When do you active military guys find time to bowhunt?

[Medina1]

Hey guys! It's been awhile since if posted on here! I've been at MCRD San Diego in recruit training for the Marines. I was just wondering when you active duty military guys found time to hunt? I'm going to miss all of this season but hopefully I will be able to hunt next season! How's the hunting on the bases? I've seen a couple that had land that you could hunt on but I figured it was pretty populated with hunters. Thanks!

Caleb

[Roadkill]

Semper Fidelis!

Military bases, both pendleton and LeJeune have some pretty good hunting.  Get your hunter safety cert and go down to the game office.  At LeJeune and Quantico you will be living in some grea, protected hunting areas.  pPendleton is a bit harder to hunt just due tot he terrain and game.  Of course, afghanistan has it own variety of hunting.
I hunted all the time as you just stop in the game shack and register for an area and hunt
I never had a problem with Marine and bows in the barracks, but I am somewhat removed both by time (17 years) and social climate.  things have changed since I hung up my active Marine title.

welcome to the gun club and good luck.  Whatever you do-do not waste all your benefits.  Take classes at base education. If you decide to stay, take more classes, an educated Marine is a valuable asset and testing your mind will keep you in the game when things get rough.  If you get out, use your benefits(-if any are left), to gaina skill that is marketable.  Notice I did not say a degree, a skill or degree. Nobody wants or need a machine gunner or in my case a cannon cocker.

Oh yeah, hunting=I hunted Ft Sill, too.  Bases keep large areas for various training venues, and they often are opened for hunting.

[Cavscout9753]

There's time. For all of the time working and training, there's a surprising amount of down time. We don't punch a clock, so if the days tasks are done at 3, they're done at 3. Units vary of course, but it isn't bad. I've been in Georgia for the last 12 years, so between 2+ weeks of leave in the summer, plus the 2+ during Christmas, 4 day holidays, short work days, training holidays, etc, I can run after deer, pigs, coyotes, turkey, squirrel all year long. Plus, Ft Benning is huge and has vast tracts of land, so game is plentiful. Minus 4 years in Iraq, I'd suppose I have had more opportunity to hunt than any non-servicemen that I know. Makes friends and family back home pretty jealous. Haha

[Liquid Amber]

I was at Ft. Sill for Artillery OCS in 1966.  We spent a lot of time in areas restricted to hunting and the whitetail bucks we encountered were pretty impressive.  After graduation I was assigned to the 2/44th Pershing and found plenty time to hunt Sill and fish in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.  About half my tour was spent in the Blanding, Utah area at the Pershing site on Black Mesa.  I never lacked time to chase mule deer when we were there during an open season either.  

Elk that escaped from the Wichita Mountains WR were legal on Sill as well during the deer season.  Sill was a great place to bow hunt during the late 1960s and rarely did one encounter another bow hunter.

[Swamp Yankee]

Quantico has some of the best whitetail hunting I've ever experienced.  Of course, anyplace in Alaska can be a dream come true as well.  Hang in there, you'll earn your freedom again in basic!

[onemississipp]

You catch the seasons when your home. But when you are home you will find your off work for holidays just as much as the schools are during the winter months.

You just have to remember where your real interest lie and stay out of the bars and clubs. Made that mistake in my early years, a lot of time wasted.

I'm off all Thanksgiving week and will be off two weeks at Christmas.

[onemississipp]

You won't see many others on post/bases hunting for the same reason I told you to be mindful of.

[old_goat2]

I mostly hunted on shore duty, but you get thirty days vacation a year, if  your deployment cycle permits it you can go hunting!

[Phrogdrvr]

If your just finishing up at MCRD, you've got at least several months of training before you'll settle into a "routine".  Congrats by the way, Marine Corps Recruit Training is quite an accomplishment.

As was said earlier, hunting on Marine bases is pretty good.  Just look up the Wildlife Management  Officer, and that person will fill you in on seasons, times even good places to hunt.  I've hunted Pendleton, Lejuene and Quantico.  I'd say low pressure, and in some cases, vast areas.  A topo map is a must, in fact at CPen, they won't even let you out on the range without one.  They keep close tabs on the ranges, they make you check out in the morning, and check back in when you're done.

I think you'll find after a while, you can get out hunting on weekends, holidays and the occasional early afternoon libbo.

Good luck and Semper Fi
Maj Tom

[Mamba]

The 8 years I was in was mostly overseas, but I did do 2 plus years at 29 palms, that was great.  I hunted dove and quail right off base outside the gate, and deer between 20 minutes to an hour or 2 depending on where I went.  Lots of opportunities.  I also hunted pigs on a base I think air force, Lompoc.  Have fun, enjoy your time off and don't be afraid to ask.  Worse they can say is no.  We where allowed to use the rifle and pistol range at 29 palms too!  Most didn't know that all you have to do is ask.  Of course that was almost 20 years ago!  

  By the way thanks for your patriotism, I guy has to have big ones to join the corps with what's going on in the world today.

[centaur]

Depending on your MOS, you may have all the hunting you can stand while on duty.
I grew up on Army posts, and spent some time on active duty, but that was a 'few' years ago, but at that time, many Army posts had decent hunting.
Once you get through with what the Army calls AIT (training for your MOS), you will probably get into a more or less regular routine, unless you are in a combat scenario. There will be free time, although when you are in boot camp, that can be hard to believe.
Thanks for doing what you do, and stay safe.