My dad always hunted for food because we didnt have a lot of money and I always tagged along and back in the 80's people let you just go on their land for free to get some meat for the freezer!

No hunters in my immediate family but had an uncle who fished, hunted, trapped and was one of the most successful hunters I have ever seen. I remember showing up early with my parents for Thanksgiving dinner when I was six or seven and Uncle Leroy had two big 8 pointers hung up by the house. I stayed outside with him and helped him skin and quarter em. My Mom was ecstatic when I came in the house bloodied up head to toe! Unk and I caught hell that morning. But I was hooked for life. Uncle Leroy gave me his old Outdoor Life, Field and Stream mags and I read em cover to cover. I grew up outside a small ET town and roamed the woods daily learning everything I could from being outside as much as I could. I bugged my parents for a bbgun until they bought me one for Christmas at 10, at 11 I saved up grass mowing money and upgraded to a pellet rifle and shot my first rabbit and squirrel with my Crosman 760. Then mowed grass the next summer bought a .410 single shot and the real hunting began at 12. Haven't slowed down since and love it more everyday! Good luck with your hunting journey...its a great ride and my way of life!

same here

Found out I was a pretty good shot with human targets....so back peddled to game.

Both sides of my parents family were both hunters and anglers and I got started off in 64 with dove, duck and goose hunting and expanded into squirrels and deer later with other game as well.

me too!!!

My whole family hunts and always has. I was born into it. I have always hunted and always will.

Grew up in a family of hunters, it was just the norm...

Father-in-law, my dad worked 2 jobs and also did some farming on the side, large country family to feed. Never had any real time for himself. Mother hated guns. Had to wait till I got married to be exposed. Wifes dad was a Baptist minister but loved to hunt and fish.

Born to it. I can not remember not hunting.

Got into hunting 3 years ago with dove hunting that dame year found a last minute lease and have been hooked ever since

My dad isn't a big hunter. More into fishing. Mom hates guns, so I couldn't get one till I was out of the house. One day I was at my uncles house. He asked me if I wanted to hunt. I said yes. Been hooked ever since. Started with my grandfathers 20 gauge. Never killed anything with it. Bought a marlin 30-30, sighted it in. Hung my stand and killed my first buck. Been hooked ever since.

My family always hunted and fished so I grew up doing it from a very early age.

Father got me into hunting and fishing, but i was around 10 when i actually was brave enough to shoot a rifle (eye to close to the scope and not holding it snug shell shocked me lol) It is hard to get enough grown folks on the same page following the rules and getting the money together for a lease.

x2

When I learned how to walk!

Started hunting when I was 7 am 54 now.
First thing I ever hunted was the ducks that my dad shot. I was his free working two legged retriever. Then moved up to bird hunting and learning how to wing shot with a shotgun.

The rest just followed along.

My father stopped hunting when I was very young, but somehow I was always interested it and read everything I could get my hands on about hunting and dreamed of when I would get older and could go hunting. Finally my favorite uncle took me to the yearly dove opener with his buddies and I was hooked. It was a pretty good sized group with a couple generations represented, and I really liked the social aspect of it, and the fact that they treated me as a (young) adult. Oh yes, actually hunting was pretty cool too. My uncle kept taking me and surprise, after a while my father came out of retirement and joined us.

That was back in California and sadly most of those men have passed away or given up hunting. But my dad is still with us, so every year I fly him out to Texas for opening weekend. We always have a great time together, but I would really like to hunt with a larger group. Someday I hope to get my buddies to quit talking and actually go hunting so I can somewhat recreate what my uncle introduced me too.

My Grandpa and Step dad took me deer hunting and duck hunting when I was 5 years old. Grandpa taught me to reload shortly after - it was a land slide from there!

Got into hunting through a buddy of mine

While my dad took me squirrel hunting a few times as a kid, I really didn't get into hunting until I was old enough to drive myself to the woods. But even then, my best hunting opportunities as a young adult didn't come until I met and dated my wife all the way through college. She came from a family of hunters and I spent every hunting season with them during the five years that we dated and then after we got married.

In my opinion, people and hunting are just like dogs and hunting. If they have it in their blood, all you need do is put them in a group of hunters and they take right to it. If they don't, they soon quit and start doing something else.

Hunting and fishing was always a part of growing up in my family, my dad took me out when I was about 8 and it stuck. Hopefully when my daughter is old enough she will learn to love the sport as much as I do.

oh and

Grewup hunting, I do not remember when I started but I do remember being too small to keep up walking and would ride on my Fathers or Uncles shoulders when squirrel hunting with dogs. Been at it ever since.

to the forum

My Dad told me that the first time we walked into the woods together, we walked out with his shotgun on one shoulder and me asleep on the other shoulder. I don't remember that, but I do remember him holding his shotgun and letting me pull the trigger, squirrel hunting when I was barely big enough to keep up, dove hunts, deer hunts, etc. We did all of the above together as long as he lived. I don't remember not hunting or shooting. I hope my 21 year old son will have a similar story some day.