.........but, I lost my dad at a young age and he never experienced my success in my career, as well as the hunter I have become.

Ever sit in the stand and think about lost loved ones and ask them to look over you?

I know my father has sent a buck or 2 my way for sure.

Every time I go hunting. I have to pass my grandfather and grandmother, who passed away together before I was born, every time I go the ranch. It is a special mile or 2 every trip.

well, I lost my dad 4 weeks ago tomorrow

I will be thinking a lot of him sitting in a quiet stand wishing he was there. Wishing he was able to spend time with me, my brother and his grandsons this season and for many more come..

All of the time. My old man always asked how my hunting trips went. He listened more than any other family member of the love and passion I have for the outdoors.

I think of him VERY often when I am sitting alone in the blind!

My Dad and I built my grandfather his last tower stand in 1991. It had a pipe frame with replaceable plywood on it. A couple of years ago, right before he died, I moved it from his last hunting spot in East Texas (Newton County) to our ranch in Coryell County. I pout it back together and it is my favorite stand now. This year I will be hunting out of that stand with his rifle.

You sure as hell will never lose your man card on here for those words sorry you lost your DAD at a young age but he is watching over you.

Why would you lose your man card? Losing someone close is always difficult and those memories are all you have left.

I lost my dad in April of this year. We had just started hunting together again after a very long time without a place to hunt. I have a picture on my phone of him sleeping in the blind with me. I may get it framed and have it in the blind with me.

Lots of great memories and I know he will be with me every trip.

Think about my grandpa a lot hunting. He started hunting late in life when my mom married my dad. Wore a flannel shirt, dickies work pants, and his "Russian hat". With his favorite catchphrase, "Terrible!"

I lost my Dad almost 29 years ago and I know he's still with me when I go to the stand. He never got to hunt with his grandsons and I feel blessed that I'm getting to hunt with mine.

I lost my dad 20 years ago this coming Christmas day. Every year I take his Browning 22 rifle and he and I go squirrel hunting. We talk, laugh and even cry a little. Your manhood is secure on here as far as I'm concerned. My father was my one and only hero.

All the time especially knowing Dad missed all the hunts with Kacee.

You actually may have just upgraded to a Platinum Man Card. I lost my grandad 19yrs ago and can count on one hand how many days I've missed not talking to him every mornin and every night before bed nothin at all wrong with it

I think of my grandparents a lot when I'm hunting our family land in kerrville where they lived for 40 years. I stay in the family house and it sure seems different without them there.

There's a lot of peace being out there in the woods,I lost my 3 year old son 3 years ago and I think about how cool it would be for him to besides me,I picked up hunting after he died and it's actually my place of peace being out there!

A little different take but I will always remember how excited Dad and I both were when we saw our first deer on the ranch. I often think of him as my daughter and I make the rounds of the feeding stations. He so loved hunting and fishing and I know he would be proud of what we are doing with what nature has given us.

You guys must have had a better dad than I did, consider yourself a little bit lucky that your capable of actually missing him.

I lost my Dad April 16,10. We were not that close for a lot of years but got VERY CLOSE the 3 yrs prior to losing him. I'm so thankful for that time. I talk to him often and he paints the skies for us every mornin and evening. He was an oil paint artist. That is his link in my Sig line.
Me working nights, I would always look forward to 12:30a when he was putting his brushes away and we would talk in the phone for hrs.

On that Thursday, he had finished and signed his most favorite painting. The next day he passed while loading it in the car to deliver it to the gallery in Dallas. I was going to meet him there. It is the waterfall title New Beginnings on the opening page.

No loss of man card. Enjoy your time and thoughts of your loved ones.

This hits me hard. I can't even imagine losing my son, he's one of the best things that has ever blessed me.

My dad would as just soon watch the grass grow as to spend time in the woods hunting anything. He took me squirrel hunting a few times before I was old enough to drive myself. Still, he bought me my first single-shot .22 and later a shotgun that I could use to hunt both deer and turkeys. And not once did he ever act as if I was wasting a minute being in the woods. I'm sure the fact that my grandfather was an avid hunter had a lot to do with that. My grandfather and I never did get the chance to hunt together since he had stopped hunting by the time I got old enough. But there are many times when I think about what it would have been like to share those East Texas woods with him.

Like most of you I'm sure, I think about a lot of things when I'm sitting on a deer stand. And I never leave the woods in a worse mood than when I arrived.

Im 16 now and all I hunt with is my grandpa! My dad thinks of hunting as a waste of time and now I only go with my grandpa! If he passed away I dont know what I would do! My parents wouldnt trust me to go down by myself! So I dont know what I would do if he passed!!

Now what I was expecting this topic to be about, some tuff stories on here and glad I read. My dad taught me to hunt and then he quit when I was able to go on my own. I just got him back to hunting with me and my 2 younger sons in the last 3 years and best money and time ever spent. Even though my dad hasnt hunted with me a lot he is my true best friend and has taught me 99% of everything I know!

And the story about the 3 year old brought tears to the eyes, I have a 6 year old that hunts with me 90%of the time and I could not imagine my little man not being with me.

Let your Grandpa know how much you like hunting with him and take a lot of mental pictures while you can. You'll look back on these days many times in the future.

I think about a lot when I'm alone in the woods.

Lost my dad when I was only 3. My love and passion for the outdoors is second only to my lord and loving family. Each time I go out on another adventure all I can think is, What If? After 48 years I still wonder, What If.