How did you become a hunter?

Hi,
I can't really call myself a hunter - I've only gone out less than a dozen times for squirrel and rabbit. And that was a **long** time ago!

I grew up in a very large city, so I adopted my outdoor pursuits myself - I did not have anyone to get me into these things.

My reasons to get into it way back then were pretty simple:
1) If an activity got me into the forest, I was all for it.
2) Since I ate (and still eat) meat, I figured I should have to go out and harvest my own food at least a few times, so I could better appreciate the fact that a creature died for my sustenance. At the time, it felt like an ethical motivation.

It was interesting to read about other people's stories - thanks for opening up the topic!

Cheers,
Neil

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Originally Posted by neilselden

Hi,
I can't really call myself a hunter - I've only gone out less than a dozen times for squirrel and rabbit. And that was a **long** time ago!

I grew up in a very large city, so I adopted my outdoor pursuits myself - I did not have anyone to get me into these things.

My reasons to get into it way back then were pretty simple:
1) If an activity got me into the forest, I was all for it.
2) Since I ate (and still eat) meat, I figured I should have to go out and harvest my own food at least a few times, so I could better appreciate the fact that a creature died for my sustenance. At the time, it felt like an ethical motivation.

It was interesting to read about other people's stories - thanks for opening up the topic!

Cheers,
Neil

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Hi welcome to the forum. I like your reasons for hunting. So many people have lost touch with where their food comes from.

We were vey poor too. Dad hunted to feed us. When I got engaged my family invited my husband's family for dinner. They were rich; his Dad was a Dr. Afterwards, my husband -to-be said, " That was great. What was that meat? " I said, "Squirrel". I thought he was going to throw up. :)

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Originally Posted by Sharon

We were vey poor too. Dad hunted to feed us. When I got engaged my family invited my husband's family for dinner. They were rich; his Dad was a Dr. Afterwards, my husband -to-be said, " That was great. What was that meat? " I said, "Squirrel". I thought he was going to throw up. :)

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LOL thats actually hilarious hahah

i have yet to try squirrel, no one ive hunted with ever hunted them.

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Originally Posted by Sam Menard

Hi welcome to the forum. I like your reasons for hunting. So many people have lost touch with where their food comes from.

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Hi Sam,
I know exactly what you mean. It kinda drives me nuts.

On a Canadian firearms forum, someone was wondering why anyone would give their business to a local store, if you could get the same thing less expensively, from a big box store. To me, it's obvious why - we're better off with lots of small businesses, than with a city full of only chain stores.

Cheers,
Neil

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Originally Posted by Sharon

We were vey poor too. Dad hunted to feed us. When I got engaged my family invited my husband's family for dinner. They were rich; his Dad was a Dr. Afterwards, my husband -to-be said, " That was great. What was that meat? " I said, "Squirrel". I thought he was going to throw up. :)

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Ha! Great story. I have to admit, I was a little squeamish about cleaning and cooking the first couple of squirrels I had hunted. And I was surprised how long the front teeth were, as well as how hard it was to skin - probably due to my ignorance and lack of experience.

After tasting the stew, I was really impressed with the meat's flavor.

Cheers,
Neil

I remember an episode of Duck Dynasty with Miss Kay going on about Squirrle Brains, her favourite dish.

But don't do that:

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His penchant for squirrel meat seems to have inadvertently exposed him to an incredibly rare fatal brain disorder, the first time this disorder was ever contracted in the United States. Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease is a rare brain disorder caused by misfolding brain proteins called prions.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by neilselden

On a Canadian firearms forum, someone was wondering why anyone would give their business to a local store, if you could get the same thing less expensively, from a big box store. To me, it's obvious why - we're better off with lots of small businesses, than with a city full of only chain stores.

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I used to make a point of shopping at the local 'Mom and Pops' places in the area. They slowly died out. Two of my Fav's ; Bennet's in Smiths Falls and Gun Mart in TinCap.. have now both closed permanently.

They couldn't compete with the prices and selection at the the Canadian Tire Hunting Stores close by .

My dad loved fishing and hunting so it might be in the genes ? He built a cottage at Long Point in 1952 because of his love for duck hunting and by the time we (my 5 brothers and I) came along he had his own hunting gang to contend with. Opening Day for ducks was like a second Fathers Day for him ! Boats galore full of war painted faces heading off to our blinds . I remember the CO's checking us and after a few blinds asked "Just how many of you guys are out here ?" , got a good laugh at that one ! For the record I will very soon be 64 years old and have been hunting since ......... ? Not sure ? Maybe 12 years old ? Use to go but not shoot then when I was big enough to handle a gun was allowed to do some shooting, so 12 years is about right. My dad's old Auto-5 was a big gun for a kid so he picked up a single shot CIL 12 gauge Full Choke Widow Maker for us kids to learn with. We called it The Widow Maker because if you didn't shoulder it properly the recoil would darn near kill you ! My first kill was a Ruddy duck on the banks of Big Creek . From that point on I hunted ducks every year and as I got older moved on to Turkeys and deer and even did a few Spring bear hunts up north. Now one of my sons hunt with me and I have 3 grandkids that I hope pick up the passion as Grampa has a pile of equipment for them and some knowledge to share.

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Originally Posted by longpointer

My dad loved fishing and hunting so it might be in the genes ? He built a cottage at Long Point in 1952 because of his love for duck hunting and by the time we (my 5 brothers and I) came along he had his own hunting gang to contend with. Opening Day for ducks was like a second Fathers Day for him ! Boats galore full of war painted faces heading off to our blinds . I remember the CO's checking us and after a few blinds asked "Just how many of you guys are out here ?" , got a good laugh at that one ! For the record I will very soon be 64 years old and have been hunting since ......... ? Not sure ? Maybe 12 years old ? Use to go but not shoot then when I was big enough to handle a gun was allowed to do some shooting, so 12 years is about right. My dad's old Auto-5 was a big gun for a kid so he picked up a single shot CIL 12 gauge Full Choke Widow Maker for us kids to learn with. We called it The Widow Maker because if you didn't shoulder it properly the recoil would darn near kill you ! My first kill was a Ruddy duck on the banks of Big Creek . From that point on I hunted ducks every year and as I got older moved on to Turkeys and deer and even did a few Spring bear hunts up north. Now one of my sons hunt with me and I have 3 grandkids that I hope pick up the passion as Grampa has a pile of equipment for them and some knowledge to share.

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Cool story, lots of history and memories. Thanks for sharing.