed, was pretty much what we ate - with the exception of the hogs and chickens that my grandparents raised. For as far back as I can remember - we probably ate deer or some type of game 5-6 times a week for dinner. My dad says that when I (being me) was young, "We were so poor that we were "po" - we couldn't afford the "o r" to make us poor.

My mom would make a big pot of pinto beans on Sunday and we'd eat them everyday that week till they were gone.

A typical dinner:
Fried deer meat (tenderized with a mallet)
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Pinto beans
Biscuits or cornbread

Often,
Bisquick squirrel dumplings
Pinto beans

Sometimes,
Fried chicken or porkchops
Mashed potatoes
Pinto beans
Biscuits or cornbread

Ironically, my favorite meal is:
Fried deer cube steak
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Pinto beans
Cornbread

My best friend who is no longer with us. I think about him everyday but feel his presence the most when I'm deer hunting. My daddy and granddaddy were saltwater fisherman and not hunters at all.

Father in law....My dad never hunted. I've got alot of uncles who hunt, but never asked to take me hunting. My FIL had several shooting houses on his and some family property behind his house. I finally took him up on the offer to go. After the first one, I was hooked. I'm still not any good. But I enjoy it.

My dad.

He was a duck hunter so that's what we did. He got pretty pissed at me one night at camp because I wouldn't shucks in the woods. Late that night he drove me all the way back down the river and my mom picked me up at the boat landing. Now my son has no problem dropping logs in the woods.

My step-father did in the late 60's, killed my first deer in '71

Friends of mine in hs

Pops, best time of my life has and will continue to be time spent with him in the outdoors..

Dad

Grandfather

Dad, Uncles, and Step Grandfather. Great times following them and some bird dogs or rabbit dogs or squirrel huntin or sittin on the creek bank. I started them on deer hunting. I sure miss those guys.

Early on I squirrel hunted around my uncle's farm and around 1967 I started deer hunting just north of Troy with my cousin. He always had coon and squirrel dogs so we ran deer in the daytime and coons at night.

Me. Started with my red rider. Watched fishing and hunting shows. My dad worked too much to hunt and both my grandpas were dead. We had 7 acres but it was a funnel for deer. I got a sks when I was 14 and would go stand on the hollow after school in my blue jeans and tee shirt. Killed my first deer back there. Was a doe out of doe season. I was so pumped I didn't care. That got me hooked.

And I knew so little about it after I shot it I took off running after it.

I have always been fascinated with the outdoors and pretty much taught myself through trial and error. We had a large farm in Ga and used to sit on a hillside and watch deer every evening studying their body language. Then after I turned 12 my step dad handed me a 30-30 and said about time you start hunting ....I haven't stopped yet and still love to watch em.

Cool pic... Wild man there