How best to get into hunting?

S

spacejanitor

New member
EE Expired
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Location
Toronto
Hi everyone,

I just received my RPAL in the mail, which I decided to take mostly for target shooting but also began to think about hunting. There is no history of hunting in my family besides fishing. Both of my parents are musicians!

However I've always liked the great outdoors and although I am about as green as they come, I'd like to start learning how to hunt - thinking about just turkeys and ducks right now.

Besides taking the Hunter's Ed course, what's the best way to get started? I'm thinking it would be to go with an experienced hunter, but I don't know any (live in Toronto). Those of you who started without a dad or uncle showing you the way, how did you go about it?

Thanks,

Mark
 
Join a local OFHA club and start increasing your network of hunters. Make some friends and you'll find yourself surrounded by some great mentors.
 
Thumbs up to Sheep hunter, Ciphery, Grouseman and Thing for giving sound adivice in a respectful way to a potential new hunter. This is the kind of thing that makes CGN a good place to spend some on-line time.

To Spacejanitor: somewhere in the Hunting forum I think there is a Mentoring thread. It may be worthwhile to check it out and post a "Mentor Wanted" request.
If turkeys and waterfowl are where you want to start, a shotgun will be a necessity. Many hunters are also shooters, so learinng to shoot trap, skeet or sporting clays at a local club will also put you in contact with a good number of hunters. You will make new friends plus it will be a pile of fun for you and you will learn to shoot your gun in a safe and controlled enviroment.
 
Hi. You have to join a shooting club to shoot restricted firearms anyway. You'll meet all kinds of great people who will help you with that at your new club. Eventually, you'll very likely be invited to hunt with 'em too. Might take a few months, but it'll happen.
 
If you took your hunting course, you have the basics to grab a firearm and go hunting. As long as you are safe and responsible, the rest is all about learning the game you are hunting. If you want to hunt a certain animal, then find out what people generally use for a firearm, what locations are best, and times of the day, seasons etc.. Depending on where you are from, the trickiest part can be how far you have to travel to go hunting / finding a good hunting location.
 
i have no family history of hunting either or firearms ownership for that matter i always loved fishing and the outdoors it was natural for me to get into hunting i had no mentor i dont know anyone who hunts i did alot of research still do watch hunting shows and talk with other hunters when i come across them they are always helpful and give me tips best thing to do is grab a shotgun and head for the woods be safe and alert i always have fun even though most times i dont get anything but theres something about the great outdoors i just love the freedom and being in the woods
 
Meet the right guy/gal whose family is into hunting, and start fitting in like a dirty shirt! :)

Actually, although surely tougher in Toronto, meeting friends with similar interests, and scheming together for hunting season really helps. There aren't too many months of the year that a few close friends and I aren't plotting how to thin the deer, goose and duck population up North. Meet people with the same interests as you, and eventually hunting will follow. Until then, find some crown land and take a walk. It's easy to be a poor hunter, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. Safe shooting,

TT
 
I'd look to join a gun club (which can take long guns, not just handguns) and make some acquaintances there. Maybe look for a close by Anglers and Hunters/Fish and Game group too.

Join the boards at oodmag.com. Its the official forums of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters. Its more localized then CGN, and focuses more on hunting, so the chances of finding a person there to meet up with and hunt/shoot are greater.

Crown Land close to Toronto is hard to find. My wife and father in law, prior to meeting me, would drive north of Lindsay to find suitable public land to hunt for small game and deer. One you start meeting people who hunt, you'll find yourself hunting private land before you know it.
 
I think everyones advice here is good, get in to a club or group of like minded individuals and when you get to know some of them maybe drop a few hints that you would like to try hunting but don't know where to start, hopefully an invitation will come. Myself I grew up in a family that didn't hunt, (my dad used to when he was young but gave it up for some reason) but had a close friend that did and I decided I wanted to join him and haven't looked back. I think its the getting back to basics of life and kind of living off the land feeling that keeps me interested, not to mention a week in deer camp for me is what Christmas is to a 5 year old ha ha.:cheers::dancingbanana::cheers::dancingbanana::cheers::puke:
 
I also come from a family with no tradition of hunting (or fishing) - a couple of schoolteachers imported from Britain in the 1950s. So I had no one to show me how. So I found someone -as much by luck as by effort.

And now if I hear of anyone looking for someone to show them, I let myself be found. If the opportunity presents, I suggest you do likewise, you will probably get a lot of enjoyment from it.
 
The best way to get into hunting is to get yourself a shotgun and just go for a walk in the woods. From there just learn to blow things away indiscriminately like tweety birds, squirrels, magpies, crows, etc. Once you get the hang of being able to kill stuff, move up to grouse, ducks, geese, beavers, rabbits. Before you know it, in a couple of years you will be laying waste to moose!
 
Last edited:
I have to second (or forth by now) the idea of finding a few hunters to hang around and ask with. The majority of us are more than happy to help, and the opportunity to grow our sport. Not to mention having someone around to listen to our rambling stories is nice.

Although the best way is to get out and learn what works best for you, having a few people give you the base pointers and a few guidlines is a sound investment, especially when you get into big game and applying for liscences and draws, it's good to have someone around that's been-there done-that.
 
Bitumen said:
The best way to get into hunting is to get yourself a shotgun and just go for a walk in the woods. From there just learn to blow things away indiscriminately like tweety birds, squirrels, magpies, crows, etc. Once you get the hang of being able to kill stuff, move up to grouse, ducks, geese, beavers, rabbits. Before you know it, in a couple of years you will be laying waste to moose!
Click to expand...

Dear God!! Not this again?
 
"The best way to get into hunting is to get yourself a shotgun and just go for a walk in the woods. From there just learn to blow things away indiscriminately like tweety birds, squirrels, magpies, crows, etc. Once you get the hang of being able to kill stuff, move up to grouse, ducks, geese, beavers, rabbits. Before you know it, in a couple of years you will be laying waste to moose!"

I think that was taken directly out of the Manitoba Hunter Safety handbook, no?
 
My dad used to hunt when he was young, but was long out of the sport by the time I became of age. I just went out and got my PAL, worked part time in a gun store where I met some hunting buddies. Met a few guys on Alberta Outdoorsman as well and still hunt with a few of those guys. Another way is to just go out and do it, watch some youtube videos on gutting/cleaning animals.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom