Who's Your Biggest Influence???


GWSmith

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My Dad. He got me started, and was with me when I killed my first deer. There's rarely a time I got hunting now without him. I'm much closer to him now than I was growing up because of hunting. We both got started late, but enjoy our time together in the woods. A couple years ago we hunted the Milk River in Montana together and are planning an Elk hunt next year.

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My pops when I am hunting back home. He is the one who got me started deer hunting and I will forever be in debt to him because of it.

I am now breaking off of his ways and starting to do things my way. He is getting a little more older and tends to hunt the easier stands to get to, so I will take a morning while he is on stand and go scout out some nasty thick stuff well away from the roads and make a good path or flag trail and send him in in the afternoon for a hunt. Over Christmas I did this for him and it was awesome. In late season at our lease in South Carolina we rarely see deer during December and the mood gets down because of it and he gets frustrated. I scouted some stuff that no one hunts, hung a climb and took him to it in the afternoon. He then had a couple of deer come out and hang out in front of him for an hour, which is not commom at all for us. Normally its a see them and you better shoot because in 3 minutes they will be gone. It was a great feeling seeing that smile on his face and hearing the story even though he let them all walk.

Now that I am out west, I dont really have a mentor and am doing everything on my own. Pops was never a waterfowl hunter so I am doing all my waterfowl hunting on my own and figuring everything out and making plans based on what I learn and teach myself. So far, this has been my best season ever and I feel like I am a pro at it now.

Also, I have been teaching and scouting myself for deer out here. Its a whole different world hunting deer in the west, but I think I am figuring it all out. I did a ton of scouting today for next year and plan to hit the spots again throughout the year to figure out the deer. Its something that I am confident that I can do and get good at. Its been a lot of fun now and a ton to learn and I know there is still way more I need to do and figure out.

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My dad carried us from the time we were old enough to tag along. He's always been number one in my book and always will be. Taught me, rather instilled in me gun safety first, then everything else came second. From ducks, to small game, to deer and turkeys and fishing, we did it all, and I'll be eternally grateful for what he gave me as a child and still does to this day.

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My dad, he loved to hunt. I can remember getting woke up to the sounds of dad and my older brothers talking very excitedly..who's going to sit where, and when to come back in to finish chores...rifles being cased up, boots being laced up...what the weather and wind was like this morning.. and the clink of ammunition dropping into pockets, and morning milking was already done and they had eaten breakfast already too! The atmosphere on opening morning was infectious!!

Just Sunday afternoon we went for a ride in his new polaris ranger out to see the deer on my farm.

This is his last buck he killed. He has not hunted for 5 years now.

4366Sherwood_s_deer_2004.jpg

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Good post. Been a lot of on my own trial and error learning Gary. My hunting started kinda late in life compared to most folks, we moved to Tennessee in 1992 and that was pretty well when my real interest started.

Never had anyone really take me hunting and teach me anything, step dad liked pretty well anything to do with the outdoors but was not really an avid hunter only remember him taking me hunting once in Florida for wild pigs when I was probably 11 years old. That was pretty well just riding around the property, we never saw any animals but I do remember that to this day. He was quite knowledgeable though and always had guns. His gun collection, most of it anyway, got stolen around 1988 or so. After that he did not keep near as many guns. But guess my interest there may come from his influence.

Worked with a guy on my first job in the early 80's who would from time to time bring in deer meat to share, and also brought his bow in and shot in our shop from time to time. He told a lot of stories, suppose he was an influence of sorts.

My real dad, died when I was 2, he also liked anything to do with outdoors. My grandfather was quite a hunter and outdoorsman from stories I have been told, unfortunately he died when I was pretty young and I never got to talk with him much.

Seeing all the guys here who have had their father take them hunting, you guys are really pretty lucky, make the most of those memories for sure.

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Guest TennesseeTurkey

My Papaw, he was with me the first time I ever killed a deer and in fact the first time I ever went deer hunting he killed a 10 pointer, told everyone I killed it (:D) and had it mounted then gave it to me.... He was one heck of a turkey hunter too... He would go the woods at 9:30 sit down somewhere random and kill a gobbler seemed like everytime...

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My dad for sure. Dad was a small game hunter as there were hardly any deer in Ohio back when I was growing up. Dad finally let me tag along when I was 11 or 12 I think. The winters of 1977 and 1978 really put the hurt on Ohio small game and my dad and his older brother pretty much quit hunting. Uncle Ted, my dad's oldest brother, kept hunting though, so I tagged along with him when I was in high school. My dad came too, but I think just to keep me happy more than anything. Gun safety and "don't kill unless you plan to eat" mentality is probably the most important thing I carry on to this day.

Another influence would have to be my buddy Rink. We worked for the recreation department in our undergrad years and he noticed I was in the archery class. He asked if I had ever done any bowhunting and I said no. He took me out to an archery proshop and got me on a few pieces of land and I was hooked. We didn't see a whole lot of deer back then; heck, you couldn't even shoot a doe when I started, but it didn't matter because I just loved being out there, the deer, if any was just icing on the cake.

Finally, as much as Ohiobucks and I hack on each other in this forum, he's one of the best friends I have, and he's always ready to go hunting. Not many guys our age will sit in sub zero temps, pouring rain, blazing heat for hours just to get a chance at a deer, so he inspires me to keep going. I'll never be able to thank him enough.

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It would have to be my dad also. Not sure I continue any traditions, up until about 5 years ago we hunting by doing deer drives, dad taught me a lot when we were into that and it's where I learned 99% of the stuff I know about hunting. Dad got too old to be walking all that much so we have 140 acres leased and stands set up. I have developed my own "style" of hunting and am now teaching my own son.

