Hunting..

is it just a practical gun handling part of the exam? whats on the exam? I know some of the rules and regs/ not alot but some, but dont know much about harvesting game other than small stuff.


I took my course a long time agao, but I assume not much has changed.

1 part of the course/exam is based on wildlife identification
1 part is based on handling firearms in the field.
1 part is based on ethics, safety, field dressing, etc etc etc

Two parts to the exam one writin and one practicle.
The practicle is based on knowledge and handling of firearms

I dont think that provincial regs are in the exam, but I may be wrong.
 
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Good for you and your interest in getting in to hunting USP. You've already got most of what you need covered. And that's desire. You're on the right track with courses etc out there it seems. ..

A while back there you posted that you're only real concern is knowing how to deal with a big game animal when its down. That's the classic concern for everyone. I just want you to know its no big deal. Like everything else there's a few little tricks of the trade that make it easier.

In case you want to do a little day dreaming before the course, here's a couple things to think about. Rule no 1. Cleanliness is next to Godliness. Once the animial is down, take your time. You open up the hide from the anus to the throat by pulling the hide away from the carcass then making the cut carefull not to nick the stomach. Then cut the stomach open carefull not to nick the intestines and stomach itself. Then you essentially roll the whole works out of the animal with a couple manouevres and cuts that you can learn later. There you have it the bush work is done. You can now drag the deer out of the bush making sure to keep the exposed flesh clean, to your truck and take it somewhere to hang it and skin it. Butcher does the rest..

There's piles of good stuff on y ou tube and such that you can learn in detail later. I just want you and others in your situation to know, the big mystique of how the hey to deal with your prety is no biggy, although all first timers seem to worry. I did at least. But I dressed my first deer back when solo and it may not have been the prettiest job but it turned out just fine :D
 
Good for you and your interest in getting in to hunting USP. You've already got most of what you need covered. And that's desire. You're on the right track with courses etc out there it seems. ..

A while back there you posted that you're only real concern is knowing how to deal with a big game animal when its down. That's the classic concern for everyone. I just want you to know its no big deal. Like everything else there's a few little tricks of the trade that make it easier.

In case you want to do a little day dreaming before the course, here's a couple things to think about. Rule no 1. Cleanliness is next to Godliness. Once the animial is down, take your time. You open up the hide from the anus to the throat by pulling the hide away from the carcass then making the cut carefull not to nick the stomach. Then cut the stomach open carefull not to nick the intestines and stomach itself. Then you essentially roll the whole works out of the animal with a couple manouevres and cuts that you can learn later. There you have it the bush work is done. You can now drag the deer out of the bush making sure to keep the exposed flesh clean, to your truck and take it somewhere to hang it and skin it. Butcher does the rest..

There's piles of good stuff on y ou tube and such that you can learn in detail later. I just want you and others in your situation to know, the big mystique of how the hey to deal with your prety is no biggy, although all first timers seem to worry. I did at least. But I dressed my first deer back when solo and it may not have been the prettiest job but it turned out just fine :D

yeah thanks for the advice guys, I would feel pretty ####ty if I shot a deer and either gutted it wrong or wasted the whole thing.

How many pounds of edible meat could you get off an average deer?

So basically if im hearing this right the steps are?


1. Get tag
2. Shoot deer
3. Open up deer/ dont puncture anything
4. Remove guts
5. Remove deer from bush
6. Hang deer/skin
7. Send it to the butchers

A couple of basic questions I never understood. I get how if you rip open the bile sacks it will ruin meat same with the intestines and stuff. But how does leaving blood in to long ruin the meat? Also are you suppose to wash out the inside of the carcass with like a hose back at your house before you hang it? I was wondering about flies landing on it and laying eggs, or is this not a concern during the cold months when you hunt them? Thanks for the info, appreciate it.

How informative is the hunters ed course on this sort of stuff? I dont care about the gun handling sections just making sure it gives me some info on the above.
 
A couple of basic questions I never understood. I get how if you rip open the bile sacks it will ruin meat same with the intestines and stuff. But how does leaving blood in to long ruin the meat?
the blood is not what you have to worry about I have yet to bleed a deer.
Also are you suppose to wash out the inside of the carcass with like a hose back at your house before you hang it?
water can be your friend or your worst enemy. Wet meat spoils faster. Temperature dependeant. If you do wash be sure you can hang it right away or try to dry the insides. I tend to wash if it was gut shot or there was some chance the meat got contaminated

I was wondering about flies landing on it and laying eggs, or is this not a concern during the cold months when you hunt them? Thanks for the info, appreciate it.
This year we had fly problems cause it was warm. I ran the deers home asap. In normal cold November days it usually is not a problem

How informative is the hunters ed course on this sort of stuff? I dont care about the gun handling sections just making sure it gives me some info on the above.

Hope that helps. If you have "tonnes" of questions like that maybe we can get together for a coffee or beer
 
My son just did the Sask course (I sat in for most of it:)) As CDNGUNNER said a lot of firearm safety (about half) and then animal ID, ehtics, local laws, conservation principles and field dressing game (they had a great video, way better than anything on you tube). all said it was a 30 hour course. Not too hard though, my son scored 92% and 98% on the firearms tests (same federal tests we've all taken w/o the restricteds) and 95% on the hunters ed. component.
 
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