first deer

just curious as to what age most guys got into hunting, if they started out as youngsters or started just recently. how old were ou when you killed your first deer? those with kids, when did you let them shoot their first deer?

i killed my first deer right afer my 5th birthday with an old winchester .25-20. a 3 point that was a cull buck

I didn't get to hunt until I was old enough to do it myself. I was 17 when I killed my first deer. My dad always hunted but I never got to go with him. I made the decision that if/when I had kids they would not have that problem. I started taking my son hunting when he was 5. He missed a doe when he was 5 and finally connected and killed his first one when he was 6. He is 13 now and has killed more than I can count.

I started bow hunting when I was 13 I think. Didn't kill my first critter with it until this year.

Lack of motivation through high school and college, and lack of places to hunt didn't help much.

One can never call me a "brown is down" kinda guy. I started hunting at 12. I was 23 or 24 when I took my first deer! We had some REALLY crappy places to hunt when I was a kid!

My oldest son was 13 when I started taking him. He took his first deer (a 4 pointer) 30 minutes into his first morning hunt..might not have been a monster but he has no idea how easy it was for him - but he was hooked.

He is now 17 and that luck continues to this day. I hunted non stop the first 2 weekends this season and several days in between and saw nothing worth shooting. I take him out on the 3rd weekend (he had scout camping trips the first two) and that Saturday night out walks an 8 with a 16" inside spread and 18" outside..I need his lucky stick.

His younger brother is 10. I'll start him as soon as he's ready - he isn't as gung ho about it though (yet) - hopefully he will be. He does like shooting.

Earl

Whent hunting with my dad as long as I can remember. Started hunting at 12 and got my first buck and deer at 12. My kids (lord willing)will probably start a little earlier than I did, maybe 10 or so.

matt

I've bird hunted since I was little. Didn't pick up a deer rifle until I was 41. Shot my first deer at 46.

My son started sitting in the blind at 7. He carried a rifle at 8 and took a doe. He's nine now and took a real nice 12pt. this year.

I have been going with my dad since I was 4.. my dad made me wait until i was 12 and could take the hunters safety course to shoot my first deer... I hated that.

My son will probably shoot one by the time he is 6 or 7...

We didn't have deer in central Mills county until the mid to late fifties. I killed my first deer with several 22 shorts when I was about 7 or 8. Nope it probally wasn't in season and no I didn't have a license. But she was on our place so I blasted her. A yearling doe. I carried her home over my shoulder. Nope mom and dad weren't to happy.

I shot my first deer when I was four. I was a good size bigger than most four year olds though. Wasn't able to go out to west texas for mule deer until I was 10. I always hated having to stay home over Thanksgiving while they were out there.

Dad got me started about age 8 -- first gun was a single shot 410. First introduced me to target shooting and safety, then graduated to a 20 ga shooting ducks and quail. Got my first rifle .270 Ruger M77 and shot my first deer at age 12 -- 3 point cull as well.

I've been taking my 8 yo daughter to the blind with me this year to observe. She has really enjoyed it. With young kids, I think it is important for them to watch and experience hunting before they are the one behind the rifle scope.

15 yrs young on my first hunt and first kill. 34 yrs later still enjoying the great outdoors with the same 30-06 I had back then. An old Ruger M77 bolt action.
Two boys started when they were 12 and 9. They've been out hunting now for 4 years, sometimes they get one, sometimes they don't, but they still love going.

I started going with my grandad on deer hunts when I was five. I started hunting them when I was seven, and killed my first deer the first day of the season that year which was 1979. My son is eight and has been tagging along for four years now. Later this season if his marksmanship is up to par, he will get to shoot at his first deer.

I shot my first deer at 12. I do not remember what gun I used, it was one of his.

My dad was more of a feather than fur hunter, but with no quail around, he is starting to do more fishing.

I started my son by taking him with me at 3. He was a real trooper. If he is able to shoot this summer, he will be shooting with me next year. He will be 7.

Killed my first deer when I was 14-15. Didnt kill my second one until I was 28 but Ive been dropping them steady ever since, lol.

My daughter is 10 this year and got her first deer. This is her second year of hunting.

Not to detour from the thread, but Nathan at Fork, if those are your Service Decorations in your signature, here's a great big THANK YOU for you service!! Just finished reading an article in the paper, for those that didn't remember, today is Dec. 7........the day Pearl Harbor was attacked.
Thanks again, and God Bless.

Started shooting at age 4 (bb guns, .22) and then got to go deer hunting at age 9. Shot 2 does that year with an SKS.

Let's see, Im 47 and shot My first deer at age 17 and did not shoot another till I was in mid twenty's. I then got on a deer lease and filled My doe tag's every year but never saw a buck. I started being More patient and finally started seeing bucks. I still get excited to see any and all deer or game. This year I have been hunting 3 to 4 days a week and see deer almost every outing. I have yet harvested one this year but bowhunting public land is pretty tough. Im going out in the morning to hang a stand in a new area. OH BOY !!!

Killed my first deer at 28..
I am a product of a father who didn't take me hunting when I was young.. Divorce is crappy. Now that I have grey hair he wants to.. He keeps the deer fed and the food plots pumping...

Before that first buck.. I killed everything else... Had a dang arsenal by Junior high

Started this year. I have bird hunted once or twice and have shot clay disc for a long time w/ my 12 gauge. My friends talk to into deer hunting. I shot my first doe 2 weeks ago. Haven't seen a buck but I am going back out to a nice place this weekend to try. My wife now says this is all I talk about and ask when season was over I am hooked. It is like Christmas time every time you go out b/c you do not know what you will see.. I am already excited for next year because we have contacted 3-4 new people and hunting on their land and they have agreed!!!!

i got into hunting at age 32. I am 38 now, killed my first deer last year at age 37. My problem though is i dont think i will ever shoot a bigger deer than my first. (in sig pic below) but everytime i see a doe, or any wild game it gets the heart pumping and i am hooked for life

My dad was a farmer, not a hunter, i shot guns as a kid, but i tend to think most farmers dont hunt much

I have been going with my dad since my mom would let him take me (probably 2 or 3) but didn't kill my first deer until I was 13!

Killed my first deer at 7 sitting in my Dad's lap because I wasn't tall enough to see out of the blind. That was 46 years ago.

Thanks Dad for taking me. I sure do miss you on these chilly mornings.

Killed my first when I was seven and probably averaged about 2 a year since then. I've gotten alot pickier the past few years and don't have the interest in it I used to but still enjoy it.

Started Hunting at 7-8ish I believe (according to Dad) with a single shot 410. Dad has always hunted birds but never even owned a deer rifle.

Killed my first deer @15, about to be 30 now and only have 3 deer total to my name but I spend a number of years away from deer hunting due to other interests. Still bird hunted every year but didn't have the time to devote to deer.

Now I do and can't wait until my son gets bigger to take him.

I believe I was 6 or 7. Had to sit in my dads lap to see out of the blind.

I went on one hunt with my dad when I was 13, but didn't hunt again until I was in my 40s. Shot my first buck last year at 43. I went from no hunting/shooting to owning two rifles and a shotgun. I've hunted deer, feral hogs, dove and quail, and shot my second buck a couple of weeks ago.

I killed my first deer, a spike, when I was 24. Have duck hunted since I was about 8 but my dad just never got into deer hunting. I'm 27 now w/ 4 under my belt and I'm trying to make up for all those years I missed. Now I'm going to get to pay it forward to my dad for all those duck hunts by introducing him to deer hunting and taking him out for a change.