When did you first truly awake to “The Horn of the Hunter”?

In the mid 60’s I can remember at age of around 3 or 4 my dad carrying me on his back to a backwater slough on the Mississippi River in Minnesota to hunt ducks. Both he and my mom jokingly said that was the worst mistake he ever made . I have been obsessed with hunting ever since.
So I would say the horn sounded for me extremely early in life.

I’ve been duck hunting with my father & my uncle since I was ten years old. Hunting excited me ever since day one in 1961, when I shot a nice male Mallard duck. They were feeding at the corn fields near the banks of the Tista river. I actually missed seven shots that day before I bagged my first game. After my mom made Mallard duck bhuna (a sort of South East Asian curry involving a coconut milk base) and crispy paratha flatbreads that evening for dinner, and I got to dine on something which I had bagged myself… I knew that I was never going back. 65 years later, I still haven’t forgotten the divine taste of that amazing corn fed Mallard.

Hunter-Habib said:

I actually missed seven shots that day before I bagged my first game. After my mom made Mallard duck bhuna (a sort of South East Asian curry involving a coconut milk base) and crispy paratha flatbreads that evening for dinner, and I got to dine on something which I had bagged myself… I knew that I was never going back.

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And I’m guessing the misses made the first bag (and first meal you got to supply) all the better. Thanks for sharing!

Hunt anything said:

So I would say the horn sounded for me extremely early in life.

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I don’t doubt it at all, and I’m a little jealous!

Cooposo said:

And I’m guessing the misses made the first bag (and first meal you got to supply) all the better. Thanks for sharing!

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Want to see something very cool ? My dad still kept those shells on display in our family rec room since that memorable day in 1961 (as a proud reminder of the first time his son ever bagged any game).

You see 11 shells here. I actually attempted three more shots that day on Rudy Sheldrake after I got the Mallard (more out of sheer luck than skill), but missed them all.

God, I still miss the smell of those freshly fired paper cased Eley Alphamax Heavy Load shells so much. The smell of burnt Nobel powder was intoxicating ! They just don’t make them like that anymore these days.

I started squirrel hunting with my dad at age 3 .He held the gun I pulled the trigger .I could hold it by myself at 4 and was hunting by myself at 5 with a 22 .I got my first shotgun a sxs 20 ga at 8 shot doves quail and rabbits with it .I got a deer with it at 11 .I got my first big rifle to me anyway at 11 a 3030 win 94 .Then 12 got a 742 rem 3006 shot a bunch of deer with it till I wanted a bigger gun then got a 338 win mag so I could finalll use in Alaaka when I went at 35 .I then realized needed an even bigger gun for longer shots got 338-378 weatherby and a 416 rem mag for close bears .I have hunted 60 years never stopped hopefully can hunt till I die .

@Hunter-Habib , I’m with you on the smell of that freshly spent powder! I would always grab a shell and take in that wonderful odor. With the powder used in today’s steel shot shells it just doesn’t seem the same.
My absolute favorite hunting memories are mornings spent hunting ducks or running my trap line with my dad that has recently passed away.

The Horn of the Hunter has been in me since I can remember. I started with an air rifle at 8 and the feral English Sparrows in my neighbourhood copped a hiding. After saving my pocket money and paper-run money for 5 years, at age 13 I rode my push bike to one of the first K-Marts in Australia and bought a Winchester Model 1200 12ga Pump and a box of #4 cartridges and rode my pushy home (wouldn't happen today). The feeling of power was intoxicating. I watched that gun get crushed in 1996 during the government steal-back after 10 years of military service - I couldn't be trusted with a pump action 12ga but carrying an SLR as an Infantry Platoon Commander and Battalion Shooting Officer was OK.
I have been hunting ever since. I have 9 big hunts this year. Planning and sharing hunts with my son and mates keeps me going.

I believe some people are born hunters. It is engrained in their DNA.

I do agree this horn sounds early for some and later for others. For my brother, I believe it sounded at birth. From our early years as kids we had many adventures in the woods and waters that he led me on. Many of times my involvement was only to follow him. Never truly understanding what the heck was the big thrill was all about but I wasn't going to miss it, granted I was about 6 and he would have been close 10 years old at my earliest memory. Teenage years came and he still prioritized hunting before anything, sacrificing everything from love to money. Myself I took love and money!!
The sound of the horn for me was more of a nagging ringing in my ears. I never could shake it. It took years to hear the message and realize this wasn't just a hobby, not a passion or even a call. I didn't even know about Ruark's horn until just a few years ago. But I did have that awakening when I called up my 1st wild turkey 30 some years ago. A novice I was, but that morning I was speaking his language. What a different place the woods became for me when I became a participant instead of a spectator. Now after 45 plus years of hunting together it is me who has taken the reins and began our journey to Africa. In just a little over a year we will get to see, hear and experience the grandest of all our adventures!

Cooposo said:

This is not a question of “When did you start hunting?”, but rather, when did you respond to the hunt, or hunting, in the way Robert Ruark described it in The Horn of the Hunter.

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For me: most likely when I was pre school age.

I had toys of plastic animals, while all other kids where playing with toy cars.
I watched all african safari movies, and animal documentaries on TV. I dreamed of hunts.

I was begging my granpa (A hunter) to show me his guns on weekly basis when I was pre school age.
He thought me to shoot 22 as soon as I could hold the rifle.
I Shot my first roe buck at age of 17.

At the age of about 12 or earlier I asked my mom to buy me a book in a book stgore about hunting, guns, ballistics and hunting dogs, when I was at primary school.
I still have that book.

And within a year I knew it by heart.

My next big discovery was Africa, when I was at my 40-ies.
It was beyond my imagination till that time that African hunt was legal and possible in this age and time - the consequence of brain washing by discovery and national geographic channels.
Then, I went full in!

Hunting locally at my place, was already a routine.

Buying 375, wedlocked me in.

DG experience of Africa sealed my dreams.

Hunter-Habib said:

View attachment 755417
Want to see something very cool ? My dad still kept those shells on display in our family rec room since that memorable day in 1961 (as a proud reminder of the first time his son ever bagged any game).

You see 11 shells here. I actually attempted three more shots that day on Rudy Sheldrake after I got the Mallard (more out of sheer luck than skill), but missed them all.

God, I still miss the smell of those freshly fired paper cased Eley Alphamax Heavy Load shells so much. The smell of burnt Nobel powder was intoxicating ! They just don’t make them like that anymore these days.

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You had a helluva good DAD. I did too. Thanks for the memory.

dhoover said:

You had a helluva good DAD. I did too. Thanks for the memory.

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He turns 95 in July and still hunts jack snipe regularly in the rice paddy fields around our family home. He truly is my best friend. Both my parents are.

I wrote about them both in the first & last chapter of my autobiography.

I'm sure your dad was just as amazing. If not more.

Hunter-Habib's post about his dad brought back some great memories for me. My Dad passed away this January at age 90. He grew up between the great depression, the dust bowl and World War 2. He had polio as a child, so he had trouble walking throughout his life. He loved to hunt and luckily for him he lived in western Kansas, so pheasant hunting was king. You always need blockers. He first took me when I was 4 years old and let me walk with the walkers while he blocked. I was forever hooked. We had access to great deer hunting, coyote calling, jackrabbits in abundance, pheasants, ponds to jump for ducks and geese and prairie dog towns to set up on. When I was 10, dad got me 22-250 with a 4 power scope and we were off to the races. Now we had a high power to replace our open sighted 22 mag. I started shooting a bow at 12 in advance of turning 14 when I could legally bow hunt for deer. My mom's 2 brothers started taking me to CO for Elk and Mule deer when I turned 14 and we quickly realized we had bigger Muley's in KS than we were hunting for in CO. He also had a subscription to Outdoor Life which is where I first dreamed of Africa. l can't remember ever not hunting.

Roaming the hills and dales with my trusty Crossman pellet gun was my daily activity after school or whenever. I was lucky to have 400 acres to roam and many pigeons, starlings, rats and woodchucks volunteered to sharpen my skills. Having no hunters in the family my wonderful father recognized my passion and took me dove hunting when I turned legal at 12. He gave me a 20 gauge single shot and opening day I shot four or five and there was no going back. He continued to help nurture my passion taking me hunting for deer, squirrel, turkey and pheasant. A few years later my mother had some teacher friends who became my mentors and we developed life long friendships. That is my Horn of the Hunter background.

Tucketed said:

Roaming the hills and dales with my trusty Crossman pellet gun was my daily activity after school or whenever. I was lucky to have 400 acres to roam and many pigeons, starlings, rats and woodchucks volunteered to sharpen my skills. Having no hunters in the family my wonderful father recognized my passion and took me dove hunting when I turned legal at 12. He gave me a 20 gauge single shot and opening day I shot four or five and there was no going back. He continued to help nurture my passion taking me hunting for deer, squirrel, turkey and pheasant. A few years later my mother had some teacher friends who became my mentors and we developed life long friendships. That is my Horn of the Hunter background.

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Very similar for me. I was lucky to be able to roam far and wide with a BB gun or 22 or shotgun in hand. And I enjoyed it. But the intense drive to hunt didn’t come until later.

Similar story that others have shared. I feel soooo lucky to have grown up in a rural farm area where hunting, shooting and fishing were no farther than out the back door. I remember the exact moment the horn of the hunter got me. My dad had gone deer hunting with his group over a long weekend. They used to hunt, by foot and horseback, in a remote part of the Natl Forest on the boundary of the Gila Wilderness NM. As expected after the hunt, he got home Sunday evening well after dark. He pulled back a tarp in the pickup bed to show the family a mule deer buck. I was 4 years old and remember my exact thoughts while examining and touching that buck. That was 72 years ago, I was hooked.

dgr416 said:

I started squirrel hunting with my dad at age 3 .He held the gun I pulled the trigger .I could hold it by myself at 4 and was hunting by myself at 5 with a 22 .I got my first shotgun a sxs 20 ga at 8 shot doves quail and rabbits with it .I got a deer with it at 11 .I got my first big rifle to me anyway at 11 a 3030 win 94 .Then 12 got a 742 rem 3006 shot a bunch of deer with it till I wanted a bigger gun then got a 338 win mag so I could finalll use in Alaaka when I went at 35 .I then realized needed an even bigger gun for longer shots got 338-378 weatherby and a 416 rem mag for close bears .I have hunted 60 years never stopped hopefully can hunt till I die .

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Heard the horn of the hunter very early. I was still wearing the little red rubber booties that close with elastic loops, when Dad took me along for my 1st rabbit hunt. I have been hunting and fishing ever since. Here are some Argentina dove hunts I did with some pals of mine.
Recently my son has heard the horn of the hunter here are some hunts he and I did together. Now he is booked for a 2027 cape buffalo hhnt with me in SA.