dipping my toes in...

Candychikita

Candychikita

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ok. don't laugh. i'm going to do it: i'm going to *try* shooting a living creature before i decide if it's for me instead of going by public/family opinion. my background is pro-grocery store sourced meat, so i'm close to retarded when it comes to anything hunting.

i'm arranging to shoot something with a family that hunts in the fall. i have no preference of what i'm going to shoot, i think they're going for a deer. do you seasoned hunters have any recommendations for a first time hunter?

easiest first kill? (skillwise as well as conscience wise LOL)

attire: essential pieces? something orange? something green/camo/woodland looking? the hunting shops are going to see me coming a mile away, and will probably try to sell me everything.

i'm probably going to have some sort of reaction about killing the thing dead. not hysterics, but maybe some sadness/taking of a life thing. i hear that goes away after the first kill, but a recommendation on how to deal with this would help too HA. does it help to think of all the venison steaks/stews/stirfries you can get out of the animal...visions of 10 course meals dancing in your heads?

i'm serious. don't laugh. i warned you all i'm practically retarded when it comes to hunting.
 
I like to think of it this way. The deer you just shot had a wonderful life in the great outdoors and never knew what hit him when you shot him. Compared with a cow who is raised on corn meal and stuck on a farm it's whole life then gets to stand in a line and watch the 20 cows standing in front of him die before it's his turn with the bolt gun. They have to know what is coming at that point.

If you are going to eat meat, hunting is much more ethical than grocery store meat.

As far as your first hunt, just go with someone who has hunted before and do what you are told.
 
About the emotional side of things, here is a story on my first kill, it was a small black bear:

This was the first animal I was successful at hunting and only 1 year after my stroke! It was an amazing experience. It was the fourth bear that I saw while hunting. The first bear that came in was an enormous bear, he never presented a clear shot. The second and third bears were a mother bear and her cub. It was so fun to watch them interact with each other. This bear came in and tried to climb my tree so I scared it away and it came back after a while and presented me with a clear shot, so I took it. This experience was amazing, I can't even describe the emotions that I felt through the entire hunt. I feel a special connection with the forest now and with the life that exists there. Hunting gave me an opportunity to not only be with nature but to be a part of it and fear it and enjoy it and be in awe of its beauty. This experience made me feel closer to nature than all of my other outdoor experiences. I will always feel a special connection to the forest every time I enter them. It was nice to be able to watch the bears for a while, usually while in the woods if you see a bear, it is only a short look. I feel lucky that I got to watch then interact naturally with their environment, watching the mother with her cub was really touching, the mother was constantly communicating with the cub and making very interesting sounds i never knew bears made. I will always treasure this experience and look forward to having more.
About the grocery vs. wild: I feel better about eating what I know is safe and how it lived and was handled unlike grocery meat that is hormone injected and who knows how it was treated and handled. Deer is half the fat of beef, double the protein and iron (important for us gals especially).

If I was an animal I would rather die from a hunter than natural causes. A quick death is better than starving to death, disease (mange for coyotes would be awful). I wouldn't want to freeze, get eaten alive by a predator, etc. There is no such thing as a peaceful death in nature, only a hunter can give that.
Those that say hunting is murder are just saying it, they aren't thinking clearly. What has more impact on the environment, me going in the back yard and taking a deer with my crossbow or them buying tofu at the store where it had to be driven there from a processing plant which was driven or flown there from a large field of soy beans that destroyed a large area of habitat and may have killed animals in the process. At least I know exactly where my food comes from and how it was transported to me.

To decide about what animal you want to hunt first, why don't you research that animal and learn everything you can about it. It may be good to start small. Grouse opens before deer so perhaps if you shoot a grouse, you will get a better idea about how you feel.
I hope you enjoy you time spent hunting and get some healthy eating from it!
 
I'd say start off with something small, go after grouse & rabbit while the others are waiting in their tree stands, taking out a bird will probably be less dramatic than taking out bambi.
 
Let me say this - you will shed a tear for the first thing you intentionally kill. I would also say start small - rabbit, crow, gopher, squirrel, etc.
 
I bet the feelings you think you will have after shooting a deer will be no where near the ones you actually end up having.

I've shot more than a few deer over the years and I still shake after shooting a deer. Doesn't matter if its a doe or a huge buck, it is a feeling like no other. The day that feeling goes away is the day I hang up my hunting boots.

If you have some people show you the ropes it is best rather than have to figure it out on your own like I did. I'm assuming you already took whatever hunter safety course you have in your province and applied for a PAL.

It is refreshing to see someone trying out the sport even though they have apprehensions about it. The satisfaction you will get from harvesting your own meat will keep you coming back.

As for gear, you don't need to go over board. You need a suitable rifle and ammo (or bow, etc.), decent footwear for the area you are hunting, warm clothes and hunter orange if required where you hunt and a sharp knife. Really everything else is just extra. Best bet is to talk to the people you are hunting with to see what they recommend. You may even be able to borrow some gear while you try out the sport. Make sure you spend some time practicing your shooting before you go!!

If you decide you like it, then you can start getting better equipment as time goes on.

Be sure to report back here on CGN as to how you make out. Good Luck!
 
I'd suggest going on a groundhog or gopher/squirrel hunt as your first "living thing" shoot. If you can accept the consequences of shooting a small or medium-sized rodent then I would say move on to larger game.

Gopher shoots are also excellent for one's field marksmanship. Shooting off a bench (outside of learning your scope/rifle/drops) doesn't mean you'll automatically shoot well in typical field conditions, IMO.

As for the rest - go with someone who has hunted before, and follow every single word of their directions like they were written in stone. If possible, have them beside you when you take your shot - as a backup gun/anchor shot if necessary. If you (heaven forbid!) wound the animal and then well up with emotion, they'll be there to at least anchor it and mitigate any unnecessary suffering.

I applaud your efforts - and you may find that you like hunting more than you'd think...

-M
 
going hunting :D good for you.

I say go big of go home... Go shoot a deer :D

as for gear, well I hunt in old wool army pants and flannel shirts, you will need a knife or two and a small hatchet or saw for gutting, and a few feet of light rope comes in handy.

Its good to have someone along that knows what they are doing and is smart enough not to let you cut where you shouldn't cut (like the guts)
 
Don't eat for a week before going hunting the first time.... then think how tasty it will be when it's cooked.... :D
 
In an age of internet resumes I can offer expert advice based on guiding my 'recovering vegetarian' wife through the process of becoming a hunter.... ;)

1. Practice tons with the gun so you are completely comfortable with that end of things.
2. Find a group that understands where you are in all this and will support you. Have you asked the ladies in your super secret subforum to take you? :p
3. Start with birds. They are less cute, die easily, you don't have 10 minutes of lining up your shot to mentally freak yourself and you can start with the mindset of 'everything dies to feed something else'.
4. A tear or two is ok.

We started with waterfowl and upland and by chance her first kill was a nice pheasant that she instinctively shot out from under my very experienced buddy (which I still razz him about). We gave her a minute of quiet time with the rooster then perked her up with congratulations of a hunt well done!
After finding the old picture we took and looking at her Value Village hunt clothes, I now add a 5th tip.

5. Treat yourself to a nice hunting outfit- nothing wrong with a girl feeling pretty! :D Upland can be hunted with next to no special apparel and waterfowl can be waders and a dark coat if you sit still.

GOOD LUCK
TanyasFirstRooster.jpg
 
Candychikita said:
easiest first kill? (skillwise as well as conscience wise LOL)
Click to expand...

Grouse.

[/QUOTE]attire: essential pieces? something orange? something green/camo/woodland looking?[/QUOTE]

Warm.

[/QUOTE]i'm probably going to have some sort of reaction about killing the thing dead.[/QUOTE]

Yes, as you should.

[/QUOTE]... but maybe some sadness/taking of a life thing. i hear that goes away after the first kill, but a recommendation on how to deal with this would help too HA.[/QUOTE]

No, it doesn't, it is just a little less intense each time. Eventually you may come to accept what you have done and why, and be okay with it, even happy. But it is still a serious thing, you have killed something.

[/QUOTE]i'm serious. don't laugh.[/QUOTE]

We know, and we're not.


It is good that you are beginning to emotionally prepare yourself, but it will still surprise you when / if you take a large mammal like a deer. Grouse are different, and a good place to start new hunters - they do not have big dark eyes, and you don't necessarily have to put your hands inside them right away and feel the energy of their life dissipating.

Hopefully your family is supportive and respectful, and will allow you some time and privacy to come to terms with what you have done when you get you first (and any subsequent) animal.

