Hunting- explain its aspects to a newb.

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GunNewb

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What does one go through before the part where you shoot stuff? I just started my hunters ed online in Alberta(Calgary) and wondering what kind of stuff Imma have to go through before I get into the field and try my luck. Hoping to pursue ducks/deer/rabbits. Prolly better to learn on small stuff I reckon and move up.



So far I figure meat processing is my #1 priority to learn.

As well, finding land upon which to hunt seems like its gonna be a close second.
Should I expect a hard time when it comes to finding a spot to hunt or is it as easy as hitting crown land? Is there a ton of public land around here?


any o' that old(or new) wisdom is welcome
 
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All depends on what sort of "stuff" you intend to shoot. You will no doubt study the species you are after to learn their habits and habitats before you head out in search of them. Be prepared to introduce yourself politely to the landowner when you find some suitable habitat to hunt. An R.M. map is very helpful in determining land ownership, while a contour map of the area can be used for determining hunt strategy, game movement etc. Suitabe weaponry for the species at hand would take entire books full of fancy writing but I can tell you a .22 rifle a 30/06 and a 12 gauge shotgun will allow you to hunt virtually everything there is to hunt on planet earth.
 
shredder0 said:
All depends on what sort of "stuff" you intend to shoot. You will no doubt study the species you are after to learn their habits and habitats before you head out in search of them. Be prepared to introduce yourself politely to the landowner when you find some suitable habitat to hunt. An R.M. map is very helpful in determining land ownership, while a contour map of the area can be used for determining hunt strategy, game movement etc. Suitabe weaponry for the species at hand would take entire books full of fancy writing but I can tell you a .22 rifle a 30/06 and a 12 gauge shotgun will allow you to hunt virtually everything there is to hunt on planet earth.
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fixed it! the guns are the only thing that arent gonna be a problem its figuring out everything else.
 
Polar Man said:
Good luck with that, no one wants to take new hunters out. And we wonder why the sport is dying.
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Have taken many new hunters out, but many are either unsafe or disrespectfull and not willing to learn, the only way i take newbies out now is if i know them for a while before they ask or have references

One such dumbass was going to shoot my dog thinking it was a coyote:rolleyes:

The dog is 150 pounds, white with floppy ears, the first time he trained the gun on the dog i was flustered to say the least but figured he was just that new and naive. When he continued doing it other times during the day after he was told to be sure of his target numerous times he was told never to return or ask again.

If you get to know and start to hang out with people who hunt that would be a good start, if you just expect offers to go out i think you would be dissappointed 9 times out of 10.
 
Well, hunters don't shoot "stuff", ......we shoot game. It's a lifestyle that you work into, hopefully under the tutelage of an older, experienced hunter. It's all about learning the life cycles and habits of various game, the acceptable culture of hunting, and respect for both nature and the land (really important if you want access to private property). You won't become a "hunter" overnight and will never stop learning the tricks of the trade. If you're prepared to accept this and are serious, try to find an older mentor that will take you under his wing as an understudy. Maybe go out the first few times without a rifle and just observe. Remember, it's a lifestyle and culture, so just tread easy and you'll fit in. Wander some country coffee shops during the hunting season, gently ask around, and you'll find that mentor for becoming a successful hunter.
 
I'd imagine it's tough trying to separate the 'Wheat from the Chaff' on internet chat forums.
Some good guys on here and some.... hell, I'm not judging, some folks would say I'm one of the others, LOL.
I grew up around it but not everyone has it that easy.
Where are you from? That'll help narrow now the search for a mentor.
 
I'd go to crown land and try on small game first. If you can find some public land waterfowling , or private thats even better. small game gets you into more game sightings , more shooting and more learning to clean and prepare meat then going straight into big game. Gutting a deer is not difficult , but would be difficult for someone with no instruction and no point of reference from smaller animals.
 
Your hunters ed course should answer some of your questions. Puddle ducks/upland are a good place to start. You get lot's of shots, and you don't have a large animal to deal with when you're successful.

Biggest thing is KNOW the regulations and adhere to them completely, all the time.
Other than that, practice, practice, practice, and research, research, research. Anything you don't understand, post here and someone will point you in the right direction.

I always laugh at the posts, "where do I go to shoot ..............". Research, just like everyone else. Being a successful hunter takes a lot of effort, and effort is rewarded.
Best way to find places to hunt puddleducks in Sept/Oct is to start looking for them and get permission from landowners in August.

