Zeb_Carter
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- Joined
- Jun 15, 2006
- Posts
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This was brought up in another thread and instead of posting this there I though a new thread was in order.
So, when did you first acquirer your hunting skills? Fishing skills?
I was 10 when I first learned to fire a rifle. A .22 caliber bolt-action smooth bore using birdshot rounds to knock clay pigeons out of the air. Shot everyone that was thrown, even the ones that broke into pieces. That was the first time I had ever done anything like that.
That next fall my uncle took my cousin and I duck hunting. My cousin, being all of four months older than me, was given my uncles 20gauge to shoot. I was given his 410. He used his 12gauge. For a 10 year old that 410 had a kick, my shoulder was sore for a week. However, I did shoot my limit. That was also when I found out that I didn't like duck. It will do in a pinch, but I prefer pheasant to duck. That was the next weekend though.
My uncle was a hunting enthusiast and had quite a gun collection. That weekend we went pheasant hunting I was given the 20gauge. My cousin was a bit peeved, as she had to use the 410. Again, I bagged my quota and the next night we had roast pheasant. Mmmm. Oh yes, I did have to gut and clean what I shot.
Over the years, my uncle, sometimes accompanied by my grandfather, took me pheasant hunting with him each time he went. Sometime it was just him, my cousin and me. Other times there was a whole group of people. Each time was fun and I always bagged my limit.
One day my uncle took me to a rifle range way out in the boondocks. He pulled a gun case out of his trunk and we went in to get a lane on the range. Once set up he pulled out Winchester 30-06 bolt action with a 10 power scope attached. He handed it to me and told me to hit the target down range as many times as I could. I loaded it up and looking through the scope lined the crosshairs on the bull's-eye of the target in our lane.
Being inexperienced, I never asked at what range the scope was zeroed for, I just shot. My first round hit the target low in the white. Adjusting my aim, my next round was one ring high of the bull. On my third shot, I hit the bull, dead center. Every shot after that was in the bull. Targets were changed many times all had the bull's-eye shot out. Eventually we ran out of ammo.
The next fall my uncle took me deer hunting in Southern Illinois. I bagged my first buck, on the run. The buck, not me. That was the fall I found I liked venison. After that fall there were numerous hunting trips with my uncle. My cousin had stopped hunting food game for a different kind of game. I too was also hunting that form of game, but those trips with my uncle were great. When my aunt gave birth to a boy, the hunting trips stopped until my baby cousin was old enough to learn how to use a rifle. When he turned 10 we went duck hunting. He had a blast as did the rest of us. It was soon after his 12th birthday he was diagnosed with MD.
The hunting trips stopped. My uncle put all his efforts into fund raising for MDA. I to participated to help find a cure for my cousin. I spent extra time with him as his condition slowly degraded. I took him for many a ride…he liked the car I had then. It was a '70 Plymouth Road Runner. He really loved for me to bang the gears. I did get quite a few tickets doing things I shouldn't have when he was in the car. I knew he didn't have much time to enjoy his life so I tried to do my part to give him joy whenever I could.
He died at age 14. My aunt, uncle and his sister were devastated even though they all knew it was inevitable. I was very sad. Not only had I lost a cousin and friend, my uncle was never the same after that. The hunting trips stopped. Once in a great while my grandfather talked him into a fishing trip with my dad and the rest of the family.
That's when I learned how to hunt, fish and basically survive in the wilderness. Being a boy scout didn't hurt. Also serving in the military boosted those skills, skills I still remember to this day.
So, when did you first acquirer your hunting skills? Fishing skills?
So, when did you first acquirer your hunting skills? Fishing skills?
I was 10 when I first learned to fire a rifle. A .22 caliber bolt-action smooth bore using birdshot rounds to knock clay pigeons out of the air. Shot everyone that was thrown, even the ones that broke into pieces. That was the first time I had ever done anything like that.
That next fall my uncle took my cousin and I duck hunting. My cousin, being all of four months older than me, was given my uncles 20gauge to shoot. I was given his 410. He used his 12gauge. For a 10 year old that 410 had a kick, my shoulder was sore for a week. However, I did shoot my limit. That was also when I found out that I didn't like duck. It will do in a pinch, but I prefer pheasant to duck. That was the next weekend though.
My uncle was a hunting enthusiast and had quite a gun collection. That weekend we went pheasant hunting I was given the 20gauge. My cousin was a bit peeved, as she had to use the 410. Again, I bagged my quota and the next night we had roast pheasant. Mmmm. Oh yes, I did have to gut and clean what I shot.
Over the years, my uncle, sometimes accompanied by my grandfather, took me pheasant hunting with him each time he went. Sometime it was just him, my cousin and me. Other times there was a whole group of people. Each time was fun and I always bagged my limit.
One day my uncle took me to a rifle range way out in the boondocks. He pulled a gun case out of his trunk and we went in to get a lane on the range. Once set up he pulled out Winchester 30-06 bolt action with a 10 power scope attached. He handed it to me and told me to hit the target down range as many times as I could. I loaded it up and looking through the scope lined the crosshairs on the bull's-eye of the target in our lane.
Being inexperienced, I never asked at what range the scope was zeroed for, I just shot. My first round hit the target low in the white. Adjusting my aim, my next round was one ring high of the bull. On my third shot, I hit the bull, dead center. Every shot after that was in the bull. Targets were changed many times all had the bull's-eye shot out. Eventually we ran out of ammo.
The next fall my uncle took me deer hunting in Southern Illinois. I bagged my first buck, on the run. The buck, not me. That was the fall I found I liked venison. After that fall there were numerous hunting trips with my uncle. My cousin had stopped hunting food game for a different kind of game. I too was also hunting that form of game, but those trips with my uncle were great. When my aunt gave birth to a boy, the hunting trips stopped until my baby cousin was old enough to learn how to use a rifle. When he turned 10 we went duck hunting. He had a blast as did the rest of us. It was soon after his 12th birthday he was diagnosed with MD.
The hunting trips stopped. My uncle put all his efforts into fund raising for MDA. I to participated to help find a cure for my cousin. I spent extra time with him as his condition slowly degraded. I took him for many a ride…he liked the car I had then. It was a '70 Plymouth Road Runner. He really loved for me to bang the gears. I did get quite a few tickets doing things I shouldn't have when he was in the car. I knew he didn't have much time to enjoy his life so I tried to do my part to give him joy whenever I could.
He died at age 14. My aunt, uncle and his sister were devastated even though they all knew it was inevitable. I was very sad. Not only had I lost a cousin and friend, my uncle was never the same after that. The hunting trips stopped. Once in a great while my grandfather talked him into a fishing trip with my dad and the rest of the family.
That's when I learned how to hunt, fish and basically survive in the wilderness. Being a boy scout didn't hurt. Also serving in the military boosted those skills, skills I still remember to this day.
So, when did you first acquirer your hunting skills? Fishing skills?
