My First Time Hunting- Good and Bad

Gunslingr

Gunslingr

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So my father and I went out hunting for my first time this weekend:D. We were up near Port Perry, On and were hunting rabbit mainly and grouse if we saw any. It was really more of a get out there trip since it was a nice day, but I had been doing a lot of reading and really did intend to bag something... Unfortunately we didn't see a damn thing the whole day except for some sparrows and a crap load of geese and ducks which unfortunately we were not equipped for:mad:. Oh and one lucky squirrel that I half heartedly went to shoot but i had my rifle slung and didnt get it up quick enough.

Now as I said this was my first time and even though we didn't come home with anything, my dad and I still had a lot of fun. Being away for school I don't get to spend much time with my family and I really enjoyed the time out with my father.
Anyone else share some similar experiences? I hear a lot about the good hunts but this one was very memorable for me and i'm sure others can attest that coming home empty handed doesn't mean it was a bad time out.

Also any of you experienced grouse and rabbit hunters, throw some tips my way. We'll be going out again in a few weeks and I REALLY intend on getting something!

PS I don't have a dog to hunt with which seems to be the overlying theme from what i've read.
 
I have rabbit hunted for a few years(with a pellet rifle before I was 18) and no dog. I usually always managed to bag a few.....I used a large hilly area that used to be an apple orchard was GREAT for rabbits.
 
For rabbits and especially upland birds you need to get you a dog, the area you hunted is probably hunted hard and you pointed out what may have been your best bet, waterfowl hunting. You may want to set yourselves up for ducks and geese as that is the best chance for success and fun, esp. when hunting near Toronto. You may also want to consider a guided big game hunt with your dad, one that isn't to expensive is a bear hunt, where you stay in a cottage and the bears are baited for you, lots of these hunts are avail. only a couple hrs north of T.O.
 
I've heard from enough people taht they don't hunt with dogs and honestly I don't intend on getting a new one, got a border collie at home, anytime soon. Don't want to sound hard headed but this wasn't my dads first time rabbit hunting (just first in a while) and him and his cousin never used dogs when they were young. I agree that the area has probably been hunted hard and that could attribute, also told by a fellow i saw that there have been alot of foxes and yotes in the area this year, which have brought the rabbit numbers down. I eventually do want to get into waterfowling and big game but this isnt the year for it.

Also to R. Dave, the area we were in had a portion that had a fair number of apple trees in it and this was where we concentrated out efforts, still no luck but we'll try again.
PS i'm at western for school so if you're ever going out shoot me a pm if you're willing to take a newbie along for the day!
 
You'll see most rabbit activity at dusk. Chances are you walked past several grouse with seeing them or flushing them - thats why dogs offer advantage. You'll need to work on your stalking technique - walk 50 ft quietly, stop, try to spot them in the undergrowth, walk 50 ft, etc.
 
The trick is walk slow and scan the ground. Pay attention to junipers and clumps of sticks and logs. If walking with a partner it is best to walk ten yards and stop and your partner to do the same (while you are walking the partner scans for signs of game, when the partner stops then you walk and he scans for game). The distance between you and your partner should be ten to twenty yards top (keep partner in sight and use signals don't talk).

Good luck.
 
Just a suggestion, but have you ever had your dog out in the game woods? I've been amazed on more than one occasion what a non-hunting breed can do! At least it would be fun to try.
 
A term comes to mind : "Quality Time." It may not be time spent playing computer games.

Maybe some can describe what Quality Time means to them. Maybe it can be spent alone?
 
Last night after a grouse hunt, leaving the woods it was dark and a big black bear came out of the ditch and ran straight into my buddies jeep lol... we we're doing about 50kmh, bear did a 360 mid air, then front flipped down a ditch.

I may have caught 2 grouse that night, but atleast your car is fine! lol cheers!
 
The sucess of a hunting trip can be judged many ways. I have had many glorious days in the field where I dont even take the rifle off my shoulder. To quote my uncle that taught me to hunt:

Why spoil a perfect hunting trip by shooting somthing?
 
My father and I went out twice on this easter weekend we were Waterfowling. My father had been many times but lost interest a few years back and had no one to go with.

So I got my license Firearms, Hunter Safety etc. etc. and he took me. We got one Goose on Saturday morning first thing I ever shot at. Then Dad got one not even five minutes later.

We then went out Monday and got nothing. Both days were some of the most fun that I ever had and spending time with your father after being married and out of the house for five years is satisfaction enough the birds were just a bonus.
 
If rabbits are there, its generally a matter of spotting them. Walk trails looking carefully into the bush. They are wise and stand still at the first sign of danger, hearing you and freezing before you see them. You need to spot that beady little eye looking at you. They usually don't move again until you practically stumble right onto them. I used to shoot them at an average of about 20-30 feet with a 22. I'm guessing that's because if they were a lot closer, they'd bolt, and if they were further I wouldn't make them out amongst the twigs and bushes.
 
As others have said the easiest way to spot a rabbit is to look in patches of brush/at the base of small brushy trees and look for the eyes. I'm new to grouse hunting, but I have no idea how anyone can spot them before they flush if they aren't on a trail or something. I've been walking slowly and pausing often, but have yet to see one before it flushes.
 
Well I should be going out again in two weeks so i will put these tips to the test, when I was out I was careful to keep a watchful eye along the brush near the trail, im sure there was game out there but my untrained eye just missed it. Practice makes perfect right?
 
Ruffies are about as quiet as a bear stumbling thru deadfall :D. I'm serious. They sound much bigger than they are. I've found them to like evergreens, and if you catch them close to dusk, they look like big rocks under the evergreen bows. The ones I've found along the trails have usually been due to a quick movement or from their noise.

PS - it looks really cool when they fluff up and make their drumming noise.
 
It takes a lot of scouting and asking around before you can find good hunting spots if you are new to hunting in an area. Even once you know an area well expecting to get game every trip is a bit optimistic in most cases.
 
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