Wow, I never realized it was so common. Now I don't feel quite so self-conscious.

Thanks everyone!

Started at 31....this year taking my 6yr old and Lord willing we will hunt together for many many more years!!!

I hunted with my Dad from 12 years old till I was in my late teens here in Florida, when he decided not to hunt on a private lease anymore. I did get several deer (nothing big), osceola turkeys, hogs, snipe, doves and quail while hunting with my Dad and those were some of the best times of my life as a kid. Hunting in Florida is very expensive for private land, and the public lands are covered up with hunters which doesn't appeal to me. I didn't hunt for over 20 years. Then Dad suggest we go on a wilderness hunt in Idaho for elk. I'm hooked again, although I don't hunt as much I would like to, largely due to economics and time. My hunting adventures almost always take me out of state to Idaho, Texas, Wyoming, Missouri, Georgia, South Carolina and Iowa, but I still hunt some in Florida. Personally I like the travel, seeing different areas of our country, the variety of hunting experiences and meeting a diverse group of people that all have one thing in common, they love to hunt.

RussG,

I grew up in Idaho not hunting and I kick myself almost every day now for not doing that. It was a real culture shock for me coming to Texas after having so much public land available for recreation (fishing for me at the time). I hope to move back up there one day, but for now I'm enjoying the planning for my first hunt.

Tom

I was 36 when I got laid off. I was out work over a year. I started watching the hunting channels during the day and before you knew it I was an avid hunter. I can't get enough if it now and I'll be 41 in sept. I know what you're going through. So much to learn and you think you're too old.

You will learn quickly and keep reading THF.

started at 32 and wish i could get all the missed years back! Took one evening sit in the duck marsh to get me hooked for life.

31 year old Black man who started Dove & Duck hunting last year with friends I meet on here. And now I love it. Its great that race doesn't come into play when doing things you love. Hunting brings people together.

Growing up, while I would occasionally fish in the local golf course pond, hunting was definitely out of the question. My parents were very anti-gun and that went all the way down to BB guns. Three years ago when I was 41, a vendor took a bunch of us at work skeet shooting. I had never fired a shotgun before and I felt like a complete goof standing there asking the range guy how to work the thing. Thankfully, there were a few others in our group that had never shot a shotgun before, so it was a learning experience for all of us. 5 rounds and one bruised shoulder later, I was hooked. I purchased my first pistol about 6 months later and then followed that up with a 10/22. A year later at 42, my brother in law invited me to go deer hunting. So I picked up a 308 rifle, practiced for two months and then shot my first doe. Last year, I bought my first shotgun and went dove hunting.

So you are definitely not alone.

Looking back, one thing I can say about starting late is that I have a lot more resources available to me than I would have had in my teens, 20’s or 30’s. I’m also having a great time teaching my 7 and 9 year olds the joys of hunting and being outdoors.

Amen to that! Welcome to the fold.

My son-in-law and step-son started huntin' with me in their 30's , with me. Now they be hooked. We're never to old to learn.

If your prior job was as a copy editor, I may know what lead to the interruption in employment

I went hunting 1 time with my grandpa when I was 13 and got a 6 point buck. I lived with my dad and he was not a hunter whatsoever. That was my only hunting experience until September when I go deer hunting with my brother in law, who is 19, I am 27. It's going to feel good getting back into hunting mode and just hanging with guys. Never too old to pick up a new hobby or interest.

Never too late buddy and welcome to the THF. I myself have been hunting some sort of critter since I got my first daisy BB gun at 6 years old. I read above where watching hunting shows sparked an interest in the outdoors. That is cool because I haven't thought of those shows in that regard. There is a method to their madness. Carry on gents

I grew up in N Florida and I was always outdoors fishing, camping, canoeing, swimming, whatever, but no hunting connections there. Only knew one kid who hunted deer (using dogs and buckshot on the AF reservation property). He blew his big toe off in the 9th grade, so it was not all that appealing at the time. Might have been different if I'd grown up in TX. Fast forward until I was 35, went to help a guy out on his lease in Laredo and do some arrowhead hunting and I got hooked. That was over 15 yrs ago.

I wanted to hunt my whole life. Started two years ago at the age of 44 and found my passion in life

I started in my mid 20's, I'm in my late 40's now.

Two years ago I went hunting with a buddy who was 43 and never hunted before. He shot a doe and I have never seen a bigger smile on someone before. I taught him how to gut and quarter a deer and he was hooked after that. Got another doe last year and now he really wants a buck.

My dad is a volunteer huntmaster with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (damn them for complicating that, it used to just be DOW) Anyway, he got involved because he wanted to help bring women and youth into hunting.

In the last 3 years, the number of adult males who want to get into hunting has grown so much, that Colorado's Youth and Women hunting initiative has been renamed the "Novice Hunter" program.

No stones thrown here, we want new hunters, from 12-112, age AND gender neutral!

Welcome to the sport, brother! There are many like you looking to learn and get involved. Throw any questions you have my way...I don't claim to know anything, but I know the people who can answer your questions if you don't have answers locally available!

I started hunting this year at the youthful age of 45. A friend took me hog hunting on his lease and I got hooked. It's never too late to start I think.

My dad and uncle hunted a ton when I was a kid. For whatever reason, I never got invited to hunt though, so I never picked it up. In fact, didn't really shoot much at all except for a 223 a few times with a cousin. We fished a lot when I was a kid, just never hunted. Fast forward to 4 years ago (32 at the time). A friend invited me on a pheasant hunt. I had never fired a shotgun before that trip. So with my buddy's beretta in hand (generous guy), I went out and shot 6 roosters and a hen. It was a blast. I've gone pheasant hunting with a group now yearly since then.

In 2009, I also shot my first deer (doe) on some of my wife's family's land. Took my 7 yr old son with me and we had a blast. I still smile looking back at those pictures. A year later, my pheasant buddy from above took me out deer hunting a few times. Didn't get anything but it was a terrific distraction from some life events going on.

Fast forward to this year, now 36, I am now going to be on a lease with my brother, father, uncle, cousin and a great uncle. I'll be able to bring my son along with me too. I'm looking forward to the hunting, but also the time together. Not sure how to tell my buddies I'm not going pheasant hunting though. They go on opening weekend of rifle season.

Fished all my life but started hunting only 5 years ago. My dad was not a hunter so that's the main reason

I didn't start hunting until my mid 20s. No one in my family hunts so it took meeting some good friends that hunt for me to get exposed to it. Now I'm addicted and I live for hunting season.

I'm from SoCal and was raised by a mother who wasn't exactly gun-friendly, so no hunting for me when I was young. I started shooting when I was stationed in Idaho back in the late 80's. I kick myself for not taking advantage of the hunting opportunities while I was up there. When I got out of the Navy I went back to the Los Angeles area. I kept up with the shooting, but I didn't know anybody who hunted and didn't have any idea how to start or what to do. I got recalled to active duty, stationed in San Diego for a couple years and then stayed there for the rest of the decade.

Two things happened while I was in San Diego that got me into hunting. I started doing a lot of kayak fishing and many of the guys I fished with were also hunters. I also got seriously interested in cooking. The more cooking I did the more I wanted to control the process from start to finish. I started making all sorts of stuff from scratch and I almost completely did away with any processed food. I got a lot of satisfaction from the meals that took the most hands-on effort. Anything that I could make from the fish that I caught just seemed so much better because I did everything from hook to plate. Maybe it was just the effort involved. That fish taco just tastes better when you had to paddle a couple of miles offshore to get it. That feeling of control and accomplishment in cooking was probably what drove me to start hunting. I wanted to harvest an animal, butcher, prep and cook it. I found it is so much more satisfying than going to the store and getting meat in a Styrofoam tray.

I was 45 when I started hunting and got my first deer. There is a lot of National Forest land around San Diego. It gets crowded but it was a good place to learn. I tried to research as much as possible ahead of time. I read a lot, watched plenty of videos and spent a lot of time listening to friends who had been hunting their whole lives. I hunted alone for most of my first season, so there was quite a bit of trial and error.

I still have a lot to learn, but I'm looking forward to more hunting opportunities here in Texas.

I'm also 36 and this will be my first deer season to hunt. I bought my husband a Mathews Creed for Father's Day and about a week later he went and got me bow so I could practice with him in the yard. I got Buck Fever from the first arrow I shot. I can not wait for the fall.

I hope to have a similar experience as DGax in that I want to harvest, butcher, and cook what I kill. I love to cook and this feels like a natural next step.

While in military and was about 26... I did bow a season on public land. For couple reasons. Season was longer and cheap (could not afford lease). Now at ripe age of 45 I did my first gun trip. Am hooked! Although my bow trips on public land are some good memories even though I did not get any deer... Nothing like being in a tree stand and watching wildlife