Myself.. My dad didn't hunt and no one in my family did..

My dad. My favorite years were the ones when my dad & 2 uncles had a little lease that we'd all hunt together on weekends.

I guess I was born with it. No one hunted in my family. Went with a friend of dad's brother dog hunting some. When I turned 16 I had a friend with an uncle who let us hunt his land in Walker Springs, been hunting for 30 years since!

My dad started me with deer hunting. Started going about 3 or 4 years old. Dog hunting to start with and then on to the sit and wait game as years went by. All other big game and waterfowl, I did myself.

My dad. I remember him hauling me up with a rope to his old Baker stand. The most fun was the dog hunting. I love hearing a good race. Hunting was so much more fun for a youngster in the 70's.

My dad didn't care anything about hunting but my uncle Delmar who lived next door did. It was the mid 70's, I was 12 or 13...before daylight I could hear that old 68 ford crank & the tail gate slam & he would come rumbling up the driveway. That truck was bought from the local Western Auto which had gone out of business. It was a blue & white two toned 2wd, three speed on the column long bed with a huge dog box on back & a long cb antenna rocking on the bumper. 1200 mudders on back for traction. It had an AM radio & an 8 track under dash, he had a couple of tapes thrown up on the dash Willie Nelson's Red Headed Stranger & Bob Segers Night Moves. My dad had a 30-30 but I wasn't allowed to carry it yet so he let me use his 12 gauge Stevens double barrel shotgun & that stuck as my cb handle..Double Barrel. I still have & use both guns. We would go meet up with a dozen others in similar rides, drop the tailgate & the race was on. I was in hog heaven. Sorry for rambling on but those are some of the most fond memories of my youth.

Grew up with a sister and a mother after my dad decided he didn't want to stick around. My uncle got me into hunting.
My Uncle Curry.

my grandpaw started me out rabbit hunting and squirrel hunting and one uncle deer hunting my other uncle quail hunting and my dad and uncle dove hunting i've been blessed to have kenfolk that hunt

I believe I was born into it.

Growing up my Dad was the Vice President of sales for a pretty large corporation (coal industry). This was back in the 80's and it was normal to spend money entertaining customers on a regular basis. Well we had access to some prime land just west of Prattville and in and around Autagaville. We spent a lot of time down there hunting. Dad almost always took me and PawPaw with him, me starting at age 5.

I would set with Dad unless he had customers down and then I would set with pawpaw. Shot my first deer at age 5 with a pellet gun after pawpaw had done killed it. Lol. Missed my first deer at 6 with a double barrel 20 on a big dog hunt down that way. Dad always included family in these big hunts. He would have 5 or so big customers (executives) and there would be just as many family and friends. The gentleman that cut my t shirt off me after the miss talked about that hunt till the day he passes away (2 years ago). I still have that t shirt.

We did a lot of man drives (midday) during those times and killed piles of deer. Dad was always the driver and would do his best to run something on me or pawpaw. I set in a tree stand now and he will send me a text that says "josh, get ready!" That's what he always yelled after he jumped some that were headed my way.

X2

My father. He likes the outdoors, but nowhere near to the extent I do. He saw that in me at a young age and did his absolute best to keep me in the outdoors as much as possible. Looking back, he probably didn't want to go himself most of the times, but did because his little boy did.

I also believe that I was born with it. But my father taking me and allowing me to experience the outdoors as a child is one of the greatest gifts I have ever been given

Also, my grandmother, who passed away several years ago, was a very heavy influence in all of my life, but especially the outdoors. She lived less than a 1/4 mile from me and on the family farm. I spent most of my free time as a child at her house...which has a 3 acre lake it sits beside. Some of my fondest memories are of fishing with her as a kid with a cane pole with minnows we had caught in a minnow trap off of her pier. And what we caught, we ate. Her influence in my life concerning the outdoors isn't just limited to fishing....she loved to see what I had killed hunting. From the time I was 6 years old until the time when she passed away (I was 27) the very first stop I made after I killed a deer, turkey, or anything was her house for her to see it and take a picture for "her book"....

I have so very many things because of my grandmother...but one of coolest and most irreplaceable are the hundreds of Polaroid pictures of fish I caught, things I killed, etc. I miss her every day.

My Dad and my Uncle. Dad would take me whenever he went(which was almost every Saturday and Sunday during dog season) and my Uncle would take me on the days dad didn't. Some of my best memories are of my Uncle picking me up after school and taking me to the woods. My Dad never bow hunted, but my uncle got me started at age 12 with an old Bear Kodiak Magnum recurve. Never killed one with it and graduated to a compound at 14...that was 26 years ago and I've been hooked ever since.

I apologize for my tardiness on this thread but I want to share my story and show my appreciation to a few individuals including our very own General. Bubba I wouldn't be half of what I am today without you in my life. You've given me lots of advice and been there when I needed you. When mom was sick and it was starting to wear on me, you gave me the speech I needed to hear and I put my big boy britches on and dealt with life. I can't express in words my gratitude towards you well enough to justify what all you've done for me but thank you brother. Just like Generals story my dad didn't hunt and really didn't spend the time with me that I wish he wouldve, but for some reason the good lord blessed me with some great people in my youth. It has led me to a career doing what I love, kept me out of trouble, and now I am looking forward to pass on what has been given to me so unselfishly and hopefully instill the same values that were taught to me.


And yes I'm an AU grad but BAMA fan due to the man that took me under his wing and introduced me the great outdoors ...Roll Damn Tide

A mix between my dad and grandfather. By the time I was old enough to go, my dad didn't really care for it anymore but my grandfather couldn't watch me and my brother at the same time. Once my dad saw how much I enjoyed going, we went every weekend that he wasn't fishing a tournament. I still wasn't old enough to shoot a gun so he hunted and I tagged along with my BB gun. He ended up making a bad shot on a deer that took 3 more shots from the 7mag to finish off and it kinda ruined him. He still went just so I could go but once I was old enough to hunt by myself, he stopped going. It's just been me and my grandfather for the last 8 years and he's having a hard time getting around now but we still have a good time.

I can't shoot a 7MM MAG now and I am 52 years old and 170 lbs!! Got rid of one I bought a few years ago, a Rem 700, because I couldn't sight it in,I started flinching after the third shot!!

Like DW said, here's my Lunch Money too!!


I did, however, shoot my first Deer when I was 9 1/2. Shot him with Daddys 742 30.06. Emptied the mag...5 shots and ended up hitting him twice at about 30 yards!! Never felt the recoil but felt the knotted bruise on my shoulder for a few days afterward.