Archery hunting = 19 years Firearms = 17 years Wish they had youth programs back when I was a kid! I am a proud young father that loves taking his 5 and 9 year old out with him every chance he gets.
Deer hunting...28 yrs. but only the last 18 yrs or so I would consider deer hunting as an addiction :d . Bow...10 yrs. and wish I had started 10 yrs earlier
44 yrs hunting bow @ gun. Been guiding the last 6 in Illinois but think I'm done with that. Not enough time to hunt for myself and "really" miss it. I've been into tracking dogs for the past 8 yrs. and have over 100 search's with my current dog "Vars". Dan
rifle 13 - 25yrs old = 12yrs bow 25 - 31yrs old = 6yrs 18yrs total dont wanna go back to rifle if i dont have to!
I've been hunting some kind of critter since about 13 years old with a gun, now at 43 years old I still do. I bought my first bow when I was 18 years old and missed a few years hear and there due to being out of the country with work. Been pretty serious about my bow hunting for the last 12 years. Last season I started hunting with a Longbow and its like I started all over again, I got very serious about my archery year round, not just a few months in the fall. This past season I hunted for squirrels, rabbits, pheasants, grouse, turkeys, coyotes and deer. This year I'll add hogs to that list and all with my Longbow.
I've been hunting since I was 12 years old and bowhunting for 6 years. I didn't start until a college roommate took me to a competition shoot. Now I shoot as good or better than him and have more deer to show it. We're quite competitive.
My dad took me out and sat me in a tree w/ him when I was 3 (he says it's only because my mom gave him the ultimatum), that was 35 yrs ago. I shot my first whitetail when I was 13. Archery has provided so many lifelong memories and great friends that I'll always cherish. This sport is the BEST!! 1st compound was a Jennings Arrowstar.
Well, in my first life, I hunted for about 24 years. I killed 8 T rexes, 8 terydactiles and 4 wooly mammoths with a spear. I decided to quit hunting modern and go totally traditional. So I made my own club and practiced my butt off!! Then I went out on my first cave lion hunt with my club. I was 24... and .....:d Well, seriously. I will turn 45 this October. My dad, granpa and the other guys in the family hunted for generations. Dad said he knew when I was real little that I would be hardcore. I went crazy when he brought game home from hunting. I sarted going out with them when I was old enough to do it. For the first few years I was the hunting dog! Then I started carrying a gun whenI was ready. Then I shot a bow and it was all over for me. When I was in high school, I was and athlete, so of course Football ( the greatest team sport in the world!!) and wrestling were during hunting season so I didn't get to hunt much then. I went to college for 2 years, and then after that I became a bowhunting attic. My second deer last year made deer #30 for me last year. Every single one with a bow. I have never hunted deer with a gun, just bow. It is funny, 2 years ago I had my 2nd heart attack. ( my first one was when I was 26 yrs old, on June 26th, 1990 and my second was when I was 42, on, yep June 26th!). It was a real bad one and I had to be life flighted. My cardiologist is a little Indian guy, and incredible doctor. After it was all over, he wasin my room talking to my wife and I. He told me another 10 minutes I would have been gone. I asked him about restriction, and he said that I can do anything physically that I did before. I said, Thanks the Lord, I was afraid you would tell me no more bow hunting. He said " What is bowhunt. What does it mean?" So I explained what it was. He honestly had no idea. Anyhow, he said that befor he put the 3rd stent in, I was so out of it from the pain, and that I yelled Please God, let me bowhunt!! My wife said, well, that is my husband for sure. He is laying there on the verge of death, and he is worried about hunting!! So that tells you how much it means to me!!:d
Shotgun for phesents and other birds = 2 years rifle for deer = 2 years archery = going to be my first year.
I bowhunted for 6 years (12-18) before taking 7 years off, and have been back at it for the last 5 years.
Purchased my first Archery Deer tag and taged my first buck in 67, so 42 years minus a few here and there for Uncle Sam.
WOW! There are some very experienced people on this site... it's great to see. I am 36 years old now... started hunting with my dad as soon as I was able to competently shoot a .22 (I think I was 5 or 6). Shot my first deer with a rifle when I was 10, first moose with a rifle when I was 12. Got into bowhunting when I was 20 and this will be my 14th season without hunting with a firearm. Although I still love to shoot them at the range. I was lucky enough to be able to bowhunt with some experienced guys while going through my first few years. In my opinion this helped me learn exponentially faster than doing it on my own like they did. I have a lot of admiration for guys with 20+ years of bowhunting under their belt. They've probably forgotten more than I know about bowhunting.
This will be my 25th season of hunting and wow, how time flies. I started bowhunting after getting a bow for Christmas. We really thought we were good hitting balloons on a hay bail about 15 yards away. Hunting - 25 years Bowhunting - 24 years
I've been hunting for 36 years, bowhunting for 32. Started bowhunting just to spend more time in the woods.
