First hunt

H

Hoplight

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
61   0   0
Location
Calgary ab
Did a search and no dice so.. Tell me about your first hunt ( taking an animal ) I'm no PETA but I've never shot an animal however I've loved guns for most of my life due to my grandfather ( and probably chuck Norris and sly :) ) had some deer jerky the other day and thought to my self it's time !
 
It IS time! Go with someone experienced for the first few times... just to show you the ropes. Then the work begins after the animal is on the ground. What you do after this will make a big difference in terms of the 'value' of the hunt... i.e. whether you want to strike out on your own & continue.

I was blasting squirrels with a pellet gun for years before I graduated to 'real' guns and bigger game; so I don't recall the first kill. But when hunting (big game especially) I like to go with friends. After a while (and I know most will agree) it's not about killing anything. It's about spending time outdoors and with friends....
 
A very good friend started hunting when he was in his twenties. He had no relatives that hunted so he asked others and he made the effort to get out there and took a lot of game over the years. He has passed on now but he was probably the best tracker I have ever met and he taught me a lot. I know most people grow up with hunting but anyone at any age can begin.

My first deer happened in my teen years. There was a janitors strike at the school I attended and we got the day off so we went hunting. A dumb little fork horned mulie walked up on me and boom I had my first big game animal. I was alone and had never field dressed an animal but I figured it out and got it home. A day I'll never forget.

Just get out there and you'll never regret it.
 
My first hunt? I was 10 and my Grandfather and I were walking a trail up a hill through the bush that led to a couple ponds he used to fish for Splake. It was one of his go to grouse trails in season. His little dog was with us and wS running around ahead of us when it suddenly put on a burst of speed 25 yards ahead and flushed a grouse up onto a birch tree branch over hanging the trail. Gramp handed me his Iver Johnson 410 single, explained how to line up the bead with the groove in the rear of the barrel after cocking the hammer and line it all up on the top of the grouse's head. I pulled the trigger and to a 10 year old that 410 going off sounded and felt like a canon and in the middle of all that excitement Mr. Grouse fell from the tree in my sight picture and did that wing flopping death spin on the ground Grouse are famous for while Gramp's little dog jumped all around my first kill in circles even more excited than I was!! That was my introduction to being able to shoot something myself. I had tagged along with Gramp since I was 4 and watched him bust a lot of Grouse but that day I got to take my own. I won't ever forget it!!
 
Last edited:
My first hunt was with my father, Ruffed Grouse hunting. To this day, I've not seen him miss a bird on the fly with his El Faisan double in .410. My first game was a Ruffed Grouse, taken with my first shotgun, a CIL 402 in 28 gauge, walking a logging trail near the house. 20 years have past since then, I'm yet to see another bird in the same spot. One of these years though, I will finally put a bead on the one that perenially scares the hell of of me at the back of the parents property.
 
I've been tagging along with either my Grandfather, or one of my Uncles since I was 4 or 5, my first bird was when we were out walking our bush lot with my Grandpa, we spooked a grouse out to a maple, he hand me his old Savage Model 30, I remember it like it was yesterday. I had shot many time with him so I knew how to aim but I tell you, the first time you're looking down the barrel at something it's completely different. My first shot missed and the grouse flew 20 or so yards to another maple, Gramps told me to take my time, relax and squeeze the trigger when I was ready. Some of the best advice I've ever received. That hunt is particularly special to me as he passed away later that winter.
 
My first hunt?? Hmmm... it would have been circa 1952 on my grandfather's farm in his orchard for partridge with the 410 which when not in use was safely stored loaded behind the kitchen door.... no, now that I think about it was probably with my dad and his friend (whose name I've long forgotten) on a cold November morning in a wooden punt patiently waiting for a flock to land amongst our decoys on the St. Lawrence near Summerstown. Or maybe was it my first white tail hunt at about age 12 with Dad, uncle Bill et al near Mount St. Patrick where all those pictures were taken of the laden game pools. Those thoughts all seem to run together now and I'm just so appreciative of having those experiences.
 
Last edited:
I can't recall the details, but my first game bird would have been a Prairie Chicken with my brand new Model 39. My Dad used to take me out hunting with him. We just drove the little old back roads. His walking days were over, as he had chronic bronchitis. I had "hunted" many hours with my BB gun, but never did get anything edible with it.

As a kid, I loved to tramp around, carrying that 39, and later a 12 ga. Model 84. I still love to do that, 50+ years later. Thanks Dad, for installing in me an appreciation for being comfortable in nature. :)
 
I started hunting about 3 yrs ago, I havent been very lucky though. Until May 2013, I fell upon an outfitter in new brunswick how did Spring black bear hunts for a really decent price so I went for it. I counted down the days for months and finally the day came, I left my house for Moncton Nb. I showed up there around 130pm hooked up with the guide around 2pm and headed into the camp. Got there about 330pm geared up and headed to the stand and was sitting by 4pm. all was quiet until around 630pm when i seen a black dot through the trees but couldnt make out size or ###, and eventually it disappeared. Thought forsure I was busted! so it was all quiet on the front agian...then around 755pm I had a bear sneak up to the bait!!!! heart was pumping!!!! i picked up my TC, placed the cross hairs on the chest..waited for her to swing the leg forward...then BANG!! the 130gr Hornady STT(.270win) went clean on through the right side took out the pumper and exited the left side. she ran about 35-40ft and dropped in plain sight! I was in shock how fast it all happened, being my very first kill!

So, here is just how fast the whole hunt went. I left my house at 10am on a wednesday, got there for 130, in the tree at 4, first bear at 630, second bear at 755..bear down at 8pm. skinned and brought to the taxidermist and back home by 11am thursday. Should be getting my mount back sometime September or October.
 
I don't really recall my first bird or small game animal. I have taken plenty of grouse, squirrels, etc when I was a kid. I do, however, remember plenty of goose and duck hunting with my father and grandfather. They didn't need a retriever, because they had me along. I was always more than happy to run out there and bring back whatever fell out of the sky.

I do remember my first deer season when I was 13. I had always gone out, but this was my first season with the rifle in my hands. I had spent all season out after school and weekends with either my father or grandfather. There were plenty of deer around and I passed up on several bucks that season. I was young and excited and looking for the monster buck. My father and grandfather were both very patient with me, never saying anything if I decided to pass up on a doe or small buck. It came down to the last day of the season, and after a particularly slow day and about 15 minutes of light left, we came across a decent size doe. I decided this was going to be it. I pulled the trigger twice and missed both times. (I later found out I had a broken scope mount and was shooting way off, but that doesn't matter) That season I was taught a little lesson in humility and about hunting itself. It wasn't always about getting the biggest animal out there. The real enjoyment was just being out there, the reason both my father and grandfather sat so quietly and patiently.

The next year I got my buck (not a monster) and have taken many animals since. I have also had years when I did and didn't fill my tags. However, I've never minded since then, because I learned how enjoyable it is just being out. I still hunt with my grandfather and father, but now I have the pleasure of taking my new-to-hunting wife with me and teaching her what I know. Watching her excitement is better than filling my tags any day.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom