Vintage Hunting Photos (Good Old Days)

[Zag]

I was looking through some family albums last night and came across a handful so far.

[grampy]

My hunting partner Gary's first buck. Late 70s.

A buck I shot with Gary. Early 80s

A mid 80s bounty for us both.

Time sure flys when you're having fun!

[Zag]

19 minutes ago, grampy said:

My hunting partner Gary's first buck. Late 70s.

A buck I shot with Gary. Early 80s

A mid 80s bounty for us both.

Time sure flys when you're having fun!

Gary’s Camo ( tree bark) still my favorite pattern! Guess you guys go way back, cool to see!

[46rkl]

Those late 70’s pics bring back such great memories. Our “camp” was all red plaid and we had to have four people for a doe tag. So many memories. 

[Swamp_bucks]

Not vintage but my first 2 bucks.  3 point with a bow and 1st deer ever.  Spike is first gun buck and 1st stateland buck.  I was 17 with my bow and 18 with the gun.   The flannel in the gun picture was my grandfathers also wore it when I shot him.

Edited December 23, 2020 by Swamp_bucks

[Swamp_bucks]

Date on first pictures wrong.  It was the Saturday after thanksgiving.

[Zag]

Few more I came across a few more. 

[prohuntings]

i am really interested to start this learning hunting resources, anybody can help me?

[prohuntings]

On 12/22/2020 at 7:06 PM, Zag said:

Gary’s Camo ( tree bark) still my favorite pattern! Guess you guys go way back, cool to see!

Awesome

[BizCT]

A few more:

1970’s my dad with a red fox he shot in Catskills mountains

1976 my Dad with a Catskills public land buck

Me as a 9-month old baby in 1984 checking out a Catskills brow-less 8pt my Dad shot








Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[First-light]

On 7/20/2018 at 4:27 PM, Doc said:

So many of these old pictures remind me of a time when hunting was a lot less demanding and represented a time when people "just hunted". No farming activities to train deer to make themselves concentrated and more available for easier hunting. We hunted the deer as we found them and did not try to train or program deer to behave in ways that we needed to take advantage of. There was less reliance on the efforts of some product designer trying to negate necessary skills. Many of the pictures in this thread were taken at a time when landowners did not post their land and there was free access to anyplace you were fit enough to walk. You could still-hunt without constantly stepping out in somebody's backyard. The bow seasons were known for rare and almost non-existent encounters with other hunters. Deer created real patterns that would stay stable without armies of people (hunters and non-hunters) interrupting them (except for gun season). Public lands were the domain of hunters, and not throngs of birdwatchers, hikers, and mountain bikers. State lands were not treated like shooting ranges. Deer hunting success was measured by body volume and/or the number of antler points and not some crazy intricate system of antler measurement. The 10 point buck was the talk of the neighborhood, and the mystical 12 point that everyone claimed to see but nobody ever got was what kept everybody out there trying. And probably the best part of those days was that there was no fighting and arguing over methods and seasons and equipment. The rules and laws and seasons were set and there was no constant loud combat about changing them. Hunting was a part of the rural culture, and never had to be defended. It was just something that a farm-kid was expected to become involved in. Even the teachers in school were known to have taken off an occasional opening day of deer season along with nearly all male high-school juniors and seniors. It was an unwritten day off.....not like today where you are practically spit on for taking the life of a critter.

I began hunting in the last days of those times depicted in some of those pictures, and I feel quite privileged to have known that kind of hunting. I have seen a lot of changes since those days, and I often wonder where those changes and future changes will lead the activity in years to come.

As much as you would want something to never change it is inevitable. Good bad or ugly it has to change. Yes the old days were good but in that time not now. We humans know too much and have to manage everything! Hell in 100 years there may be little hunting left. 

[Grouse]

Old hunting pic video

 

[Grouse]

Duck hunting film from 100 years ago

 

[airedale]

[airedale]

[Pygmy]

One thing I have noticed in these pictures is that among the lever action rifles, the overwhelming majority have long ( 24" +)   barrels , rather than shorter carbine length barrels that are popular today... Probably a throwback to black powder days, when a longer barrel was necessary to  completely burn the powder charge..

