Is that an appropriate question? I realize a lot of people on here have been hunting for most of there life. I think I've only talked to one or two others on here that identify as "Late Onset Hunter" like myself. I have never killed anything other than fish and shark. This is my first year with a hunting license and some skill to make a vital shot. So what was that first kill? What was the first big hunt? Do your nerves still get shook like they did the first time? was there a story that went with it or was it just shooting squirrels with a BB gun?
My advice is kill as many does as you can eat or give away. The more you kill the better you get at it
My first deer was a button buck. Do not get hung up on the size of the animal, this is the worst mistake a new hunter can make when deciding whether or not to shoot. Shoot the first legal animal that you feel comfortable with the shot opportunity. Know your limits and do not take a shot you are not confident in making.
I’m a little bit in your boat I feel like. I’ve been hunting off and on for probably 12-15 years. Hunting more seriously in the last 5 years. I’ve only killed 3 deer so far. 2 does and a buck. My first one was by chance essentially. Was about to get up and leave for the morning and suddenly a doe walked in. Barely could tell she was there. Was set up on the ground. Dropped her in her tracks with my Marlin 1895 45-70. Hit her so hard when I recovered from the recoil all I saw was 4 legs waving sticking straight up in the air. The whole experience was so surreal. I never get so alive though. Was so proud of that thing. Next was yearling doe I took on a whim early season with a cheap crossbow I decided to try that year. Also from the ground. Wasn’t sure if I should but then just decided to just do it. That one was my first time died dressing by myself. I was proud of how I handled it. Then my first buck was just a couple years ago. Was in a tree finally in a hang on stand. Happy to say it was the first deer I took with a vertical bow. He was a small 7 point that was supposed to be an 8 but 1 tine was broken off early in its growth. No idea what he would score but I’m sure it would be well below 100. I don’t care though. Still proud of that guy. Passed on a couple the next year trying to coach a buddy on getting his first. Hoping to take one this year. He’s on his own now. Hah! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have no idea when I first started shooting tweety birds with my bb gun, probably around 6 or 7 years old. I lived in the country and it was often what I picked up to go entertain myself. My mom made a trip to town once a week for groceries. During the summer she would pick me up a carton of Copperhead bb's, a 5000 pack, every single week she went to town and I always ran out before she went again the next week. I believe it would be a staggering number if I could ever find out how many tweety birds I shot with a bb gun. For sure my first "kill" was a tweety bird with a bb gun though. The next significant kill I remember is a ground squirrel after being taught to use a .22, around 8 or 9 years old. Perhaps even younger. The next memorable "kill" I can remember is when I got grounded from my .22 for the weekend, a weekend that I had great plans of shooting ground squirrels the entire time we were at "the mountain". So instead I brought my American Eagle bow, I shot it instinctively with fingers. I was quite proud of the 3 squirrels I managed to get with it that Saturday. I believe that was the first live thing I'd ever shot with a bow. The next was my first grouse when I was 10, shot it in the head with my bb gun. Used 10 pumps and a pellet, because that's what you use when hunting important "big game" type stuff. You meant business with 10 pumps and a pellet. Somewhere around 11 or 12 dad handed me his 22-250 when we spotted a coyote snooping around the cows (they were calving) up in the pasture above the house and told me to go "scare it away". I snuck out along the fence line until I had a shot at it from a fence post, around a 100 yards. I remember being pretty proud of my first coyote. My first deer was a fork n horn whitetail when I was 12, shot it with a 7mm Mauser at about 150 yards. Dad was standing right next to me when I shot it. I could tell by the look on his face that he was much more surprised I'd hit it than I was, I was only mildly surprised. My cousins and I did a ton of game bird hunting through our teens, quail, pheasant, grouse, and Gray Partridge. Still have the 12ga my parents got me for Christmas when I was 14 or 15. My first elk was when I was 23, a spike with an Alpine Siverado bow. Good memories.
LMAO!!! 10 pumps is also what I used when I wanted to get through the tin can in my back yard. Do you feel with all that hunting in your background that other hunts may feel less... Special? I imagine the elk was just a pure rush beginning to end. The first shark I took in from the shore was a huge rush but you don't kill a fight like that you put it back. First catch from Kayak was gaffed and put into the well with no thought to it. One of the things I have been trying to wrap my head around is will releasing the arrow be as "simple" as setting the hook? I know there is little to compare fishing and hunting. I feel like its just one of those things that ill deal with when i get there.
