Some of your best memories about the outdoors?

[knothead]

Curious to know about what some of your favorite memories of outdoors are.  This time of year is one of mine.  Even though I am not much of gun hunter anymore, the opening day of the general rifle deer hunt brings back some of my best memories outdoors.  Back in the late 70's hunted unit 17a with a HS friend and his father.  The getting out of school for Thursday and Friday, loading up the truck,  the drive up north, breakfast at Denny's before we left Prescott, setting up camp, cold mornings, listening to world series on the radio in camp were all good stuff.  We haven't done this in many years but the memories are still strong.  Good Luck to all those people going deer hunting this weekend.

[DUG]

My 1st deer at age 13 in 24A shot it running at 30 yds with my brand new .270 Rem. 760. My 1st javelina at age 12 in 24A. Dad took a nap and I watched the hill across from us. Saw a javelina go from one bush to another. Woke him up to tell him and he didn't believe me. I convinced him to let me walk over there. 20 minutes later I shot my javelina and he missed his. LukeDukes 1st javelina when he was 11 was memorable. We ate at Judys Cookhouse in Miami and he had the shits before we left. We finally got to our spot in 23 and found a herd . He shot a javelina and it took 2 hours to find it. It was right where I told him to look and the only place I hadn't looked! Don't even get me going about all the elk hunts we've been on and still hope to go on.

 

[idgaf]

True story.  Not a Will Ferrell skit. 

My youngest brother had an archery antelope tag.  Myself, my other brother, my nephew and a good friend were on hill glassing for him.  It was a very warm day and I had glassing Crack.  

My nephew found the sharpest pointiest stick he could find and 12 ringed me.  My flight or fight response was triggered and I get up  wanting to hurt the person  that violated me with the stick fully cinched between my cheeks. Everyone is laughing hysterically 

I pull the stick from my cheeks look at it and see middle brother sitting there laughing. I poke the business end of the moist, now smelly stick at his mouth, feel no resistance and get it all the way to back of his throat.  Holding the stick there like I was a Samurai that just vanquished the final boss.  

The other three are now on the ground laughing in tears while my brother finds a new level for his gag reflex and I rub the shock out of my violated area. 

[IA Born]

Where do I begin.  Growing up in Iowa, life was all about pheasant hunting every fall.  The last weekend in October has always been the opening day of pheasant season.  The smell of crisp Iowa fall weather, watching the combines moving around a small town, and then opening morning of pheasant hunting came.  I lived for pheasant hunting with my dad.  Same for spring turkey in Iowa.  Dad and I lived for spring turkey hunting together and I loved listening to the sound of Iowa hardwood forests coming to life.  And then there's the fishing.  Dad and I lived on the Des Moines River below Red Rock Dam.  We'd take a stockpile of stinkbait and catch a limit of channel cats every trip.  Dad always played is oldies (50s-60s) music.  I love that music to this day and it always takes me back to our spot on the river.

All of these were the times dad and I buried the hatchet when we weren't getting along throughout my high school years.  He'd stand in the doorway of my room and mention the projected flows for the river and that was his way of saying he was done not talking to me.  My absolute best memories of being in the outdoors.

[bigorange]

Growing up the first weekend in Nov was always the youth hunt. Many fond memories hunting with my uncle on his farm from various treestands in hardwoods or over corn, soybeans, or clover.

[CatfishKev]

My dad didn't even take us camping, he didn't like waking feeling "Dewey". I always wanted to hunt since I was little. When I moved to AZ I got a bow and sucked at hunting but the first season I will never forget.

Then my kids hunts, first was elk youth with my daughter and we hunted hard. Got it done second to last day and we were both jumping and crying. I will take that beautiful memory with me to the grave.  Hands down my favorite hunts are elk youth tags!

[Sky Island junkie]

My most memorable trip was when my dad took us to McCoys crossing on the White River more than 45 years ago. It’s where I got hooked on stream fishing. Probably fished 5 miles of that stream in 4 days pitching rooster tails and mepps spinners. I never forgot that first trip and didn’t know how special the place was to my dad until 6 months before he passed in 2016. He told me that’s where he wanted his ashes spread. My mom wants her ashes spread with him so I’ll be going back one of these days

[Hoss50]

I remember lots of times when I was a kid outdoors. We camped in late August along the Black River and I would catch crawdads because I wasn't patient enough to trout fish.

When I was 15 My dad and I killed a cow elk on a late hunt. For years his "hunting" trips were just excuses to get drunk with his friends and they rarely got anything. So this time when it was time to cut and clean the elk it was interesting to see him have very little idea what to do, and learn he didn't like blood and had got all queezy cleaning it. I basically had to learn on the fly with a little direction and clean it myself because he was trying not to vomit. 🤣

He may not have been a good hunter, but he had no role models and didn't do it as a kid, so I am glad he at least tried and got me out there. 

Dove hunts when I was a kid were my favorite though. I was the one who was like 10yrs old waking him up to get ready. 

[wildwoody]

Hunting with my kids. Priceless moments. And killing chit..

[down2hunt]

19 hours ago, knothead said:

Curious to know about what some of your favorite memories of outdoors are.  This time of year is one of mine.  Even though I am not much of gun hunter anymore, the opening day of the general rifle deer hunt brings back some of my best memories outdoors.  Back in the late 70's hunted unit 17a with a HS friend and his father.  The getting out of school for Thursday and Friday, loading up the truck,  the drive up north, breakfast at Denny's before we left Prescott, setting up camp, cold mornings, listening to world series on the radio in camp were all good stuff.  We haven't done this in many years but the memories are still strong.  Good Luck to all those people going deer hunting this weekend.

I'm headed up to 17A tomorrow morning! 

[Shooter McGavin]

When I was 14, my dad, my best friend Tony and his dad which he and my dad got along great went archery deer and javelina hunting in January in 36B down off of Ruby Rd near Nogales. We get to our destination to set up camp and realize we lost a sleeping bag on the drive out. We set up our tents and decided to drive to Nogales and pick one up. After we purchase one, the weather starts to turn, rain and wind and the dads decide it’s no use to go back to camp and want to cross the border into Nogales, Mex. They both decide to give me and Tony an educational experience. We drive a little way in and park. Well we wind up on Canal Street, which yes did have water running down the middle of it and walk into some seedy building the right. Unbeknownst to us 14yr olds, it was a whorehouse. We all pack into a booth, a server walks up, our dads allow to buy a Mexican beer (wasn’t my first, just my first with my dad) Then 2 very old (at least to me) and very ugly women came up to us asking if we wanted any thing…. My buddy and I were in total shock while our dads were laughing their butts off looking at us. Both dads kindly declined, we finished our beers and left. We ended going back to camp, no one tagged out that weekend but this memory will outlive any tag filled!!! 

[Avion]

In the fall of 1972 my uncle took me on my first coues deer hunt south of Sonoita. I have been hooked ever since. Also, he would leave his trailer up stream from the McCoys bridge all summer. He would tell me in the morning that we would leave when he got home from work and to have all of our stuff ready to go. Big responsibility for a 10 year old. I would fish that river every day and limit out. Had my own hip waders, creel, and abu garcia spinning rod and reel. #0 mepps spinners would get them every time. Great memories and great thread!

[Mocha1545]

Great thread. Brings so many great memories to mind.

Early 70's we decided to hike in with a full moon and camp on the mountain my old saw a huge buck the year before. My brother and Dad found a good spot for me to sleep at and then they left to find their own spots. That was the longest night of my life. In heard a pack of coyotes going crazy in the direction of my brother. I thought he was getting eaten by them. After about 2 years the sun was finally coming up. I poked my head out of the sleeping bag and spooked a couple of does bedded down about 10 yards from me. Went and found my Dad and told him my brother was probably dead. We found him glassing a ridge. He never heard the coyotes yapping. Finally got back to the truck around noon and found mountain lion tracks all around the truck. Needless to say this 13 year old slept in the truck the next night.  

[Swivelhead]

Mid 60's, grandfather would take my brothers and I quail & rabbit hunting north of Phoenix.  Usually near Cave Creek & Lone Mountain roads.  We had a blast.  Grandfather started  a fire inside us that burns to this day.

[firstcoueswas80]

I still rememeber the first animal I ever killed, a squirrel with grandpas 22.

 

Watching my son when he killed his elk. He was jacked up.

 

Watching my dad draw back on a bull in 4b. Stepped on a twig and spooked it, but he was shaking like a leaf. Thought he was going to fall down. My dad was a pretty even keel guy, so to see him lose it like that is something I'll never forget.