Who taught you?

[tangle tooth]

Who taught you how to be an outdoors person?
I read and hear stories about people learning outdoors skills from grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles. I didn't have that. I fished as a kid when I could. Used to go with my dad and I really enjoyed that.
My father died when I was 11 years old. He wasn't in to camping or hunting or trapping. My mother wasn't. My only brother, who was 8 years older than me, wasn't. No grandparents or aunts or uncles or friends of the family.
I took up hunting at the age of about 31 years old. Read lots of books and magazines like Field & Stream and Fur-Fish-Game. That's how I learned and it seemed to have worked. I couldn't get all my ducks in a row to do any trapping this year. So, if all goes well, I'll start trapping at the age of 67 years old next season.
Thank the people who taught you and appreciate what they did for you.

[glenn57]

my dad and both my grandfathers did. of course it sure helped when my parents bought a cabin in northern minnesota when i was 6 years old. 

now they didnt teach me to bear hunt........not until i did it did my dad or brother start. same with turkey hunting, dad never got into it but my brother has.

[Boar]

And yu still dont know how to bear hunt!!
For me it was a desire to be out ther, picked up things as i went...

[glenn57]

 

And yu still dont know how to bear hunt!!
For me it was a desire to be out ther, picked up things as i went...

[glenn57]

And yu still dont know how to bear hunt!!
For me it was a desire to be out ther, picked up road kill as i went...

there i fixed it for you...................

[Boar]

And yu still dont know how to bear hunt!!
For me it was a desire to be out ther, picked up glenns wanton waste as he was to lazy to retreive his kill as i went...

there i fixed it for you...................

[glenn57]

And yu still dont know how to bear hunt!!
For me it was a desire to be out ther, picked up glenns wanton waste as he was to lazy to retreive his kill as i went...

there i fixed it for you...................

[glenn57]

And yu still are the best bear hunter i've ever known!! !!
For me it was a desire to be out ther, picked up things as i went...

 

[Boar]

Lmao!!

[KEN W]

my dad and both my grandfathers did. of course it sure helped when my parents bought a cabin in northern minnesota when i was 6 years old. 

now they didnt teach me to bear hunt........not until i did it did my dad or brother start. same with turkey hunting, dad never got into it but my brother has.

Same here Glenn....father and grandfather and uncles on both sides. Grand parents bought a cabin at Outing. Highlight of the summer in the 50's and 60's was taking turns to spend time there. Also all us males deer hunted out of there.

[GrandpaTom]

I grew up squirrel and other small game hunting before I could even use a gun.  I got to circle the tree and make noise to move the squirrel to the side where the shooter was.
Fishing was another story.  We only had old poles until we moved to McGregor where I got my first casting rod.  It was mostly my older brothers who took me hunting. 

[Steve-o]

Dad hunted pheasants and grouse and I tagged along.  I had my BB gun by 3rd grade.  It was an early, solid start.  Next I borrowed grandpa's old Remington Model 12 20 gauge pump.  I used for squirrels, grouse, rabbits, and loaded it with slugs for deer. 

Deer were scarce in the mid 70s when we hunted on public land.  I think we went 4 or 5 seasons before I even saw a deer when I was in the woods.  That taught patience and persistence, to love being out there, and to appreciate every deer encounter when you had one.

After those early years we hunted with a couple of his friends and we've been together ever since, although dad has since passed.  One of those guys in particular taught me a lot.  We'd hike way back and hunt hard.  We've both taken many deer by making little moves thru the woods for each other (can't hardly call them drives) to stir up action.  If he told me to do something, I did it, because it worked often enough.

They are in their 80s now, and we wait for the deer to come to us, or not.  I wouldn't trade all those lean years of hard hunting for anything.

[Dotch]

Had several people who were responsible for introducing me to both hunting and fishing. My older brothers took my sister & I fishing in the Root River back in the early 60's. We both took every chance we had to fish after that. We lived 1/2 mile across the fields from the Spring Valley Creek & spent many hours fishing there. My aunt & uncle had a cabin on Cox Lake by Zerkel that we visited many times. Another uncle on my Dad's side took us along numerous occasions there. Older brother took me ice fishing. Wasn't until the Devils Lake perch fishing after college with my friend I got into that.

An uncle on my Mom's side introduced me to squirrel hunting. He was a WWII vet & a guy in charge of high level govt. security in foreign countries. He had an AR-7 type .22 shipped stateside so he had to sight it in. Super human being so it was special. Hunted some woods he grew up hunting in the woods west of Chatfield. Had my BB gun that would kill birds and that was about it. Still was a fun afternoon, enough so I went squirrel hunting any time I could with my brother once we got old enough. Dad had a Winchester .410 single shot & a Remington single shot .22 to choose from. He made me take the .410, thinking my brother would splatter them all over. Learned quickly that when the squirrels ran along the oak limbs as they frequently did, it was a distinct advantage. Also worked to my favor when I moved to ND after college & hunted waterfowl hard for 3 seasons. Introduced to field decoy hunting there by a college friend who had Chessie's at Devils Lake. 1st time out by Starkweather was a blast. Before I knew it I'd bought enough decoys for my own spread & a black Lab puppy.

Times change. Back here in SC MN, pickings were slimmer & as the song goes, lives become careers. I still enjoy the outdoors but more observing it than harvesting it anymore. As a kid my parents took us on many walks in neighbors and relatives woods on Sunday afternoons. I learned a lot from them about identifying plants and trees in addition to observing wildlife. I was always asking endless questions growing up on the farm, not so much about gamebirds and animals but moreso reptiles, amphibians, insects, small mammals and non-game birds that made up the food chain. In my later years, I've planted a fair amount of habitat for animals large and small on our limited acreage. I hope that someone will enjoy the wildlife it holds as much as we have.   

     

[deadeye]

Great stories. It's fun to learn how people got started fishing and hunting.  For me even growing up on a farm my dad had a real passion for fishing. We often went when we were unable to get into the fields. When I was real young we didn't have a boat so we did a lot of river bank and lakeshore fishing. There were a number of lakes that had rental boats so we often would go there. Of course winter meant more free time and lots of frozen lakes to angle and spear.  As for hunting I pretty much learned by doing. I remember the first time deer hunting. My dad drove us out to a woods, left the car (48 Plymouth) and said he would be back after chores.  I remember seeing a deer but not knowing what to do. Same thing with squirrels, grouse, pheasants, ducks, geese, turkey, bear and other critters. I learned how to stalk geese by walking through cattail swamps.  I do remember reading Outdoor life that my grandpa had around but all the stories were about shooting elephants, lions and tigers in Africa and I never saw one of those in Minnesota.   

[Dotch]

Am sure you've said but whereabouts did you grow up deadeye?

[deadeye]

Do you mean where I spent my youth or actually grew up because I often hear my wife say "grow up"....
0-19 in Pierz, MN.

[HD]

I learned from the school of hard knocks.... My father fished very little. And when I was younger, we didn't get along so much. Nobody in my family hunted. For awhile, I was homeless (yes, I stood in line for cheese and bread) and fishing was a way to get a meal. I didn't have a boat, so did a lot of shore fishing. In the spring, I would go around neighborhoods "spring clean up"and pickup all the old lawnmowers and fix them up and sell them. I made enough money to buy my first shot gun...a 12 gauge Coast to Coast pump. Back then, I started with hunting ditch chickens cause at that time you could hunt them before 9am and easy to find....

Rest of the story is way to long.... but the short of the story is, I needed to eat and learned by trial and error.

[CAB]

Grandfather always took me walking in the woods but never got to hunt with him sadly.

My dad when I was about 20 just randomly said " want to go to grouse camp" I had never gone but my younger brother and him had been going forever(I was always playing football or other sports at that time of year).

I said No but he insisted that I go and take photos for the group. I'll never forget it some of the best times I ever had. I was hooked and quickly got my hunting license. Since than I have been the most crazed and passionate hunter in the family now. First couple photos are from Maine and the rest are from WA and CO

[mike89]

great pic's!! 

[fishwidow]

great pic's!!

