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My father never hunted. I don't think he ever owned a firearm. His father died when he was about eleven. However, my dad was active as an adult leader in Boy Scouts, and we did a lot of outdoor activities as a family. When I was about 13 an uncle gave my two brothers and me an old .22 rifle. We shared that rifle for a few years, and when I was 16 I saved enough money to buy my own .22 rifle. That same year I bought a shotgun. No one in the family knew much about hunting, so my dad just asked around where he worked for recommendations. His friends told him to suggest that we avoid a .410 (which was what I was thinking about getting because I had never even held a shotgun before). I ended up buying a 16GA in a pawn shop for cash at age 16! That was long before there was much registration, although it was about four or five years after Kennedy was assassinated.

I learned to hunt by doing mostly, and by going hunting with friends. We mostly hunted ducks and squirrels back then (40+ years ago). Fast forward to today, and I'm retired. A good friend has property on which there are feral hogs. I really enjoy getting out and hunting hogs. No one thinks they're cute, they're tasty, and the neighbors all want them gone. About two years ago I shot my first (and so far only) deer. I usually pass on the deer in order to save freezer space for the hogs. I learned to clean deer and hogs by reading a pamphlet while I was standing around in a Bass Pro Shop. Again, most of what I've learned regarding hunting hogs has come from reading and doing. One thing that works out in my favor is that my wife is okay with me hunting. She doesn't want to go with me, but she's perfectly okay with the fact that I hunt. I can't emphasize that factor enough.