Sentimental lane....

[Jim Boyd]

Great remembrances guys, keep ‘em coming!!

Coyote, you know you can turn the phone to silent - or even turn it off, right?

Good old days all over again!


I would never go back to the “old days” but they are fun to recall!

.

 

[Throwback]

Remington 742 woodsmaster 30-06 carbines
Bushnell scopes on a jacked up see through mount
Stickers for a hunting license
Having to ride all over the county to find a license dealer that wasn't sold out
No ATV's so you had to drag deer however far back in the woods you shot him
No coyotes
No turkeys

 

[oldfella1962]

No headlamps
No hand warmers
No gps
No range finder
No thinsulate
No gortex
No trail cameras
No 4x4
I definitely appreciate the advances in technology, especially cold weather clothing. Used to freeze to death.

this is how I hunt now

okay I will admit Thermacell is money well spent.

 

[lagrangedave]

It’s bad getting old.......I must have hunted with everyone on here at one time or another.......including the south Florida hunting....

 

[Nicodemus]

Single barrel shotgun then graduating to a Model 12. #1 buckshot. Nobody had a dedicated deer rifle around here back then. We hunted deer like we did turkeys, by sitting at the base of a tree. We wore the same clothes then that I do now when I hunt, with earth tone colors. When it was real cold we broke out the wool longhandles.

Actually, other than using a single shot rifle with a scope, and using stands most of the time, my style hasn`t changed a whole lot from then till now. I am much more selective now. Back then with a very short season and bag limit, if you saw a buck, you better shoot it.

 

[Buck70]

Help Pappy out

I remember having a place to hunt

Somebody please help Pappy find a place to hunt.

 

[BBond]

being voluntold by dad to gut and drag deer before I ever got that chance to hunt. we were the ATVs. dragging deer with my older brother using a belt and a big stick found in the woods while hating that his legs were a foot longer than mine trying to keep up and not trip.

hunting without camo

like others waiting to hear that first shot and then get back to camp to hear the stories or hopefully see a deer strung up to skin (if I wasn't already the dragger then).

An old 20 gauge single, then an old 357 lever action, then an old pump 20 mossberg then finally at 15 saving up money for my Aunt and Uncle to by me that winchester 30-30 , tasco scope and see through mounts. Man that was heaven.

Being excited and enjoying hunts without having to see a deer (because there wasn't many) just because I got to watch squirrels, rabbits, fox, and a bobcat every so often.

First stand was built in an oak and dad took me there 40 million different ways and never the same way twice. He wan't me to know every way to get there and back out and to know the lay of the land. Never had a map, compass, or GPS (what was that back then). You learned that old busted stump, the leaning pine, the twisted oak and sweetgum, etc.

Going to camp weeks early to SCOUT. No food plots, No feeders, nothing.

You were taught deer sign, funnels, food, escape cover, bedding areas and trails.

Oh so much more to talk about and miss before we got so technologically advanced. which has sucked alot of the joy out...

 

[JSnake]

Larry Munson and the Dawgs while we napped under trees midday

 

[JB0704]

Old folks usin' my tags cause they runned out.......kids these days have no idea what they missing givin up they tags cause folks know u ain't GON kill nuttin' anyways.

 

[stonecreek]

Hunting with my dad. There were times in the 70s in Webster County when finding deer tracks was a big deal. Richard

 

[The mtn man]

When I started deer hunting I can remember my mom giving me left over loaf bread bags, probably wonder bread. When I got to where I was going I put them over my feet and tied the top to keep my feet sort of warm, I never owned a pair of boots until I was 15 years old. I roamed the mountains in my play shoes. I deer hunted with a single shot Steven's. 20 gauge buck shot. I don't think I would care much for all that at my age.

 

[rance56]

Worrying about getting caught hunting over corn

 

[XIronheadX]

Climbing hardwood trees in a Baker stand, leaning toes forward and going airborne downward until it caught again 4 or 5 ft later while grinding the side of your face. And climbing 30 ft up 12" pines and swaying in the wind while standing 3 hours. No hand climber. Sore stomach muscles on Monday.
My grandfather leaving a Baker stand up the tree. He slid down another tree to sneak up on a deer. He was 65. Took an hour to knock it down.
Killing my first buck and my Dad walking up the road with no buttons on his shirt. Stand slipped off his feet. First and last time he deer hunted.
Brahma boots from Kmart, athletic socks, and frozen feet.
Stick lit handwarmers. I still smell them. Red spots on my belly from sticking them down my shirt.
Hunting in pouring rain at 35 degrees with just an army jacket
Sleeping in the truck with a wind up alarm clock ticking. Sweet music
Driving 10 inch spikes in every tree in Washington Co. and building stands 30 to 70 ft.
Dragging deer a mile not having 4wd as a teenager.
Hunting alone at 16 because the older guys I was hunting with ran off to the bar all weekend
Backing a Blazer up under a tarp tied to 4 trees with a double pool float for a bed.
And the passed out drunk guy in 1983 with his socks smoking because they were too close to the fire.

 

[SlipperyHill Mo]

When you could go to Deer Hunting forum on Woodys and not read 10+ threads about BAITING!!!!


Please stop the madness!!

 

[shane256]

Frost on the grass and chilly air, loading up in the dark to head out to the woods.

The smell of coffee brewing as everybody is getting ready to go.

Piling into the truck making sure you don't sit on someone's gun.

The sound of a deer walking nearby in the woods at daybreak and your excitement.

The deer camp... and ancient (even in the 70s) shack that was half no-good (we had the back closed off with trucker's blankets to keep the cold out). The only heat was the wood burning pot belly stove in the center of the single room we used (kitchen, bunks, etc.) Scratchy brown blankets, flat mattresses, bunks built out of 2x4s.

The planning on where which stands people were going to go to in the morning.

Playing cards at night at the camp.

Listening to the classic country music station in the truck while driving to go hunting.

 

[Hornet22]

Freezin ta deff and Pop takin off his boots and letting me stick my boots down in them and then holdin me tight between his knees and wrappin his coat and arms around me real tight. Letting me spot the deer for him that he'd already been watchin foreva so I would think I was the greatest huntin partner he had. Letting me tell Mama the whole story bout how I did everything but pull the trigger, or if we didn't see anything it was cause Pop messed up. Good times, loooong time ago

 

[oppthepop]

The ONE TIME Pop went hunting with me. Holding his old British .303 and i had my worn out 30-30 Winchester. Sat on the ground in Heard county along with about half of the hunting population of GA that opening day. FREEZING cold. Pop and both had our pajamas on under blue jeans, flannel shirts, and faded green jackets he had from the Air Force days. Saw a deer track! Pop froze, and froze, and FROZE. Let me shoot a tree stump on my way back to the truck. He never went deer hunting again. BUT I DID!

 

[marknga]

Dad started to let me go with him deer hunting at the age of 12 ( 1972)
The excitement of opening day. Like a kid on Christmas morning.
Hwy 96 headed east was bumper to bumper trucks and jeeps on opening morning.
The muffled thud of boots as we eased down to deer stands, using flashlights that were so dim by today's standards.
Wearing sweat pants, jeans under old fatigue pants and freezing.
Tube socks aren't warm, no matter how many pair you put on.
Seeing a deer was a victory. Didn't make a difference if was a white flag off in the distance.
Seeing a buck was a cause to celebrate.
Putting my hands around the base of a antler... words can't describe.
Seeing my dad's face when he walked up... he still gets more excited than I do.

Camping at Piedmont Wildlife Refuge during a primitive weapons hunt in the early 90's. The Atlanta Braves were in the NL playoffs. Every campfire had the Braves game on the radio. Braves scored and the whole campground starts doing the chant... had to be there. It was magical.

Meeting up with fellow hunters after the hunt and sitting around the campground passing a thermos around, recapping the squirrels, hawks, naps.

 

[Possum]

Riding the 3 wheeler around mid day.
Shooting at deer we jumped up and hitting 1 out of 10 of them.
Hearing the packs of hounds running deer on the land next to us
Honey buns were the main food source for hunters
Listening to dad and his buddies tell war stories

 

[Twiggbuster]

Dad started me @ 10( 1969). No doe days, no orange required.
No stand required, we hunted from the ground. I froze on the ground by a stump. Went to sleep and woke up to see 3 bucks staring at me. Missed with 16 gauge with buckshot . Best times I can remember.
I was at the PNW campground in 95( World Series Champs).
MarkN is right- Magical !!!!!