Entry level hunting

J

JesseB123

Regular
Rating - 100%
10   0   0
Location
Victoria
Well, I've decided to start hunting, and the problem with that is that I have no idea where to start.

I've got the basics, pal, firearms, CORE, 4X4, outdoor gear etc, but I've never been into the wild, unknown bush alone before. Never hunted a thing, never carried a firearm in the woods ever.

As far as I know I don't have anyone to do it with, and I've been keeping a close eye on the 'Mentor' thread and will probably post there soon. The people I associate with don't tend to venture outside the city.

I have so many questions and very little in the way of expectations. I'd like to start small, and according to the synapses - being bear season right now, or soon - now isn't the best time to start. Grouse would be ideal.

I don't even know where to start and have too many questions, but I'll narrow them down to this

- Where are generally accepted 'Hunting grounds' in Nanaimo Lakes area
- What do people usually bring with them on a day trip
- As far as a contingency plan, what does yours look like in some bad scenarios (injured, lost, emergency)
- If you harvest something, then what - never EVER cleaned an animal, no idea what's normal or not

If there's a thread with the basics in it that I missed, an online article or a book that someone can point me in the direction of, that would be appreciated!

As of now, I would really like to load up with some hiking gear and just wander around and get a feel for a new area with a firearm accompanying me.

Anyways, here's this for your time

h591467B9



https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/7136036352/h591467B9/
 
It is bear season, but that might be a bit much to take on solo on your first hunt. Too bad its not fall- grouse and rabbits are a great way to learn. Easy to kill, easy to clean. No hassle to carry solo.

Game prep is best learned by watching youtube and then practicing. (the best way is to be shown by a mentor, but I'm trying to work with what you have)
Hunting grounds are anything that isn't privately owned of behind a locked gate.
I bring a rifle, bullets, knife, licence and a snack. Put that in a bag big enough to help you carry your game home.
Contingency is leaving a note with your intended locations, route and return time. Be detailed..... my wife rolls her eyes when mine says "gone to northern bc hunting, back in 14 days". :)
When cleaning, dump the guts in the bush, bring big game home hide on and finish at home (thats the cleanest route). If you have a long carry to the vehicle, remove guts, hide and bones and carry nothing but the meat.

Best advice you will ever get: find a good mentor. Good luck!
 
The only things you need to know when you start hunting is,
1. Dont get bent on success. (Failure is acceptable)
2. Dont get in a hurry (Rushing your shot, it's not a competition)
3. Pointy end of the bullet goes in first. (You are smarter than that, right?)
4. Shoot for the front half of the animal (About mid range)
5. Pay attention to the experienced hunters around you!!!! (They like to talk)
The rest you will pick up along the way, you will learn through practice what works and what doesn't.
Good luck and many happy hunts will be before you.
Oh and ... what is inside must come out.
 
Hey Jes, the best thing you can do is to start getting out NOW! Not necessarily to hunt but just to hike, and it sounds like you are already thinking about doing that...good. Find a spot that is close to town....why you ask?.....so you can go there as often as possible, short hikes after work, whatever free time time you have on the weekend, just get out hiking and exploring as much as possible!! Don't listen to "I hear there's big deer up north Island....or South Island..." there are tons of great deer in your backyard! You need to find a spot that you can go to as often as possible during the hunting season. Think about the access, is it gated? If so then you might have to be out by 4:00 on the weekends, that sucks don't bother....because you will be staying out until it is too dark to see then walking back to your truck. Find a spot that you can enter and leave whenever you want, don't worry about "hiking in" for hours, find a spot that you can get to in max 45 min...to start anyway, remember you need to get the animal out in reasonable time.....I seldom walk more than 30min to get to my spots. Most people who have quads will zoom right past you to get to further away spots and most hunters who walk in generally don't venture in too far because they are nervous about walking out in the dark, so you need to find a spot in between, the idea is to have a spot that other hunters aren't tromping through, it will just spook the deer and make it harder for you.

This is how I would start, start with road maps and look for the roads that are dead ending into huntable land, then go on google earth and look for spots near your access/parking spot that are a mixture of slash and timber, then start hiking, you are looking for sign of course, but in a nutshell you are trying to find fresh droppings because that is the easiest sign to find, escpecially now before the spring foliage growth starts, and of course keep an eye out for tree rubs as well. Don't get to caught up in trying to find bucks in your off season scouting, they can be very difficult to find even for an experienced hunter, I would try to find a family of does, much easier to find. The deer in the foothills don't migrate..to my knowledge...so the deer are often in the same general area year round, if you can find a little family of deer, guess where you will find the bucks come rut time in November!

Why don't you give me a dingle one night
 
Awesome basic info. For a guy like me with zero experience, it's just what I needed. I'm definitely just going to start hiking around. Thanks for the specific answers in regards to my questions!

I'll definitely give you a ring sometime soon Evan!
 
A hunting partner is key ( an experienced one is even better ) I was lucky enough to have mentor but a really good idea is to maybe try a day guided hunt for duck or geese. Not only does it provide you with a location and an action packed day but ask the guide as many questions as you want. They're usually awesome and dint mind sharing experience ans knowledge which they have a lot of !!!
 
Good on you for wanting to get started and brave enough to ask questions! My first suggestion is to start small. Grouse are the perfect beginners game. Relatively easy to hunt, and no big problem to deal with after the kill. You can use almost any firearm, they are delicious, not too elusive, and can be found along most any logging road on public land. Good luck!
 
There must be an Island Nut that can take you out and show you the ropes a bit. Hanging around the range or the local gunstore is a good way to find a likely mentor.
 
Get a bear tag and start driving around the logging roads.

You don't have to even shoot anything this season, but if you come across an easy one, you might be tempted after you see five or six.

Pack up your stuff and go camping north of Sayward or on the West Coast away from gated roads.

There are a lot of threads on bear hunting on Huntingbc.ca .

If you want step by step instructions on how to field dress a bear pm me.
 
Last edited:
I started hunting by going solo and starting with nothing. At times it seemed there was a learning curve that I couldn't get over, and felt that failure was becoming my only outcome after many dozens of days of nothing. But, thats hunting and you have to stick with it.

If I were you, as mentioned, find property close by (closer the better). Do a little scouting on the property to see what kind of animals are using it, as well as to get an idea of the topography. Once you know whats using your property you can start researching ways to hunt the animals you're going after. If its deer for example, try to find areas that they use for bedding, any past rubs/scrapes from last seasons, heavily used trails, ect. Then check out youtube for some field dressing videos and either find a good butcher or youtube videos how to process your own (better option). Last step is to just dedicate a LOT of time.

Depending on how lucky you get you can be successful the first time you're out, or you might have to wait a few or more years. I started deer hunting 7 years ago, and it took me 7 years to finally get a deer. However, my first time bear hunting, it took 2 days to get one. For a beginner, any success you have is mostly going to be luck until you know exactly what you're doing and why.

Good luck.
 
Where are you located on the island? You're more then welcome to tag along with me if you're interested. I'll definitely be heading out for spring bear.
 
Longwalker said:
Good on you for wanting to get started and brave enough to ask questions! My first suggestion is to start small. Grouse are the perfect beginners game. Relatively easy to hunt, and no big problem to deal with after the kill. You can use almost any firearm, they are delicious, not too elusive, and can be found along most any logging road on public land. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks! I think that's exactly what I'm going to do when they're in season.

dontshow said:
Anyone have suggestions for day guides on Vancouver Island that aren't too expensive?
Click to expand...

That sounds like a great idea, I'd be interested in this as well.

Zanelike said:
Where are you located on the island? You're more then welcome to tag along with me if you're interested. I'll definitely be heading out for spring bear.
Click to expand...

PM sent
 
Glad you have an offer to tag along. I'd help out but I'm a few too many thousand miles away.

I'd say get out there every weekend and get comfortable begin away from the road, and finding your way back to the road. Get a compass and a gps if you want. Don't be intimidated by basic orienteering. Put yourself in simple situations (i.e., know you are north of a long stretch of east-west road, pretty easy to get out with help of compass without needing any fancy orienteering skills). Always tell someone where you are going. Get a map or advice on what is crown land and start exploring.

Read all you can. Even before stepping out opening day this fall (of whatever strikes your fancy - I'd start with grouse as suggested, but nothing wrong with jumping into deer), if you've read enough (combined with getting out and scouting and just generally getting comfortable outdoors) you'll know quite a lot. There is lots of BS written in the hunting magazines, but if you read enough you'll figure out what the key things are.

Good luck.

RG

<><
 
Longwalker said:
Good on you for wanting to get started and brave enough to ask questions! My first suggestion is to start small. Grouse are the perfect beginners game. Relatively easy to hunt, and no big problem to deal with after the kill. You can use almost any firearm, they are delicious, not too elusive, and can be found along most any logging road on public land. Good luck!
Click to expand...

This is basically what we start hunting around here. We basically just drive around side/logging roads slowly or hike it up and down them. Easy to hunt with just about anything (.22, .410, 12, etc...). Can also get a few hairs this way.

My job before I was old enough to carry the gun was to clean them. Not sure what others do... but I used to just lay them on their backs (on top of newspaper if needed), step on each wing close to the bird and pull on it's legs. You end up with a breast. As for cleaning hair, I've never had to do it myself, but from what I remember my Dad saying, it's easier if it's still warm.
 
Surrey Boy said:
Bear hunting is alot of fun, plus they're easy to track. Just think of hunting as an armed nature walk.
Click to expand...

I think the armed nature walk is a pretty big part of the appeal of hunting to me.

ekimmike said:
This is basically what we start hunting around here. We basically just drive around side/logging roads slowly or hike it up and down them. Easy to hunt with just about anything (.22, .410, 12, etc...). Can also get a few hairs this way.

My job before I was old enough to carry the gun was to clean them. Not sure what others do... but I used to just lay them on their backs (on top of newspaper if needed), step on each wing close to the bird and pull on it's legs. You end up with a breast. As for cleaning hair, I've never had to do it myself, but from what I remember my Dad saying, it's easier if it's still warm.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the good tip on cleaning grouse. That almost sounds too easy.
 
Dont get down on yourself for not taking anything, even if its several trips in a row. Tones of experienced hunters have the same problem too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom