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moundhill

Senior Member
Supporting Member
5,327
103
Hebbardsville..
I've really been on TOO alot lately, and frealized..i don't know anything about any of you guys. To start off, this is the best site out there, it would be wierd without TOO. And thanks to the mod's for such an awsome place to come to. But i wanna get to know ya guys a little bit better, so what's your story? Where ya from, tell us about your family, great memories, anything. Hopefully this will get some of the new guys to get to know everyone TOO.

I'll start off..
I'm 17, been living in the same house my whole life, right here in Athens. My passion is bowhunting. After shooting my first archery deer, I've been hooked. I wouldn't care if they did away with gun season all together haha. I'll gun hunt tho, and have killed some deer with a gun, but a Fred Bear Lights Out is my weapon of choice. I've been hitting the woods since i was about 10 or 11. I remember getting off the bus and seeing a big buck hangin in my tree out back. It was dad's first big buck, a 132 inch 12 point. My dad got me started on hunting, and taught me alot of the things i know. Some things I've taught myself. I've only killed one decent buck in my life..so far..i have high hopes for this year though. Currently I'm about to go into senior year at Alexander Highschool. Diablo and I have a lil mowing business goin too. My best memory is probly after shooting my first decent buck, and walking up to it with my dad beside me. I'll never forget that feeling.
 

RedCloud

Super Moderator
Super Mod
17,381
193
North Central Ohio
I will get something posted later tonight or over this weekend. Been crazy around here this week and not looking good for next week ether lol.
 

Mike

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,840
223
Up Nort
Ok, I'll be second. I'm 38 and I'm originally from Elk Grove Village, Illinois (O'hare airport) and grew up fishing. I LIVED for fishing. I taught myself everything I know as my dad did not care for outdoor sports...or any sport for that matter. I love my dad, but I can only recall one time that he ever threw a ball to me.:smiley_baby: My interest came when my parents bought the farm in Michigan; there was a pond there. We also lived very close to a large reservoir and I would ride my bike there whenever my parents would let me. My parents were strict and once my mom grounded me for 1 year from fishing!:tantrum: That was my fugging life mind you! Anyway, I attended Northern Illinois University and got a BFA in Illustration in 1995 and then followed my (now) spouse to Ohio when she moved out here to get her masters. Moving to Ohio was the best move I have ever made. I knew that some point I would probably try hunting because it just seemed so natural and also because I love venison. With three seasons under my belt, I'm going to take my 9 year old out with me as much as possible this season. I just want to spend time with him in the woods. I work as an art director for a company that manufactures printing plates and cutting dies for the corrugated packaging industry and I've worked there for 15 years. I still fish, but not as much as I used to. Both of my boys enjoy fishing...for five minutes or so.:smiley_confused_vra
 

Beentown

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,740
154
Sunbury, OH
I'm 34 and grew up in Morrow County. I always was in the outdoors whether it was for work (farm) or play. Dad showed me the ropes of small game hunting but he didn't go that much himself but we were always fishing. Literaly on the water almost everyday in the spring/summer growing up. Bailed hay and worked ground to buy my poles, bait and bicycle.

Ended up being pretty good at sports and chasing girls so I didn't do much hunting for a while. Took it back up pretty heavy when I was 23. Shot my first buck my first time out with a bow. Spined it and it bawled for ten minutes while I fumble fugged around try to knock another arrow. Good story that I need to write up.

I grew up in a great family that I appreciate more now than I ever did then. I live in Delaware County now. Married for 10 years and have two awesome girls that are 5 and 3. Raising them to love the Lord and the outdoors. My wife and I are both self employed and sometimes it is a struggle and sometimes it is the best thing ever. We try to stay somewhere inbetween and grow a bit each day.

Beentown
 

Hoytmania

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
11,518
167
Gods Country
I am 34 and have been married to the best woman ever created for 14 years. I grew up in a small town in Richland County that has more bars than traffic lights, and friday night football is God if that tells you anything. I have 2 children, 1 boy who is 15 going on 21, and a daughter that is 12. I work in a family owned and started HVAC and plumbing business. My grandfather and dad started the business 52 years ago this month. I am proud to say that I am the third generation coming up to take the reigns and carry the torch (this is one reason my TOO activity has been limited at times, go figure when its 90 degrees out every one wants A/C).

I never really fished or hunted growing up because if dad wasn't working he was still working on something. I finally got into the woods when I was 20. I had gotten a crossbow and some camos and had no clue what I was doing. I hunted 4 seasons before I saw my first deer while on stand. That turned out to be my first deer. A very nice 10 point buck at 5 yrds from the base of the tree. I have since got TOO experience a slew of hunting experiences that range from teaching my son the world of archery and watching him harvest four deer, 1 gun, 3 compound. To also getting my wife in TOO archery. I am for the most part a self taught hunter that is by no stretch an expert and is always learning every day.
 
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badger

*Supporting Member*
43 swm, I like lesbians, mud wresting, and kareko. You can find me at Joes for .75 drafts and free sloopy joes.




Ok seriously, I am 43 and lesbians wouldn't be bad if I was involved as well.

I have always been drawn to the outdoors. Grew up wading in every creek, pond, water puddle I could find. There wasn't a frog or crayfish safe from me. Once I discovered trapping it was on! I cut my teeth on muskrats, coon, and possum. I caught my share of skunks and fluked a few fox as a young trapper. I think I was about 13 or 14 when I bought my first bow, it was a Jennings Aerostar I think. It was a youth compound and I kept it around for a year or so before trading it for a Ben Pearson recurve. I shot more fish than anything else with that bow and my son still uses it today. I shot deer with a slug gun for a few years before I got serious about bow hunting. My first bow killed deer was in the early nineties. I went through a few bows before I found one I really liked. It was a Golden Eagle Evolution. I harvested many deer and hogs with that bow. I currently shoot a Mathews with fingers and pin sites. Yes I'm still using what god gave me and it will take a lot to change that, I love feeling the string in my fingers! I still trap and it has become more of a lifestyle than a hobby for me. It may sound strange but I look forward to leaky chest waders in January in the middle of a beaver swamp. Things like this let me know I'm alive and it put's me in my place on how small I am in the grand scheme of things.

I didn't mention work as I talk about that too much as it is.
 

dante322

*Supporting Member*
5,506
157
Crawford county
My name isnt really dante, Its David. but everyone calls me Dave. I am 41 years old, have 2 of my own children, both boys age 14 and 17 , three step kids, 2 girls and a boy ages 23, 21, and 15. I also have three, (soon to be 4) grandkids, 2 boys and a girl ages 6, 5 and 3.

I grew up a son of a single mom. I had a stepdad for a little while and we lived on a farm on the crawford richland county line. when we lived ther I loved to explore the woods, ponds, streams, and pastures that surrounded us. I cant tell you how many "pet" snakes, frogs, turtles, crawdads... I would drag home while we lived on that farm. I even found an injured white owl and brought that home. I stuck a branch from a tree in the corner of the living room and fed it mice. it ended up dying but I tried to help it. nobody in my house hunted or fished but I think that is when the whole "nature" thing got in me. we also had horses, rabbits, and other assorted livestock.

After my mom and stepdad divorced, we moved to the city. I think my mom realized I missed living in the country and encouraged me to be outside as much as possible. If there was a stream, pond or woodlot within 10 miles of where we lived I knew about it and was familiar with it.and we would go camping at least once every summer and we always had a fishing pole or 2 with us, I was the only one using them, but mom made sure they were there.

fast forward twenty years or so. I have met my second and current wife. she and her kids have lived intown all there lives and hunting and fishing are foreign to all of them, but her dad is an avid fisherman, with a boat. My father in law and I have spent many spring and summer days and nights on the water, my kids go along occasionaly but they arent as into it as I am.
A couple years ago A coworker convinced me to try bowhunting. I found something there that has become a passion. I still like to fish, but I find myself gravitating towards public lakes that also have a hunting area so I can do a little scouting at the same time. I killed my first deer with a sluggun the first year out, last year was my first bowkill. last year also marked a new milestone, I finally got one of the kids interested.
It was the night before youth gun season opened. My sons were supposed to come out but they both backed out at the last minute. So I looked at chelsea, my youngest stepdaughter and asked her if she wanted to go, she had already done the safety course, and she said sure. I was just kidding when I asked her but I thought "why not?" so we ran out that night and got her a lisence and a tag, and some camo. she had already been along at the gun range and liked the .45 muzzleloader so we were all set. We did see a doe that morning, but she didnt shoot it. I still kid her about how she forgot to shoot but the truth is I never showed her how to adjust the power of the scope for a closer shot. She has since gotten interested in archery and is hoping to be able to get her bnow up to 40 pound draw this season.

As far as my hunting goes I am for the most part self taught. I have picked up a lot of info on sites like this but also from books, videos and magazines. It is cool that I have finally got one of my kids interested because I still have a lot to learn and am looking forward to learning it together.
 

cotty16

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
I'm Mike and I'm a TOO addict.

I'm the youngest of 3 boys in my family. My dad worked in the steel mill and my mom was a housewife.
My dad is my biggest hunting influence and I'm the only of the 3 boys that hunts.

I grew up on a baseball field and still spend too much time on one. I played football in high school as well, but baseball was my thing. In fact, my senior year in football I made first team All State as a quarterback and my name was along side names like Kijana Carter, Joe Jurevicious, Mike Vrabel, Matt Finkes, and Luke FickeI.
Please don't think I'm bragging, but it's pretty cool to have those names by mine. They're rich and I'm a school teacher... Pfft!

I was lucky enough to make the University of Akron baseball team as a freshman and sophomore, but beer and distractions got the best of me and I was ineligible both seasons.
My wife, who was also attending Akron, straightened my butt out and I finished up my schooling at Ohio University Eastern in St Clairsville to be a teacher. Now I get to try to get kids to not make the same stupid mistakes I did.

My wife, who is a paralegal, and I have been together since 1991 (our junior year in high school). She went to a rival school, but she knew a good thing when she saw it! ;)
We just celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary and have 3 kids (Kody, Klay, and Katie). Now I'm entering my 13th year as a teacher, 11th as the varsity baseball coach at Indian Creek HS, and I'm pursuing a second masters degree in school counseling.

Both boys are interested in sports and hunting, but Kody has showed more of a passion for the outdoors.

I'm a lucky man to say the least. I have a beautiful wife and family and I get to hunt. What more could one ask for?
 
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bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Good idea for a thread MH! I know some of the guys that have posted pretty well, but I still learned a few things...

I'm 28, about to be 29 in less than a month. It's been nearly 21 years since I wwent on my first deer hunt with my trusty single-shot Remington .410, the same gun I would kill my first squirrel with the same fall. I was three sport jock from the age of 5 to 18, so hunting was not at the top of my priority list during my younger years. I am more of less a self-taught hunter, and a 100% self-taught bowhunter. My dad taught me how to walk quietly and to move slowly while still hunting squirrels when I was younger, but he was never much of a deer hunter so there was not knowledge to gain from him in the that department. I got my first bow in '99 and used the Bear Whitetail II to kill my first deer in the fall of 2000. I graduated high school in 2001 and headed for Athens that fall to major in Marketing. While I was in Athens, I met 5Cent and we started fishing and hunting together. In the fall of 2004, I got my first trail camera from my new girlfriend (now wife :) ) and it quickly captured pictures of what would be my first big buck. The following fall, my dad bought the farm and my hunting went from a casual hobby, to a full blown passion. So I am a bit of a late bloomer in regards to being a serious deer hunter, but it's been a work in progress for the past two decades!!!

I was born to a house wife and a surveyor in Washington County and I've never strayed far from there! I married an amazing woman in 2008 and we bought our first home a year later. We have a 4-year old chocolate lab named Remington and one cat. My wife is a nurse at a local hospital and I work as a landman for a medium sized independent oil and gas company with operations in WV and OH. Other than that, there's not a lot about me of any interest! Oh, and I'm the proud co-owner of the premier hunting forum in Ohio!!! :smiley_clap:
 

huntn2

Senior Member
6,090
157
Hudson, OH
I am Ryan.

I am 29, married and father of a 16 month old named Landon. I live in University Heights, OH, 2 blocks from John Carroll University where I met my wife. We both graduated in 2003. I double majored Business Logistics and Management Business Technology. She was an education major and is a kindergarten teacher. I work in Supply Chain/Logistics doing network optimization and project management.

I was an outdoor junkie growing up and was addicted to sports. I played soccer, ice hockey and lacrosse till college where I just played club lacrosse. Outside of organized sports, I was addicted to mountain biking, road biking, rock climbing, snowboarding, boogie boarding, water skiing, white water rafting, you name it. If it was an outdoor/adventure sport I was most likely trying it. It wasn’t until I married my wife in 2005 that I was introduced to hunting. Her family got me into it and it was another way to enjoy the outdoors. At first I just accompanied my FIL gun hunting PA & NY to see what it was all about. I have been absolutely addicted since dropping my first doe in 2006! I hunt OH, PA and NY. This will be my 4th season with my bow and I am still after my first archery kill (other than an opossum one morning a few years ago).

I feel pretty fortunate and blessed. Hopefully if I play my cards right I can buy a new home with some land in about 4-5 years.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
Hi guys. My name is Phil and I am a deer addict.

"Hi Phil".

Why does this feel like a support group setting? :smiley_crocodile:

Lived outdoors as a kid. Getting dirty, riding motorcycles, and bicycles, playing backyard ball, etc. Fished a lot as a kid and did some camping. Whatever we did though was nearly always outdoors. Graduated HS and headed off to basic training. Came back and did some small game hunting and began buying some guns.

Started a business in 1997 and haven't looked back. I am working or playing outside most of the time. I guess to be truthful, this year has been more juggling employees and paperwork than work in the field. Three years ago I started selling some tree stands. This year I finally developed an "official" name for that business. Our main income is our property maintenance business though. Lawn/landscaping, snow plowing, and parking lot sweeping are the main services offered. We dabble in a little of everything though. I do some wheeling and dealing, own some rental properties, and I am always entertaining new opportunities.

I have been married for 11yrs and have a 7yr old son and almost 10 year old daughter. My wife and I do everything we can to keep them grounded and in nature. In fact, we just bought a camper tonight. Fishing, deer scouting, riding motorcycles, hiking, camping, are just a few of the main things we do as a family.

Deer hunting specifically is something I am relatively new to. I always wanted to try it, but my mother was a home maker and father was a teacher. Neither one of them hunted nor did my grandparents. Crazy too, because many of my uncles, cousins, great uncles, and other family members have always hunted. Not sure how it missed my parents and grandparents? When I finally took to deer hunting, it hit me like a crack addict. My first season I shot a dandy and I have been consumed by the sport ever since. I cannot believe I waited so long to get into it. I also enjoy calling coyotes in the winter and will probably try turkey hunting sooner or later. Love getting the kids out shed hunting, scouting, or in a ground blind. Can't wait to spill some blood this season!
 

Redhunter1012

Senior Member
Supporting Member
My name is Ryan. 32 years old. I grew up along the Wood/Hancock County lines. From my earliest memories in life, I was involved in the outdoors. My Dad always made sure we were fishing a couple days a week in the summer and we always were chasing something in the fall. I remember learning all the holes in the Maumee River for walleye fishing as soon as I was old enough to wade. I'm old enough to remember when seeing a deer was a big deal in my parts. Killed my first deer, a BB, when I was about 10 with a gun. Back then we basically only gunhunted for deer. It wasn't til I was in HS that I started bowhunting. My Dad didn't teach me anything specific about bowhunting, but it was his lessons on deer behavior, especially pressured deer, that I credit as being my most successfull piece of knowledge I own. I've been married since 2003 and my wide is a RN at a local hospital. I work at the local grain elevator, which kills my hunting time. This past March we welcomed our first child, a son named Greyson, into our family. Now I dream more about the days ahead of spending time outdoors with him than I do about what lies ahead outdoors for me.
 

DJK Frank 16

Senior Member
Supporting Member
9,358
133
Hardin County
My name is Drake.

I'm 24 years old (soon to be 25), I've lived in Hardin County my whole life, in the big town of McGuffey! :smiley_crocodile:

I've bass fished and hunted rabbits since I was old enough to hold a gun, while deer hunting became my prime outdoor passion in 2001 or 2002. A few gun harvests early in the game got me hooked on the whitetail. I started crossbow hunting in 2003 until buying my first compound bow in 2004. Since this I've became primarily a bow hunter, gaining knowledge from a lot of the guys on this site today as well as another site. Some may have known me in the early days as HuntNWOHIO. 2010 brought my biggest archery harvest to day, a ten point that I guess at about 120-125 inches (still haven't gotten the official score).

I've been married since last September, closing in on one year. My wife and I have dated since we were in High School, coming up on 9 years together. She is a teacher.

I work as a Senior Support Technician, fancy name for "guy who fixes broken shit", I've been with my company for almost 4 years now.

In my spare time away from the outdoors, I enjoy drinking cold Busch Light, cooking on a charcoal grill, throwing corn hole, having campfires, shooting guns, playing xbox, building computers, and golfing.

Thats about it for me.
 

twireman

Senior Member
2,929
149
Kingston, OH
Tyler 28...Grew up in southeast Ross county. Cut my teeth in the outdoors when my dad and papaw would take my brother and I squirrelll hunting at age 8-9. I didnt' start deer hunting till I was around 14. Senior year I gave up basketball to spend more time in the woods and killed my biggest buck to date. My brother and I are pretty much selft taught in deer hunting as dad had no interest in it. I also think it's pretty cool that we both have bucks in the OBBC. Mine grossed 172 and his 168. I have killed deer every year since I was 17 whether it be a buck or does. Bowhunting is my passion, but I will fire up the 11-87 for Monday of gun season every year. Will never miss that!

Turkey hunting is something I completely learned on my own. I put a diaphram in my mouth around 17, worked all winter on it. Killed a gobbler next spring and that was the start of another addiction. I've killed a bird just about every spring since then as well. My brother and I also duck and goose hunted a lot till I moved to Columbus.

I'm an RN and my wife is a Veterinarian. I started dating my wife in '03 and married in '07. We lived in Columbus from '07 till now while she went to vet school at OSU. She's been working a full year now and we are looking to buy back home. I haven't had much time to really scout deer or pattern the last few years due to crazy hours at OSU Medical Center. I just use my tried and true spots. I hunt primarily in Pike county on my parents 130 acres or my inlaws farm (200 acres). Also we have two pups. A chocolate lab and an Akita... Im also a diehard OSU football fan.