Complete newbie interested in hunting

pew-pew

pew-pew

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Hello folks,

I'm a complete newbie that is interested in hunting. I have been shooting for about 5 years and want to get into hunting. I have 0 experience and no friends or family members that hunt. My question is where can I start on my own to get info about hunting. Maybe youtube channels? or primer articles?

I'm 35, Male, and Live in Montreal. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
 
It really depends on what you want to hunt. About three years ago I was in your boat. I hunt upland and waterfowl, the birds I find less intmidating as I can butcher them myself in my garage and there are more places to bird hunt rather than big game.

Here I got my PAL and then Cabelas had the online hunter safety course, I did if every night for a week and then went and wrote my final exam.

If there are any wildlife federations near you I suggest joining them, you will probably meet some people able to help you out.
 
cdn1canhunt said:
I believe your first step would be to find out where you can take a hunter safety training course! After that you just go do it! Depending on what you like to hunt?
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^^^ Good idea, the Hunter training safety course is a great starting point for you to get into hunting.
 
After you take a hunting course and get your hunting license small game is a realy good plase to start rabbits and grouse at fun to hunt and you learn quite a bit
Seeing how your brand-new to hunting I would recommend sticking with small game And have fun
post lots of photos and you will find a mentor for big game on CGN just have a bit of patients let everybody get to know you a bit
 
Hey Op - take the course but...then get someone to help you through gutting a 4 legged beastie. They all basically break down the same. That is key if you want anything bigger than a rabbit or grouse. Hopefully you can find a mentorish character in your life. My mentor showed me how to gut and skin a lamb. Then I did it solo on pig. Then I called him to brag about my first deer.

Have freezer space and wrap on hand as well. Good luck!
 
OP, you could try posting on Plenty of Fish, stating you are looking for a gal that is into hunting, kill two birds with one stone, it's easy as pie, Jr did it!
 
Thanks for the excellent advice everyone!

do you guys have favorite Youtube channels that could give tips to new aspiring hunter?

also two-dogs mentioned plenty of fish (lol) what about meetup.com? Anyone use that service to meet mentors or other hunters?
 
Biggest thing I can offer is don't get discouraged when it's tough going at first. You'll have a lot of questioning why you're doing it then with your first successful hunt a big "Ahah!". People forget about them these days but tons, and tons of good books on the hunting subject. More than anything many of the better classic hunting writers can stoke the fire of imagination and build your interest in hunting and the outdoors. Many here probably won't agree but I still enjoy Outdoor Life magazine, pick up one of those, read it through and ignore the advertisements, after that see if your interest is up or down. :)
 
pew-pew said:
Thanks for the excellent advice everyone!

do you guys have favorite Youtube channels that could give tips to new aspiring hunter?

also two-dogs mentioned plenty of fish (lol) what about meetup.com? Anyone use that service to meet mentors or other hunters?
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What critters would you like to hunt for there are lots of great sites but they kind of game specific ie) deer and deer hunting .com, turkey and turkey hunting .com etc...
 
Since your in Quebec you have to get your hunting with a firearms course first plus you have to have actually taken the Canadian Firearms course and passed the test. I had my RPAL and still had to take the course and write the test again in order to hunt in Quebec as they won't let you challenge the test and hunt. For your first year if you don't have the hunting course you can get a beginners license . The actual name of it escapes me now. With that you can hunt anything for that year you want as long as you have somebody over 25 hunting with you. I had to do it my first time hunting here as the instructor even figured that me having a RPAL already was good enough for me to hunt. Believe it or not the lady I talked to said that just writing and passing the firearms test wasn't proof that I understood the course with out actually having taken the course first. If you want to hunt turkey you have to also take the turkey course which basically tells you what a turkey looks like plus they go over calls and such.
 
where are you in swo?
ive had my hunting license for 3 years and barely done any
everyone up my way has retired from hunting, too old to go or passed away, or not interested anymore
im looking for deer/turkey/coyote hunting tips and mentoring
i havent even bought any camo yet as i have my orange coveralls for deer :(
 
I don't think it's impossible for you to learn on your own
Field dressing it's not that hard plenty of videos on YouTube
But a mentor can really help boost your confidence Wen you get your first deer down
If you do go it alone I would recommend you skin and remove the legs ,back strap ,and neck befor you attempt to gut your deer
That way if you screw up you won't be wasting an entire Deer
Don't worry about shooting a big buck right off the bat take your time try to get one that will be an easy recovery and be very picky about your shot placement
Google Deer shot placement lots of good info out there
 
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OP: I taught myself to hunt after moving to New Brunswick and making friends who hunted a lot. My dad never taught me how, as he quit when he was younger.

I taught myself how to clean deer and bear, and also how to dial the butcher to get him to do it for me ;)

Animals are all easy. Once you peel the skin off, it's pretty much the same thing underneath, just varying sizes.

I found the easiest game to start on was crows. Crows are everywhere, people want them shot, and it teaches you a lot about wingshooting and camouflage. This comes in handy if you want to go duck hunting.

Duck hunting is my favourite small game hunting, as there are many good places everywhere you look in Canada, and they are tasty.

Bigger game is a bit tricky. Many people refuse to share deer hunting tips or advice with others, out of selfishness. So one way to learn how to big game hunt is to start with bears, as they're a bit easier to hunt. Living in Quebec, you can also hunt moose with over-the-counter tags, but that's a lot of work for a rookie.
 
Ardent said:
Biggest thing I can offer is don't get discouraged when it's tough going at first. You'll have a lot of questioning why you're doing it then with your first successful hunt a big "Ahah!". People forget about them these days but tons, and tons of good books on the hunting subject. More than anything many of the better classic hunting writers can stoke the fire of imagination and build your interest in hunting and the outdoors. Many here probably won't agree but I still enjoy Outdoor Life magazine, pick up one of those, read it through and ignore the advertisements, after that see if your interest is up or down. :)
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Yes, even you don't connect after the first success for a year or 2. It preys on your mind, but if you give up it won't change. Find people that go when they commit to, not jam out. If you're lucky you won't be on your own all the time.
 
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