First time hunter, how do I learn?

[zeppelinfromled]

I have never been hunting, but I would like to start. I'm a MA resident, but I took the online course for a NH hunting license, and I'll take the test and do the field day at some point. I'll try to find a MA hunting course that fits my schedule and that isn't full, but it might be a while for that.

Ideally, I would like to hunt some deer (probably in NH, since my weapon of choice would be a rifle). I would also like to hunt some birds, which I would do with a shotgun in MA (or wherever).

That's where my knowledge stops. I know what I want to do and how to get the licenses to do it, but I don't actually know where to go. And if I can find a deer, I know how and where to shoot it, and I can read all I want about field dressing a deer, but reading and doing are different. Also, I'm used to fishing, where I fillet the fish and put it on ice before I go home. With something like deer, I'd imagine that many people bring the whole animal home and butcher it there. I live in Somerville, so I don't exactly have the facilities for working with large animals in my back yard (which doesn't exist). Are there butchers that I can bring the deer to and get them to deal with it for a reasonable fee?

So what would this community recommend for a situation like mine? Obviously it would be best to find a hunting group that I can tag along with, but are people here or elsewhere usually up for teaching someone?

Basically, what should I do?

 

[Ham Slam]

The best way to start hunting in my opinon is to, first find a place where you can hunt. Google earth, and a lot of door knocking should get you a good place. Next, bring a camera there and try to stalk and take pictures of deer. If you can take pictures of deer, you should be able to shoot them come hunting season. Learn to walk slowly and quitely through the woods. Learn to track and pattern deer.

Personally, I think people learn to hunt the best by themselves. When you hunt with another person they usally talk, and that makes it hard to stalk. Getting out in the woods a lot and taking walks off trail in weird places around swamps and places people don't go will help you learn where deer really are. don't follow trails.

Finding a good place to hunt takes a lot of work. Its always on going, and constantly changing. Once you find a little spot, don't post it here, and learn the area the best you can. The acutal shooting of the deer is often the easyest part. You'll make a lot of mistakes before you tune yourself up, and personally I think you need to make these mistakes. There are not a lot of short cuts in hunting, and nothing beats getting out into the woods thats when you learn.

there is a butcher in Hopkington called Arena and Sons. They take care of your deer.

The first time I shot a deer I had no idea how to clean it either. I found a dull knife in my truck and did what I could. I was rolling it around and gutting it blood all over me, when another hunter walked up and said "Jesus did you kill that with your bare hands". It was snowy and there was an 8ft circle of blood around me from rolling it.

 

[dixidawg]

For birds in Ma, you need to decide if you want to hunt upland(generally pheasants here) or waterfowl. Each takes very different approaches and places to be successful.

The easiest one to get started with is pheasants. All you really need is a shotgun, a pocket full of shells, and an orange hat. A good dog makes a huge difference, but is not necessary to hunt pheasants.

I would strongly recommend sticking to stocked WMA's.

http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/recreation/hunting/pheasant/pheasant_stocking_areas.htm

Mass actually does a pretty good job of stocking. Put in your time tromping around these places enough, and you WILL get a chance at some birds.

Another option is to go to one of the preserves. You will see a bunch of birds and get to actually experience what it is like. It also gives you some practice so when you are actually hunting during the season you will know what to expect. Here's a possibility:

http://www.northeastshooters.com/vb...t-in-a-second-NES-guided-pheasant-hunt-in-NH?

As for waterfowl, you probably would be best to hook up with someone more experienced or a guide for your first few experiences. It takes more equipment (decoys, blinds, boats, dogs, etc) and a good bit of know how to be successful.

For deer, read everything you can get your hands on. You really can learn it yourself, or you can hook up with some more experienced hunters. You will generally find a "style" of deer hunting that you like, and that doesn't always match up with what others in your group like to do. Sometimes you are better off by yourself. For places to hunt, I agree with what HamSlam said above. Don't overlook the Ma WMA's listed on the Mass website. There are plenty of deer on them to be had. There are butchers available that will take a whole gutted carcass and turn them into meat. Jim Wallace from GOAL is one that I can personally vouch for. He does a great job. Good luck!

 

[SAV]

Your NH Hunter Safety Class wil be accepted in MA.

I've found in general that the shooting sports are more of a solitary pursuit than a social one. Read, read, read...

 

[Titan]

What is the ballpark for paying to have a deer turned from a gutted carcass into meat for the freezer?

 

[bfm]

One other thing I would do is get in a lot of practice with the fireams you intend to hunt with. I know a few people who do a good amount of shooting but only take their hunting guns out when it is the season. Best if you can shoot at a variety of ranges to help get used to judging distances. Patern the shotguns with the load you intend to hunt with as well.

 

[dixidawg]

What is the ballpark for paying to have a deer turned from a gutted carcass into meat for the freezer?

