City boy wants to learn to hunt .... any advice?

surfer365

surfer365

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I grew up in the city, in a firearms free family..... :bangHead:

I have never hunted and want to learn from an experienced hunter.

I was thinking about hiring a guide to take me out. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can start out. I am interested in deer and eventually bear and moose.

If you could help out a newb I'd appreciate it.

Thanks
 
First step is take what ever course you need to take in ontario to get a hunting liscence.

Then join a rod and gun club. Hopefully you'll meet someone who is interested in mentoring a new hunter. Being safe and congenial at the range is the first step toward getting an invite.

Now start looking for ground where you can legally hunt. Then start looking for animals that are legal to shoot. Heck even go out and look at animals that are not legal to shoot. Basically just get out there.

There really is no voodoo to it. You just gotta be where animals are and get close enough to kill one. Hit the library and get a bunch of books on hunting, animal behaviour, orientering and start looking at maps.

here is the important bit Get a canoe

Well worth the learning curve.
 
Join I local sportsmans club and put yourself in the middle of people that do hunt. Listen carefully to their stories. Practice what you hear.
When in the woods take your time. Do everything very slow. Observe whats around you. Learn from your mistakes. Have fun. The biggest part of hunting is scouting. Pulling the trigger is the easy part. Learn how to gut your animal before you hunt. Youtube is your friend. Contact a butcher to find out if he takes wild game.
 
What is your shooting background? If zero, learning marksmanship is a good place to start. In the meantime, get out into an area that has game and learn to spot it, then sit quietly and watch. Much can be learned from simple observation. All that is required is binoculars and time and it can be done year round.

I believe your first hunting experience is best with small game like squirrels or rabbits, but if you want to start with deer, that’s cool. Someone is bound to invite you out.
 
is see GVRD on your profile, so i assume you need to take the CORE (conservation and outdoor recreation education) course, it is basically a 2.5 day course. once you get that i think a good place to start would be to post in this forum somthing like "newbie needs hunting mentor lower mainland BC, will pay for gas".

this assumes you have a suitable hunting rifle (doesn't need to be fancy).
 
MiG25 said:
is see GVRD on your profile, so i assume you need to take the CORE (conservation and outdoor recreation education) course, it is basically a 2.5 day course. once you get that i think a good place to start would be to post in this forum somthing like "newbie needs hunting mentor lower mainland BC, will pay for gas".

this assumes you have a suitable hunting rifle (doesn't need to be fancy).
Click to expand...

THanks for everyones response.

Yes I need the CORE course but trying to find 2.5 days free to myself is next to impossible. I'm lucky to get 2.5hrs to myself, wife, kids and work will really kill your free time. The CORE course will probably have to wait until next years vacation time.

Finding a rifle isn't an issue ;)

So can anyone recommend a good guide that can take me out for a day trip to bag a deer (sheep or bear also considered), somewhere within 4 hours drive of Vancouver?

Thanks guys!
 
surfer365 said:
THanks for everyones response.

Yes I need the CORE course but trying to find 2.5 days free to myself is next to impossible. I'm lucky to get 2.5hrs to myself, wife, kids and work will really kill your free time. The CORE course will probably have to wait until next years vacation time.

Finding a rifle isn't an issue ;)

So can anyone recommend a good guide that can take me out for a day trip to bag a deer (sheep or bear also considered), somewhere within 4 hours drive of Vancouver?

Thanks guys!
Click to expand...

you may be able to find CORE as a night class, tues and thurs evening type of thing. not sure but you may be able to get the book and challenge the exam.

guided sheep hunts are expensive (think new vehicle, and not dodge caliber either). if you do some online reading and maybe get a few books, you probably could find general areas that holds sheep, a resident tag is $50 and you can do it on your own. success is very, very low though.

it shouldn't be too hard to find someone to go with for bear or deer with, and once you get the basics, you can go by yourself. but, if you can't get a weekend off for CORE, how can you go hunting? the best way to get skunked (no matter how good you are) is to only have a little time to hunt.
 
Missed that you were in BC. Like mentioned above a guided sheep hunt is going to be in the 10s of thousands. Likewise unspupported sheep hunting is going to add up to oddles of cash in time and money. If you got 20-30 days to spend in sheep country a few thousand in optics a thousand in gear and you are in good physical and emotional condition you might stand a chance at a ram. I saw two legal rams this year and counted that as a massive success after ALOT of focused effort over the years. In the same time period I lost track of all the other ungulates killed. At the same time you might just drive a half dozen hours from the GVRD and luck into a full curl bighorn.......

If you are in the lowermainland you have great access to waterfowl, deer and bear. Go do the CORE and start pouring over the regulations and google earth. Like Boomer mentioned it is alot more satisfying to get a grouse or a couple geese then to not get a deer. A single shot cooey and a good pair of walking boots makes for the most enjoyable hunting out there. One grouse provides a meal for two and a nice broth to store against future colds. If you are curious about sheep go hunt blue grouse in the mountains and you 'll start to get a feel for what you are up against.

BC needs more hunters!
 
surfer365 said:
THanks for everyones response.

Yes I need the CORE course but trying to find 2.5 days free to myself is next to impossible. I'm lucky to get 2.5hrs to myself, wife, kids and work will really kill your free time. The CORE course will probably have to wait until next years vacation time.

Finding a rifle isn't an issue ;)

So can anyone recommend a good guide that can take me out for a day trip to bag a deer (sheep or bear also considered), somewhere within 4 hours drive of Vancouver?

Thanks guys!
Click to expand...

I challenged the CORE exam. I just bought the book. Read it once and took the exam. I had a handful left I could of got wrong before failing the exam. Wanstalls a site sponsor sells the book and offers the exams as well. Contact them.
 
Go to the sport shop and buy a core manual and find out when and where you can challenge the test.This is how I did mine,cheaper and it doesn't take 2.5 days of courses.
 
....and after you pass ALL the tests,questionares,exams etc.etc. you have to learn how to pack a moose a mile or so through knee deep muskeg.Now if you lived here in Morontario we'd gladly have you come along and take advantage to learn this very important part of hunting,it only took my wife about three seasons before she caught on(heh!heh!) Really just ignore us lazy bast-rds and and take the advice of the posts ahead of me,they sound good. Good luck!
 
"...a day trip to bag a deer..." You can't hunt without a licence, anywhere. In any case, guides don't teach you how to hunt.
Joining a shooting club will open all kinds of doors. Invitations to go hunting included, but you must be licenced. Both a hunting licence and a PAL.
 
Definitely join up huntingbc.ca
Lots of good guys with lots of good info for newbies. I've seen posts like yours with several offers to take new guys out to show em the ropes. BCWF had an online CORE course in the works but Im not sure what happened to it. Best bet is to read up on all the old hunting posts over on hbc then ask some questions if you need to know more
 
I'm lucky to get 2.5hrs to myself, wife, kids and work will really kill your free time
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Bring them with you. What is the point of hunting if it is just going to take time away from your family?
 
With big game, don't go out expecting to bag something first time out. Don't even go out expecting to see anything. Hunters are not only the richest people on earth, they're the most patient. Hunting is more about being in nature than the actual killing, enjoy your surroundings, and have fun.
 
Even if you find someone to take you on a day trip out of Vancouver for a "ride-along" before you get your licence you'll learn a lot.
 
I suggest you start by learning how to track and scout for animals. The use of a gun or bow to harvest the animal or bird is the culmination of your skill as a tracker or hunter. Hours of tracking observing is hunting, The harvest by shooting is short . Then you have to butcher the animal. I also suggest you learn how to butcher before you harvest. There is much to hunting. You will learn to enjoy and appreciate nature. Welcome!
 
sunray said:
"...a day trip to bag a deer..." You can't hunt without a licence, anywhere. In any case, guides don't teach you how to hunt.
Joining a shooting club will open all kinds of doors. Invitations to go hunting included, but you must be licenced. Both a hunting licence and a PAL.
Click to expand...

Emphasis mine (but only because he is so right!).

To learn to hunt:

-get certified!
-while doing that, read all the old 'how to hunt' books you will find in the library for free (they are great primers, you will just have to forget some of the 'less modern' techniques they suggest ;))
-join huntingbc or a gun range and tell people you want to learn
-head out! With someone is great, but alone will do. There is no better teacher than many days in the field. :rockOn:

There is plenty of blacktail hunting within your driving radius of Vancouver. Find an area that is legal to hunt, scout it (maybe shoot a deer), pick a spot near a game trail with good cover and wind and sit (maybe shoot a deer), go home and repeat. Good luck!
 
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