Skill of hunting

[HBK]

How old is too old to master the skill of hunting? I missed the opportunity with my dad. I think we started when I was too young, (six) and just not into it. When I started to be interested, he hurt his leg and was off his feet for a year. After that, we never picked it up. We were always working it seems. I'm good with handguns, shooting, cleaning, disassembling and reassembling. I don't have the same skills with rifles and shotguns. I never learned it from my dad. It wasn't his fault either. I was into other stuff and my mom (I just recently found out) was against me learning to shoot. How can I learn the skills with a long gun that I need, as well as stuff like cleaning game and such? If I could only hire Ted Nugent...he could help me. Any other options?

 

[mete]

If you are talking about deer - "The Deer of North America" by Rue is a good book to start then you will know lots about deer. Then you spend time in your hunting area to find where and what the eat, where they move etc. As for dressing out and butchering a deer , there are books and videos and do a search on this forum we've covered it recently.

 

[ACP230]

Most of the people I hunt with started at 12 or so.
If you have the interest, and the physical ability, I don't think any age is too late to give hunting a try.

Most libraries should have books on small game and deer hunting. If not, Deer & Deer Hunting is a good magazine. The NRA magazine, American Hunter is another good one.

Many states require a hunter safety course before you can buy a license. My 11 year-old son took his course last year. There was info on the laws governing hunting, game animals, and hunting techniques. He also got to shoot .22 rifles and a 20 gauge shotgun. A course would be a good starting place, even if not required.

If you decide to hunt birds, try shooting trap or sporting clays first. Some of the best bird hunters I know are also competitive shotgun shooters.

If you want to hunt deer get a rifle ahead of time, go to the range and practice this summer.

Always be safe with your firearms. It is more important to be safe, and to keep others safe, than to fill your game bag!

 

[Art Eatman]

The basic skills of riflery are readily learned via a bolt-action .22. Sight picture and eye-finger coordination are primary. Enabling this is the fit of a rifle to your body. To test the fit, mount the rifle comfortably to your shoulder with your eyes closed. When you open your eyes you should be looking through the sight(s) with no movement of your head. (For shotguns, this has been discussed at length in that forum.)

Once a rifle is sighted in from a bench rest, no further information is gained from shooting more from the bench. One's practice should then be from positions of casual rests or offhand, such as would be encountered in the field. That's why God invented the vicious, hostile tin can.

IMO, magazines such as "Sports Afield", "Outdoor Life" and "Field & Stream" regularly have good-quality, knowledgeable articles on the how-tos of hunting various species.

Just a beginning,

Art

 

[Smoke]

Best training is on the job. If you are not confident in your riflery skills, go to a range until you are.

When you feel confident in your abilities to shoot, go out in the field. ANytime will do, don't even take shells the first time, just your eyes. Look for deer, look for sign. When you see a deer (or any other game for that matter) get a bead on him and dry fire him.

Spend as much time observing whats around you as "hunting". When you're ready to harvest an animal... do so.

Smoke

 

[H&Hhunter]

HBK,

You are never to old to learn how to hunt!!

Last year I took out a guy who was 65 who'd never hunted in his life. He shot his first animal (a hog) on the third day and is now a bonified hunting nut. He calls me every week with questions on gear, techniques and general information.

My other first timer older guy is Tim. I've posted several of his kill pictures on this site.

Three years ago when I met Tim he'd never shot a center fire rifle. He now owns 3 a .30-30 a .30-06 and just because he wants to be a total geek like me he bought a customed up .375H&H twin to mine.

To date he's killed probably 10 hogs a bunch of coyotes and last season shot his first elk. The boy went from never having hunted to dead eye hunter in less than 6 months. Like a good dog he has the instinct as do you if you're asking that question or have any interest in hunting at all....

Good luck and if I can be of assistance please drop me an E-mail.

H&Hhunter.

 

[HBK]

I was more thinking along the lines of cougar and bear, but any information is helpful. I didn't think of hog and wouldn't rule out dear. It would be cool if there was a program to give the deer meat to the homeless or something. (I don't really like deer meat) Thanks for all the information.

 

[JohnDog]

HKB,

You don't mention how often you spend time in the great outdoors. There are a lot of skills that you can practice by just being out in the woods and looking around. Get a field guide to the the animals in your area, and head out on a hike to see what you can find. Look for tracks, droppings, signs of feeding, etc.; see if you can sneak(stalk) up on a critter or two. All good stuff to match with shooting skills when hunting season starts.

Something I like to do is see if I can track an animal like a deer. I'll see one crossing a forest road, and I'll stop, get out the day pack and start looking for tracks. Once I cut the tracks, I'll try to follow the tracks are far as I can, and if I'm lucky see how close to the deer I can get practicing still hunting (i.e. quiet stalking) and see if I can get up close to the deer. Last year in a local open space area I was able to slap a silly muley doe on it's butt - it was almost as much fun as bagging a big buck in the high country.

Have fun - JohnDog

 

[Nathanael_Greene]

I'm in my 40's, and just went big-game hunting for the first time recently (feral hog).

My Dad wasn't a hunter (well, except for Commies in Korea), and I had no interest in hunting until I was well into my 30's. Luckily, I have a neighbor who introduced me to dove hunting.

