How long have you been "hunting"?

[Amos Keeto]

"... No one batted a eye seeing us riding bikes with our 22 when we got a little older. ..."

We (the family) lived in town until 1957. Before 2nd grade, we moved outside the city limits. My best friend moved in the next summer.
Bikes were good for running up and down our oil top road, but not good for transporting us to huntable territory.
He and I were blessed with parents who willingly took us hunting. His dad lost a friend in a hunting accident. It wasn't until we were grown that we got to go hunting together.

 

[akcabin]

I'll just write all my life as far as I can remember. Back in the 60s, when mom would holler " GET OUT OF THE HOUSE ! " Could find myself out hunting fishing wandering around in the woods any time of the year.
I enjoy getting out so much when the opportunity to stake land land n build a log cabin so we, me, could hang in the bush happened we went for it. Really feel blessed. Especially now that I'm oller

 

[5MilesBack]

I'm 60, grew up on a farm. My parents used to say that when I was still just crawling, I would be all over our property chasing down bugs and spiders and stuff to squash. Then I got a BB gun when I was 7, and that was all she wrote for the critters. I went through cases of BB's. Then got a pellet rifle, later a .22LR, and also used my dad's 12ga quite a bit. Back then the minimum hunting age for big game was 15. The year I turned 15 (1980) I bought a 30-06 and started deer and elk hunting with my best friend who was a year older. The next year I bought a bow, but didn't start actively bowhunting big game until years later. It's been a great ride for sure.

 

[Amos Keeto]

I'm 60, grew up on a farm. My parents used to say that when I was still just crawling, I would be all over our property chasing down bugs and spiders and stuff to squash. Then I got a BB gun when I was 7, and that was all she wrote for the critters. I went through cases of BB's. Then got a pellet rifle, later a .22LR, and also used my dad's 12ga quite a bit. Back then the minimum hunting age for big game was 15. The year I turned 15 (1980) I bought a 30-06 and started deer and elk hunting with my best friend who was a year older. The next year I bought a bow, but didn't start actively bowhunting big game until years later. It's been a great ride for sure.

Curious?
After the GCA '68, a 15 year old could not have bought a rifle....legally!
I know lot's of kids who earned the money, then had a parent or family member purchase the gun for them.
I commend you on your perseverance. It takes a deep desire for a youngster to dedicate themselves to such an endeavor.
Good on you!

 

[Las543]

50 years so far (I am 54 now).
At 4, my Dad would take me dove hunting with his buddies. I still remember sitting in a ditch with him and helping retrieve downed birds and chasing the floppers.
When I was 5, Dad got me a BB gun. I was the lizard slayer, and any dove that wasn't dead when my Dad or his friends would shoot would get an extra BB.
At 7, I got to use the single shot .22 for rabbits and squirrels.
At 10, I started with archery and a .410 single shot for my own dove and quail shooting.
Took my first big game at 14, an archery turkey. Also upgraded to a 20ga Mossberg 500 for Christmas (still have it) and a got to start using a hand-me-down .30-06 for deer hunting.
At 18, I bought my own first big game rifle. An Interarms Mark X in .270 Win and a Rem 870 Express Magnum 12ga (still have it).

Since then, I have hunted, or assisted others every year.

My two girls started younger than I did. Paige (my older daughter) was about 3, and Taylor (my younger daughter) went on her first big game hunt when she was just 3 1/2 months old. I knew she was going to be a hunter when Paige and I got back to the trailer for lunch on opening day of deer season, and my wife told me Taylor was crying, and called in a couple coyotes.

 

[MNGrouser]

I don't remember exactly when dad started toting me along on hunting trips. I know I was little! Back then Wisconsin didn't have all the youth and early hunts so I had to wait until I was 12 and passed hunter's safety to actively participate and carry a gun.

I actually stumped the DNR for a while there. There was no age limit on trapping (pre-trapper's education classes). At 10 dad let me borrow some of his traps and run a small trapline behind the house. We wanted to keep me legal and buy a trappers license. But you couldn't have a trapping license without a hunting license, couldn't have a hunting license without hunter's safety, couldn't take hunter's safety until the year you turned 12, but there was no age limit on trapping. (Is it any wonder I became an attorney) We asked the game warden and came to an understanding. "Go ahead and trap, follow all the other laws, I won't write you a ticket."

I turn 47 on Saturday and will be in Montana hunting mule deer with my dad & brother.

 

[Rich M]

51 years hunting with dad and a gun in my hands

We just got a buck this past Saturday - he was happy to be there.

 

[Gobihawk]

I started hunting sparrows at age 8 with a Daisy BB Gun. I removed the spring and replaced it with a spring from a Parker Pen. I could shoot farther than the neighbor kids. Still trying to make guns shoot farther and hunting at 71 years young.

 

[deer310sg]

41st season of bowhunting. Started at 18 yrs of age.

 

[S-3 ranch]

50 years of deer and bird hunting now with a rifle and shotgun ( I am 58 going on 59)
Can’t remember when I got a BB gun ( but they were lots better and stronger than nowadays)

 

[mike.adams.467]

My first hunt (where I packed a weapon) was in 1968. I shot a squirrel and thought I was a real killer. I will say 57 years hunting, 52 years bowhunting. I started fishing long before I ever hunted.

 

[Britt-dog]

33 or 34 years can’t remember exactly. Didn’t start till I was 19 or 20

 

[Pony Soldier]

Elk and deer - 60 years. Birds - 64.

 

[buffybr]

My Dad and Granddads didn't hunt, but they fished, so I grew up trout fishing in the Colorado Rockies. My Dad also gave me a BB gun and a single shot .22 when I was young, so I learned to shoot and liked it.

It wasn't until my second year of college in 1965 that one of my college roommates who was from Craig, Colorado, invited me to go deer hunting with him. He loaned me a Win .32 Special and I shot my first deer, a spike buck. We ate venison that winter, and I proudly hung those spike antlers on my college bedroom wall.

The next year I again went hunting with that roommate, and with a borrowed
30-40 Krag rifle, I shot my first elk, a 5x5 bull. I was then hooked on hunting.

The next summer I ordered a semi-inleted stock and a .30-06 barreled action from Herter's and put together my first centerfire rifle,

After a stint in the US Army and Vietnam, I moved to Montana in 1975, and my hunting opportunities skyrocketed. I bought 2 horses that really helped me to get into and pack my animals out of the wilderness backcountry. For the next 20 some years I got my deer and elk just about every year, along with black bears, pronghorn antelope, 2 Shiras bull moose, 3 Bighorn rams and a Mountain goat, all on DIY hunts, and most on solo hunts.

With my increased hunting successes, I began to have my best or unusual animals mounted, and by 1988 my living room was full of mounts, so I built a 2000 sf addition with a 1000 sf Trophy Room onto my house

In 1999 I made my first guided hunt to the MacKenzie Mountains in Canada's Northwest Territory and shot a Dall ram, a Mountain caribou, and a Wolverine.

In 2000 I went on my first of 6 African hunts, and I have since gone on hunts in New Zealand, Azerbaijan, and multiple hunts in Canada and Alaska.

I'm now running out of room with 80 mounts in my home and several more at my taxidermist's waiting to be mounted.

 

[judders87]

This is my 10th year. Started when I was 29 when a friend asked me if I wanted to try deer hunting out. Now I participate in almost every season offered in the state and go out west once a year which this being my 6th. I've taken it way beyond hunting by taking over some family land and restoring it for wildlife purposes, volunteering for stewardship projects in Indiana, and promoting the ethos of responsible wildlife resource management. It has kept my wallet lighter but I'm rich in experiences.

 

[patagonialuke]

Only started 2 years ago, at age 27.

Didn't grow up with anyone who hunted, but after college, I met a few folks who did, and I'm extremely glad that I finally committed to giving it a go myself.

I've tried to make up for lost time by taking full advantage of my local opportunities, logging 40+ days during two archery seasons, a dozen or so joining friends during rifle seasons, and a dozen or so more chasing grouse and ducks. Plus countless hours scouring sites like this to learn everything I can from more experienced folks.

Trying to figure everything out on my own has been equal parts exciting, frustrating, and rewarding; definitely hooked for life and looking forward to many more seasons of learning in my future.

 

[Chrisamx]

53 years for me. Started in PA, now CA, points in WY (8) so that's coming soon!

 

[Amos Keeto]

"... Trying to figure everything out on my own has been equal parts exciting, frustrating, and rewarding; definitely hooked for life and looking forward to many more seasons of learning in my future. ..."

I didn't see them on your list of "critters", but if you want a prey that takes "exciting, frustrating and rewarding" to an unbelievable level, add turkeys to your list!
I was 50 years old before I ever tackled turkey hunting. First 2 or 3 were just blind, dumb luck! A move to Oklahoma and the next 3 or 4 were, again, blind, dumb luck.
BUT.....it got me hooked!
That's when it dawned on me just what I had gotten into!
TURKEYS ARE INSANE!!!!
They will have your stomping your feet and pulling your hair out and begging to go again!

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

I never hunted turkey until I retired and moved to Colorado. They are the most frustrating birds I have hunted and I have hunted almost all upland game and waterfowl.
The majority of the turkeys here are on private land so myself and a neighbor hunted on public ground. The turkeys here are gypsies and move around during the year depending on feed and weather. We looked for roost trees which entailed lots of walking. When we found one, we waited until dark to see if they were using it. We also looked for fresh tracks in the mud around small cattle tanks. I shot a few. but pretty much leave them alone here.
Texas is where I have killed the most turkeys. Fun, but not much work except climbing the ladder getting into the tree blind. Shot lots on a friends property there. He passed away recently, so thats over with. I used to shoot them and pigs from a tree blind with an automated corn feeder located nearby. Not the kind of hunting I am used too!!LOL

I know this question was not directed to me, but I just had to tell my story.

 

[Stonehenge]

Started hunting a little late, at age 22. My family didn’t hunt and I was introduced by a friend. This will be my 19th season.