What is your Favorite Hunting Memory?

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 11:45:33 -0400

Okay so let's hear some of your favorite memories of hunting. I have developed a couple since I started hurting when I was 9 but one of my favorites was when I was 15. It was shot gun season and I decided I was going to use my muzzle loader. So the night before opening morning I collected it from dad's safe and gave it a good and thorough cleaning. Opening morning dad my brother and me all awoke at 0 dark thirty and went to the woods. Me and my younger brother sat together in the same deer blind and dad had moved on down a ways. Just a little after sun up we see this great big old 16 point buck and he's walking straight at the blind. I looked at my brother and told him he could have the first shot. He In turn told me to take the first shot so we start an argument trying to get the other one to shoot first all while this buck is about 20 feet from the blind just standing there broad side. I finally agreed to shoot first. I pulled up aiming perfectly where the hart should be at and pulled the trigger and all you hear is a loud kash.... The deer jumps and my little brother starts popping 410 rounds of at him he got away. After all the excitement my brother looked at me and said what happened and all I could say was I'm a dummy I forgot to shoot a couple caps through when I cleaned the gun last night. ... Needless to say I haven't made that mistake again and I did end up with 2 does that year.

Response by CSM Charles Hayden made Jul 10 at 2015 11:48 AM

CSM Charles Hayden — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 11:48:09 -0400

My Uncle John was showing 12 year old me w/ my 410 how to find to shoot rabbits in OH. He got so carried away that he forgot to let me kick any bush and shoot at a rabbit!

Response by MSgt David Haupt made Jul 10 at 2015 12:19 PM

MSgt David Haupt — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 12:19:17 -0400

So there I was with some buddies hunting goose. It was one guys first time ever hunting. So we explained how to hunt and shoot geese. So there we were, in a boat blind and calling in geese. Here they come FIR!. We unload and a few geese drop. All of a sudden my buddy jumps up and runs after one he thinks he shot. He leaves his gun in the boat and all of a sudden the goose gets up and attacks my buddy. I could not do anything but sit there and laugh and yes wet myself. Another buddy runs up and blast the goose. We told him not to run after the geese until we make sure they were dead AND never leave your gun behind. Needless to say the goose got the best of him.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jul 10 at 2015 1:08 PM

PO1 John Miller — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 13:08:46 -0400

First year my dad took me hunting I was sitting in the blind with his hunting buddy's son when a big doe appeared no more than 15 feet from us sniffing at the corn pile (dad had a doe permit that year so the unofficial policy was whoever got a chance take a shot at a doe and put it on his tag). I got super excited, slapped my friend on the shoulder while yelling "deer, deer, deer, deer!!!" Of course she heard me and ran away.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jul 10 at 2015 1:11 PM

PO1 John Miller — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 13:11:05 -0400

The next year my dad had another doe permit and there I was sitting in the blind by myself when I hear a twig snap behind me. Slowly I turn and there's a doe sniffing at something. I kept my cool and aimed my 30/30 at her and was about to take a shot when two fawns ran up to her. "I can't shoot Bambi's mom!!!" so I yelled to scare them off. Needless to say dad was pissed when I told him.

Response by CPT Pedro Meza made Jul 10 at 2015 2:22 PM

CPT Pedro Meza — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 14:22:43 -0400

Not Hunting with VP Dick Cheney is my favorite hunting memory.

Response by SFC Jeff L. made Jul 10 at 2015 3:19 PM

SFC Jeff L. — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 15:19:31 -0400

I took one of my sons out deer hunting a couple of years ago for his first time. He was 14, but couldn't sit still for anything. That and kept *whispering* "Dad! I hear something right over there!" I told him his new name was going to be "Russel" because he made more noise than a pack of squirrels in a pile of dry leaves.

Response by 1LT David Moeglein made Jul 10 at 2015 8:02 PM

1LT David Moeglein — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 20:02:31 -0400

Duck hunting in Northway, Alaska with Dad, Mom, brothers, Joe & Mark and our dog Missy. Duck never tasted so good as it did with a wonderful cream sauce, as we ate around a fire with temperatures below freezing. Missy was a Chesapeake Bay Retriever with a short nose. She broke ice as she went out to retrieve birds in the early morning. Later she retrieved a double, holding a still live bird in her mouth, while pushing the other with her nose back to the blind. She loved retrieving. When my Dad shot at a double and missed, Missy began barking at him.

Response by PO1 Glenn Boucher made Jul 10 at 2015 9:05 PM

PO1 Glenn Boucher — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 21:05:12 -0400

When I got my first deer at 14 years old. We were hunting on my uncle's farm near Richmond, MI. We were walking slowly through the brush and I was trying to be extra quiet since it was my first time to really hunt with a gun, I had been on the trips before but never carrying a gun. I saw a small buck, 4 points and whipped my 410 shot gun up and fired, it hit the deer but not a kill shot. My uncle said lets go and follow the blood trail, we followed it for maybe 2 miles and then half in and half out the creek was the deer I had shot. My uncle and dad both said to finish it and not let it suffer anymore. I went to raise my gun and they said no, use the knife, cut the throat. It was the coolest and the most insanely gross thing I had ever done in my life. But lesson learned, don't over react and keep your cool.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 12 at 2015 11:17 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 12 Jul 2015 23:17:43 -0400

Seeing my first deer during a hunt at 20 yards and being so mesmerized by it that I didn't even shoot at it.

Response by SSG Donald Mceuen made Jul 13 at 2015 7:59 AM

SSG Donald Mceuen — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 07:59:17 -0400

My first pheasent hunt every time they came up they scared the shit out of me.

Response by SPC David Wyckoff made Jul 14 at 2015 9:35 AM

SPC David Wyckoff — Tue, 14 Jul 2015 09:35:19 -0400

I was 8 and it was my first year officially moose hunting with my Pop. Normally, I was a pack mule and ammo bearer. (This would serve me well later in the military as a PIG ag).
I had studied the regs, I had cleaned the rifle that my Gramps loaned me (a 9mm German Mauser), I had barely slept a wink all night with half dreams of bringing down the granddaddy of all moose. I was about as prepared as an 8 year old could be. I had left nothing to chance.

Morning came and we left the camp and started walking and looking. We spent most of the morning walking and looking. Finally we found a low swampy spot and set up to wait. I knew that the minimum rack limit was 36" in our hunting area, so when a moose finally stepped into the swamp bottom clearing I just knew that this was the one. We were havin moose liver and onions tonight for supper.
Pop watched the moose through his binos for what seemed like forever and finally he whispered it was time to go. I was incredulous. I simply refused to believe that we were leaving this massive beast for someone else to take and I said as much. He got a small sideways grin and said, "No, it's a cow, not a bull".
Handing me the binos and he waited patiently while I desperately searched the moose, trying to prove him wrong. Finally, I whispered, "it can't be a cow, Dad. It has horns!!"
He took the binos back from me shaking his head and looked one more time, probably just to humor me. "No, son. It's a cow. No horns on that one."
Still determined not to let my trophy go, I whispered through gritted teeth, "It does have horns. I just him flick one of them."
Of course now I know that those were ears. But as an 8 year old with buck fever and an overwhelming urge to show my Pop I was a salty edged hunter, those were the biggest, furriest, moving horns I had ever seen.
He still reminds me about that. We have a good laugh and a cold drink.

Response by CW3 Jim Norris made Nov 20 at 2015 4:23 PM

CW3 Jim Norris — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 16:23:49 -0500

Mine happened when I was out duck huniting as a young boy, we where walking to the duck hide and a pheasant flushed in front of me and I shot it. My dad told me that I better get out some string and start sewing 'webs' on that 'ducks' feet in case the game warden showed up....we both laughed about that until he died....every time he told the story....it was a bit embarrassing to me, one that I had a loaded gun walking to the blind and two that it was a hen pheasant :-)

Response by SSG Paul Forel made Nov 23 at 2015 6:27 PM

SSG Paul Forel — Mon, 23 Nov 2015 18:27:46 -0500

Went duck/goose hunting for the first time up at Tulelake and I shot what we thought was a snow goose.

Turned out to be a swan.

$250.00

I can only imagine how much more the fine would have been if the game warden had actually seen me shoot it with my government model and not my 870.

The ducks and geese were flying so high that day that although the pellets would hit them, it made no difference except to cause them to pull pitch and fly a little higher.

Finally, in disgust, after wasting so much ammunition, I pulled out and snap shot at one with my .45 acp and to my surprise, hit one.

We went back there two more years and the guys at the store where they clean and ship home birds for those who do not want to hand carry their game back were still remarking on "...that idiot from L.A. who shot a swan".

Would have been slightly more amusing if it had not cost me that $250.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 6 at 2015 1:16 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 13:16:02 -0500

Mine was taking my son out goose hunting. He had to take a little nap before they started flying, did not even shooting anything that day but it was special to me that he was out there with me.