Trad Gang

This thread may not be the most exciting. Heck, it might even get pulled for all I know.

I just finished a book called "The Doorway Buck" and it made me think about my hunting experiences. The author started out hunting on his own without a male role model similar to me.

I never had a dad to go hunting with. Shoot, I never had any guys to go hunting with until recent years. The reason I hunted was something that burned inside me. It is or has been tough in the past to spend so much time alone hunting and not having anyone that understood that desire.

I am a person that loves company, hunting alone isn't fun for me. Sitting on stand alone is fine, but when the day is done it is fun to swap stories.

This isn't written as some sort of sob story. I was just wondering how many guys out there learned to hunt on their own and how many still wish they had a dad or brother to share it with?


-Charlie

I was on the other end of the spectrum and grew up in a huge hunting family.  15 to 20 family members in camp was the norm.  I have completely swapped out on that and prefer to hunt alone or just with my wife and I.  I can be alone in the woods / camp for 2 weeks and enjoy the solitude and peace.  Plus I am way more effective at covering ground and getting close to elk, deer, bears, and cougars when hunting alone.  

Whenever I get a hankering for company I just drive to a close by state campground find a bunch of hunters and spend an evening swapping stories.  

Trad archery for me is a solo sport where the hunting is more important than the social aspects in the evenings. Different strokes for different folks.

My father was a big time surf fisherman, showed me how to bait the hook, tie a few knots and a brief casting instruction, the rest was up to me he said.
I still enjoy fishing but I was bitten by the archery bug the first time I saw that Errol Flynn Robin Hood movie on a Sunday afternoon. Always bugged my dad to get me a bow. Growing up in NYC wasn't exactly the sort of place a young man can roam around stumping.
Well I kept the dream rolling until I started serious work and saved up some greenies to buy my own bow.
Never had anyone show me how to pull it off except for some library books and a rare clip of Fred Bear. Dad, well he just stuck to fishing and the best things he taught me were on that beach, Patience and stick with it, keep your senses tuned to what you are doing and you may just get it done.
Funny thing was, later on when I finally could say I was a bowhunter, he asked me if he could tag along. Well as patient of man he was on the beach, he just couldn't handle sitting on stand. Told me, how in the world do I do it. "You taught me how Dad". Guess the old man loved to look out on to the water with the warm sun on his back.
Miss you Dad, you taught me more than words can say.

I grew up with a dad but he wasn't interested in doing anything with me. I love my dad but all he cared about back then was where his next beer was. It was just as well because when we did do something with other folks I always ended up being embarressed.
  He did own a bear kodiack and when he wasn't around I'd sneak his bow out and shoot it, mostly in the air so I could watch the arrow fly. I still do that 35 years later, an arrow in flight is still magical to me

Don't think its a boring subject, alot of guys started off on their own. I got started on my own because my dad was a trucker. But think the lord for me there was an Uncle and Grandfather that took me hunting when they found out I was interested. Like you hunting is a solitary activity, but the friendship I gain in the non-hunting parts of archery are very important to me. I have a brother but not near, so we exchange hunting stories via phone, and I do miss my uncle and grandfather. So at the end of every hunt I remember hunts from the past with them.

Sometimes, I think that family isn't valued in this world anymore. I had a big family and they all went their seperate ways to get away from the guy my mom married.

I guess that is why hunting is a family and friends thing for me personally. Now I take my girls out to the woods with me as often as I can. They oblige me, but I'm not sure they have quite the same drive to be out "hunting". I still have a lot of fun with them though and hope someday they will love it like I do!

-Charlie

I was blessed with an older brother who has always been an avid outdoorsman.

Now its me trying to get him to drop the training wheels and shoot a man's bow!

This is a good thread---we should honor our families.

I had the best Dad a kid could want but he did not hunt.  I was crazy about 'outdoor life' and well any magazine I could find about hunting big game. I did not start hunting until I was 28 years old. Now, my son did not take to hunting at all and that has been sad (God is getting even with me for not taking up GOlf like my Dad hoped I would)

Joe

I did not have a pop around but I did have neighbors and friends that would take a kid hunting. I was "ate up" from early on and while everybody else had the "new" compounds in the late 70's and ealy 80's all I had was an old Herter's recurve that my great uncle gave me to play with. I tell 'ya, I never felt like I was missing something. I learned to hunt on my own at a very young age, and my mom would drop me off at a woodlot on Saturdays on her way to her third job.

I learned alot on my own, but had alot of help from some older hunters that took a shinin' to me because I drove them nuts at the barber shop and sporting goods store with questions. One of the older hunters took me on a youth deer hunt when I was 12 and I took a great doe. The rest is history. I am pretty much self-taught but it has been a GREAT experience. Now I am gonna change history: my children will never know what it is like to be without a dad who will show them anytime the ethics and skills of woodsmanship and hunting!

My family was not a hunting family and I got started on my own.  Not the easiest way but if you can't find a mentor, you either quit or persevere on your own.  I still hunt mostly on my own since most of the good hunting friends I have live outside GA.  Hunting with like minded folks is great but many hunters don't share a like mind to myself so given the choice of hunting with many typical hunters of today or alone, I choose alone.

My Dad didn't have a dad. He taught himself to hunt and fish, and always vowed to be the Dad he didn't have. He was.

My father didn't hunt but he did teach me to fish.  He supported my lifelong love affair with hunting and the outdoors and my parents did buy me my first bow and arrow set in 1956 and we lived in the city to boot.

I learned everything from friends, books, magazines and my own.

You are darned right I'd like to talk to my dad again.  He has been gone for 15 years now.

I taught my son (hunt, fish, camp)and daughter (fish,camp) and now am teaching grandchildren.  Life goes around.

When i was 8yrs old my dad had a girlfriend whos dad took me under his wing, i really miss that wonderful man.

He took me on my first squirell hunt and i sat in his lap, 15 minutes later 5 of those critters came out of there nest and he let me shoot a couple of them.

Man was i hooked on hunting and that man lit a fire in me that has never come close to going out. I can still smell the powder that 410 made while shooting those squirells.

The first deer hunt i went on we were running dogs and we had a couple of yearlings come by and he shot one with buckshot.

For some reason that fire burned even stronger after that day even though it was just a little doe.

He showed me how to dress the deer and even let me help in the process, i felt like one of the guys ya know.

I havent seen Mike in over 20yrs but i plan on giving him a visit just as soon as possible.

I bet all those years ago he had no clue what a great impact he would make on my life in the years to come.

I wonder sometimes what my life would be like if he had never took me on that first hunt, its something i will never forget for as long as i live.

Bear,

Hope my kids see it that way when they look back.

-Charlie

i grew up in a large family,13 kids in all.only one brother that hunted then he got hurt real bad in a logging accident and couldnt hunt anymore.my dad was also a drunk from as far back as i can remember.i pretty much had to learn how to hunt on my own also.i really feel it made a better hunter out of me.i learned through the best possible methods..trial and error were my teachers.looking back it would have been nice to hunt more than once or twice with my father and grandfather but it is what it is i guess.i had a lot of fun learning from mother nature,shes a great teacher.

My Dad tried to hunt but wasn't much of a hunter.  I only hunted with him when I was 11 and sometimes 12 and then I was off on my own.  I too hunted because I felt it inside me.  I'm the opposite end of spectrum personality when it comes to hunting than you.  While I've shared a camp fire with some good people I'd rather be otu there alone.  My son and I hunt together but never with each other.  When the days done I'll swing buy his way or he mine to see how we did but I'm at peace when I'm in the woods.

I had a father, who didn't hunt. I was a "anti" until I saw the light in my late 20's. I have a brother who has hunted his whole life and was waiting for me on the other side. I've returned the favor by introducing him to trad archery.

I will do my very best to instill a love of land and God's bounty in my children.

Thank you for this thread!

N Cal Hunter,

Thanks for posting your thoughts!

What you and others wrote is proving to be a benefit to me! It makes me glad to see many fathers, and fathers to be, thinking about family and tradition.

-Charlie

My Dad never hunted or fished.    :archer:

Wow does this thread ever bring some stuff to the surface. I had a great Dad, he showed me the basics of rabbit and squirrel hunting, as well as rifle hunting for deer. He wasn't too sure about "that archery stuff" when I first started with wheels, but he was proud as could be of that first six point I brought home with the bow. Sadly, he wasn't still with us when I got my first longbow buck. I have to say my trad adventure has been very much a solitary experience, except for all the help I have found on this site. Now that I'm getting a few years behind me I think I'd like to share a camp with some like minded folks, not to hunt together as much as share stories and lift each other up around the campfire.

I grew up with a dad that gun hunted and some of my fondest memories are of those hunting days .My favorite is when I was 7 sleeping by a big pine next to dad while he hunted and a couple of does came by at full bore only 10' from me and scared the bagebaz out of me.But I got addicted to the bow and nobody else in my family but my kids do the bow.So I try and get with him during gun season,but I find myself skipping it every year to do the bow.I hope to start making the season with him again.

There are no hunters in my family. I was always at the creek, catching what I could catch and watching what I couldn't.

I had always enjoyed weapons, though, despite the fact that there were none in the house. I made spears, little bows, harpoons, drawings of Frankish broadswords vs Norman broadswords, learned what a chamfron was. I got my first bow at eight years, thanks, Mom! From then on, I always had one, getting a Bear at thirteen and a Ben Pearson at fifteen.

I'm all the way over on the right. That's my target, and a Bear Green Fox, and my plastic horse with the removable armor.   :D
 
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/Misspent%20Youth/Christmas.jpg)

I went away to college, and saw what hunters were like. I hated them. They were the ones who left the carcasses at the train tracks, sometimes with only the rack cut off. My friends warned me not to trail ride during hunting season, whenever that was. Not wanting to be found among the rotting meat at the train tracks, I stayed close to the barn.

It was later that I decided that I would like to buy a gun, as I really loved shooting. It might as well be of a goodly caliber, too, as I might take up hunting... You see, I decided that I could invent for myself just what a hunter was.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/Hunting%20and%20Camp/First%20Twenty%20Years%20of%20the%20Hunt/AlphonseH.jpg

So, a .270 and I entered the hunting field. It was annoying... all those idiots out there. I traveled to get away from the bulk of them, and taught myself how to hunt. I used books and magazines, and Nature taught me a thing or two. I started killing deer. The bow came back into play and I had come full circle.

You would not think it, but I am really not that much of a social critter. I much prefer to be alone, and having folks around tends to make me feel inhibited. All of a sudden, I have to coordinate meals and such with them and get along. (Yikes!   :eek:   ) When I go out on a hunt, I am exploring, listening for messages from the Eternal, and rummaging for treasure. When I get back, I want to do the simple chores that need to be done in camp while I quietly mull over the day. Then I can see if there WAS a message, or a theme, and spend the dark hours by the lantern, writing it down.

With people in camp, I get sidetracked, drawn into conversations, my thought train derailed and I don't write. While I enjoy talking with my friends and husband, I feel that I have missed out on what I should really be doing. The past few years, my journal has been sadly neglected.

Somehow, I need to work this out, because when I am unable to hunt, broken and confined to a rocker and a spit-cup, I want there to be lots of experiences written in my journals, that some health aide can read to me so I can travel in my dreams.

Killdeer

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/Hunting%20and%20Camp/2007%20November%20Hunt/Img_5063ClydesPoint-1.jpg)

Great thread!  My Dad was a avid gun hunter and took me out often.  Duck hunting was a labor of love for him and I could never understand why we took along the homemade canoe much less the paddles.  It rarely seemed to touch water on the duck hunting swamps.

I took to archery at a early age and was aloud to go by my self and learn.  Dad worked alot of weekends and some of his friends would take me to their camps bowhunting. I learnt alot from them.    When Dad retired he started bowhunting and I became a teacher.  It has been a great ride, he will soon be 77 and is still at it. I cherish every outing.

I was wondering when I posted this how many of our female members would chime in on the topic.  I have 2 daughters and, consequently, a vested interest in any replies by daughters or moms.

-Charlie

Absolutely none!
God bless,Mudd

I grew up in a family of 11 kids. I was the 2nd youngest. It was a great childhood living near the Mississippi river. Two of my older brothers and I spent most of our time fishing and playing or working outside from sunup to bedtime.We made bows from tree limbs and arrows and spears from horse weeds. I can remember maybe 1 time dad taking me squirrel hunting. He pretty much worked all the time to feed the family. He had a stroke when  I was about 12 years old and was never able to use the right side of his body much after that. I played around a little with fiberglass recurve bow a neighbor had but never really discovered archery untill I was 19 years old. I had 2 brothers that shot for a while but neither lasted long with it so I'm pretty much self taught. I learned a lot the hard way and from reading bowhunter magazine and reading the Wenzel Bros. books, also every other book I could get my hands on about bowhunting. It really became a passion and still is some 37 years latter. I always took my kids with me to the woods when they would go. The youngest just never had the interest. The oldest always enjoyed it but I just got him  off the compound bow last year and now he is hooked big time. Reminds me of the passion I had when I started this journey. I can remember every harvest of a deer over the years to this day down to the exact spot it happened and time of day.Also the misses and the couple that got away. I still feel bad about the couple that were not recovered and that's been 20 years ago.The animal giving up its' life was never the highlight of the hunt for me but is a part of it. Those memories   can never be taken away. Oh and by the way, I have a nephew that is the same age as me which puts him 3 years older than my younger sister.Mom was pregnant with me at the same time my 2nd oldest sister was pregnant. I don't know about all big families, but this one is great to be part of.I might have share more than you wanted, but when I got started it was hard to stop.
Good luck to all.
Bob

I had a step father who wasn't extremely interested in me, and 6 sisters.  No hunters among them.  Not certain how I did it but it was always just me.  I think that for many of us, hunting, fishing, sitting in the woods, watching and listening. . . they are not something we do cause it is cool, or the "in" thing.  

As Killy stated so eloquently (sp?)  it just is what is is.  I can't help it and I can't stop it.
It was there, burning softly when I was born and I kept fanning the flames for all my life.

You would think I would get bored and leave it. .  I have a habit of doing that with many hobbies. .  but I can't seem to shake this.  It just is what it is.

There were very few movies about hunting when I was young. Certainly no videos. Even but a few real books that were mainstream.  Back them you learned by doing, and very often by screwing up.

Fred Bear was like "God".I religiously watched "Jim Thomas. .  Outdoors ", a TV show. I believe it was on Sunday nights. .  That was 45- 50 years ago.

Back then here weren't 25 magazines out there all telling me about food plots, and all the best gear to get, and how and why I needed to kill 3-4 "book Bucks" every year or I really wasn't much of a hunter.

The more I think about the past, I feel a bit sorry for the new generation.  So much pressure to beat everybody else for some goal and prize that someone else contrived instead of just doing it for themselves.

A couple years back, while bored and walking the aisles of the local Gander Mtn store, I overheard one of the VERY young clerks telling a prospective customer all about bow hunting.  

He told him stories about all the bucks he let pass because they were too small, not "book".  I found out later that he had not yet shot a deer with a bow.   This is the person that is teaching a newbie all that they need in equipment, and gear.

Too much pressure.

I grew up with a friend whose father hunted.  I don't know for certain if "dad" was actually a poacher, but I do know that rules were for someone else. How lucky I was to have grown up with NO hunter influence rather than following in the foot steps of "dad".  Although we were quite close because we both shared that outdoors fire and passion,  I couldn't do the things he and "dad" expected me to do, both in the field and also in life, and we drifted apart.

Wow. .  . so many paths I could have followed, so many different roles and ideals I could have taken.  Life is so complex.
ChuckC

My Dad hunted just not with me he jetted when I was seven left me and 3 brothers, two older hunted deer with my dad but I was our Uncle Huey that took all of us Deer hunt and my Mother and Grandmother made sure that we had what we needed to hunt. I was the only one bit by the Archery bug from about 15 years, my younger Brother now bow hunts, I went Traditional last year and I love it is were I have always wanted to be.

Well, it's been a learning experience.  Dad never once took an interest in me.  So, most of the stuff I've learned has been through trial and error.  Oh well whatever.  I got used to myself I know that LOL.

I got into hunting just because it seemed like fun and it's progressed from there.  Not sure where I'd be today without the outdoors.

Well I'm not to good at putting things into words but I'll do the best I can. My dad was an avid outdoorsman. He truly loved to hunt, fish, camp and be in the outdoors period. Not only did he love it he was very, very good at it. Sadly he died at the young age of 46 in 1963. Cancer, treatment was not as good back then as it is now. I was 11 years old when he died but he had been taking me hunting, fishing and camping since I was just a baby. At abiut age 5 he was taking me bird hunting (quail), deer hunting and squirrell, duck and anything else there was a season for. I quickly developed a passion for it just as he had and still have it to this day. He bought me a Ben Pearson 35 lb. solid fiberglass recurve when I was 10. Killed a robin and a rabbit with it, still have it,it's priceless. He went to New Orleans to a Cancer Hospital a few months before he died and brought me back 2 fancy cedar arrows with Pearson Deadheads on them. I truly adored them and would just sit and admire them. I was swverely bitten by the archery bug. After he died when I was 11 I continued to hunt and fish with my older brother and uncles. When I was 14 my mother bought me a Ben Pearson Hunter 45#. When I as 15 I killed my first deer ever ( a yearling doe with that bow and one of the arrows he bought me at an archery shop in New Orleans. Broke the arrow though and I dont  know what happened to the othe one, lost it I guess. To make a long story shorter my Dad had a tremendous influence on my life. Just wish I could have had him around longer but it wasn't in Gods plans. If you still have your father, don't take it for granted, make the most of every day you have with him. Nothing is quaranteed.

My Dad started me.. He bowhunted a bit and shot tournaments in the late 60s and early 70s.

Dad worked for Earl Hoyt Jr. in St. Louis and brought me home a 15# recurve sometime around 1974.  
I loved to shoot that bow (which my parents kept and gave back to me 30 years later) but I never considered bowhunting due to cars and chasing blue eyed women until I went off to college in 1986. I got serious about wanting to bowhunt and Pop helped me with shooting form and scouting. He just didn't want to sit and get stiff and cold.. LOL  Bowhunting has mostly always been a solo event for me.
Dad was more excited than I was when I got my first whitetail killed with my bow.  This was the first archery killed deer in my family and that little button buck was a big time trophy for us...
Even still today anytime I get a new bow Dad will run his hands all over it checking the finish.  Then he will say, "that bow would not have passed inspection at Hoyt"...  

Thank Pop for starting me on this path so many years ago...

John III

None of these posts are TOO long or poorly written. They are all your experiences and abilities.

What is written so far is interesting AND helpful.

Several things come to mind...
1. It is nice to hear stories about dads and hunting, because I don't have that experience.
2. Those who hunt alone reaffirm that it is okay to have time to yourself. Like I said before, I like to hunt with other people, but sometimes all by myself.
3. Not having a "dad" to hunt with can open other avenues for friendship and bonding with other relatives, spouses or friends.
4. Helps me focus on what I DO HAVE and not on what I'm missing.

Thanks for all the posts so far,
-Charlie

Oh yeah, the show that I watched every Saturday morning and couldn't wait for was "Wild America" hosted by Marty Stouffer. That is where I had my initial "fetchins up" about wild life. I was given the complete set on DVD last Christmas as a present!

my dad tought me how to hunt, and take care of game once it was taken, other than those first few years we never hunt together other than squirl once a year.  it has gotten even less sense i turned to trad.  and i have never had a hunting partner. yah its tough.  any east texans looking for a hunting buddy lol

My Dad got me started but I learned pretty much by self study, and to me, he seemed ill-prepared most of the time, so I learned to hunt without him pretty much right away, but we would be on the same trips mind you. He works a lot, even at 75 years old, and I wouldn't call us close. We have hunted most seasons here in TX since about 1980. Once I could drive I was pretty much heading out whenever I could with friends, etc. during dove, deer and turkey season.

I married into a very serious hunting family with no male children seven years ago and dated my wife ten years before that. I am still the only son in law. I picked up my first bow, a Bob Lee recurve, for Xmas 2007 from them, and never looked back. My fatherinlaw had his difficulties with his Dad too, so via an interest in bow hunting and the outdoors to "bridge the gap" we fostered a relationship. If we didn't trad bow hunt and love archery, we'd have ZERO in common! He works a lot as well but he's younger than my Dad. Between the two Dads I have a pretty good deal, not a buddy or a pal, but hey, I get to hunt a lot and learn a lot about trad archery. I'd call that more than sufficient. I'm grateful for their hard work and success that has provided these wonderful experiences for me. We'll see what happens with my kids whenever I have any......

My father was an avid hunter, but he was killed in an accident when I was two in 1952.  I have an older brother who raised me, along with my mom, and my brother was an exceptional deer hunter, having learned from dad, but they were Winchester 94 people in northern Minnesota.  My brother gave me a 22 single shot when I was six or seven, taught me to trap mink and how to hunt deer. I took my first deer with a 38-55 model 94 that was my dads favorite gun, and I still have it. Took up bowhunting on my own for whatever reason, but when I did I learned more about animals than most rifle hunters will in two lifetimes.

 We hunt the same farm I grew up on every fall, and my kids all hunt.  This picture is on the farm last fall, with a deer taken by my eldest son.  They now want to do a family hunt next year in either Alaska, Africa or Oz.  My daughter just got a new Robertson fatalstyk recurve.  

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/aerohawk1/DSCN0712.jpg)

And this is from an earlier time, same place, same daughter.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/aerohawk1/scan-1.jpg)

My father never hunted but my mother hunted with her brothers. However, dad not hunting did not affect his outlook on the outdoors. He is a 3rd generation fur farmer-so there has always been a tie to the outdoors.
My brother and I started hunting when we were 5 for rabbits and squirrels, mostly close to home. Mom saw the desire in my bro and i and had a family friend take us under his wing and show us the ropes. In my 20 years of hunting now, I have only been hunting with my father one time-and that was because we begged him to go when we were in grade school-all our buddies were hunting with their dads, we wanted to as well.
Now, my brother and I help support the family with our hunting practices-meat in the freezer! Though dad does not hunt, he has supported us in our choice to do so.

I have a great Dad.  He's too busy, but I'm old enough now to appreciate how hard it is to juggle work and family.

Growing up he and Mom supported me in most things.  He took an archery class in college because it was Pass/Fail...and I found his old Bear recurve one day.  It was probably #50 and LH even though he's RH (I'm LH.)  I BEGGED for some arrows at Wal-Mart one day.  Wish I had a clip or pic of me pulling that thing half-way back and pointing straight up in the air.  God smiled on me and didn't allow me to shish-kabob myself.

It's all history from there. Got a compound for my birthday a few years later.  Then again for christmas when I was 15. (That was 2000) Bought another compound in 2007 but was burnt out shortly after.  So, remembering that old Bear I found this place and dived in.

Dad grew up hunting, we went rabbit hunting a few times when I was little. And he went with me for my first Shotgun Deer season. (He drove to the woods, set down by a tree with a gun and let me go off to a stand we had put up earlier.  I never found that stand in the dark and ended up settlingly in at the base of a big oak tree.)  That's about it as far as me and dad hunting together.  

GRANDPA!!!!!!!!!!   Grandpa taught me to shoot with a .410 "Snake Charmer" and a Ruger 10/22. He was a coon hunting fanatic and ran blueticks till his health failed him in his late 70s. His eyes were bad enough at the end he'd always shine the light in their eyes and let me shoot the coons out of the trees.  He took me squirrel hunting several times as well.  Those nights in the woods and the few hot August days were what taught me to love the outdoors.  If for no other reason, I wanted to be like Grandpa.  Still do.  (I'm tearing up)

Archery and deerhunting though, from an educational standpoint...I've been on my own.  I sure don't regret it though, it is what it is.

It's been fun, and I look forward to it.

I hope to be financially well-off enough someday to buy up a bunch of bows and start a youth-archery thing.  Heck, I might even let the parents join in.  But if I can see in a kid's eye what I felt when I was with Grandpa...

My father hunted a bit in his youth,but by the time I came along he was well past doing anything other than working to keep the family going.
I never met my mother until I was in my late teens,and it was only then that I found out where my own drive to both hunt and fish came from.
Because I was bought up in a blended family and had little in common with anybody else,I was always looked at as being a little "outside" the norm.
All my brothers and sisters where very much city type people,while my only real wish in life was to get the H out of anything to do with citys an towns,and would head for the hills or the coast.
That caused a lot of problems an I always seemed to be in the S for something.
I got to where I'd catch good fish or shoot a couple of rabbits,and I'd give them to naibours because my step mother sure wasn't cooking them or having them in her kitchen.
The day after I turned 15 I simply packed my few belonging an hit the road without saying a word.
It was 3-4 years before I got back to dropping in to see how things were going back there.
One of my brothers had hung himself,the other was in a bike gang,my sisters were hanging around with scumbags,my father was still sitting in front of a TV,my step mother was fatter an uglier than ever,,,,and all I had to talk about was working on the land,hunting,fishing,climbing mountains,living off the land,and meting most of my mothers side of the family.
None of that made me any more popular than when I was a kid,so from there on I just visted now an then to see my father,,but not much else.
I learnt everything the hard way,got it all from books and magazines,then made all the mistakes you could,but never gave up trying.
I never had any direction until I did it for myself,,but I've made damn sure my own kids never had to do it like that.

It's amazing so many people have to learn on their own like I did. I guess that is a bit of a commentary on how society is seperated from the land and where their food comes from......


Mark and Killdeer,
Your pictures are truly worth a thousand words.

Vermonster,
If you are reading this thread at all, good on you for helping so many kids!

-Charlie

My parents were both mentally ill in my youth, they took turns having nervous breakdowns. They hated kids and had 4 of them. My mother was bed ridden for months after one psychotic episode. My mother also molested my youngest brother. My father had a penchant for violence toward us kids so I distanced myself from him.

The woods were my escape.

Most of my paper route money was spent at the bait shop for ammo, rods and reels or fishing lures. What was left went to Herter's for one gizmo or another or to Outdoor Life, Field and Stream or Sports Afield for subscription renewals.

I was completely self taught in the outdoors and had a circle of like minded friends(with normal families) who I hunted and fished with from an early age.

I still would rather hunt alone and be able to come and go with no time table. I do like to meet occasionally with a few friends for a campfire lunch then go our separate ways for the evening hunt.

Although my life has become incredibly rich and fulfilling, with the best family and friends a man could hope for, I still feel the need to make my "escape" to the deepest part of the forest and always will.

Great stories guys. The woods can really help. Therapy of the earth, I call it.

Yeah...my stepdad was a total nut job. I really mean that, had to take medicine or he was exceptionally violent. Don't know how he stayed out of jail other than a few people wouldn't prosecute.

Oh well...now I get to be the dad I never had. Here's to the future!  :thumbsup:  

-Charlie

Man, it would be tough without my dad. Couldn't imagine anything without him being as we do pretty much everything together. My dad has hunted with my grandpa all his life, and I've hunted with my dad and my grandpa all of mine. When I have kids one day, they'll hopefully do the same.

If it weren't for my dad, I wouldn't have the same passion for the outdoors that I do right now...

My Dad used to hunt deer during the rifle season, but had given it up long before I was old ennough. As a youngster, I had a deep rooted love of the outdoors, and took up hunting on my own. I did fish on occasion with my Dad, but he ran his own business, and had little time for anything. As a kid I was dissapointed, but I realized soon enough he was working to provide for his family, and I fully understand that. What I would give to have one more day fishing with my Dad. I miss him every day.

I enjoy hunting on my own, although I relish the time in our deer camp with my wife and sons, all of us traditional bowhunters. As much as I like that, I also enjoy a solo adventure into more wild places,using my own skills in hunting, scouting and making camp.

So far it has been just my dad and I.  I took a year away from that and hunted with some college roommates on our "own".  We still hunt together today, but I would much rather have my dad in the timber with me.  I completely understand what you are missing in your hunting experience.  I dont like to think about when the day comes that I have to trek into the woods knowing that I won't have my dad to talk to or relay experiences with.

My dad raised his dad's family. Grampa Riggs died at 42. My dad, the oldest at 14, quit school and went to work full time to help the family. Even after marrying my mother and raising 10 kids, my parents barely made ends meet.

Dad hunted and fished, but mostly with adult friends and relatives. I didn't get to hunt with with my dad until I was an adult.

I'm trying to break that cycle with my kids. My wife and I both love to hunt and fish. Although my oldest, my daughter doesn't really care to hunt, she does like to fish and loves to shoot my bow and she wants a longbow just like dads. My younger one, my son, loves to fish and likes to hunt. He is just now starting to see the light.

I hope to spend as much time as they can stand with ole dad, but they seem to have their own agenda most of the time. I just want to make sure that when they look back. That it wasn't dad who was not willing to spend the time.

My Dad was never a hunter but did encourage my love for the outdoors. Ran a trapline from 9-14, made my own money for a solid fiberglass bow and killed my first deer(on my own) at 15. Went into the service and continued to shoot stick bows until I married and moved to NM. Bought wheels and got bored, went back to sticks and stuck with them ever since. My Dad died 1 1/2 years ago but was always thrilled whenever we had a meal of deer,turkey, rabbit or trout I had caught. I will hunt with him by my side to the day I die as he always was there for me. Hope my daughters think of me the same way. Thanks Dad.

my dad took my brother and me to the mountains where he ran cattle. had us shoot a grouse with an old .22 single shot, catch some fish, and learn to take care of them and cook them. i was 5 and jack was 6. then he left us all summer to keep track of the bell cows so when he rode in on saturday mornings he could get a look at everything before he left on sunday.
we both grew up killing what we wanted to eat and learning how to do that.
i have always hunted alone and still do. don't have much sentimental or any other kind of thoughts about killing an animal i want to eat. it's kind of like going to work or doing a farming chore.
all of my kids grew up shooting a bow and knowing how to track about anything but were never interested in hunting.
have one grandson that hunts and is pretty good at it.

Larry, there are a few books I wish you would write. One would be about your life. Did I just read right, that at 5 and 6, you and your brother watched the cattle all alone up there?   :eek:  

Another would be about all the hunting lore you acquired growing up, and what you must have learned by observation. OK, you can mix that into the first book and get by with the one volume.

The other book would be a history of Damon Howatt bows, and Martin Archery, for all of the fans and collectors that are out there, and the ones who have yet to discover those wonderful bows. There is a thirst for that knowledge, and I sure wish you would throw us at least a pebble to suck on.

Respectfully, and with warm gratitude for your hard work,
Killdeer

I am from a non-hunting family too. Not sure how I go the bug, but it started in 7th grade when a spike buck ran across the road in front of me as I walked down the hill to the bus stop one morning. It was my first buck sighting and I went on about it to a painter who my parents hired to paint the eaves. Next day he brought me a grocery bag full of back issues of Deer and Deer Hunting and that was all she wrote. That painter was also my shop teacher in school and he helped me get started. I fished a lot with my dad, but he had a childhood friend killed in a hunting accident and it never appealed to him. Got my first bow at 14. Killed my first deer, a 7 point at 18. Lots of hard lessons learned that first four years not the least of which was don't listen to those folks who tell you you'll never get a deer way back in the woods.
I turned that passion for hunting into a career as a wildlife biologist. My parents supported and encouraged me every step of the way. Still do.

Got my first trad bow in grad school in 93 and haven't touched a compound since. Started making my own three years ago.    

I've always hunted alone but did make a friend last year that I hunted with. Looked a long time to find someone I felt
compatible with. And he shoots wheels!

That fire is hard to describe to the uninitiated. My wife humors me, but don't thinks she understands how anyone can be so hooked on "sitting in a tree all day"... I still feel like a ten year old kid a Christmas everytime the season rolls around. And my parents still get me camo for christmas!

Steve,

I feel the same way at Christmas. My wife got me a Mr. Heat heater and I was as excited as a 5 year old. Then, last Christmas I got the connector hose for the BIG propane tank and was just as excited! Imagine getting excited because your wife bought you a hose for Christmas....

I'm hoping that heater will pay off so my kids will stay in the blind longer with me on cold days. They are cold blooded and don't last too long!

But hey, I'll settle for any time they want to spend in the woods with their "old man".

-Charlie

My dad loved to shoot rifles and shotguns and hunted small game but not deer.  I was ate up with hunting as long as I can remember and couldn't wait for the day that I could go with the men and carry a gun.  He took me to my uncles to deer hunt but he could never sit still long enough to do any good.  No one bowhunted in my family but some friends taught me how the first year I was married.  That was 29 yrs ago and it has been my favorite hobby ever since.

Dad didn't hunt. Didn't talk much either. When he did say something, he was generally pretty serious. God gave you two ears and one mouth. That sort of stuff. He loved his wife, he adored his children. I understand why he loved my mother but for the life of me can't comprehend why he put up with my sorry butt.
I believe he saw something within me that only recently emerged.
We camped, set trot lines, canned carp.
He spent his late teenage and early twenties in the Pacific.
What a good man he was. I miss him dearly.
So hear's to you Dad from your son.
Fred

Wow. Neat thread. MOds, thanks for letting this one ride.

I sit here reading and contemplating through misty eyes... my 88 yr old Dad went to the hospital with a stroke 6 days after his 88th b-day. He's in rehab now...and, Lord willing, might make it back to some independence.

Mom rode herd on Pop hard. She was afraid of being alone, and truth told, think she was sorta jealous of anything that was an outside interest...or just lonely. Know a bunch of buds whose wives hate being left alone...they just want them "around." Not engaged in anything together..just "there."

Dad was a pretty fair small game hunter. Had a single shot Iver Johnson hammer 12 ga. He was deadly at spotting rabbits in the "squat" and poppin them with the full choke in the head! My Uncles, Dad, and my mom's dad hunted small game when I was a tyke. They'd bring me their empty shot shells from the AM hunt and I'd hide behind the outhouse and sniff the powder residue.  :)

Once they bought a house in town, his "honey do" lists ran long and by the time I got old enough to hunt in PA (age 12) we'd get a few Saturdays in small game, but that was it. He never could get to the mountains (of PA) to hunt deer. His brother took me a few times gun hunting deer.

I actually taught myself to track and hunt, reading everything I could get my hands on, like so many here. Deer hunting w/ my Uncle was just sit and hope. I had to move...see what was around the bend.

By age 6, I lived in town, I'd cut sumac to make bows, shot no fletch arrows from any straight twig I could find...almost got a few rabbits (close) down at the RR tracks running through town. Neat to take a moment to recall these things...

Actually as I entered my late teens-early 20's, I started to take Dad fishing and hunting. Strange to teach your dad about the outdoors.

He only ever shot 2 deer I know of, one big ole doe and a spike with my old neighbor's camp in Central PA... he was so excited...and I wasn't there for that one.  :(

Now he struggles with basic motor skills and trying to regain some measure of dignity. He worked hard, gave quietly to anyone in need, loved my grouchy Mom with a devotion I may never measure up to myself, and sacrified his dreams for others happiness--- all his life.

Here's to your valiant fight, Tite. Godspeed!

Ah The Doorway Buck.  Thank you Mr. Sackett for that fine piece of writing.  

I didn't have a hunting mentor growing up.  My Dad's family was into sports.  I spent 12 months of the year either playing baseball or hockey.
Grandpa (Mon's dad) took me fishing when I was young and one of my uncles put a bow in my hand the first time.  Those seeds sat dormant for a very long time.  We moved to NH when I was around 12 and that is when the outdoor fire was lit.

Didn't start hunting till I was almost 30 though.  My best friend at the time was my first mentor.  Looking back I woulndn't hunt with Ray (God rest his soul)anymore.  Beer and weapons were naturally joined in his camp.

I've since progressed to raising/training my own hunting dogs, from compound to longbow, treestand to ground hunting.  That progression was helped along by many people, some that have become life-long freinds.  I love my time in the field.  Bird hunting is a group endeavor for me.  Bow hunting, I like my solitude.  I do however enjoy the comaraderie of folks in camp when the hunting is done for the day.

My wife doesn't hunt too much any more but she's always in camp when I come in at night.  She understands and tolerates my passion.  For that I'm truely blessed.

I've come a long way from the kid growing up playing baseball in suburban Detroit.  A few year ago my Mom told me that whenever she saw me she thought of Grandpa because of my passion for hunting, always growing a garden and my cooking skills.  I've never had a greater honor bestowed upon me.

Howard

buckeye_hunter, I can relate to your story. Dad died when I was 10. He mentioned going bear hunting once. That idea stuck with me. It's just too bad he is gone.

Grew up in a loving family, Daddy was mostly a fisherman and every year when his vacation came up we went to the lake and camped and fished for two solid weeks. We did that even after I was grown and joined the Navy, I would plan my vacation just to be home when he took his and we would go fishin'. He hunted some but not with a bow, he did however support my endevours in archery buying me my first bow when I was 12, and old fiberglass Ben Pearson. Killed a lot of small game with that bow. Bought a Ben Pearson Ole Ben when I was 16 or 17 and shot that bow for many years. Mostly self taught, learned a lot about animals as a kid from trapping and just observing, Killed my first deer with that bow when I was 19 on my best friends Grandads ranch outside of Ozona, Texas. Living in a small community outside of Ozona, Texas, me, my brother and best friend Mike would jump the fence and hunt/hike on the ranch that butted up to the community, it was an old Air force radar station that some company bought, they remodeled all the houses and Mom and Dad bought a house there. Spent many hours hiking/huntin on that ranch for rabbits with the bow and huntin arrowheads or what ever young boys do. We were always given the freedom to explore and I thank God and my Mom and Dad everyday for the life they allowed me to live as a child. We never had much but I was rich with love and Daddy taught me much about fishin and camping. I miss them both every day, they are with God now but I know they are looking down and hope they are proud of the man I became.

Danny

I grew up with a non-hunting Dad but one that was very supportive.  My Dad did take us fishing the odd time but hunting wasn't his thing. My parents bought me my first pellet gun at age 10 and my first fiberglass bow set at age 11.  My grandpa and uncle on my Mom's side were rifle hunters (my Grandpa got his last moose at age 80). I guess I got the hunting genes from them, funny I look more like that side of the family too.

I remember being under age and needing a parent to be along on a deer hunt.  My Dad came with me and my buddy and was giving us hunting advise, which seems silly now as it was his first time on a deer hunt, I guess he meant well.

I always liked archery as a kid but never had a bow as a teen or eary adult.  The only reason I got into archery was that, my wifes cousin said I could hunt on his property with a bow but not a gun.  

Well that was 8 years ago and I have learned a lot from a good friend who shared his knowledge with this green horn. He helped me get my first bear and whitetail with a bow. I do envy people that can share outdoor experiences with their Dads. I guess its up to me to share my passion with my kids, I'm looking forward to it.

I have to tell you guys...these posts are better than any hunting show. We all seem to be blessed in one way or another with hunting , family, dads, moms, friends and those we have become friends with on this site. Keep the experiences coming....I think it is good for us all to hear.

-Charlie

I started on my own and still hunt alone. I would like to find some others to hunt with and I know my wife would feel a lot better if I was not hunting by myself.

Dave

My dad didnt hunt but he loved to fish. He died while we were returning home from a fishing trip. He pulled over to sleep then had a massive heart attack. I was 11.  

I really dont know why but my brother decided to take up hunting and for my 12th bday I was given  mod 94 win. Open sights- I shot at and missed deer the 1st 9 years of rifle hunting. Couldnt afford a scope lol still cant!

Anyhow I LOVED squirrel hunting and hated bowhunters, I couldnt understand why they should be in the woods that early in the year!! I couldve cared less about hunting deer. There were a zillion of em but you couldnt shoot em without a tag...

I just wandered along the path of predation until I sit here today waiting and wanting more adventures! I can offer this... I wouldnt be here today if it werent for hunting. It kept me on the right path during some terribly stormy times. I also think I was being guided lol I KNOW He was steering me!

For the most part I have taught myself and maybe the pride and satisfaction is what kept me coming back.  Almost like a painting, a book, a song, an everchanging story it is for me....

I thanked my brother by having him hunting with my son when he shot his 1st deer. That satisfied me immensely!

Be thankful for having spent time with yer pop and if he's still around take him out to the woods.

MY DAD WAS A REAL HUNTER.HE STARTED ME HUNTING WHEN I WAS 8.WE HAD MANY HUNTS AN MEMORIES TOGETHER.HE WOULD SAY GO FIX YOU A SANDWICH WE GOING TO HUNT ALL DAY.I AM 65 BUT I STILL MISS HIM.BE HAPPY DO NOT WORRY WE COME FULL CIRCLE IF WE ARE LUCKY.

My dad started me at an early age into hunting. He is now almost 70 and still hunts almost every day of our 60 day deer season. He doesnt bowhunt but that doesnt matter he hunts with his gun and I hunt with my bow, I cant and dont want to try to imagine what it would be like to not have him to hunt with. When that day comes and I hope it is a long way off there is no way that I will be able hunt without him being on my mind. I thank God every day for being blessed with such a great man in my life.

I lost my Dad when I was 18, just before I got into serious hunting.  But he lit the archery fire for me in the sixties, and let me tag along with him on many "woods" outings and hunts.  He also steered my formative years towards outdoor activities, boy scouts, and various outdoor activities.  I led a very active outdoor life.  After my Dad's passing, as I began to get into hunting for myself, many of the lessons he taught me made me what and who I am today.  Funny, I only remember him killing one deer ever.   I guess his enjoyment of the outdoors was much more of spiritual or therapeutic thing...he certainly had the skills to kill game, he just did'nt care to.  

I killed my first deer with a recurve, and was instantly hooked on bowhunting.  Although I had learned a lot of woodsmanship skills growing up, the field dressing, and many of the little things about bowhunting correctly I had to learn on my own.  I mostly hunted alone, and still hunt alone quite a bit....but I've been blessed with two boys that have grown to be fine bowhunters in their own right, and I must say I enjoy every minute I can spend with them afield...and with the fine friends I've made that I hunt with nowdays.   We often go afield alone, but we keep track of each others outings constantly.  Nothing like the special time alone in the woods...and nothing like the sharing of those times with others that know just how you feel.

When I first saw the title this thread, I thought you meant having to cope with hunting without your Dad, due to his passing or something.

I actually read your entire thread and I too share this with you.  We lived & I grew up on 7 acres in West TN and my father was a college professor.  Since I can remember, I have had a deep desire to enjoy the outdoors.  At 10, I got my first BB gun by saving up my extra money and ordered it from the local Sears outlet in Henderson, TN.  A ton of birds and coke cans fell to my bb's!

When I was 12, I asked my Dad for his 12 guage J.C. Higgins shotgun.  He said "if you can shoot it, you could have it".  So the night of my 12th birthday we went out in the yard and I shot it.  It was a big gun for a puney 12-year old, but at that point I was "armed and dangerous".  I hunted what ever was in season, mostly squirrels, rabbits and doves.  I hunted mostly alone or with my buddies, but never my Dad.

When I was about 15 I took my first buck with a 30-30.  That same year, I got my first bow, an 45 pound Indian compound, took my first doe with a Ben Pearson compound bow when I was 17.  

I have been hunting with bows now for most of my life now, but over the last few years have gone pretty exclusively to TRAD.  

I have always wondered what it would have been like to have the companionship and bond of having spent time in the woods pursuing game and having time alone with my Dad during my formitable years.  But he never cared at all for hunting; it just wasn't his thing.  Not to say that he didn't appreciate God's magnificant creation, as we did a hand full of float and fishing trips.  

I think that hunting and killing, the blood and guts that goes with it all, well it's kinda a personal thing. Even now as a 46-year old father of 4, despite my attempts to pique my 2 sons interests in hunting over the years, well they have little or no interest in the endeavor.  Maybe one day they will come around and we can enjoy some special times in the woods and I must admit that I envy those folks who share this bond with other family members.

Good thread!

Buckster,
I'm glad people have taken the time to respond. Many of these stories are very nostalgic. Again, as I said before, hearing the stories of those that learned on their own is encouraging, but I also love to hear about all those that had a dad or mom that loved the outdoors. Especially if they imparted that love to their kids whether it be fishing, hunting, hiking, bird watching or shooting a bow.

Somehow this thread got me to thinking how my grandpa would sometimes sit with me and watch big thunderstorm clouds roll in from the west out on the front porch.

-Charlie

Pm Sent

My dad loved to fish, but he did not care much for hunting. When I first started taking an interest in hunting and shooting, he offered to coach me a little bit. My initial thought was that he could have nothing to offer, but it was truly a surprise to learn that he was a good shot.

As I learned, he grew up during the Great Depression, and when he went hunting the number of animals killed plus the number of rounds left over were expected to exactly match the number of rounds he left home with,which considerably dampened his enthusiasm. This was a big responsibility, because his mother died when he was three and his dad died when he was fourteen, making it difficult to afford both ammunition and groceries. Also, he worked part-time at a low rent slaughter house. The animals were killed by shooting them in the head. Yep, that was his job. Consequently, he just did not care much for guns and hunting. He was never exposed to archery as a youngster.

To his everlasting credit, he encouraged me to pursue hunting, bought me several firearms, but he only took me hunting two or three times. However, when I got my license at age 16, I began to hunt on my own and have primarily been a lone hunter all my adult life. But when I killed my first deer, he was genuinely excited and proud of me. He also thought it was good when I expressed an interest in archery and bowhunting. Unfortunately, he did not live to see me really become deeply involved in archery.

So, even though he did not actually participate much in my hunting adventures, he was still a very positive influence. God, I sure do miss him...

Had my Dad, and a great one; but he did not hunt in his older years though he hunted as a youth. He did not hunt with me - he did not ever bow hunt either. He would take me to a friends farm and drop me off - heck even when I was just a little thing barley handling a squirrel weapon.
He had gone through Korea and Vietnam I know and was shot up bad in the later. I really think he didn't hunt due to the wars, he mentioned he was through with shooting and killing.
I often think about kids that need someone to drag em out and get em in the woods or want to go but lack the figure to take them be it male or female.
My daughter will be old enough this coming yr - she'll be out ther hunting, trappin, and fishing.

My Dad passed away on Sept. 22 a few years ago. Our season opens on the 15th of Sept. That year I just didn't feel like going in the woods to hunt. It was not until last Dec. when one day something was telling me it was time. The first evening out I had a BIG 9 pointer come in like he was on a string. I shot him and remember the presence I felt of my father on the recovery and dressing of that deer. I sat there and cried my eyes out. I still miss him A LOT.   BILL

I had to figure it out on my own.my dad rolled out on us when I was young.I started bow hunting in the 90's when things wernt going so well with it I would get resentful I needed help with hunting skills an bow form.but guess whatI got throught it.I take all the deer I want.I got two sons who have a dad that teaches them how to hunt an fish.I will help anyone or point them in the right direction. After taking my frist deer I realized that I did not have to be resentful anymore.there are other ways of getting things done .I could stop blaming my dad for my failurs an take care of my self.somethings that I failed at I would just let go .hunting had that internal burn I just had to figure out.I love it.It was one of the greatest days of my life seeing my 10 year old take his 1st deer an on the other hand it was a little sad knowing that my dad wavied his chance at days like this.

My dad liked to fish and he hunted birds and small game, but never hunted big game. My interest as a kid was always big game; luckily, I had an uncle who loved to hunt deer, and he was my mentor, along with stories from Jack O'Connor and other great outdoor writers of the time. I never knew anybody who bowhunted, though, so I picked that up on my own.
My son never gave a hoot about hunting, much to my disappointment. He certainly had every opportunity, but the desire just wasn't there. At least he enjoys fishing.

The day started out like many others. A long, quiet walk in the pre-dawn darkness, taking in the smell
and feel of one of my favorite places in the world. The Big Woods.

Between family owned land and the generosity of adjacent land owners, I am blessed with access to a large
tract of northern Wisconsin woods. Teeming with game and abundant cover, it makes for my own private paradise.

What made this hunt different was not only the equipment I carried, but the attitude and spirit that was with me
every step of the way.  Gone was a bow described by the manufacturer as a weapon constructed of space age alloys
and technology for the archer of the new millennium. Gone was a backpack with a laser guided range finder  and
a global positioning unit. No longer was I wearing screen printed sweat shop camo with patented scent proof fabric
and charcoal filtering. Most importantly, no longer would I clutter my brain with useless thoughts of G2s, G3s,
beam mass and inside spread. I would simply hunt. I would rely on woodsmanship and my bow made of wood.

How could I fail? With my longbow and a light weight leather quiver holding my homemade wooden arrows
I was the " King of the forest"

As I slipped through the woods, I stopped and checked on and old friend. One of my ladder stands.
A quick inspection showed the pull up rope, safety belt and swivel seat in good repair and ready for action.
This spot has provided me with numerous deer over the years. With my trusty 35 year old Remington rifle
and various wheel bows, many memories and meals were a slam dunk.

I must admit, walking from my proven hot spot left me questioning my new approach to hunting. I have put in
many hours perfecting my tree stand hunting. Never would I simply "hang a stand". Concealment was always my
primary concern. Wedging a stand into a multi trunked tree while wearing head to toe camo was standard procedure.

This day would be different. Today I would hunt on the ground in a well worn but functional ground blind.
Not just any ground blind, but one constructed by my Dad.  

Over the years, he has become a master blind builder. Using a combination of natural materials and burlap
his blinds are a work of art. With his favorite hatchet and a ball of twine he can transform a blowdown into a
blind wortht of it's own name. Spots like the "Ridge Stand" and the "Fort"are house hold names throughout the year.

Elderly and fighting terminal illness, Dad would remain at our cabin in the woods. While my first instinct was to
skip hunting to care for him, I was informed that nothing gets in the way of hunting season. Since he was not
there with me, I knew he would be anxious to hear every detail of the hunt. This somehow heightened my spirit
and mental computer as I tried to soak in all that was happening around me.

Much has been written about a barebow shooter's  confidence and the Zen like state of visualizing the arrow in flight,
but deep in the woods I could not help question my decision to kill a deer with only a barebow and my strong shoulders.
The hours and hours spent shooting at targets and tweaking my gear seemed like a life time ago as I headed towards
Dad's ground blind.  As I walked the partially over grown logging road, I saw numerous rubs and scrapes which quickly
took me off my backyard range and back into the woods.

A short distance from the blind I heard the deliberate " crunch crunch crunch' of deer moving through the area.
Though still dark, I was able to spot a large doe with her two fawns in tow. With the wind in my favor they worked their
way along a well worn trail oblivious to my presence. Encouraged by already seeing deer I was anxious to settle into my blind.

Prior to heading out Dad remined me to watch for the large white birch that looks like a slingshot. " Head west from the
slingshot and pickup my trail. You'll see my blind halfway down the hill. Watch to the right, they will be heading south to
their bedding area. Perched over looking a well worn trail was a large blown down oak top that had been transformed
into a perfect ground blind complete with a padded swivel boat seat mounted on a five gallon pail.

As darkness faded away it was easy for me  to see why this  could be my new "hot spot". A combination of young poplar
and scrub oak made for an ideal spot to set up on the trail, while taking advantage of the abundant natural camoflage
that had been turned into an awesome ambush site.  I took as many quick calculations as I could to determine  distances
and openings on the trail that I hoped would be the one to provide me with an opportunity to loose one of my cedar arrows.

Well it must have been my day!!  As the planets aligned and the hunting Gods smiled down on me, a fat fork horn walked
and sniffed it's way right down the trail, just like my dad predicted. In one smooth motion minus sights, stabilizer and release
my cedar shaft hit it's mark and my trophy forky was down quick and clean.

Like every deer my family harvests, this one was celebrated in the form of tenderloin shish-kabob over our fire ring.
While Dad's appetite for venison was not like he had hoped, his appetite for ground blind stories was as strong as ever.

On a cold and stormy night in October, Dad lost his battle with cancer with my brother and me at his side.

And yes, gun season found me tagging a nice 6 pointer from Dad's ground blind.

I read everyone of these posts. Thanks to all. My Dad was a small game hunter,only shot one deer as they were scarce back then. He had a stroke when I was 5 and couldn't move his left arm or leg from that time till his death at 46 yrs. He let me buy Outdoor Life mags. when I was 8 yrs. old Jack O'Conor was my hero. I got a bow with haybaleing money at 15 (50lb.). My first year deer hunting he said he would eat the deer hide and all if I got one. He didn't have to eat one that year and he was gone by the next year,when I shot my 1st. God I wish he could have seen that. My boys bowhunt and are my BEST friends. Good hunters and good men.