Remember When?

[cnelk]

Too true!

[Still Hunter]

Then before you know it. You become grandpa.

[Swede]

No. To be honest, I had no one like that. Dad did hunt, and he was a capable woodsman, but dad always thought all hunting was a matter of luck and he approached it on that basis. Dad was very skilled in many areas, but he was not much of a hunter. I wish I could sit down with him and discuss things we never covered. I wish he could go hunting with me and manage the camp. He was never into bow hunting, and I have no idea he could be persuaded to take it up, but he would be game to go with me. He would be a great support and encourager.

[pointysticks]

me neither..being from an immigrant family..

i'm first gen actually born here..i had to hunt and fish on my own. to be perfectly honest, i dont know where i found the love of the outdoors. it came outta nowhere.

[Still Hunter]

I think you guys are missing the point. It doesn't have to be your grandpa.

[Swede]

I think you guys are missing the point. It doesn't have to be your grandpa.

Maybe we are missing something here, but it seems to me it had to be someone. I think Pointysticks and I are saying we had to figure it out on our own. What I have said over and over, "learning by experience alone is a long hard road." You can get there, but you will get old in the process. Back when a lot of us started, there were few self help resources, and even if there had been more we were very close to absolutely penniless. I got some information related to hunting from hand me down Outdoor life magazines and the Field and Stream we had in our high school library. Those magazines were far more inspirational, than informational for the type of hunting we did.
I did get a good rifle and dad was a gifted woodsman. I was taken out hunting, but neither dad nor I had any hunting education or mentor. Actually dad and I started hunting at nearly the same time. He, like pointysticks was a first generation native and had no hunting background.

[pointysticks]

Swede saved me a lot of typing!! thanks bud. exactly the point.

that first post is certainly wonderful and charming..

[Still Hunter]

Still missing the point. Grandpa's were everywhere. You just had to find one.

[Swede]

No wonder I missed out on so much in life. I could not find a grandpa! Not just My grandpa, but I never found any grandpa out there to take me hunting. There again I think I will blame my dad. It gives me a funny feeling to say this, but both of my folks were a little narrow minded about me going around looking for a new grandpas, even for such worthy causes as giving me a free elk hunt. After I became an adult it wasn't my fault that I still had no grandpa. I think my wife is a little narrow minded too. She would have thought it odd if I was out recruiting a new grandpa. No, I cannot harken back to those glorious days, when grandpa took me out and shared his wealth of information on how to hunt. I guess I was an orphan of sorts.

[Mikeha33]

My dad took me quail hunting some up until I was about 12, then all the birds disappeared, and we didn't hunt anymore after that. For Christmas when i was 14, I asked for a bow, and they got me one, an XI Paragon, and I never looked back. Nobody in my family or circle of friends bow hunted, so I literally taught myself everything, the hard way, trial and error, with the emphasis on error. Same for waterfowling. I bought a 20 ga Mossberg and a dozen crappy decoys, and started pond hunting. I didn't have waders, so I carried a fishing pole with a Zara Spook on it to retrieve my ducks. Dad still to this day, has never shot a duck or drawn a bow. Now I live to bow hunt and shoot ducks and geese, and I think most of my passion for the two is because I put so much effort into learning them the hard way. I can't say he didn't help introduce me to the outdoors, but the fire that burns inside of me for the outdoors this day, I ignited myself.
Some people are just born to hunt.

[ctdad]

Interesting. I could be persuaded to believe "the point" is that society today moves fast and is dependent on technology. Or I could believe that "the point" is that some older outdoorsmen (some were grandpas) were great at sharing the outdoors with the younger generation (who are now dependent on technology). If the picture was for sale in a store, I'd be led to believe "the point" is to make a profit. Ha.

[pointysticks]

Now grandmas! Those I could find! Probably explains my deep seated love for PIE. Mmmmm pie.

[Still Hunter]

Interesting. I could be persuaded to believe "the point" is that society today moves fast and is dependent on technology. Or I could believe that "the point" is that some older outdoorsmen (some were grandpas) were great at sharing the outdoors with the younger generation (who are now dependent on technology). If the picture was for sale in a store, I'd be led to believe "the point" is to make a profit. Ha.

Good to see someone getting it.


Grandpa = Any older experienced hunter/fisherman willing to help you.

[easeup]

No. To be honest, I had no one like that. Dad did hunt, and he was a capable woodsman, but dad always thought all hunting was a matter of luck and he approached it on that basis. Dad was very skilled in many areas, but he was not much of a hunter. I wish I could sit down with him and discuss things we never covered. I wish he could go hunting with me and manage the camp. He was never into bow hunting, and I have no idea he could be persuaded to take it up, but he would be game to go with me. He would be a great support and encourager.

same here mr. swede.
just like many younger guys of this generation - there was no one to show us what really was needed to be a successful outdoorsman.
Now that I just threw dad under the bus, I have to say, he taught me the most important thing in life - what a godly man is and lives- and for that I am most thankful.

[JJ Overkill]

cnelk I remember it, that old man loved to fish. made jokes about me having the latest and greatest gear and asking what do you need all that junk for? I miss that. what I wouldn't give for one more fishing trip. damn you, im getting chocked up

[Swede]

Jerinmn: You just reminded me how much I miss dad. He wasn't the most skilled hunter in the woods. That was nothing he aspired to. I never heard him speak of B&C or P&Y. He could not care less. A good fat 3x3 buck, properly cared for was his idea of hunting perfection. No, dad just loved the forest. He loved hunting and he was a great guy just to be with. Reading your post makes me think dad and your grandpa would have gotten along great.