Pheasants and rabbits at about 8. First deer at 13. My dad started deer hunting the same year with me. First deer was a small buck but lost it in a bayou system and never did track it down, spent a lot of hours and learned a lot of lessons. Next was a doe. Been hooked ever since. Every hunter I've ever known has made a bad shot on a deer at some point. It makes ya sick, but you can't let it ruin your drive to hunt. Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk
That’s a good question to consider. I think it was a bird with a BB gun, a loooong time ago. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I think my first actual kill was a squirrel with a 20ga shotgun. I think I was probably 12-13. It didn’t really hit me as to what taking an animals life really was until a year or two later when I **** my first rabbit. I remember walking up on it and it was still alive laying there breathing really hard and fast and making a faint wheezing sound. When I got close enough his eye swiped down and looked right at me. A couple second later he stopped breathing and didn’t move again. For a 14-15 year old that’s never done anything like that before, that was honestly a little traumatizing at the time. But it really stuck with me from then on as to what I was actually doing when hunting. Made me think completely differently about the whole thing. It was a good thing in the long run. I didn’t consider myself a bad kid by any means but sure taught me a lot. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
First bow kill was a doe probably 40 years ago. Shot a truck load of does and small bucks before the first P&Y buck. Experience is the absolute best teacher. Know guys that were holding out for a big buck first, most gave up bowhunting years ago.
My first bow kill was a 7 year old 4 point. My good friend, Bobby, got me interested in bowhunting again and he took me out with him. Buck walked in. I drew back and the buck walked behind a tree. I let down and started to watched him. As I stood there, the aluminum arrow fell off the 2 prong rest and out of the tree, Hitting every limb as it fell. My friend dropped his head. The buck never moved. I grabbed another arrow and made sure it was notched good. He stepped out from behind the tree and I drew. I was shaking so bad I couldn't hold the bow still. Spine shot him at 17 yards. He dropped on the spot. I put another arrow in him. I was So Pumped! I remember it like it was yesterday and that was 15 years ago..
I think having years of hunting experience does make some things a bit more routine, but there are still things that happen every year that are something I won't ever forget. I truly enjoy being out in the woods hunting and always enjoy it, even if I don't have an encounter. I've had multiple experiences with squirrels or chipmunks coming right up to me, and several years ago I even had one squirrel run right over me as if I were just a tree. Made me grin like a fool. Using a "short range weapon" means much more to me than shooting something with a rifle. Anymore I hardly ever use anything except for a bow or an old side lock muzzle loader. It's more challenging since I have to get so much closer, and that makes it more exciting and more rewarding. I do enjoy the meat quite a bit, so towards the end of the season the rifle goes with me to ensure I put at least one deer in the freezer. Here in Idaho you only get one deer tag a year, so it makes me hold out for a nice buck for a while before being willing to tag a doe. I have also found that I can get that "first deer" excitement every single time when I take a kid or new hunter out and help them to get their first deer, turkey does it too. I get so excited you'd think I was 12 again and about to shoot my own first deer or turkey.
I appreciate what you are saying. Someone posted shortly after you about their rabbit experience. I realize releasing the arrow means intent to kill. I suppose there is no real comparison to the two. The point is, there's no consideration to life lost when I put a fish into the bucket or as I am fileting it. it's something I have done 100s of times. I'm confident at this point of may range and accuracy. I guess it'll just be something I experience when I experience it.
squirrels/rabbits, starlings, house sparrows, feral pigions were all game for my Sheridan 5mm/.20 cal. air gun back when I was a kid, then came a .22 and 20 ga. .. .... first deer (button buck) killed was in '87 shooting fingers and a Black Bear compound bow. been killin' deer with a bow ever since, now over 80 taken ....
I think I get your question about what is felt when letting the arrow go a bit better. No matter what I shoot, and whether bow, side lock, shotgun or modern rifle, at the moment of the shot I'm thinking solely about picking a spot and executing a clean shot. With a bow I'm going through my shot mechanics in my head, with a shotgun I'm thinking about my lead, and with a rifle I'm thinking about my breathing and trigger squeeze. Muscle memory / practice kind of takes over. The thoughts about taking an animal's life don't hit me until I first walk up on it when recovering. I always feel a bit of remorse when I first walk up to it. The bit of remorse quickly turns to getting it taken care of. Deer, elk, bear, and coyote are the only things that seem to trigger this feeling, I do not have it with fish, turkey, or game birds. But overall this kind of thing is never a thought during my shot process, it is always when recovering.
Birds with the BB gun was the first for me. Then rabbit, squirrel, goose, duck and then deer. Shot my first deer with a gun. Then few years later got into bow hunting. My first bow deer was a doe. Had a similar experience as sharpeye. Drew back on her and she stop behind tree. Let down and arrow must have came un-nocked. Arrow fell to bottom of tree, lol. Doe looked right at me for a moment. Was able to nock another arrow and make a decent shot. First bow buck was a couple years later. Shot a basket 8. Even seeing a deer in bow range still gets me excited
Like a lot of people here, I got my start killing various small game animals and birds at a young age. I think my first "official" (legal) kill was probably a dove with my dad's old .410 when I was 9 or 10. The first animal I killed with an arrow was a woodchuck in our backyard. Although I had to finish the job with a shovel, which wasn't very pleasant. My first big game animal was a doe when I was 15. Nothing too exciting about the first deer kill. It was an afternoon hunt in early October. A yearling doe came by on her own and I drilled her at 15 yards. She ran off about 30 yards and then stopped and started looking around. I couldn't understand what was happening and thought maybe I had missed her. A couple of seconds later she tipped over and that was that. 25 years and quite a few deer later and I still get worked up every time I let an arrow fly at a critter.
