# All the stories have me excited



## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

You guys are killing me with all the stories of hunts - especially taking your boys out for their first deer. For me, my boys (ages 12 and 15) have never shown much interest in hunting. When they were little, I bagged several deer and they cut their teeth on venison. Then we had several years when I was unable to hunt. Then last year, I drew a deseret cow tag and when I came home with the elk, they became more interested. 

A few years ago, I helped my boss buy a ranch in Montana. Since, he has invited me to come up to hunt. This spring I was too busy to put in for a tag so I didn't think much more about it. Well, things are falling into place now, such as surplus antlerless deer tags, plus my boys, espcially my 12 year old are showing a lot of interest. So the stars have aligned for me to take my boys hunting. So in November, we are heading to Montana. It is too late to get them into hunters ed for this year, so they will be my "crew" for the hunt. We are doing the whole camping trip, cast iron cooking, pheasants and deer kind of trip. I am so excited to get to share this with my boys. My oldest doesn't want to hunt at all. I asked him about it and he said "Gee Dad. I just want to go camping with you and Andy" (his brother). I am just giddy about it. 

Anyway, all your stories of sharing the hunt with your boys have me crossing the days off the calender. We are planning menus, getting the dog in shape, cleaning out rifles, and buying extra orange vests. Heck, I'm already shopping for a rifle and shotgun for my son to use next year, once he has his hunters ed done. We have private lands to hunt in Montana, and this year, a hunter can buy up to 7 antlerless tags over the internet, so I know I can get a tag for the boys next year. This is one heritage I'm excited to share.


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## Guns and Flies (Nov 7, 2007)

Awesome Gary, hope you have the time of your life. One of my biggest fears is that my boy (just 4 months right now) won't like hunting :shock:


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## Huntoholic (Sep 17, 2008)

You know it's funny, but my son took a while to get interested in hunting. His sisters went with me on more hunts than my son. But what turned him was sitting in a sage brush meadow and having a three-point bull elk walk past us on the muzzle loader hunt close enough to touch him with a 20ft pole. Than the next day seeing a group of six large bulls less than 100 yards. Now I can't keep him out of the mountains.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

I don't have kids yet, but I share the excitement that you expressed, Gary. I don't really know what got into me. My dad has always hunted pheasants, and occasionally other upland game, and when I was 6 or 7 he took my brother and I out deer hunting, but since then he hasn't showed much interest. I, on the other hand, have been a different creature than anyone in my family as far as hunting goes. I live for it. This time of year I find myself eating, sleeping, and breathing hunting, and I can't wait for the day I have kids to share my obsession with! Once that fire gets lit, it is really hard to put it out, by why would you try anyway?!


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## utahtu (Apr 2, 2008)

Gary told me about his hunt in MT the other day. He said he seen more big bucks in one day than all of last season here in Utah. Private ranch + Montana = good hunting.

He said his success was the same as on Deseret last year, but that is another story. And since Gary signs my timecard I wont go there. Besides my Deseret tag for this year is yet to be filled - stupid foot.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, I hope Gary's deep fried turkey turns out ok. Just remember to cook it outside.


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## Artoxx (Nov 12, 2008)

Chaser said:


> I, on the other hand, have been a different creature than anyone in my family as far as hunting goes. I live for it. This time of year I find myself eating, sleeping, and breathing hunting,


That is kind of like me as well. I was introduced to guns at the tender age of 4. Shot .22's at targets and such. Owned my first BB gun at 6.
At the age of 5 my father decided to teach me about gun safety, FIRST HAND. Not sure if I did something wrong or what but the lesson stuck with me forever, so far.
He asked me if I wanted to shoot HIS gun, naturally I said yes.
He braced his 30.06 across the top of a fence post and said, "there ya go."
I looked through the scope, pulled the trigger, and next thing I knew I was lying on the ground with a gun in my face, a lovely bruise over my eye, and a distinct pain in my right shoulder, not to mention my ass.
He picked up the gun, and asked me if I was all right. I said I think so, but (list of hurts) he said, "Remember this, a gun can hurt you no matter which end of it you are on, if you are careless. Don't ever forget it." And by god I haven't! _(O)_ 
He only hunted with me maybe 3 times in my life, but I was a hunter born.
I began hunting with a .22 *ON MY OWN*, at the age of 7, only requirement was that I ask permission EVERY time, and let them know the general direction I was going in. He lived on property owned by my grandpa and I had about 20,000 acres to wander and hunt whenever I would visit him. (Parents were divorced since I was 5.) At first I used the single shot because it was all I was allowed. After a year or so, I had pick of the guns. I tried them all but the single was my favorite. He had 2 bolt actions with a 12-15 round tube mag, and a beautiful little browning lever action that I would LOVE to own today, not sure what happened to it.

I shot so many rounds through that old single shot that it was part of me, my first kill of a game animal was a cottontail about six feet from me, at age 7, and I couldn't have been more proud. I still remember the day I shot my first pheasant, _*out of the air*_, WITH THE .22. (my brother witnessed this and was so mad he could hardly speak.) Not safe, I know, but nothing to hit out there. Repeated that with more pheasants, ducks, a goose, numerous magpies, crows etc. Even tweety birds. I lost count of the number and species of all the birds I wingshot with that .22. A running rabbit was as good as dead. Sitting still was practically guaranteed out to 100 yards.( I am NOT that good anymore   )
Right after I got my first shotgun, at age 24, my brother asked me why I bought it, I said, you know, ducks, geese, grouse, etc.
He said yeah I know and I also know that *you* have killed all those with your .22, why do you need a shotgun. I laughed and said, cause that is illegal now. hehe

Used to sit on a high bank of the creek and head shoot geese and ducks that were swimming in the backwaters. Even had a carp shooting contest with my uncle one time that I won, even though I was ten years younger than him and he had been shooting since I was born. :mrgreen:

My step brother was so jealous he stopped hunting with me. He could hit okay if it was on the ground and sitting still. :mrgreen: 
Sad thing was, HE lived there all the time, I only visited about one weekend a month and 2 weeks a year. 
Kind of like being in the N.G. :mrgreen: 
I was given permanent ownership of the single shot on my 10th birthday. My brothers were not even given permission to hunt alone until they were 12-13.
Funny thing about that is _*I*_ could take _them_ hunting, or go by myself, but they couldn't go alone.
By the time I was 16 I was the only member of my entire family who still hunted. I no longer associate with any of them, but as far as I know that situation is unchanged.

I am trying to instill at least SOME of this fire in my 9 year old, but he has a video game mentality, not only does he LOVE video games, but he thinks it is boring if you don't get to shoot something every few minutes while hunting.

:?: I am working on this, but... :?:


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