I'd like to give deer hunting a try, but it's kind of an expensive proposition here in Texas.

 

[WhiteKnight]

It would be cool if there was a program to give the deer meat to the homeless or something. (I don't really like deer meat)

Hunters for the Hungry

Hunters for the Hungry operates by solicitation of successful hunters to donate venison. The deer are accepted by professional meat cutters who process (cut, wrap, and freeze) the venison. The meat is provided at no cost and is distributed by foodbanks and other 501 (C) (3) nonprofit organizations feeding Virginia's needy. We are not supported by any state funds nor are we a United Way Agency.

 

[labgrade]

Critters key on movement & many of them, on smell, so you have to watch the wind.

Shooting skills are one thing, while hunting (noticing signs, etc.) are another whole ballgame.

 

[Sunray]

"...I don't really like deer meat..." Geezuz, that's sick. Mind you, it has to be cooked properly after being prepared properly in the field. There is such an organization. Nugent just happens to support it, big time. http://www.tednugent.com/
Scrole down the left to 'hunter's for the hungry'. There are links to other groups involved in it.
Now go to the NRA's site and you'll get more info about shooting courses in your area. www.nra.org

 

[yesterdaysyouth]

when it comes to hunting, shooting, is the easy part.....

best way to learn is find someone else who alerady hunts and go with them...

check your local fish & wildlife dept for deer donations...

a never give up attitude will help, if you can only hunt one weekend a year on public lands, you could easily go years without a kill....

 

[HBK]

Thanks you guys. The deer meat thing, once my wife bought some venison and cooked it and it tasted like a rubber tire. It might have just been that one time. I think I would like to hunt and donate meat to the hungry, though. I used to fish a lot back home. When we didn't want the fish, we donated them to some people who were glad to get them.

 

[Shalako]

I started hunting and bought my first rifle at 28 (5 yrs ago). Now I totally love it. The hunter safety class really helped jump start my knowledge. A guy I met at my new job turned out to be a hunter and helped me get into it and find all the local public land. Now I go as often as possible. Small game seems to offer the best success. Large game uses the same acute senses and outdoorsmanship you develop in small game hunting, but the rewards and excitement are much better. I haven't bagged a large critter yet but I will continue to practice on small game and varmints to hone my skills.

Good luck to you and ALWAYS be safe. Some game animal is not worth a hasty or unsafe shot.

Ps. Deers are yummy. I just had some venison at a place called the Ahwahnee and it was the best cut of meat I think I've ever had. Dee-licious!

 

[Art Eatman]

As far as the hunting itself, my personal preference in open country is walking-hunting. In thick-cover country such as swamps, I like to ease along, playing "sneaky snake".

In either case it helps to learn how to walk without kicking rocks or breaking sticks. And, how to move without a rhythm--which is upsetting to game--and how to move slowly for a step or two and then stop to look and listen. (Well, more of a pause than a full stop.) One "trick" I learned is to glance down at the length of maybe two or three steps ahead and then look back at the world around you as you take those steps. You can't see critters when you're looking at your feet.

Just sitting on a hillside for five or ten minutes before quietly moving on can let you see game, particularly during first light or late evening. Same for watching a game trail in the woods.

You can hunt with a camera as well as with a gun. "Gettin' a shot is gettin' a shot," and learning to get opportunities with the former makes life easier with the latter...

None of it's any big deal. It's just a matter of getting out and doing, and practicing such hints as I've mentioned until they become reflex.

, Art

 

[labgrade]

[I}"You can hunt with a camera as well as with a gun. "Gettin' a shot is gettin' a shot," and learning to get opportunities with the former makes life easier with the latter...

None of it's any big deal. It's just a matter of getting out and doing, and practicing such hints as I've mentioned until they become reflex."[/I]

Not to mention getting way close.

The whole "bow-hunting; with a rifle has many aspects that will hold sway too true - with photos, bow-hunting, or with a rifle.

Watch the wind, look for signs, become the game afoot - become one with the woods = you reaally can't go wrong. Blend & meld = become one with what you attempt to do. = become a grouse/as innocuous as you may be.

When you are no threat, you will become the most astute predator out there.

I can't stress this more. Dark timber-hunting, while being totally innocuoos is a way with the woods that allows rifle-kills at 20 yards, or less = bow-hunting with a rifle.

Minimal scope power = extra eye-relief, light-gatherig & quick target aquistion = what more could you want? The best of all worlds.

 

[sumpnz]

One possible twist on the hunting with a camara idea was actually given to me by my ultra-liberal cube-mate at work.

He's an uber-geek when it comes to photography (he uses Mathmatica rather than Photoshop to edit his digital pics).

Anyway, one time he was showing me an item on one of the photo websites he shops at. It was called something like the "Photo-Sniper". I believe it was made in Russia, but whatever the case it was a rifle stock (black plastic IIRC) modified to hold a long range telephoto lense rather and a barrel. The view-finder was located where the rear sight of a rifle would be, and the trigger actually was used to work the shutter

I asked him what he thought the response would be if someone used that setup to take pictures of aircraft at LAX. He didn't respond.