Ok folks another hunting season is upon us so in my best souther Baptist deep voice... "can I get an amen my brothers and sisters!!! I truly hope everyone has the kind of season you've always dreamed of. I'm going to post a few thoughts about hunting in general along with a few photos and I hope others of you will add a few of your best memories and photos.
I started hunting with my older brother when he was 10 and I was 8 years old. My dad bought my brother a Winchester model 94 30-30 and me an old H+R single shot 16 gauge, (kicked like hell but I loved it). We grew up in West Texas on the Concho River which might as well been the Nile because it seemed huge to us. We hunted Deer, Turkey, Dove, Quail, Ducks, Cottontails, Jackrabbits and every kind of varmint you could imagine. My brother and I ran a trapline in the winter and fished all summer!! You haven't lived till you've tried to get a skunk out of a trap without getting the stink on you before school, (sorry mom).
The care free days of youth passed all too quickly but I never lost my love for being outdoors. Much of my early adulthood years were spent struggling to keep my wife and I and our kids fed and healthy so my days outdoors were limited to a DIY deer/elk hunt in New Mexico or Colorado. I would save my pocket change each year till I had enough beanie weenie's and spam rat holed that I'd head west with my hunting buddy and buy a N/R combo tag and we would get after it. I think we hunted most seasons for the better part of 20 years and took some nice animals. I never carried a camera until I was much older but I'll post a few old mountain hunting photos. I had to give up mountain climbing/hunting a few years back after spending 13 months at MD Anderson with throat cancer, (never smoked or dipped or chewed). I again was blessed as God spared me and has granted me a few more years above ground but I can no longer do what I did before.







As my kids got older I had the chance so I introduced them to the sport I love so much. My children have managed to kill some nice deer while hunting at an old place in San Angelo that I also hunted as a child. I owe this opportunity to a life long friend, he and I still hunt together most years somewhere and I'm truly blessed to have him as a friend. We were about 14 the first time we went hunting together. Here are a few photos of my kids.







Hunting to me is so much more than killing. I love the feeling I get when I'm sitting in a blind or on the side of a hill with no one else around. I get so calm and relaxed that I'm almost in a trance. I think of things like my wife and kids and while they have made me a husband and father, they have also made me a much better person than I would ever have been without them. I think of all my friends and my few really close friends and about how lucky I am to have them in my life. Hunting is seeing the beauty in a doe and her fawn and the rugged, stinking, nasty beauty in a rutting buck. I believe God placed animals on this earth for us to love, admire and respect and I feel I do all three when I'm hunting. I get soooo much joy from a great shot with my camera as well as my rifle but I'll never quit hunting the old fashion way..... with my rifle in hand and the hope of someday killing a great buck or bull. I've got a bucket list that would scare a millionaire and
I'll keep trying to whittle away at the lower hanging fruit on it! My last photos will be of some trophies I've taken recently. I'll post the live photos my wife or I took prior to taking the animals, kind of a before and after thing. Good Luck this fall everyone and try not to get so wrapped up in what you shoot or don't shoot that you forget to enjoy the moment. Take Care folks and God Bless !! Roland Baker the not much of an Elkhunter anymore!!!

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Thanks sharing!

For many of us hunting is a way of life, it is more than a full bag limit. Hunting is a chance to get out in nature, to wonder at the spectacle of God's creation. Hunting is watching and observing not just game animals, but critters like ants preparing for the winter, baby birds getting ready to leave the nest, squirrels doing squirrel things, a beautiful sunrise or sunset. Hunting is a chance to get together with friends and family, it provides great and healthy tablefare, it makes us better people. To all the true hunters out there, may God bless you this and every season. Stay safe.

well written. Prayers on fight against cancer. got back shoulder & knee problems. Cost of hunting is what stopping me from injoying time spent in the woods. Lots of memmories. Best Wishes

Great pics and a great story.

Coolest pics I've seen in a while

x2

To the OP, thank you for sharing your wonderful story and great pictures!!!

Neat story and pictures, thanks for sharing

Share your sentiment bud. Thanks for the pic's and story.

God is good! Thanks for sharing!

AMEN and a good post!

Great pictures and story.

That's a big Amen señor, very well written and I couldn't agree more. Good luck to ya this year.

Nice pics!

Thanks for the kind words folks. Have a great season!

Elkhunter, what a great post. If reading your story doesn't put a lump in your throat, well partner, you just ain't right.

Great post, I enjoyed it, good luck to yo hand your family this year.

Excellent read and pics. I really enjoy your pics. Keep them coming.

AS one of the old fellas on here who started hunting at 10 in 1958 and has never missed a season or an opportunity to be in the outdoors, Gods gift to us all. I agree with all that's been said here. My heart still skips several beats when I see a doe or a coyote or any other wild animal as I sit motionless just enjoying the beauty and the solitude of nature. I also cherish the Horntoad and lizards that scatter about me as I violate there homes. When I cant do it anymore it will be time to go.

I couldn't have said it better