Sorry if that sounded like a lecture/rant. It really wasn't meant to be.

By the way, best way to start hunting puddleducks is to ambush'em. This time of year is a good time to get a little rubber dinghy for about 20 bucks. It's either that or bring a buddy whose bad at bushing to see who strips down and wades out for them. ;)

Ditto on the mentor. I still wish the mentor thread would be split into provinces.
 
Become a map junky, check out Ducks Unlimited for water fowl spots, haunt the library and read all the provincial inventory reports, assessment reports etc. Certainly make sure you look up the federal land use capability map series. It will put you on waterfowl and deer quick.

Know the regs by heart, there are more opportunities out there then alot of people realize.

Get a canoe. Nothing like a hundred paddle strokes to put you on game.

Volunteer at local DU or other NGO 'clean ups' or projects, attend your ranges clean up, join a rod and game club.
 
Suka said:
Your hunters ed course should answer some of your questions. Puddle ducks/upland are a good place to start. You get lot's of shots, and you don't have a large animal to deal with when you're successful.

Biggest thing is KNOW the regulations and adhere to them completely, all the time.
Other than that, practice, practice, practice, and research, research, research. Anything you don't understand, post here and someone will point you in the right direction.

I always laugh at the posts, "where do I go to shoot ..............". Research, just like everyone else. Being a successful hunter takes a lot of effort, and effort is rewarded.
Best way to find places to hunt puddleducks in Sept/Oct is to start looking for them and get permission from landowners in August.

Sorry if that sounded like a lecture/rant. It really wasn't meant to be.

By the way, best way to start hunting puddleducks is to ambush'em. This time of year is a good time to get a little rubber dinghy for about 20 bucks. It's either that or bring a buddy whose bad at bushing to see who strips down and wades out for them. ;)

Ditto on the mentor. I still wish the mentor thread would be split into provinces.
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dont sweat it man this is in fact super helpful!

interesting how much the mentoring thing has come up- reason why I started this thread is to see if there are things that are impossible to figure out on ones own; to see what I should expect and reasonable goals to set. theres definitely more to hunting than reloading but I think there are enough resources out there to learn hunting as I did reloading- safe, slow,responsible.(in the form of classes/mentor programs/books and video etc..)

as you pointed out "Being a successful hunter takes a lot of effort, and effort is rewarded." therein lies my interest.



that is a freakin' awesome idea BTW with the 20$ blow up boat- thats the kinda gold Im not gonna get in hunters ed.
 
There must be an awful lot of, mostly young, people out there with newly acquired legal documents to enable them to go hunting, but don't really know anything about it.
Hunting is such a gigantic subject! Just look at all the game in most of Canada that we can legally hunt, then think of all the various ways and means of hunting each and every specie. It's mind boggling.
Even to you veteran hunters, what do you immediately think of when the word hunting is brought up?
Without really thinking of what they were doing, many hunters have more or less specialized in hunting some type of game, or even some method of hunting that specie. Some big game hunters will hunt the same area for many years. Obviously, they have a high rate of success, if success means getting a game animmal each year.
I took the opposite approach. I wanted to see new hunting country. Lots of it, especially the mountain variety. I've gone on trips where not a shot was fired, but camped for a week or so in some fabulous, remote mountain country with a great hunting partner, and to me, those trips were a great success and are forever burned into my memory.
So back to the OP.
I would suggest doing a lot of reading about hunting, try and figure out what specie, or what method of hunting you are reading about, that turns you on.
Getting to some fairly remote area, setting up a tent, or better yet a lean to on the edge of a creek with clean drinking water, wood fire in front to cook on and for heat and drying clothes, then day hunting in the bush is, to me, what hunting is all about.
If you can find such a party of hunters, talk to them months before the hunt, about going along. Tell them you are good at frying pancakes over an open fire, or slow roasting grouse over low heat coals, and there is a good chance you would get invited to go. (If you do get invited, you had better practice cooking over an open fire!)
Alas, this type of hunting may be almost a thing of the past, but I know it still exists to some extent, in some remote areas. And no reason why it still can't be done.
 
H4831, love your response. I look at hunting (bird only usually) almost as an excuse to go places and see things I wouldn't otherwise. I have come to realize I don't have a favorite type of game or place to hunt. That would means I liked something else less and frankly, I love it all. It's not the amount in the game bag ( but that doesn't hurt) its the whole thing, even when I never get take a shot.
 
