Lone Wolf

[roy reali]

I read an article years ago about family influences in regards to hunting. Most folks that hunt come from a family of hunters. However, there are hunting families that will have a kid that just doens't get into hunting. On the other hand, there are nonhunting families that will occasionally have a child that becomes a hunter. No one in the family hunts, yet for some reason this person becomes an avid outdoorsman. It was the nature versus nurture arguement.

Were do you fit in? Do you come from a long line of hunters or are you the oddball hunter in a family of nonhunters.

In my immediate family, I am the only hunter. There are hunters in my extended family, cousins, uncles, etc. My brothers and sister do not hunt. Only one of them even fishes. They all own guns, but they are from being active shooters. They have that one "closet" gun for protection. I hope they never have to use them. I doubt if they know how to load them.

 

[taylorce1]

Roy,

I'm pretty much in the same boat as you are I'm the only one in my immediate family that hunts as well. My father was a small game and bird hunter growing up, but after a short stint in Viet Nam he never hunted anything. He did teach me to shoot a .22 rifle when I was a kid.

I was alwyas fascinated by firearms and hunting as a kid. But didn't have anyone to take me. I was 13 and I got a neighbor to take me to a hunters education course one summer. I got my small game license and started hunting rabbits in the winter and birds when in season. I took shooting sports in 4H and got pretty good with a shot gun.

I was able to purchase my first big game rifle at 18 a used .243 Winchester. I got my first deer tag at 18 as well and bagged my first buck the second day of deer season. I've never looked back and pretty much gave up every other kind of hunting for the pursuit of big game animals. Sometimes I go out and hunt preadators and shoot varmints but my love will always be chasing elk, deer, and pronghorn.

My love of hunting has taken me to AK for black bear, TX and AR for pigs, and NY for deer. Someday I'll go to AK again for moose and maybe a brown bear. I'd like to make a plains game hunt somey in Africa as well.

I've since surrounded myself with friends who are accomplished hunters so that I have a wealth of knowledge to get help when I need it.

 

[cornbush]

Been hunting since before I could walk, my kids are the same way.
My girls like to go, but dont want to shoot anything....but thats ok.
My boys on the other hand have to be tied up in a straight jacket for a week before we go so I dont kill 'em.

 

[BIG P]

Well I'm the only one in My whole family that hunts,fishes,drinks,farts or fights.It a blast at family reuions I've been told I'm a head hunting
Barbarian Neanderthal that would rather kill something than go to the store
an buy it.But remember the big Y2K scare guess who's house they all came to? Funny how that works aint it.

 

[Daryl]

Been hunting and shooting since I was big enough to hold both ends of a gun off the ground. Learned from my dad, uncles, and grandfathers.

I'm certainly not the first in my family.

Daryl

 

[roy reali]

Interesting

A couple of you are like me, hunters without immediate family influence. Then why did we take up the sport? I could see a kid growing up with a hunting father and older brothers. But, to grow up in a hunterless family and become a hunter makes you think. Is it a genetic trait that for some reason is dormant in some and awake in others.

That article I read was about this. Shrinks were not sure what to make of it.

 

[elalto]

I too am the only hunter in my family, one of my brothers hunted with me when we were kids, but hasn't hunted as an adult. No one on my father's side were hunters and only one uncle on my mother's side hunted.

All of the photos of me as a child from when I was two years old to about eight show me with a holstered gun on my hip. My dad did not like guns yet let me have a 22 when I was 13, it was a single shot Remington Improved Model 6. I shot a ton of small game with it and finally gave it to my son when he turned 13, it is still in the family.

I really don't know where I got the love of guns and hunting, but I've had it for as long as I have been alive.

Marcos (elalto)

 

[Dave R]

My dad was not a hunter, but he took me hunting twice because he thought I would enjoy it. I didn't.

However, when I moved to Idaho, I figgered I'd better try to fit in ;-)

Found I really liked it.

None of my kids seem to like it, though. So I'm a lone wolf.

 

[Crankylove]

My mom's half of the family is mostly anti-gun (guns are tools of the devil, don't ya know), and everything related to it. My grandfather and one uncle on that side hunted deer 20+ years ago, but the uncle got tired of being shot at and gave it up, and my grandfather was tired of my grandmother complaining about his hunting (she hates guns and hunting) so he quit too.

My dad's side is very much different. Everybody owns a gun, and most of them have hunted at some point, and if they don't now, its because they are too old and broken down (the motocross riding uncle), or to busy (the uncle who owns the town medical clinic). They still own and shoot firearms, just don't hunt anymore. The rest of us (grandparents, my dad, uncles, aunts, cousins, and my brothers and I) hunt whenever we can, be it deer, antelope, elk, rabbits, etc.

 

[reloader28]

I am a hunter from a hunting family. But my wife never did any of it. now she's a hunting, fishing, camping fool. Took her moose hunting this year, that was icing on the cake.

Our daughters love hunting season, but only one loves fishing. She'll set on the bank all day, dont matter if she's catching or not.

The oldest is moved out, but loves hunting and wants to come back for hunting. Our youngest is bound and determand that she needs a shotgun to go chuckar hunting this year. Who am I to argue? I mean, she's determined. She's a hunting fool.

Makes me proud that I brought them up this way.

No sons, just daughters, but they'll show most guyes how to do it right!

They even reload their own ammo.

 

[Kreyzhorse]

I'm not sure that I fit into either area exclusively.

My Dad hunted when I was very young but he gave it up about the time that I'd have been old enough to go along with him. I hunt now but I am the only person in my family that does so. What I learned about hunting, I learned from friends that were willing to take me along.

 

[Daryl]

Reading a few of these replies, I feel very blessed.

My mother's family hunts, my father's family hunts, and my wife was raised on game meat because her father hunted. None of them are anti-gun or anti-hunting advocates.

I'm truly blessed.

Daryl

 

[Lemmon]

My Dad was the baby of 13 sisters and brothers. His three older brothers hunted a lot. The family farmed and hunting supplement the table with meat. This was also during the 20's Depression and times were hard. One of his brothers was hunting in the back woods and was accidentally shot in the leg (shotgun) by a cousin. He died a week later. My Dad and a number of his brothers never hunted again and turned to fishing for fun.

I did get a bb gun when I was a kid and later a Benjamin 177 pump rifle. That Benjamin was very accurate and I became quite a good shot with it popping small rocks in the dirt roads around the area. At one of the our Family reunions which was a great gathering, some of Dad's older brothers took me and a few of the other cousins out to try my pellet rife. I was able to kill a couple of squirrels and that started me off. I have enjoyed shooting and hunting ever since. Since no one else was hunting, the woods were full of fat squirrels and other creatures. Lemmon

 

[Scorch]

I was raised around hunting, so I have been hunting since I was 6. My situation is a little different: my wife's family are vegetarians (for religious reasons) and I am the only hunter, so it will be interesting which way my children will go. So far, both my boys seem to want to hunt, so we'll see how it works out.

 

[gaseousclay]

I haven't officially gone hunting yet, but since I plan to this will make me the only one in my family to do so. some of my in-laws hunt, so I guess i'd say I was partly influenced by them but I also read up on the subject and it piqued my interest.

 

[GAR700]

Hunter in a hunting family. We are not the most successful family of hunters, but we sure hit it hard...
GAR

 

[zzbruno]

Several generations of hunters ahead of me.
My paternal grandfather came from Wales in 1919 and despite losing an eye and a foot in WWI, hunted until he was 81 years old. He loved to sit on his back porch and shoot rabbits and squirrels. As far as I know, he always ate what he shot.

I've been bird hunting since 11 and deer hunting since 13. My hunting is spotty since I spent 10 of the last 14 years either at sea or overseas, but I managed to go quail and antelope hunting in AZ last year. I retire next year and plan to catch up.

Pan fried quail and quail gravy!!!!

 

[S&W Kinda Guy]

Im the only one of two hunters in my family. The other being my uncle. My mom, dad, grandfather, or grandmother(on both sides of my family) never hunted.

Luckily, my dad works with some hunters, and they got me started. They showed me how to shoot a scoped gun, let me use their land, and even let me borrow a gun!!

I owe my respect for the outdoors to them. Honestly, if they haden't been so willing to help a youngster out, I probably wouldn't even be on this forum!

 

[camper4lyfe]

I'm a combination of the two options.

I'm the only hunter in my immediate family now, but my dad used to hunt when he was a kid (birds and small game). He took me squirrel hunting a couple times, but that was it. When my sister started dating my now brother-in-law, I got back into hunting and got my license. I'd always wanted to hunt, but didn't have my dad to teach me, as he just wasn't interested.

I have several aunts, uncles, and cousins that hunt on both sides of the family. I hunt their land, as I have 1/8 acre in a village, and my parents have an acre that backs up to some woods where I squirrel hunt and bow hunt for deer.

 

[OscarTurner]

New lone wolf

My step dad hunted and fished everything in WV but he stopped when his dad passed in 84. I was just getting into it then and I haven't been since. I'm starting up this season - which I've been trying to do for many years but I had some health issues and couldn't afford a hunting rifle. This year I'm 100% and my step dad gave my his dad's guns. I've got some friends taking me out so I'm good to go.

None of my immediate family hunts (other than falconry). I live in walking distance of game lands and probably every house within 5 miles of me is occupied by avid hunters. None of my wife's family hunts either. But most all of our family are pro-hunting, they just don't do it themselves.