Ron LaVigne Sr. bagged this good-looking 10-pointer in Jasper County, highlighting his return to hunting. Photo courtesy of Ron LaVigne Jr.

Most hunters come to the sport as children, picking up and carrying on their family's traditions; far fewer take it up late in life.

One hunter who exemplifies the notion that it's never too late to start hunting is Ron LaVigne Sr. This 65-year-old only "got serious" about deer hunting in the last few years.

LaVigne did hunt some as a youngster, but he didn't catch the fever at the time. "I hunted with my dad, and I learned to deer-hunt," he recalled. "We hunted with dogs back in those days, in the late 1940s and early '50s. There weren't a lot of deer at that time, and I never even got a chance to shoot at one. And I know my dad never killed a deer."

After high school, LaVigne joined the Marine Corps. Then, about the time he got out of the service, his dad passed away. "I kind of lost any interest in hunting at that point," he said. "I just didn't have the heart for it."

For many years, LaVigne's business was the focus of his life. "I'm in the funeral products business, and have my own sales company that provides products for funeral homes and cemeteries throughout the United States," he offered. "There just never was much time for doing a lot of hunting, even though I kept saying that someday I would."

Then, eight years ago, LaVigne, then 57, experienced major medical problems that changed his life: He had a quintuple bypass.

The experience made him realize the value he placed on time spent with his son Ron Jr. and his grandson, Ron III. It also emphasized to him that he needed to create more of those mutual adventures. So, three years after his surgery, he took advantage of an opportunity to spend more time with both of them.

"My grandson started deer hunting with his dad when he was about 5 or 6 years old," LaVigne said. "My son is a very avid deer hunter, and he had stayed after me for years to go hunting with him." And in the wake of the health scare, LaVigne, seeing how much Ron III enjoyed hunting, decided to try it again.

"I just wanted to have an opportunity to spend some real quality time with both of them," LaVigne explained. "Because of our very active work lives, we just didn't have a lot of quality time together except for holidays. Now hunting has become a real joy to me."

Over the past five years, LaVigne has ignited the passion that he never quite kindled as a young man, and going to the woods has become a serious pastime with him. "We've formed our own hunt club out from Pachuta, right out from Quitman," he said. "We lease some land from Hall Timber Company. We have about 1,500 acres for four of us, and we really enjoy it.

"It's really different from when I was a kid. The deer population in Mississippi has really flourished, and we have a lot of deer now."