learning to hunt

[s_mcflurry]

I always promised myself not to go hunting before my shooting was up to snuff just so that I wouldn't end up wounding animals.  I think I'm pretty comfortable with my shooting now and need to learn how to hunt.

How did you all learn how to hunt?  Did you shoot something on your first hunt or did you shadow somebody first?

[**DONOTDELETE**]

How old are you? You have never hunted anything before?

As much as I love this website, hunting isn't something you can learn on the internet. Do you have an experienced hunter friend that can mentor you?

[straitera]

Hunting is the pursuit of game diametrically opposed to shooting as in targets. Its an evolution of experiences dependent upon how much you enjoy the exercise and learn from each trip into the woods. Plenty of books you can read & brains you can pick here at TG & elsewhere. Read all you want. There is no substitute for personal experience.

[Snakeeater]

The best way to learn is with someone as a mentor. You can read a lot of books, but tagging along with someone is the best way to actually see how it is done. The deer season is almost over for most folks, but you have all Spring and Summer to get ready again and also do some small game hunting with your bow, which is an excellent way to learn the basics of reading sign, moving slowly and quietly, learning when to draw and release, etc.

But, the first thing you need to do is take the Hunter Safety course offered by your state, it is a requirement to getting your hunting license in any state in the country. You can get details here:   http://www.dfg.ca.gov/huntered/index.aspx  

The next thing I would recommend is taking the Bowhunter Education Program if it is offered by your state. You can do most of your studying online and then go to a field experience day to take the test. You can get information on that here:  http://www.bowhunter-ed.com/ca/index.htm

[s_mcflurry]

I never grew up in a hunting environment.  As long as I can remember, I always grew up with non-hunting ground for hours in all directions.  And I never had friends who were into archery, let alone hunting.  It's only recently that I really got serious about archery and put in any real practice.

But I never intended on becoming a guru by reading about hunting.  I just wanted to know your first experiences and how long it took for you to go from hunting in mind to actually taking something.

[Walt Francis]

A few years back Tim Ott said it best, to be a good hunter you need to learn to kill.  Most people nowadays (unlike in the past) never learned to kill when they were kids so they need to acquire this experience/skill.  The fastest way to acquire any skill is with lots of practice/experience, so you need to kill a lot of animals to become more experienced, and I believe more proficient.  You can do all the mental imaging, dreaming, and target shooting you want, but there is no substitution for real life experience.  As suggested, having a good, ethical, and knowledgeable, mentor can help shorten the learning process, but it doesn’t replace real life practice and experience.  Before the next deer season I recommend you hunt, as often as possible, small animals such as tree squirrels, ground squirrels, cotton tail rabbits, or jack rabbits.  Hunting these type animals can provide you with a lot of shot opportunities, you learn to pick a spot, and practice/learn your stalking skills and techniques.  Many of these skills can and will be used while hunting deer and other large game, when the opportunities are less frequent and the mistakes can be more costly.

[twitchstick]

I was lucky to grow up in a family that hunted. We didnt have much but we were able to go hunting and fishing alot. I would find some to shadow if possible it will shorten the proces. I would start with small game mainly for the abundance of opporitunity. good luck with your venture. If can't find someone close to you PM me and your more that welcome to come hunt bunnys.

[Bonebuster]

You may have heard of hunting be described as a lifestyle. It is a lifestyle...a LEARNED lifestyle.

I consider it a lifelong learning experience. You learn many things along the way.

When I was a little boy, around six or seven, I remember my father leaving on hunting trips with my older brothers. They would travel from suburban Detroit to our "north woods" here in Michigan, and hunt deer with firearms. I remember them getting ready to go. The smell of gun cleaning solvents, the wool coats, the firearms that were contained in the cases, boots, orange hats. My mother would fret over my brothers, and make my father promise to keep them safe. I daydreamed of being a "hunter". It sounded so dangerous, and wonderful.

It is safe to say, that almost all of us on here have learned from someone showing us. As we learn, we adopted our own way of thinking and doing things.

As mentioned, it cannot be learned on the internet, but asking questions, and asking for help in where to start...this is an excellent place where you may save alot of time, and can begin to enjoy the learning process much sooner.

Snakeeater put up a link for hunter education.
Excellent advice. Excellent beginning. While taking hunters ed, you just may meet someone who is VERY willing to help you along the way. True hunters love the whole experience, and would love nothing more than to help teach you. Do not be afraid to ask. I repeat...DO NOT be afraid to ask. Many hunters are "old school" and for whatever reason may not open up to you UNLESS you show a sincere interest. Hunters education instructors are often fellas who have matured in thier pursuit of game, and often things like teaching are more important than hunting.

Hunting is natural and good. It is there for you to experience as a free American. Time is wasting...get at it. You will not be dissappointed.

"I have spent most of my life hunting, the rest of it I have just wasted"  :D   (sorry about the long post)

[Bonebuster]

I just read twitchstick`s post..."more than welcome to come hunt bunnys"...SEE WHAT I MEAN!!!

Hats off twitchstick  

[GingivitisKahn]

My first hunting experience was rabbit hunting with buddies and shotguns.  I got one that day (took forever to clean it).  At the time, most of my hunts were with the same group of friends for either bunnies or squirrels but it didn't take long for me to feel the overwhelming need to go buy a bow and start pursuing whitetails.  

Unfortunately, having no archer friends, I made the horrible mistake of starting with a wheel festooned arrow flinger rather than a real bow.  It wasn't fun to shoot and I didn't like it, so after a season or so, I traded it for an old DH Hunter and things took a turn very much for the better.

It was several seasons (12? 15?) before I killed a deer but the point was to learn to hunt - not necessarily to kill stuff.  

My son started with the benefit of my many years of wandering around blind and he killed a nice mature buck his second year of bowhunting (and has passed on some deer this year).  You can do it without a mentor if you don't mind making all the mistakes yourself, but having a mentor is much faster.  

 

Either way - happy hunting.  I hope it's as rewarding for you as it has been (so far) for me.

[Steve Kendrot]

I grew up in a non-hunting family yet somehow got bitten by the bug at a fairly early age in 7th grade (38 now). Fortunately, I had a teacher who took me under his wing and helped me learn the basics. However, much of what I learned was on my own through countless hours spent year round in the field. Watch and learn. Your powers of observation are the most important skills you can develop. A poor shot can be a good hunter if he or she gets close enough to game. I began hunting at 14, the earliest you could get a junior archery permit in New York. I was 18 when I killed my first deer, so it took me about three or four years. I don't believe as stated in a previous post that you have to kill lots of animals to be a successful hunter. My first deer was the first animal other than fish that I had ever killed. I was the kid throwing rocks into the brush to scare off the robins and cardinals before my BB gun totin' neighbors could shoot them. I never believed in killing for the sake of killing. To this day it bothers me to see people kill things simply for target practice.

Get yourself a good pair of binoculars, learn animal behaviour, learn to read sign, and learn to interpret the land as animals do. It's not such a mystery as we are animals too. Take a stroll in the woods. Get off the beaten human path and follow the path of least resistance. Stop and look down and more often than not, you will find yourself on a different kind of trail.

Probably the biggest determinant of success is time spent in the field. The longer you are out there, the more likelihood something exciting will happen. Realize also that you will spend countless hours waiting for a few heart pounding moments that come and go in a flash. Those who enjoy hunting most, don't measure success or the quality of the hunt by what they bring home. Learn to appreciate every aspect of being outdoors and you will never have an unsuccessful hunt!

[s_mcflurry]

Thank you all for the advice and the encouragement.  This is why I want to join the hunt: the camaraderie!  Being out there with nature, where it's peaceful, and all your troubles are in a whole different world...I can't wait for it.  Being able to to take something home would just be a bonus.

I have a lot of learning to do.  First part is the shooting (obviously).  My training has been mostly target archery and I want to be able to do that and still succeed at traditional.  I'll have to separate the two in my subconscious somehow and let it take over at the right moment.  I'll start going to 3D shoots to hone the trad part.