[Grouse]

[Swamp_bucks]

If I remember I'm going to my parents today and my mom has pictures of my grandpa from 1948 with a big chenago county buck off the old family farm.  I'll try to take pictures of them to post

[Swamp_bucks]

Here are picture of my grandfather and some of his deer.  I know the biggest buck was in 1948 because of the date on the picture but not sure of the others. All taken in Norwich and preston ny.  3rd picture down is the tree everyone hangs their first deer on and I did as well before he went to the garage.  Along with my dad and every other hunter in the family.

Edited February 14, 2021 by Swamp_bucks

[Grouse]

What were those deer propped up on to make them look as if they were standing up?

[Nytracker]

Rigor mortis .... froze that way.

[Swamp_bucks]

7 hours ago, Grouse said:

What were those deer propped up on to make them look as if they were standing up?

He hung  them upside down and when rigor set in and they were frozen he would take them down and place a stick in the back end to keep them propped up.  If you look at the second to last picture you can see the stick.  I dont know why he did it but from what I was always told my grandpa had a weird sense of humor.  So he probably found it funny.

[Nytracker]

Back when I was a teenager  we shot a deer on a party permit.  Froze it that way and propped it up in my great uncles front yard . Gramps funny sense of humor.  Great uncle was out of work and still wouldn't go hunting . Family needed the meat. 

[eaglemountainman]

On 7/20/2018 at 4:27 PM, Doc said:

So many of these old pictures remind me of a time when hunting was a lot less demanding and represented a time when people "just hunted". No farming activities to train deer to make themselves concentrated and more available for easier hunting. We hunted the deer as we found them and did not try to train or program deer to behave in ways that we needed to take advantage of. There was less reliance on the efforts of some product designer trying to negate necessary skills. Many of the pictures in this thread were taken at a time when landowners did not post their land and there was free access to anyplace you were fit enough to walk. You could still-hunt without constantly stepping out in somebody's backyard. The bow seasons were known for rare and almost non-existent encounters with other hunters. Deer created real patterns that would stay stable without armies of people (hunters and non-hunters) interrupting them (except for gun season). Public lands were the domain of hunters, and not throngs of birdwatchers, hikers, and mountain bikers. State lands were not treated like shooting ranges. Deer hunting success was measured by body volume and/or the number of antler points and not some crazy intricate system of antler measurement. The 10 point buck was the talk of the neighborhood, and the mystical 12 point that everyone claimed to see but nobody ever got was what kept everybody out there trying. And probably the best part of those days was that there was no fighting and arguing over methods and seasons and equipment. The rules and laws and seasons were set and there was no constant loud combat about changing them. Hunting was a part of the rural culture, and never had to be defended. It was just something that a farm-kid was expected to become involved in. Even the teachers in school were known to have taken off an occasional opening day of deer season along with nearly all male high-school juniors and seniors. It was an unwritten day off.....not like today where you are practically spit on for taking the life of a critter.

I began hunting in the last days of those times depicted in some of those pictures, and I feel quite privileged to have known that kind of hunting. I have seen a lot of changes since those days, and I often wonder where those changes and future changes will lead the activity in years to come.

Great post, Doc. And thanks to First-light for reviving it.

I agree wholeheartedly with every word and long for the days in the '60s and '70s, when I got my start with my dad and grandfather. Back then, I carried a rifle, a knife, a hunk of rope and a ball compass that was pinned to my Pa. tuxedo pocket. And blissfully ignorant of the technology that was to come, I always managed to have an absolute blast chasing unconditioned deep woods deer.

[crappyice]

I just recently heard a story from a guy whose farm dog died in the middle of winter where the ground was too frozen to dig him a proper grave. The way they found him was in a perfect sleeping pose and so they brought him into the 3 wall garage where they hung out around a fire pit most winter nights. He remained their mascot for the winter and was properly buried after the ground thawed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk