When was your FIRST Hunting Season?
 

I recall my FIRST hunting season in 1958 in Chester County, PA. My hunting license cost $3.20 and my first shotgun was a Winchester Model 37, 16 Gauge, single barrel hammer shotgun. My shells cost $2.95 for a box of Winchester #5 loads. I did well my first hunting season trailing behind my loyal Beagle, Whitey. The 16 gauge was borrowed and it is now lost to me.

Last year I found a 20 gauge single barrel Iver Johnson shotgun in mint condition. Tomorrow is the opening day for squirrel and grouse here in Tioga County. My loyal hound, Lori, is half German Shepherd and half Yellow Lab. We will go afield at sunup tomorrow, the single barrel 20 gauge, me and Lori. Yes, I have repeater shotguns, but I did not have them in 1958, so I will "Go back in time" with loyal hound.

Who else has a history of hunting seasons long ago and far away?

Adam

My first season would have been 1986 I think when I was 16. I went after mule deer in the mountains of BC. Took a fawn that year as my first deer. I never did get a chance to get another deer until 1996 when I moved to SK. I think I have taken an average of one deer a year since then.

Adam
 

I also stared hunting in 1958 and used a 12 gauge single barrel shotgun Springfield Model 94C. As I recall, the hunting license cost $3.15. All the best...
Gil

WOW! Great thread! Brought back a flood of memories!

My first hunt was in 1975.....I was 14 (minimum age to hunt deer here in MI at that time) and a freshman in High School. I had been bugging my folks to let me have a .22; my dad didn't hunt, and my mom didn't want me to have one, saying there was no place in the 'city' (we lived in suburbia) to shoot it. I wanted a Remington Nylon 66, and I did EVERYTHING I could to prove to my parents that I was a responsible kid.....course, every now and then I would do something they disapproved of, and the scale would tip back to zero!:( I worked at odd jobs and saved my money....I didn't want them to buy the rifle for me, I just wanted their permission to get it...I would buy it myself!
I took hunter safety that year (which was a bit of a surprise that they even let me take that), and then one day a couple weeks before season, my dad called me into the kitchen and asked me if I were to get a shotgun, what would I get...a single shot or a pump? I thought the question kind of odd, but I told him I would opt for the pump. The following weekend we went gun shopping at the local Kmart, and I came home with a deer license (cost me $7.50) and a Mossberg M500 pump shotgun. I didn't have enough cash for the pump, but my folks spotted me what I needed and I paid them back. I went on my first deer hunt a few weeks later, and while I didn't get a deer, I do remember the big doe that just materialized out of thin air while I sat on that stump....Oh, how I tried to put antlers on her. I watched her for a while and then she spooked and trotted off. Two members of our hunting party got deer that year; a three point and a five point.
Now, the kicker: What I didn't know was that my dad had gone out and bought the .22 that I had wanted and was going to surprise me with it.....until he found out (from my grandfather) that .22 are illegal to hunt deer with in MI. So I ended up with that as a Christmas present that year!:D

Sadly; my dad passed away suddenly two years later.....but I will always remember getting those firearms as a 'right of passage". I still have both the Mossberg and the Nylon 66, although the Mossberg has been modified a bit (the original barrel length was 30" and full choked; I had it cut back to 27" and had a polychoke put on). Maybe I'll have to take that old Mossberg out and take it duck hunting this fall......it hasn't been on a hunting trip in a while.
I didn't bag my first deer until 10 years later; got a little 5 point with my Winchester .30/30.

Adam, it's too bad you don't still have that model 37; they are commanding some high prices for a single shot shotgun, and I would imagine that a 16 gauge chambering might be a bit rarer and worth a little more.
BTW: I almost died from a ruptured appendix in 1976; a friend gave me a Gun Digest from 1975 to while away the time while I was in the hospital...funny, but I was going through it a couple of weeks ago (it had an article on antelope hunting), and here are some of the prices listed in the back: Winchester M94 in .30/30--$122
Colt 1911 Gold Cup in .45ACP--$256
S&W M29--$235
Winchester M70--$235
Colt AR15 Sporter--$297
Remington 1100--$219
Ithica M37--$169.95

Adam, your Winchester M37 cost a whopping $59.95, and Gil, your Savage 94 cost $49.90!
My, how the times are a-changin':cool:

Interesting post
 

I managed to find two Winchester Model 37 single barrel shotguns in 16 gauge a few years ago. One cost me $59.00 and the other was $125.00. I found a Savage Model 94 in 12 gauge that set me back $75.00. All the best...
Gil

1958.. i got to use a model 12 but it was a bit much for me to carry.. I was only 9.. 2nd time out my father bought me a Win 37 at the hardware store it was a 410 and I literally shot about everything you could imagine with that little gun...including my first Canada goose. I eventually got my fathers M-12 which is a first year 12 ga..I still have it and can tell you it has had at least 1/4 million shells through it. my first hunting license cost 1.25 for a county wide license. Shells for that little Win 37 cost 10 cents each and you could buy 'em by the piece..at that same hardware store...oh and I only bought Winchester ammo(usually 3 inch 5s) for that 37 LOL. My poor mother had to eat rabbit and skwerl wayyy too much and an occasional duck which she loved

I wish I could remember the first hunting license but that was too long ago. My grandfather taught me to shoot pheasants with a LC Smith hammer SXS in 12 gauge. That was in 1950. I still have it. It is a twist barrel gun that is very clean and I am going to load some black powder shells and shoot a couple sage grouse with it. I want to restore it and teach my 40 year old son about it so he might enjy it when I am gone.

Got my first license in 1960 when i turned 14. Bought a Westernfield 12 ga. pump. Spent a lot of time with Dad hunting grouse just outside of a little town called Ceres. Think it is in NY. Where we hunted was. Two years later we moved to Lockport, NY. Dad bought a house out in the country. Everything around there was posted. Dad said he wasn't going to kiss butt to hunt there. He never hunted again. I was old enough to hunt alone by then and got permission to hunt most of the land around there. My grandfather bought me a beagle. That was in the days of lots of pheasants. The dog didn't know what a rabbit was but he sure was good on pheasants. No problem to go out in the morning and shoot my limit. Sorry for being so long winded but that brought back lots of memories. Do to health reasons i no longer hunt. Sure do miss it though.

Sorry you can't hunt like ya used to but maybe able to get to a gun club to still enjoy a bit of shootin??

Squirrel hunt,1955 with my Grandfather's 32 single shot rolling block rifle.Grandma's squirrel stew was the end result. UMMMMMMMMMMMMM good eatin!!

I didn't start hunting till I was much older, but I do remember back in the 60s and early 70s when my dad hunted pheasnt's with his old 20 ga Mossburg which I now have. I'm going to have pull her out of retirement one of these days.

Not sure but it had to be in the late 50's. /Been doing it every year except when I was in the service. I have a lot of memories of my father taking me.

I started hunting in 89 or 90. Before that "big game" was birds and chipmunks with an air rifle (one crow sat long enough for me to take him down - that was a big day). My early hunting career was a little unorthodox: I shot a deer before I ever got a rabbit or squirrel. Being in the midwest with a high population, we were limited to slug guns and muzzleloaders with a handful of pistol rounds being legal at the time as well (only 5 I believe). 1st deer was taken with a smoothbore 16g slug gun. I've been really blessed to take quite a few deer since then, along with a few turkeys and a bunch of small game.

gd

As a kid I wasn't allowed a firearm...barely able to talk the folks into letting me have a knife 'cause of scouts...I bought a wrist rocket sling shot on the sly at 16...saw my first buck that fall...real nice 14ptr. I drew back when I saw him...and I remember thinking to myself..."what'r you gonna do now?" It musta figured I'd seen enough and turned back up out the creek on the far side and dissapeared into the mountain laurel.