Now don't get me wrong, it may sound like I am pretty serious about hunting but it is also a lot of fun and I hunt everything, everywhere, every minute I can. I am a hunter through and through, but I think that the taking of a life, regardless of whether it is "only an animal's" is serious business that requires sober evaluation by most people.

Just my opinion.

Good luck.
 
for my wife it's easier for her to kill a deer than say a coyote or a crow or an animal she wouldn't eat.

she loves hunting but only for meat and that is what makes her not feel bad about it. heck she's even right in there when it comes time to clean it.

the funny thing is she even feels bad shooting a gopher because it's just going to go to waste. plus it probably didn't help that the first one she shot she hit right in the head and it started flopping like a foot in the air for at least a couple of minutes. meanwhile she was freaking out and i had to finish it with the 223... really pretty crazy if you ask me and bad luck to boot.
 
Candychikita said:
i'm probably going to have some sort of reaction about killing the thing dead. not hysterics, but maybe some sadness/taking of a life thing. i hear that goes away after the first kill, but a recommendation on how to deal with this would help too HA.
Click to expand...
It didn't go away for me after my first kill. If I don't have a slight sense of sadness then I'll stop hunting. The more you do hunt however the quicker it passes.

In the meantime practice with your firearm. Not just from the bench either. If possible do some game scounting. Get out in the bush. Read about hunting especially bullet placement, tracking downed game, skinning/cleaning game and meat handling. Make sure you go hunting with experienced people who can help you.

And the only thing that should be in your mind during the moment of truth is making the shot. The rest of it can come later.
 
Like some already said, go small. Grouse are perfect, you won't feel too bad about them.
It takes time and effort to hunt, this will give you a new level of appreciation and respect for all living things. Good luck!
 
Villain said:
Like some already said, go small. Grouse are perfect, you won't feel too bad about them.
It takes time and effort to hunt, this will give you a new level of appreciation and respect for all living things. Good luck!
Click to expand...

and they're delicious
 
Claybuster said:
It didn't go away for me after my first kill. If I don't have a slight sense of sadness then I'll stop hunting. The more you do hunt however the quicker it passes.
Click to expand...

These are sentiments with which I totally agree.

To this day, when I kill a deer, I kneel and say what I suppose some would call a prayer thanking the animal for its sacrifice. It's not a deep sadness - the kind you would cry over - but it's not a time for whooping it up and taking a bunch of retarded pictures like you riding the animal... I really hate that kind of nonsense.

After a few minutes have passed, if it's a nice trophy animal I'll sometimes exchange handshakes or high-fives with the buddies, etc. but the initial moment of the kill/approach is always a solemn one.

As Claybuster said, if I ever stop feeling that momentary sadness/solemnity then I think it'll be time to give up hunting.

-M
 
regardless of what your first kill is the longer to actually shoot the more emotional it is,shooting birds on the fly is different than ground sluicing them,same with deer.shooting a deer standing and staring at you is different than one that is driven.i think its more of an adrenalyn thing.ive seen grown men with years of hunting experiance choke and cant shoot a deer staring at them close up while when we push them the same hunter had no problems.the remorse of harvesting your first animal goes away after your first juicy steaks,as long as its done humanely and with respect.we always put a spruce bow in the animals moth after as repect and thank for the meal the animal will provide cheers and good luck
 
I agree with Dax420. Having been in a slaughter house and seen cows killed with the bolt, it's not pretty. You cannot help but feel the fear in the air as the animals line up and wait their turn.
A wild animal is not penned, force fed, pumped full of growth hormones and antibiotics and generally lives a miserable life.
Wild animals have the opportunity of free range, proper food and when the end comes via a hunter, they have no clue. It is both swift and humane. This is a rule that I hunt by and have instilled into my son who also is a hunter. If you cannot take a clean kill shot you don't take the shot at all.
Enjoy being out whether in the woods or farm field. If the shot presents itself and you are confident. Take it. If not, be thankful that you have the opportunity to be out enjoying the day. Good luck and happy hunting.
My two cents.
 
"The unexamined life is not worth living." Socrates

That you have considered the feelings, emotions and thoughts you may encounter when you find yourself in the position of ending an animal's life is clear indication that you have taken some steps along the path towards wisdom.
Many of us who have become experianced and sometimes knowledgable hunters have failed to gain as much wisdom as you have shown by posing your questions.
Welcome to the fraterinty of hunters.
 
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