I'm in Calgary too, though I grew up in Vancouver. When I moved out here I decided to learn to hunt. From this site and youtube and such you can learn everything. If your familiar with forest land use zones those are public lands considered huntable. I got my deers in the ghost fluz out by waiparous.
 
H4831 said:
There must be an awful lot of, mostly young, people out there with newly acquired legal documents to enable them to go hunting, but don't really know anything about it.
Hunting is such a gigantic subject! Just look at all the game in most of Canada that we can legally hunt, then think of all the various ways and means of hunting each and every specie. It's mind boggling.
Even to you veteran hunters, what do you immediately think of when the word hunting is brought up?
Without really thinking of what they were doing, many hunters have more or less specialized in hunting some type of game, or even some method of hunting that specie. Some big game hunters will hunt the same area for many years. Obviously, they have a high rate of success, if success means getting a game animmal each year.
I took the opposite approach. I wanted to see new hunting country. Lots of it, especially the mountain variety. I've gone on trips where not a shot was fired, but camped for a week or so in some fabulous, remote mountain country with a great hunting partner, and to me, those trips were a great success and are forever burned into my memory.
So back to the OP.
I would suggest doing a lot of reading about hunting, try and figure out what specie, or what method of hunting you are reading about, that turns you on.
Getting to some fairly remote area, setting up a tent, or better yet a lean to on the edge of a creek with clean drinking water, wood fire in front to cook on and for heat and drying clothes, then day hunting in the bush is, to me, what hunting is all about.
If you can find such a party of hunters, talk to them months before the hunt, about going along. Tell them you are good at frying pancakes over an open fire, or slow roasting grouse over low heat coals, and there is a good chance you would get invited to go. (If you do get invited, you had better practice cooking over an open fire!)
Alas, this type of hunting may be almost a thing of the past, but I know it still exists to some extent, in some remote areas. And no reason why it still can't be done.
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That sounds EXACTLY like the hunting I want to do...hunting/camping/outdoor living sounds great!!! Road hunting, one day hunts ect. do not excite me much.
 
H4831 said:
There must be an awful lot of, mostly young, people out there with newly acquired legal documents to enable them to go hunting, but don't really know anything about it.

I took the opposite approach. I wanted to see new hunting country. Lots of it, especially the mountain variety. I've gone on trips where not a shot was fired, but camped for a week or so in some fabulous, remote mountain country with a great hunting partner, and to me, those trips were a great success and are forever burned into my memory.
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Your absolutely right. Case in point. I got my license 4 years ago and have yet to go.

I had some people lined up to go with but for reasons I wont get into, turned out to be unreliable. Which looking back is just as well.

So I pretty much figure I'd have to teach myself. I've decided on grouse.
Seems fairly straits forward. (Both the hunting and processing part)


I've flushed a few on day hikes which was a bit of a trill. So I got myself a nice little single shot Stogger in 410 gauge and figured at worst I end up getting a nice little day hike carrying a bit more gear then usual.

Finding somewhere to hunt has been a challenge.
 
H4831 - Your posts are always a pleasure to read. Please go off on tangents more often(not that you did here). :D

I'm in the same boat as well. Just trying to learn to hunt.

I think as long as we are respectful and show an interest to learn we will all find a mentor.

OP - If you want to get together for a coffee or a beer and chat with someone in the same position as yourself, send me a PM.
 
I have been lucky to hunt with different parties over the years.
Of course the first party was ole dad.
He never had the patience to teach me much, or I didn't have the ears.
Not sure even to this day......
For elk hunting, he would sent me up a draw.
Yep, I was packing my brute of a rifle.........1892 44-40......... :D
He would say, "wait until the big hand is here on mickey and go up the draw.
Off he went.
But he would always ask if I knew the difference between fur and cloth, "yep pa,
I won't shoot ya." I could of been maybe eight or nine back then.
Been to a fly in moose hunt.
Other times it was by boat.
Shot a big Bullwinkle a few months after my major surgery.
I asked my long time buddy how we are going to get him out.
"One foot in front of the other" was his reply.
I still use that when times are rough.
Go for a drive and do lots of scouting.
Bring your camera and as H says, read lots.
Good luck.
 
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