highwidenhandsome
Member
- Messages
- 33
Let's talk about the "Good Old Days" It'll be fun and educational for a lot of younger hunters! I'm old enough to have been around and a tag along in the mid 50's and began carrying a rifle in the early 60's! I can share the experience I've had and I'm sure others can weigh in as well. I have vivid memories of deer hunts when I was so young I couldn't really say my exact age but I remember it was the most exciting thing in my life! My family lived in Salt Lake and I remember leaving our house way early on opening mornings of the deer hunt! At the time the main corridor was down state street around point of the mountain and the old highway through Lindon, Lehi, Orem and Provo! We usually went up Spanish Fork canyon with traffic bumper to bumper all the way! Passing through the canyon in the distance we'd see car headlights working there way along every little side road trying to get to their chosen favorite spot before daylight! Finally, after arriving at our spot and daylight materialized we'd be hiking through the oak brush hoping to see that giant buck everyone was looking for! Back then, there were a number of local "Big Buck" contests offered at the city sporting goods stores! Ziniks was probably most popular but others as well. Most Salt Lake hunters would make it a priority to sign up for the contests and many out of towners and non-residents would stop there too! The deer hunt was a very big deal at the time!
Gunshots would begin ringing out in all directions! Some echoing way off in the distance, others not so far away! Sometimes we'd hear the whinny of horses and hoped they'd scare a deer our way, sometimes after shots were fired we'd hear a hunter directing one of his buddies to his downed buck! I've never been to war but I remember times when the shots fired were like one! Think of it this way, when hunters used open sights and shooting at running deer including both bucks and does and yes, probably half the deer taken were does that makes a whole lot more shooting and a whole lot more missing! LOL My family didn't have the means to camp overnight so we'd spend the day hunting and head back home that evening. I always had the hope of my dad shooting a giant buck but he really didn't share that dream, he'd say he wanted a young buck that wasn't too heavy to handle! WHAT... to hell with how heavy or too old! Who cares about that! It's that rack we're after! YES.... I've had that disease all my life and my dad never shot a big buck til I was a grown man!
While heading home at night car after car would pass many with their kill tied to bumpers or heads hanging out the trunk on display ( as to show off their hunting skill) wait a minute, I said hanging out the trunk? Huh? Yes..... many of you didn't realize back then most families were single vehicle owners and most had cars! (more practical for a family, right?) So yes, in most cases the family sedan was the hunting vehicle too! How far back in do you think the hunters were getting? And a lot of cars were 6 cylinder with high gears so they'd easily over heat on steep grade.
Like I said...... I was always hoping for that giant buck but I had no idea at the time we were only hunting at an elevation of around 6500' probably not the best chance of bumping into a giant! ( not to say there weren't any!)
To be continued
Share your stories "OLD TIMERS"
Gunshots would begin ringing out in all directions! Some echoing way off in the distance, others not so far away! Sometimes we'd hear the whinny of horses and hoped they'd scare a deer our way, sometimes after shots were fired we'd hear a hunter directing one of his buddies to his downed buck! I've never been to war but I remember times when the shots fired were like one! Think of it this way, when hunters used open sights and shooting at running deer including both bucks and does and yes, probably half the deer taken were does that makes a whole lot more shooting and a whole lot more missing! LOL My family didn't have the means to camp overnight so we'd spend the day hunting and head back home that evening. I always had the hope of my dad shooting a giant buck but he really didn't share that dream, he'd say he wanted a young buck that wasn't too heavy to handle! WHAT... to hell with how heavy or too old! Who cares about that! It's that rack we're after! YES.... I've had that disease all my life and my dad never shot a big buck til I was a grown man!
While heading home at night car after car would pass many with their kill tied to bumpers or heads hanging out the trunk on display ( as to show off their hunting skill) wait a minute, I said hanging out the trunk? Huh? Yes..... many of you didn't realize back then most families were single vehicle owners and most had cars! (more practical for a family, right?) So yes, in most cases the family sedan was the hunting vehicle too! How far back in do you think the hunters were getting? And a lot of cars were 6 cylinder with high gears so they'd easily over heat on steep grade.
Like I said...... I was always hoping for that giant buck but I had no idea at the time we were only hunting at an elevation of around 6500' probably not the best chance of bumping into a giant! ( not to say there weren't any!)
To be continued
Share your stories "OLD TIMERS"
