Hello all,
Im Chris and here’s the story of how I’m rediscoving hunting.
I live on the Central Coast in Templeton,CA but I grew up in GA hunting and fishing with my father. I was an Eagle Scout by 14 and developed a deep love of the outdoors. At some point, I guess during high school, I just lost interest in the hunting part. Girls, guitar, smoking weed, and making art took precedence. Young men rebel in different ways but rejecting that which is your father’s is probably a pretty common story. By the time I was in my late 20’s, which is when I moved to CA with my soon to be wife, my outdoor pursuits had shifted to mountain biking, backpacking, SCUBA and mountaineering. My dad, who was getting older, had stopped chasing big game by then, and spent most of his time fishing in Florida.
Fast forward to now. I’m 42, married with 2 small daughters. We live on 50 acres that are crawling with deer and turkeys (no hunting allowed though). My Dad passed away last fall and I inherited all his firearms, like the Sears 12g we took on all those dove hunts, and the 10/22 I shot my first squirrel with…
Damn I miss that man.
I went through hunter ed this winter, got licensed a few weeks ago, and went out on my own turkey hunting in Los Padres yesterday. The hunt was unsuccessful from one standpoint, no gobblers. But it felt great to be back in the woods, toting a gun around, busting brush. And my dad’s spirit was with me. I felt reconnected. With him, with the outdoors, and with a part of myself that I thought had been lost. It’s a great feeling.
None of my friends are hunters and I’ve only lived in this area for a few years (2008-2020 was spent in LA) so the path forward looks a bit like the creosote thicket I bushwhacked uphill through yesterday. But I’m determined to figure it out.
This forum looks like a great community and I’m honored to be joining it.
Im Chris and here’s the story of how I’m rediscoving hunting.
I live on the Central Coast in Templeton,CA but I grew up in GA hunting and fishing with my father. I was an Eagle Scout by 14 and developed a deep love of the outdoors. At some point, I guess during high school, I just lost interest in the hunting part. Girls, guitar, smoking weed, and making art took precedence. Young men rebel in different ways but rejecting that which is your father’s is probably a pretty common story. By the time I was in my late 20’s, which is when I moved to CA with my soon to be wife, my outdoor pursuits had shifted to mountain biking, backpacking, SCUBA and mountaineering. My dad, who was getting older, had stopped chasing big game by then, and spent most of his time fishing in Florida.
Fast forward to now. I’m 42, married with 2 small daughters. We live on 50 acres that are crawling with deer and turkeys (no hunting allowed though). My Dad passed away last fall and I inherited all his firearms, like the Sears 12g we took on all those dove hunts, and the 10/22 I shot my first squirrel with…
Damn I miss that man.
I went through hunter ed this winter, got licensed a few weeks ago, and went out on my own turkey hunting in Los Padres yesterday. The hunt was unsuccessful from one standpoint, no gobblers. But it felt great to be back in the woods, toting a gun around, busting brush. And my dad’s spirit was with me. I felt reconnected. With him, with the outdoors, and with a part of myself that I thought had been lost. It’s a great feeling.
None of my friends are hunters and I’ve only lived in this area for a few years (2008-2020 was spent in LA) so the path forward looks a bit like the creosote thicket I bushwhacked uphill through yesterday. But I’m determined to figure it out.
This forum looks like a great community and I’m honored to be joining it.