What Mike said.

[GrandpaTom]

I learned from the school of hard knocks.... My father fished very little. And when I was younger, we didn't get along so much. Nobody in my family hunted. For awhile, I was homeless (yes, I stood in line for cheese and bread) and fishing was a way to get a meal. I didn't have a boat, so did a lot of shore fishing. In the spring, I would go around neighborhoods "spring clean up"and pickup all the old lawnmowers and fix them up and sell them. I made enough money to buy my first shot gun...a 12 gauge Coast to Coast pump. Back then, I started with hunting ditch chickens cause at that time you could hunt them before 9am and easy to find....

Rest of the story is way to long.... but the short of the story is, I needed to eat and learned by trial and error.

Amazing story.  Wow.  Good to see things turned around for you.

[fishwidow]

Do you mean where I spent my youth or actually grew up because I often hear my wife say "grow up"....
0-19 in Pierz, MN.

Thielen’s. One of the best meat markets in the state. Just my opinion.

[glenn57]

Do you mean where I spent my youth or actually grew up because I often hear my wife say "grow up"....
0-19 in Pierz, MN.

Thielen’s. One of the best meat markets in the state. Just my opinion.

up, they make some mean sticks!!!!!!!!

[fishwidow]

Grew up with a Winchester model 12 20 gauge. Always have a soft spot for them since. Still have a 12 gauge and a Western Field knockoff 16 gauge.

Early deer hunting years I was allowed to come along for a few hours carrying a BB gun. After I was old enough to actually shoot,  I would be escorted into the wilderness north of Pine River ant told “Stay put. I’ll come back to get you before dark.”  No way was I going to wander far from the spot where they parked me.  Probably a good thing—I have a distant relative that went out by himself near Jacobson and was never found. Kind of a surprise to see my cousin on the 10:00 news, when they ran the story. 

[deadeye]

Great photos there CAB.  Makes you feel like you are right there. Cool

[Steve-o]

I would be escorted into the wilderness north of Pine River ant told “Stay put. I’ll come back to get you before dark.”  No way was I going to wander far from the spot where they parked me.

My grandparents had a farm in Wisconsin with woods and dry creek beds.  I would get there, hop out of the car, and not come back to the house until dinner.  That exploring really set me up for deer hunting.  Because we hunted public land, there were hundreds of acres to wonder about in.  I had a compass and dad let me do my own thing.  I only got "turned around" twice where I got a little scared.

Once in particular, I walked in the woods from the road, was planning on looking for a place to sit for a bit, then still hunt thru the woods and come out further down the road.  On my way out it was talking longer than I expected.  I settled down, took out my compass, and found I was traveling in the exact wrong direction.    The compass pointed the way back to the road, but every bone in my body told me to walk the other way.  It was a very strange feeling.

P.S.  Cabbie, you can be our camp photographer any time!   

[deadeye]

Steve-o,
You nailed it. That sinking feeling when you looked at the compas and it indicates you are going the wrong way when in your head you are not. It's very hard to turn around and head the other way. 

[mike89]

I can agree to that too!!!  compass is a must have..  but I did the same thing once..   oh well lessons learned!!!   

[markn]

I had two great mentors in my life. My father and his father. Dad work road construction when I was younger and was gone a bunch, but he taught me alot about hunting and fishing. Our rides to deer camp on Friday night before opener as a kid were great. All of the hype and talk. Don't think I ever slept on those Fridays for my first five or six years of deer hunting. My grandfather was a farmer who never hunted or fished. He taught me a ton on how be a person. His two biggest points were to Respect everyone's possessions, thoughts and opinions, even if you don't agree with them and to be Responsible for what you say and what you do. It's been working for me for the past 62 years, too bad it can't be taught in school (IMHO).

 P.S. I too had a lying POS compass one day while deer hunting. I chose to believe even tho it was sending me the wrong way. Instead of wandering around in the woods I came out on the road I was supposed to come out on, only a 1/2 mile farther down. In the few times I have used them since that that  needle is gospel.

[tangle tooth]

Best to carry AT LEAST two compasses. I usually don't, but I should.