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My dad and my grandfather my dad got me started when i was 8 or r9 by going out with him for every season but when i was diagnosed with cancer when i was 10 my dad quite hunting then 2 years ago i went a sat with my grandpa he dosent hunt any more cuz he cant eat venison hes allergic but he decided to take me and get a deer for me and my family then i was hooked after that he got me in a hunter safety course and killed my first deer and only deer on his property

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Seeing all the guys here who have had their father take them hunting, you guys are really pretty lucky, make the most of those memories for sure.

You're right about that!

I've been influenced by my Daddy & Grandaddy too. Was born in April of '93 & Daddy had me in the woods that October. Have always still hunted their style of stands and we have the tradition of hunting with dogs.

Over the past couple of years as I've gotten bigger & stronger I've been more involved in cleaning up around the stands & putting out corn, etc. However, with my injury I've become more dependent on them again.

It's for sure anytime spent in the woods with family is great!

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I guess the big influence that got me started was my Dad, my Grandfathers and my Uncles but as time went by, I realized their knowledge of hunting was limited, and tended to carry with it a few old wives tales..LOL

It was experience and the Hunting shows, and DVD's that enabled me to fill in the blanks and become a much better hunter.

This forum has helped a lot too..

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It was a neighbor who got my brother into hunting back when. My brother in turn got me involved. We would all go small game hunting and go through the ritual of the opening day of deer season. Bow hunting was the thing to do and we were big into that. Of all of it I loved small game hunting with my little rat terrier beagle mix. Ate a lot of rabbit and pheasants in those days. I'd have to say that as I got a little older I found a big passion for hunting with the bow. Still enjoy it most out all.

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My uncle....God rest his soul.

My Dad never hunted or fished or did much besides work--a fact I hated growing up but learn to appreciate more and more every day. We'd take our vacations to go see family in Virginia and we arrived early one morning to my uncle Paul and Cousin Eddie going hunting. They asked me if I wanted to go and --shuh YEAH.

My uncle Paul knew I was too young and inexperienced to hunt with a real gun but wanted to make me feel a part of the actions. So he loaded up my cousin's Daisey Red Rider BB gun with bb's and gave it to me. There was no way we were going to get a deer with shake shake shake going through the woods. Never mind that I was as coordinated as a giraffe.

As we were easing through the woods across the side of a ridge, I hit a patch of granite covered with leaves. With the 10-20 percent grade and me trying to sideways across it....well, I didn't make it. My feet went Southbound and I was scrambling to get ahold of anything that I could get ahold of to keep from sliding down into the gully. That Daisey BB gun slammed against that rock with a thud that stopped nature.

So each time I saw old uncle Paul in the later years, he'd tell that story and that sound would get louder and the distance to which I spooked game got bigger. I think at last time he told that story, I spooked game for at least a mile! But he never got mad at me, he just smiled and knew there was more to taking game. And he sparked a passion that hasn't died yet.

Through the years, we hunted virtually everything that walked, crawled, or flew in those VA woods. From salamanders to snakes to deer, turkey, and frogs.

If he'd have handed me a million dollars it wouldn't have been any better than handing me that BB gun!

New

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I would have to say my husband. When I was a kid, my dad tried to get me into hunting but I just didn't have any interest back then. After I got married i began to see the excitement in my husband when he was heading out the door or when he had a successful hunt and it sparked my interest. He taught me how to shoot and took me several times before I actually went on my own. As you read in his post earlier, he basically taught himself and now he is teaching his family. He is my hero and my best friend. I can't wait to grow old together and teach grandkids and great grandkids about the wonderful outdoors.

Hey Wtnhunt........

Thank you and I love you.:serenade:

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I guess it would have to be me..I used to loose hunting buds pretty rapidly after just a single hunt or two because of the way I hunted. I usually would hunt from about an hour before sun up to about a half hour after sun down. Especially if I knew there was a big buck in the area. I just would not come out until I had to. I developed my own style.

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My dad was never much into hunting but me and my brother got interested so my dad has been learning with us but I would have to say my biggest influence on hunting is Bret(sureshot). He has taugh us all so much about hunting and took us out many times. Thats probably the main reason I killed half the animals I did this season.

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I started my hunting career with my Dad and a few of his buddies who stayed in a hardtop camper as a deercamp back in the ealry 1980's. The all played a part in my hunting upbringing.

My brother is 3 years older than me and we have always been very competative against each other as hunters, I must say that it has been a great adventure since the first day I was handed a rifle.

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My Dad was a Marine veteran of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. As a result he wouldn't have anything to do with hunting, fishing however was another story altogether. So, I grew up fishing Nags Head, the Outer Banks and every little stream that would take a fly anywhere on the east coast. When I was 17 A gentleman who would later achieve fame for his co-authorship of the book 'We were Soldiers Once, and Young" moved in down the street from us. Joe Galloway became a lifelong friend that took me under his wing and had me walking the fields of Virginia after squirrel and quail in no time. It wasn't until after my own tour in the Marines that Joe and I headed to South Dakota for the first time after the king of all wing shooting the Pheasant. Joe and I still get together every now and then to bust a few birds, I am hoping to take him hog hunting here in SC this next summer, he has been offered a postion at the Citadel so he will be moving in the spring to take up residence in Charleston.

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my father hunted when he was younger ,he mainly hunted pigeons , sparrows , black birds and rabbits if he was lucky to see them . he would tell me those stories how he would help feed his family during the great depression . Then i meet my neighborsin the early 1980's who were hunters and i started to learn more about the sport . Then i joined RealTree and chatted with a Ton of deer hunters in the chatroom and now i really want to retry deer hunting and do more turkey hunting .

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