Deer hunting in the " Old Days "

[BSK]

Probably about 2004 or so, I was on a juvenile hunt with my son in a metal tower stand. We were overlooking a big food plot cut in a pine plantation. A big group of does walked out. He started shaking so hard I was afraid the deer were going to hear the stand creaking and squeaking. It was great to hear and see him that excited about deer hunting. He finally calmed down enough to pull the trigger on a huge doe.

He is grown and has kids of his own now. Hopefully we will get to pass along some of the shaking to my grandsons.

Love that!

Although my daughter is plenty old and experienced enough to hunt on her own. She doesn't want to. She likes hunting with me so we can share the experience. So we either hunt together in 2-person "buddy" ladder stands or shooting houses. I never get tired of hearing her breathing get erratic and feeling the stand shake whenever she sees a deer, especially a shooter buck. Reminds me of how I used to be when I first started hunting. I still get the shakes after all these years, but strangely they don't hit me until after I make the shot.

 

[peytoncreekhunter]

Love that!

Although my daughter is plenty old and experienced enough to hunt on her own. She doesn't want to. She likes hunting with me so we can share the experience. So we either hunt together in 2-person "buddy" ladder stands or shooting houses. I never get tired of hearing her breathing get erratic and feeling the stand shake whenever she sees a deer, especially a shooter buck. Reminds me of how I used to be when I first started hunting. I still get the shakes after all these years, but strangely they don't hit me until after I make the shot.

I remember when my son killed his first buck. We were sitting together and he used my rifle. After the shot he walked up to it and yelled back to me " It's a 6 ". I'll never forget that.

 

[Rufus]

Anyone still have their Baker tree stand from the 70's? I still have my Baker Slim Jim. God only knows how many was hurt with them. Back then, good hunt if you seen a deer.

 

[PossumSlayer]

I started in the very tip of sw Virginia in the early 80s it was always scrap wood n nails making a stand... until they put up a hug bill board below the house. It was v shaped in a slight curve so traffic in either direction could see it. The open end of the v faced the woods we normally hunted! We fixed it up nice putting old boards to make a seating area.
We never killed a deer out of the billboard but it did make an excellent spot to throw eggs at cars during Halloween and of course someone shot at us with a shotgun... ended up being a friend screwing with us.
There were three of us with shotguns at first then by the time we were 16 we had rifles... none of our family hunted.we just decided we were doing it.

 

[sango]

I started Deer Hunting in 1974. I lived in Montgomery County (Still do). As others have said, Hickman and Giles Counties were the place to be to see or kill a deer in the 70's.

We had no private land to hunt and placed all our hopes of seeing a deer was being drawn for an LBL quota hunt.

 

[sango]

I started Deer hunting in 1974 and lived in Montgomery County ( still do ). I had no private land to hunt in the 70's and placed all our hopes to see a deer on getting drawn for a quota hunt at Land Between the Lakes.

As others have said, Hickman and Giles Counties in the 70's was the place to be and were leaders in the numbers of deer harvested.

 

[ROVERBOY]

Ok old timers it mid 80s for me. Hunted for 2 years before I saw a deer. If you knew someone who killed a deer you were popular and the guy that killed it was famous. And much colder as I remember but I was just a kid. Gosh it was magical though wouldn't it...

!984 in Cumberland County, Ky. was my first season.

 

[Cherokee]

Yessir, slaughter ought six.

I was thinking 742 Woodmaster.

 

[Cherokee]

Late 70's when I was old enough to "go to the mountains" with my dad and older brother. This was upper Bald River in South Cherokee. The road is gated now but back then you could drive way up the river. It was an adventure! Several uncles and many cousins, family friends and neighbors would camp for several days before the 2-3 day hunt. Back then the deer were in the mountains and not too many down low in the farm lands. While I enjoyed the hunting, it was the time with the men (all good Christian men) that has been a major influence in my life.
We still camp in the area but there are fewer of us now. I, and some of my cousins are now the old men.
Had I known, I would have taken a recorder back then. Could have made a fortune from all the stories and tall tales told around the camp fire.

 

[larry ipock]

Started deer hunting in 1973. Killed my first one in 74, when I was 17. Didn't know anything about deer. I can remember when TWRA opened deer season in 75- 76? on the east side of Hy27. Man, some of the deer that came from those mts., and frettting about not having the means to hunt those rugged places. I still have pics of some of the bucks that people put in the paper from back then. Rare to see bucks of that caliber in Scott Cty now dead or living.

 

[jag1]

Started deer hunting in 82 with my uncle, shot my first doe with my dad's Marlin 35. Had no idea how to gut the thing but I had read several how-to's in Field & Stream & Outdoor Life. Still butchered it however. Those books were golden. Read one several years ago and it was trash...not sure what happened over the 30 years.
1st climber was a homemade platform with no hand climber I bought for $25 from my ag teacher. Had to hug the tree and pull up. Learned a valuable lesson one day...don't climb a pine tree. Don't recall if I got all the rosin off or not. Remember rubbing mink oil onto our leather boots to waterproof them? Times have certainly changed, these young ones coming into the game certainly have certain advantages we didn't but I wouldn't change a thing.
Side note on check-in stations. I miss them. All the reasons mentioned above but also they were a good opportunity for young people to get hands on learning. I used to take kids to Bolivar to work Webster's opening day. One of the best learning experiences around. Good times.

 

[CliffordN]

What I remember most about all of this is the transition from traditional dog drives to stand hunting alone. The advent of the climbing stand (I had a Baker Pro), and learning to scout for other than tracks crossing a dirt road was at the front end of what I have now being doing for a very long time. Hunting with dogs was all we knew before that.
We had always gathered well before daylight, around a big fire, as the older men decided where they would drop the dogs, and who would stand where. If you were new to the group, you might end up being dropped off in a place that had a very low percentage of seeing a deer, but you had to stay there until someone came back to pick you up. Sitting on the side of a dirt road for hours upon hours, without any communication, could lead to a long day, but that is how you paid the dues to become one of the regulars. If you could hunt during the week, you could move up the hierarchy faster. And, if you owned deer dogs, that was the golden ticket! Trucks with glass packs, Buckshot mudders, and a CB with dual whip antennas, were as much a part of those hunts as your rifle. We hunted on the edge of roads, and folks would wave as they passed, with no regard to how unsafe it might have been. The stand was the bed of your truck. It was fun, and exciting. Over time, we learned that sitting up in a tree in a great spot was much more productive. A whole industry grew out of that change. I have some friends in VA that control 18,000 acres, and they still make dog drives. If I can make it happen, I want to go hunt with them, just to hear the hounds one more time!

 

[WilcoKen]

First deer hunt was in mid 90s. Used and old PSE bow and I was up in an elm tree at the top of a hay field. I was shooting fingers and instinctive aim with big aluminum arrows. Big doe came out and I shot just under her. I thought man this isn't that hard. I'll have me a deer in a week or 2. 3 years later I killed my first deer. Lol.

 

[harley 2008]

Started in 1978 LBL juvenile hunt. Payed 99.99 for a new marlin 336C 30-30 at Grandpa's store in Clarksville.

 

[Cheshire]

Who here was deer hunting in the mid 1970's? Man I remember getting excited to see a deer track, rubs and a scrape let alone a real live deer.

I was thinking, back then, a spike, 3 or 4 pointer was on the ground if I saw it. And good gravey, a 6 or 8 point was more than I could ask for. Hickman County was THE place to hunt. I was hunting a farm in Dickson County.

Now think about today's herd. I see more 8's, 9's and 10 points that are taken all the time. Times sure have changed. At least for me anyways.

I grew up in north central Arkansas, was a teen in the 70s. They let school out for opening day for deer season, guess they thought we would all skip school anyway . I don't remember anyone around my age killing a deer and it wasn't from lack of trying. Not long ago I went to a dinner close to where I grew up lots of nice mounts hanging on the walls all taken locally. Hat off to all the people in wildlife management that made this happen.

 

[BSK]

Started in 1978 LBL juvenile hunt. Payed 99.99 for a new marlin 336C 30-30 at Grandpa's store in Clarksville.

That was my first deer rifle as well. Got it for Christmas in 1980. I think my parents bought it for $99 from Kmart. I passed it down to my daughter for Christmas a few years ago.

 

[slabhead]

That was my first deer rifle as well. Got it for Christmas in 1980. I think my parents bought it for $99 from Kmart. I passed it down to my daughter for Christmas a few years ago.

I've got mine that was given to me by my parents in 1977...my oldest and youngest sons killed their first deer...my middle had to be different. I carried it a few years ago and killed this buck...it's still a deer killer.

 

[BSK]

I've got mine that was given to me by my parents in 1977...my oldest and youngest sons killed their first deer...my middle had to be different. I carried it a few years ago and killed this buck...it's still a deer killer.

Love it!

 

[mr.big]

Me and my older brother 1978

 

[backyardtndeer]

Some of you guys were killing deer before I was born. I was born in 69, my dad died in an auto accident in 71. He was a very avid outdoorsman. Never had anyone take me deer hunting, but gained interest from a co worker in Florida. Moved to Tennessee in the spring of 92. Neighbor man who was older told me all about when there were no deer in Tennessee. Saw my first doe from a stand that fall. Killed my first deer in 94. My three daughters have all been hunting with me and have all killed deer, thankful to have shared that time with them.

Imagine hunting in the old days would have been a real challenge, but probably also would be very rewarding. Cool reading the stories here, thanks to all those for sharing.