Years later....maybe '89, an old highschool buddy asked me if I'd like to join him and his cousins...he'd lend me a rifle.

I remember sitting in that old rotting 2x4 wood stand maybe 12' off the ground...in a wet creek bed...drizzling rain and cold....all day. I was told to look to the west...hell I even smoked back then. Long about 2pm....smoke drifting behind me I causually turn to my right and saw a huge 8ptr...biggest deer I've seen to date. Problem was that buck saw me when I saw him...he'd been walking in the open on those wet leaves maybe 40yds up outa the creek bed...as I was turning to draw a beed...he stepped it up. I knew I had a chance when he stalled at the fence and I waited for him to fill my front sight.

I missed.....clean...made me sick...still remember watching him go over the side of the hill in that prancing stifflegged gate...white tail wagging a cya later...side to side after every other step.

I knew my mistake after that....never take for granted the accuracy of your fire arms without practice. That old 30-.30 was hard sighted in for a lefty....and I shoot right handed.

I was hooked though.

Great post by the way. As stated, sure does bring back fond memories. Since I was about 5 or so, dad would take me to the local dump and shoot rats. Then years of whistle pig hunting on his buddies farms..give me the 22 and sit me by a hole a few feet away and wait..thing is dad never went to his hunting trips to the mountains with is buddies without me along...Orange rags pinned everywhere with safety pins.. I would always be looking for IT...still to this day, never did find IT and still look for IT every trip outdoors...lol....but I did spend lots of his archery hunts looking for snakes while I was a pup and remember getting 13 one day to be exact. Memories of us sitting on the side of gamelands grassy road with his bow laying in the middle of it about 10yds away and watching a deer step over it. He had taught me tons and not a hunting day goes past without applying one of his little tricks or passing the info to my kids when in the field. Is why we are always successful. Gave me a Stevens mod 22-410 over/under for my 9th birthday. (wonder what it would be worth today) My uncle had broken the stock and when dad had the gunsmith make a new one, the smith had carved a pheasant one one side and a coon on the other without charge and said Happy Birthday. Still have it. Dad could shoot the speck off a spot but had never shot a deer. Found out later, he had more fun taking us out and never wanted to shoot one but he would go even when I was way too young to hunt..Thanks dad....for introducing me to the ourdoors and all the memories..rats,squirrels,bunnies, beagles..groundhogs..deer ..snakes...and life itself.

In 1967 at 19 yo, I went to Nebraska to Fairbury Jr. College in Fairbury NE. I was on a football scholarship and after the season concluded, I started going home to the farms of some of my new friends. I bought my first license at $3.25 plus an upland game stamp, duck stamp and started hunting with them friends o' mine. I guess they were quit surprised that a city kid from southwestern PA could shoot better than the average guys. My years as a Scoutcraft Director at a summer BSA camp, spending spare time shooting archery and firearms (.22 caliber bullets and shot loads) with private instruction from the Field Sports Director and Archery Instructor paid off greatly. Great memories, Thanks for the post opportunity.

First hunting season was around 1978. I was 4 and my great grandfather took me on a squirrel hunt. The next year was coon hunting. In 1980 I was given my first shotgun and proceeded to squirrel and coon hunt under direct supervision.

GoodOlBoy

Interesting, I must be one of the very few on the board that started hunting and fishing without a license of any kind. I spent months at a time with my grandparents on lake Okeechobee, in FL. My grandfather ran a large pumping station on the lake, knew all of the game wardens, etc. I started shooting and hunting when 5 and fishing before I can remember. I started driving a tractor sitting in my grandfather's lap when 3. By the time I was 7 I was driving a WWII surplus Jeep and running a boat on the lake. We had no trees for squirrels and no deer, so we hunted rabbits and ducks.

My first actual hunting experience, besides rabbits, that I can recall, was duck hunting on the lake with my grandfather's 12gs single shot Stevens. That first duck hunt left me black and blue, but with a mess of ducks for supper. My grandmother could cook up a real good pot of duck and rice. That was about 51-52 during the winter. We always took just what we needed to eat for a meal and that was the end of any of our trips, fishing or hunting.

Speaking of the old Stevens, it had a hollow plastic stock and forearm, no recoil pad, it would mortally stomp the mud out of you. A box of high brass shells out of it, left you wanting to wait a while before you went out again. It is in my safe, not a safe queen, just a host of memories wrapped up in an old shotgun. But that 12ga is also what started me wing shooting with a 510 single shot Remington 22 LR as a kid, as an act of self preservation.:D
Ed

Actually Rapier I didn't know you needed a hunting or fishing license until a game warden stopped by and had a talk with me when I was 17..... I remember thinking what a rip off it was to have to spend $12 for a hunting and fishing combo, and wondering what communist came up with "tags" that you had to use. What I wouldn't give to be able to spend $12 for a combo these days.

I hunted with a single shot H&R 20 gauge pardner with a fixed modified choke (my 6th birthday present) until I was 18. That year after a calf sale I purchased a Marlin Model 60 22. Other than borrowing older relatives guns that was my only choice until I was 20 years old and purchased a surplus SKS for $45 at a Houston gun show.

GoodOlBoy

Received my Rem 510 for my 8th birthday, 65 yrs. ago. Still have it too, been hunting ever since.

Ah, GOB
I did not mention my first hunting license because, I never had one until I was in HS and we had moved to NJ and a friend invited me to go phesant hunting on his uncle's farm in south Jersey. I was informed by his family that I would need a hunting license. Now that turned into a real goat roping as NJ required a state safety course which predated the multiple state recognized courses. So my friend put off his hunting so we could go together, such are the bonds and friendships generated by hunting together. By that time, I had a Savage Fox SxS 12ga and a 512 Rem. My first centerfire would come two years later in NH when I bought an Arisaki M-99 barreled action in 7.7 for $5. I put a Fajen stock on it and bent the bolt myself, still in HS.

Regards the 510, I have always regarded it as the premier training gun for youngsters. It is small, light and has the automatic safety on feature. Last year I finished, or so I thought, my mission of giving each of my grandchildren a 510 for Christmas after their 9th birthday. Well the son and his wife snuck another one in on me in April, so perhaps, God willing, we will be around in 9 years to deliver the next 510 to Noah Drew.
Ed

Don't remember the yr...mid 50's..but will never forget the first time I shot a 12ga. I was so young I sat between my Dad's legs and he held the gun. It was an old Remington hump back. I leaned my face down on the stock with my nose right behind the hump so I could aim good and squeezed the trigger. Cried like a baby..just about was one and my two older brothers had a good laugh.

I tagged along through the briars with my Dad for many miles quail hunting with my little unloaded Win. .22 before I got my first shotgun. A used Ithaca 16ga. double barrel and then a Win. model 12 16ga. 28" mod. that my Dad had cut off with an imp. cyl. Cutts Compensator installed for quail hunting.

I remember my Granddaddy had an old sawed off single shot 12ga. and when I was at his farm I used whatever shotgun I could find a few shells for..you could buy them at the little general store for a nickle a piece if you had the money. But that morning I didn't and a few 12ga shells were all that was around. So me and the old farm dog went to the branch with the sawed off shotgun to see if we could find a quail, dove, rabbit or squirrel or two.

Rex treed a big ole fox squirrel way up in the top of a Ga. pine. I knew that sawed off 12 kicked real bad and didn't really want to shot it standing under that pine shouldering it straight up, but the squirrel was so high up there it was my only chance of getting it.

I thought it over a while and came up with a good idea. I'd just hold the ole 12ga. straight out in front of me and point the barrel up at the fox squirrel. That way it wouldn't break my shoulder or back. I squeezed off the trigger and the butt came back down and hit my hip bone, hurt like the dickens and missed the squirrel.