I've been hunting squirrel and quail in my yard since I was a kid. All of the game at that time was taken with a slingshot and pellet rifle.
When I turned 15, my dad bought me a 20 gauge Remington 870. My dad hunted as a kid but really we both started learning it together. We started hunting upland game in San Diego and Imperial County's and it snowballed from there. Our first hunt ever was a dove hunt outside of Niland where two family friends took us. From then on we were on our own.
I got my first rifle for Christmas when I was 18 and took my first buck that following year. Two of my close friends also started hunting around the same time. We were self taugh and learned from our experience in the backcountry. In those years I've taken 5 bucks with my rifle and still hunt dove, pheasant and waterfowl.
Three years ago I took up bowhunting and have been fortunate enough to take two nice bucks and a bear in Nothern California. I'm currently working on getting my dad his first archery deer. I consider myself to be fairly inexperienced compared to some. I mainly hunt around San Diego because its within my budget but am anxious to get out of state for some muleys and elk!