Second part is the "rubber hits the road" part, the actual hunting.  I've met some guys recently who are willing to take me on some rabbit hunts...it'll be a good start I think.

Just gotta go out and do it I guess if I ever want to take game.  Thanks again!

[GingivitisKahn]

Definitely do the rabbit hunting thing.  Should be lots of fun!

[Tom Leemans]

Time in the woods, just observing, is the best teacher. See how close you can get to the critters. If you can't get close, you need to figure out why. Most often it was because they smelled you or heard you coming. Animals have a routine, and they have that routine for a reason. Everything they do has a purpose related to their survival and their ability to procreate. Learn how they live and you'll learn how to hunt them.

[Roy Steele]

Sorry but you will wound animals if you hunt.I know of no one that bow hunts and shoots arrows that don't at one time or another lose and animal.You have to just go to learn.You need to get yourself a mentor or just hunt.

[Fishnhunt]

small game hunting! It doesnt have to be bunnies and squirrels and it can be whatever is local... nutria, beaver, gopher, armadillo, whatever.

Also, if you want to save some heartache as a beginner, consider limiting yourself to morning hunts once you start your deer hunting.  I hunt both morning and evening and sometimes afternoon but whenever possible I try to only sling arrows on the morning and afternoon hunts b/c that gives me adequate light to search for the deer/pig.  It also gives me daylight to clean and quarter the animal.  Then my night hunts can just be scouting or watching.

As others have said you have to do it and live it to get the hang of it but there are some books that I've read that did help me in different aspects of the sport:
- Why 10% of hunters take 90% of game by Tony Russ
- Finding Wounded Deer by John Trout
- Precision bowhunting by Chris Eberhart
- Tracking Wounded Deer by Richard P Smith.  This book has the most accurate skeletal, muscular and organ diagrams that Ive seen for white tailed.  Theyre not hand drawn they're computer diagramed from some WMA or actual pictures. Awesome book.
- Kidwells book on instinctive archery and Asbels book.

[saumensch]

i also started not long ago, if there is no season or possibility to huntand you wanna practice ground hunting, i can highly recommend hunting with a camera instead of a bow or you go stump-shooting and sneak up on em as if it was real critters. It can not replace real hunting prctice but will improve abbilities alot.

[dan ferguson]

Hey Mcflurry, I feel every person has a predotor instinct built right in given by God, Thats how he made us, Some people try to disclaim this fact of life. Some people chose to hone this skill, to the max and I think thats where most bowhunter fit in. Just go have fun and let you instincts take over. Learn from others, reading, and most of all learn from your failures. When I go Deer hunting thats what I,m after unless a wabbit gets in the way, or Turkey or varmit you get the picture. Its a blast and make me feel alive, I would feel unattached if I could not go.

[CO_Bowhunter]

There is a lot of great advice here. Start with hunters education and bowhunter education. Find some hunters in your area that will take you out. I took a few friends bowhunting this year who have used rifles and muzzlerloaders in the past. They learned more in 15 days than the last 10 years combined. Mentoring is where it's at.

Volunteer for local archery events like your life depends on it. People will take notice and provide you with opportunities you won't get anywhere else.

Focus on small game that requires stalking and maybe even some calling. Calling squirrels is a worthwhile challenge. You can also call coyotes, javelina, and other similar sized animals.

As you get more experience, consider one of the "Wensel Pig Gig" hunts. You'll meet some great people who have hunted for decades.

I started bowhunting when I was 16. I'm 49 now and it seems like it was just yesterday when I started. Time flies.

[waknstak IL]

You can observe and photograph wildlife year round, and learn their behavior. You can learn a lot of great tips from people on here. Experience however is the best teacher. If you can hook up with someone who knows the ropes you can really speed up the learning curve.
There is no substitute for actual killing. It's a part of the hunt that is different for each of us. Some relish it, some do it almost reluctantly. This is my 20th fall as a bowhunter. I still seem to learn something about myself every time I drop the string on a animal.