So I never have had the opportunity to learn to hunt. I have wanted to learn for some time but just don’t know where to start. If anyone has suggestions please share.
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So I never have had the opportunity to learn to hunt. I have wanted to learn for some time but just don’t know where to start. If anyone has suggestions please share.
gun? bow? small game? birds? varmints? big game? need input to help. :)
I am thinking bird, small and big game. Meat on the table activities would be the goal.Quote:
Originally Posted by gnihcraes
Got your hunters safety card?
Will be getting it this spring. Going to do the class at Sportsmans.
Read books they help, and get a subscription to field and stream. They have some really good tips in there.
Small game and bird hunting is pretty easy if you have decent marksmanship. SAFETY, as with any gun activity is the goal. I just finished working a fatal hunting accident that occurred due to violating the gun safety laws.
Big game, totally different. I start people out on Antelope, maybe coyote or deer and make them go along for at least one season. A mistake with a high powered rifle is pretty much irreversible! Then I make them shoot 100 rounds in a variety of postions and a variety of ranges to establish their range limits, over 3 or 4 range trips. Spending several weeks in the woods in the summer and fall with no tag to fill will allow you to practice your spotting, stalking and woods skills. Obviously fieldcraft is for some people and not for others. If you want to hunt, that is one thing. Filling the freezer is another, road hunting yet another and Trophy hunting yet another. I spent 3 weeks in Mt. Zierkel Wilderness followig elk herds around one autumn, living off the land, learning the animals. Now, 100 head of big game later, that was still the most productive time I may have ever spent on anything.
One of the nicest places i've ever been... mostly due to the lack of people.Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkCO
Practice walkin, walking walking walking and then walking..
You will do alot for birds small game and ELK,,,
My guns love to go walking.
I like it^ walking! My wife would call it "armed nature walking" when I showed up with nothing. Best damn nature walking I've ever done that showed no results!
And for the OP....you need a buddy. Books and mags and even videos only go so far. You'll see what I mean when you try to field dress your first big game kill! But if you don't have a friend to show you the ropes don't let that stop you. Take MTN. Mans advise and just go walking. Luck might make up for the other part that you lack.
Now trying to figure out the regs book...good luck! Bout time I figured out CO rules I moved to yet another difficult state to figure out. You need a lawyer to interpret the regs. Especially if your a newb.
start hiking in the mountains if you want to do big game, take a pack with you.
also look in the survival forum. some it that will apply.
think about the kind of hunting you want to do...if you want to take a camper with you and return each night (but be prepared to stay out in case you get lost or get an animal or too dark to get back etc.)
or maybe you want to pack a tent in, and stay more local in a more remote area.
for small game, get out and walk...you will walk miles and miles for pheasants, maybe look into getting a dog.
for ducks and geese start buying decoys, find people with property or look into leases. they will vary in price. be prepared because decoys are expensive!
go to walk mart and get a big game and small game hunting booklet and read through the rules. there are not that many, but understand them, and follow them. you do not want to be made an example of by the DOW.
practice shooting, be it clays or targets. also be prepared because when you go to pull the trigger at a big animal it is a whole lot different than shooting at a black or red dot.
remember too that the hunt might not be successful. Some people hunt for years and never get the shot or miss and just never are successful at getting the animal. Doesn't mean the hunt and being out in the woods wasn't worth it. Enjoy just getting outside, the hunt is a plus to that.
I buy my licenses and usually don't "hunt" that much. I just go wander around in the woods, see some animals and scenery.
I haven't harvested a big game animal since 2007. I went to the last day of my 8th full season befire harvesting my FIRST elk.
In 2008 I had an elk and bear license. In 2009 (last year) I had an elk, bear, and deer license. Both years I got nothing.
Even with spending my first three days in the woods sick, I had a great time last year.
It's great to harvest an animal, especially if you are doing it to put meat in the freezer, but you have to be able to enjoy the HUNT or, whether you harvest an animal or not, it isn't a successful season.
Keep in mind that the work actually starts when you pull the trigger.
and it's usually at the bottom of some valley where you'll have to haul the 1000 pound elk out of...Quote:
Originally Posted by theGinsue
Ha Ha, wait till ya get a Moose......
No doubt. My father shot a moose a couple years ago here, took two guys 12 hours to butcher the dang thing once they got it back to denver... I think the freezer is still full of steaks...
I might be trying for my first moose this year...although I only have 3 or 4 points so i doubt i will draw.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mtn.man
Great eating.
Listed are some of the MANY reasons why I DON'T hunt. I have nothing against it, but I certainly can't do it by myself. And the mountain hiking? NFW. I'm lucky I can walk at all. I'd love to have a freezer full of meat that I brought home, but it's an endeavor that's just not suited to everyone. So, I shoot jugs full of water.
See? That's self-reliant. Most people don't kill their own water, they just buy it from the store. They're gonna be screwed when it all breaks down.
+1[ROFL1][ROFL2][ROFL3]Quote:
Originally Posted by RobertB
Lots of good ideas. I went down to Sportsmans to sign up for a hunter saftey course, they are booked for a few months but should have it by April.
If anyone needs a camp jack, let me know. In the mean time I will be wondering the hills "stocking".
Well don't get me wrong we do pretty good. We have yet to Not come hme with something. Can't remember a year not scoring on antilope, usually a deer and we really only put in for cow elk, can't eat the antlers. However we do hunt in other states as CO is a hard place to hunt, draw etc. and our days afield are rather short.
It is a gerat way to be with your family, and enjoy quality time with them.
Got a free range bison this past year. Now there is a freezer full.
I grew up in the south and the devotion of turkey hunters is IMO 2nd to none. I was a pretty accomplished hunter, but knew nothing of Turkey hunting. As birds were pretty scarce, it was almost impossible to get anyone to share info. I bought a couple books, some tapes and taught myself. Got decent at it.
With the web being available now, it would be much easier to get started. Just remember what other people have said about the kill is just a small part of the experience. Some of the most heart touching experiences I've felt have been motionless in the woods.
Good luck.
If you need a woods-wandering partner, let me know. That is my favorite way to spend a weekend day and I am getting cabin fever lately.
Shameless plug for the Hunters here
i have a very nice .270 for that "first kill of the season" don't you deserve it.
Yep! I'm not an experienced hunter, but been with my dad a few times. Used to live in Alaska, he still does. There many hunters take their first moose in a bog...they never make that mistake again. Up north your also racing the bear and wolves...get it dressed and packed out quick(they're on their way). If a bear happens to find your kill(get the meat out and leave them the gutpile), its legally theirs. Game wardens are the State troopers, You don't see them, but they know 'Exactly' where you are. If you sneeze wrong its a crime scene investigation....literally (not the sneezing part)! Ahhh good times.[Beer]Quote:
Originally Posted by Mtn.man
I can't even imagine shooting something as big as a moose! Even if it was standing at the back of my truck, and I could manage to drop in on the trailer. Too big, too much meat. And rasslin' the carcass makes my back hurt just thinking about it!
I mean, jeezus.....
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ff/moose01.jpg
That's a really strong garage door opener. [Stooge]
Big animal, I bet he was a lot of work. Congrats!
Interesting read.... This is something I've kind of wanted to get into, just general survival/hunting skills.
Don't congrats ME, I had nothing to do with it. Just found the photos on the 'net. That's one big sumbitch. I can't even comprehend the amount of work involved between pulling the trigger and putting the meat into 6 or 7 freezers.Quote:
Originally Posted by vossman
Quote:
Originally Posted by rondog
Sure would like to do it at least once. I have taken many deer and quite a few elk and antelope, but never had the opportunity at a beast that size.