|
Post by Woody Williams on Oct 24, 2010 5:36:36 GMT -5
......................that encouraged you to be a Deer Hunter?
Harold Wayne Sanders, an old grade school friend, got me started. I never saw a deer the first year I hunted (gun only) but I liked it just being out there.
He told me if I really liked that I should take up bow hunting. I had a friend that had a friend who's mom worked at Indian Industries and he got me a Indian Mohawk bow (52", 48# @ 28" draw), a dozen fiberglass arrows that had six field points and 6 Bear broadheads on them all for $30.
That was in 1968, I saw a total of 6 deer that year and missed the first buck I ever saw in the woods.
Wayne took me back an old lane through a woods and showed me a big oak to climb up in. No stand. Just stood/sat on a limb about 10 foot off the ground. At good light I looked up and here was a buck standing no more than 15 yards from me. I raised up and let one fly. I had no idea wher that arrow went. The buck jumped and ran over in behind some bushes where I could not see him anymore,. He then started blowing. Being the novice I was I had never heard a deer blow and did not know what it was. I thought to myself "That is air escaping from his lungs. A death rattle! He's dieing!"
I had heard that you are supposed to wait 30 minutes before getting down and trailing, so that is what I did. The longest 30 minutes of my life. I was envisioning that bucks head on my living room wall. I finally got down and went to where the buck was standing and there firmly planted in the ground was my arrow with no signs of a hit. I heard Wayne say," I missed him too". I then looked across the small clearing to another big oak that Wayne was in about 75 yards from where I was.
I was really hooked then..
I hunted some with Wayne back then, but he didn't have it in his heart like I did. Several mornings I went to pick him up and couldn't get him out of bed. We kind of drifted apart after that.
I got hooked up with John Trout Jr. and the "Ebenezer Gang" after that and been at it ever since.
Who was it in your life that encouraged you to be a Deer Hunter?
|
|
|
Post by drs on Oct 24, 2010 6:25:11 GMT -5
Who was it in your life that encouraged you to be a Deer Hunter?
Actually no one. I had to learn it all by myself.
|
|
|
Post by oneshot on Oct 24, 2010 6:28:36 GMT -5
Fred Bear......especially his old video of his alaskan brown bear hunt. I remember watching that as a kid on TV. Wide Worls of Sports I believe. I thought .......I want to do that! All I could think about was Alaska....well not all...lol but that was on my mind quite a bit. I ended up joining the USAF in 1968 right out of high school for a 4 yr. enlistment. I realized part of my dream when I got stationed at King Salmon Alaska in 70-71'. I'm still thinking of a Brown bear hunt. Good topic Woody. Thanks for bringing back the memories
|
|
|
Post by turkeyscout on Oct 24, 2010 7:14:04 GMT -5
Who was it in your life that encouraged you to be a Deer Hunter?Actually no one. I had to learn it all by myself. ...........i'm with you drs,,,,, and i'm still learning..... .....turkey scout
|
|
|
Post by HighCotton on Oct 24, 2010 7:31:01 GMT -5
My first exposure to deer hunting came from my Grandpa (my Mom's Dad) in the mid 60's near Porter county and the dairy farm I grew up on in Kouts, IN and his "cabin" on the Kankakee river near Demotte, IN. He introduced me to all types of hunting and fishing.
I never saw a deer with my Grandpa, but we would play the scene out as we were hunting rabbits, squirrels and birds. He would tell me stories of how they hunted deer back in Alabama and Tennessee when he was a kid. And then go on to say we'll just never have anything like that in Indiana. In the 60's, it was very rare to ever see a deer in northern Indiana. I'll never forget the day he took me to a store in Valparaiso called Harvey's Dime Store and bought me a jigsaw puzzle of deer hunter, fully dressed in red flannel, with a beatiful buck in the background. We spent countless hours on that puzzle through the years as I grew up hearing his hunting stories. I always dreamed of bagging that buck even though my Grandpa was convinced we'd have to go Canada to seal the deal.
Grandpa died before I ever had a chance to hunt deer with him. And so the interest continues with friends, family, and mostly my huntin' buddy, whitetail1 and his boys!
|
|
|
Post by steve46511 on Oct 24, 2010 7:45:48 GMT -5
I am pretty confident that I'm the first one in my family that ever deer hunted.
Hard for a lot of young people to realize it but back when I was in HS it was an EVENT to see a deer! I hunted quail and pheasant hard for almost a decade before I started seeing more than an occasional glimpse of one and even seeing deer tracks in the snow was worth stopping and talking about it a bit..........honest. Times have changed!
Quail and pheasant are about extinct and in the early 70s I started making the switch to being more a deer hunter than everything else. When the upland birds took a hard toll in the winters of the late 70s, I stopped hunting them at all turning more to hunting deer in every season I could where I only bowhunted before.
I knew of two guys that deer hunting in the late 60s, period. Both, thank God are still with us and one is a nodding acquaintance that merits a few minutes of time every time I see him discussing our favorite subject and the other is and has been for several decades one of my main buddies that I share stories with and shoot with year round. (he has it BAD, lol)
This guy lives, breaths and dreams deer hunting year around, hunts with the SAME equipment he did 40 years ago and sometimes some older.
If you put this guy in a cabin way back in the hills somewhere without plumbing or electricity he would be right at home, fit in well, and be as happy as a puppy with his first chew toy.
But..........."oneshot" has a great point that I feel, personally, is very true for those of us from "that time".
Fred Bear dominated the screen, the magazines and most of our thoughts. Others like M.R. James, Jim Dougherty, Doug Kittredge (who could forget kittredge Bowhut?) Midge Dandridge, Tink Nathan, Jack Howard, Ben Pearson, G. Fred Asbell, JAY MASSEY (oh man), Glenn St. Charles and far far far from least, Howard Hill, played irreplacable roles in many of our deer hunting (bow hunting for sure) lives.
Interestingly, it seems it WAS these bowhunters that dominated the deer hunting articles and books that I, and a lot of others, remember most. They were the authors upon who's every word I hung on and the if there happened to be one of them on a tv program (American Sportsman).....I was there sitting eyes glued to the box.
I was blessed to meet and shake hands with Fred Bear, Jay Massey (and shared a dinner table with him and his wife where I was so SPEACHLESS I would give anything to do that one over , lol) G. Fred Asbell and still consider all to be highlights in an obviously humdrum life.
Therefore...........I cannot say there is ONE person but would like to say a heart felt "Thank YOU and GOD BLESS!" to each and every one of these people for everything they provided that paved the path for a life afield hunting that has provided SO many memories (good and bad, lol) and continues to do so.
At least once per fall, as I sit in the woods deer hunting, I think of them and remember.
After all, memories are the most priceless of all trophys and these chosen few all helped me collect more than a few.
God Bless Steve
|
|
|
Post by Dan Reeves on Oct 24, 2010 9:01:38 GMT -5
My Dad took me afield longer than I remember, now him and I are passing it to my kids.
Thanks Dad
|
|
|
Post by jdaily on Oct 24, 2010 10:51:59 GMT -5
I was 11 when introduced to deer hunting. My father hunted all the time, and for everything. We always went hunting growing up. At the point I was introduced, I had never been in the woods deer hunting. On the morning I went for the first time, my father dropped me off on the side of the road about a half mile from where I was to hunt. He drew me a map to get me to the stand, handed me my gun and a flashlight and said good luck and drove down the road to where he was hunting. Now some would say that was the wrong way to introduce someone to deer hunting, but I'm glad he did it that way. After what seemed like an hour of walking, I finally found the corner of the woods line and cornfield I was to hunt. The map was perfect. Now I had to walk about 15yrds into the woods and find the tree stand and get in. That took what seemed to be an hour. lol. Found the blind, climbed in, pulled my gun up and got settled in. AT a little after 7 am I had 5 doe come past the blind. I picked the biggest one and pow, she dropped like a sack of potatoes. I sat in the tree until about 8:30 when my dad came and got me. I was pumped. One thing my dad had failed to tell me was, it needed to have antlers. The next morning I went back to that same stand and shot my first buck, a little 4 pointer in the same spot I had shot the doe the previous morning. Will always remember that day like it was yesterday. We did a lot of hunting and fishing with my father, with lots of great memories. And I am doing that with my kids today. My father died when I was just 16. He and one of my older brothers were going goose hunting out on Wabash Island when he died of a heart attach. That was one hunt I never got to go on. But what was great was, one of my fathers best friends that he hunted with took me hunting 2 weeks after the funeral on the island where my father passed away and I shot my first goose there. The point to my story is, get your kids out and make some memories, because you never know when your time is up.
Thank you for all the memories dad.
James
|
|
|
Post by trophyhunter1 on Oct 24, 2010 13:55:11 GMT -5
my uncle john... he was a gun hunter only, never thought much of bow hunting, i loved listening to his deer hunting stories so much i had to try it... now 20yrs later.....
|
|
|
Post by coyote6974 on Oct 24, 2010 14:29:58 GMT -5
I'd have to say it was my Dad. He ingrained the outdoors into my brothers and I hunting rabbits and upland birds through the 60's and early 70's when we grew up. As deer became more abundant it was only natural for us to move to deer hunting. We all still hunt, and will as long as we can get to the woods.
Good hunting y'all.. Coyote 6974
|
|
|
Post by HuntMeister on Oct 24, 2010 15:45:23 GMT -5
Definitely Dad. Been going with him since I was knee high to a grasshopper.
|
|
|
Post by Woody Williams on Oct 24, 2010 16:09:37 GMT -5
Fred Bear......especially his old video of his alaskan brown bear hunt. I remember watching that as a kid on TV. Wide Worls of Sports I believe. I thought .......I want to do that! All I could think about was Alaska....well not all...lol but that was on my mind quite a bit. I ended up joining the USAF in 1968 right out of high school for a 4 yr. enlistment. I realized part of my dream when I got stationed at King Salmon Alaska in 70-71'. I'm still thinking of a Brown bear hunt. Good topic Woody. Thanks for bringing back the memories See old film clips of Fred at.. www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBgydeR9I70
|
|
|
Post by daworz on Oct 24, 2010 16:21:24 GMT -5
Hunting in Genral was a Family friend, He showed me how to Squrriel Hunt and Rabbit hunt. Der Hunting Is something I learned On my owne, I read books watched Video's and it took about 4 years for me to Harvest my 1st Deer(Doe)I was 15 and i have been hooked ever since. Deer Hunting has come a long way since then, I think for the good, In alot of ways. I am 51 years old and sure hope I can Hunt Deer for many more, It became a seasonal Hobbie to now where I am doing something all year long now on Deer. QDMA....
|
|
|
Post by dbd870 on Oct 24, 2010 16:28:35 GMT -5
Kid across the street from me & his father.
|
|
|
Post by evolutionsthunder on Oct 24, 2010 16:28:59 GMT -5
my dad got me into hunting.we only hunted deer and rabbits.that is some of my best memories i have. now health has him at home i make sure to tell him of all of our hunts
|
|
|
Post by whitetail1 on Oct 24, 2010 17:51:11 GMT -5
I would say my dad, even though I never got to hunt with him. He died when I was 10, but I can remember him getting up early and getting his gear ready to go. I can also remember being anxious for him to get home to see if he got anything and anticipating the day that I would finally get to go with him. And even though that never happened, his love for deer hunting was definitely passed to me.
After he died, my older brothers took me for the very first time. They both hunted, but eventually their time deer hunting slowed way down. As I got to my early teens, my uncle and cousin took me under their wing and got me into bowhunting. They spent a lot of time working with me and teaching me how to scout, play the wind, etc. I am forever grateful to them both.
Over the last several years, the majority of my hunting time has been spent with my boys and my great friend highcottonguide. He has truly become like a brother to me.
For those of you who still have the opportunity to spend time with the ones that got you started, take the time to stop and share some of your deer hunting stories with them while you can and thank them. Some day that opportunity will no longer be there. Even though I will never have that opportunity with my dad, I still look up to the sky every time I'm in my stand and think of him.
Thanks for this thread.....
|
|
|
Post by matahone on Oct 24, 2010 19:43:36 GMT -5
My Uncle Mike. He made me wait until I was 12. Shot at my first buck at 13, missed. Never killed my first deer until age 16 but always loved it and still do. Now 20+ years later I am teaching him a thing or two. Thanks Uncle Mike!
|
|
|
Post by 76chevy on Oct 25, 2010 8:42:01 GMT -5
A family friend got me started when I was a kid. His name is "Big Mike" I hunted with him every fall starting when I was 13 He bow hunted the big woods of Brown County, IN -- always from the ground in small ground blinds he made. He plays in a band on weekends and hunts pretty much through the week, this meant I took off school or hunted with him on Fall break each year. I had the passion for hunting before we met but never would have had a chance without him helping me get started. He setup my first bow, a Bear Whitetail 2 and helped me learn to shoot in the woods behind his house He is an enthusiastic and passionate hunter and sportsman. I soaked up all he taught me about hunting. Nobody I have ever met is as fired up about hunting as he is. I still hunt with him once each fall--I look forward to that hunt all year. Here is a picture of Big Mike (left) playing with David Allen Coe
|
|
|
Post by duff on Oct 25, 2010 17:17:55 GMT -5
Highschool friend and myself got me started. Began deer hunting at 15 and got my first deer at 19. Anymore I could care less about deer hunting but look forward to a few hunts each year with friends and family.
|
|
|
Post by INDeerhunter on Oct 26, 2010 9:53:52 GMT -5
My dad got me started, but he had only just began hunting himself a few yrs prior. My uncle Larry got him started, I guess I was around 10 when they began hunting together and I begged and begged to tag along they both started out as bowhunters. At 12 dad bought me my first compound a Jennings firestar, heavyiest bow I think I have ever held LOL, he taught me shoot and at 13 he took me on my first trip. I didnt have much luck the first couple years and I remember him yelling at me one morning for being loud which he later apologized for and ever since then we have been learning together. By 18 I was hunting with a high school buddy more than with my dad but we grew apart and my dad and I started hunting together again. At 22 I introduced my wife ( we had been dating a few months at the time) to deer hunting, no one hunted in her family except her grandpa and he had died when she was really young, but she has been hooked on bowhunting ever since as well. The three of us are pratically inseperable from Oct 1st thru Muzzleloader when it gets too cold for my dad to keep going out there but we really enjoy spending the time together, my dad has killed a lot of deer over the years and has taught me a lot, I have killed some deer over the years lol and taught him alot, my wife has taught us both a thing or two but hasnt killed a deer yet. This year I have been tryin to focus on gettin my wife a deer, main reason it hasnt happened before is we usually hunt side by side and I have hunted longer so I dont hesitate to come to full draw when a deer is coming in and so I usually take the shot before she gets a chance LMAO not very husband like of me ? Anyway this year I have been leaving my bow at home and just takin her but the few times we have been out we just havent been seeing any deer ! I wouldnt change it for the world I am very thankful and blessed to have a wife and father to share the outdoors with and now that I have two sons (3 and 5) my wife and I are passing along the traditon to them and of course papa has helped too lol, the boys already have bows of their own and we shoot with them alot, their arrows barely stick in a target but they have great form and love to shoot. I look forward to years of hunting with my wife father and my two sons and hope that they too will one day pass on this tradition to their kids, friends, or wives ! Thanks for reminding me of the wonderful memories in the field with my wife and father. Good Luck This season to all of you ! ~ INDeerhunter ~
|
|