Anywhere from $50 - $100 depending on the size of the deer and what you want done (bone in, hamburg, etc.)

 

[Titan]

Thanks!

 

[Kicker96FS]

I strongly disagree on some of the above.

One of the first questions I would ask is, do you know your way around in the woods? Are you experienced in finding your way out of the woods, do you know what to do if you get lost or disoriented, do you know about survival, dressing in layers, have the right equipment, etc.

This you can get from someone that has hunted for years.

Other things are, how to track a Deer, spot "signs" of deer activity, are they old or new?

Your fist few times should be with an experienced hunter in my opinion.

Do you know how to gut a deer? You cant just shoot it, drag it out and take it to the butcher, you have to open it up and get all the internal organs out ASAP because the moment it dies, the meat is starting to rot and the sooner you open it up and cool it off the better, and not to mention that you want to get the blood out before it starts to gel up and get stuck in the meat! You need experience or a good DVD on how to do that!

This is all assuming that you know how to shoot your gun, hit your target, and not shoot other people or their belongings.

Is there a fish and game club where you live?

Go join it NOW and make some friends and hopefully a hunting buddy.

Dragging a deer out is much more fun as a shared task.

I have hunted for years with Dukinmaine and while I know my way around the woods, Dukie showed me lots that I did not know or had an idea but not experience. I have learned a lot from him and would not ever think of learning any other way.

They say you can learn from your mistakes but I say, why make them in the first place? If you have someone that you can draw knowledge from, why waste your time screwing up?

Hunting is a wonderful sport, it is relaxing, go out and enjoy it!

Thanks Duke!

 

[zeppelinfromled]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Kicker, it's pretty unlikely that I would get lost in the woods. If I'm not completely confident in my ability to use a topo map and a compass, I'll bring a GPS. I'm also pretty confident in my shooting abilities (or at least my ability to get to where I need to be). My rifle is pretty new to me, but I'm not one to skimp on practice, and I have a while to work on it before deer season. I'm a member of a sportsman's club for shotgun shooting, and I can get more advice than I can process about where to go and how to hunt birds with a shotgun, advice on loads and patterning, etc. It's pretty likely that I can find a hunting buddy from there for birds, once I get my license(s).

I liked the advice about about going out into the woods pre-season and just looking around and trying to find some deer. I'll definitely go spend a day or three camping and hiking and sitting still and looking for animals.

There are two big things that I feel like I need to figure out before I go hunting. I need to be as knowledgeable as possible about field dressing an animal. Some have suggested learning by trying, and that's not a bad idea, but I might also try to get some instruction (either before or during). A DVD sounds like a good idea - I'll start looking for one. I also need to figure out a way to get the dressed animal out of the woods and to a butcher. I drive a Honda Accord, and I'm not really one to tie a deer on the roof, so I might try to get my hands on a truck (borrow, rent, zipcar, etc). My understanding is that attaching the carcass to a backpack frame is a good way to go to get back out to your vehicle.

Lets say you're a mile or so into the woods and you take a deer. How would y'all get the carcass back out?

 

[dixidawg]

There are tons of "how to gut a deer" websites and videos out there. Here's the first one I found:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEYw6qtiJZY&feature=related

Google and read up and watch all the videos you can find, but there's nothing like "hands on". Or more appropriately "hands in". The most important piece of advice is have a small SHARP knife. You really only need about a 3" blade or less, but it must be sharp.

As for getting the deer out of the woods., bring a length of rope and just keep dragging until you are back at the car. Don't let anyone kid you, it is a lot of work. The work begins once the deer is down. There's no way around it. It takes a lot of grunt work.

Fuggedabout borrowing or renting a truck. You will be coming home empty handed many, many more times than you will need a truck. Unless you have a very forgiving friend, you won't be able to borrow the truck that much.

Throw a blue tarp in the trunk and then load the deer in on top of the tarp in the trunk. It will fit, or at least mostly fit. If you can't close the trunk all the way, bring some bungies to keep it as closed as you can get. I have actually had 3 deer stuffed in my jeep cherokee at one time. Last year we had a huge cow elk stuffed in the back part of a suburban. Where there's a will there's a way.

As for getting lost, you should be scouting areas and getting familiar with them. A lot. Do this long before opening day.

Google earth is your friend. You can find and learn an awful lot about an ares while sitting at your computer.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Kicker, it's pretty unlikely that I would get lost in the woods. If I'm not completely confident in my ability to use a topo map and a compass, I'll bring a GPS. I'm also pretty confident in my shooting abilities (or at least my ability to get to where I need to be). My rifle is pretty new to me, but I'm not one to skimp on practice, and I have a while to work on it before deer season. I'm a member of a sportsman's club for shotgun shooting, and I can get more advice than I can process about where to go and how to hunt birds with a shotgun, advice on loads and patterning, etc. It's pretty likely that I can find a hunting buddy from there for birds, once I get my license(s).

I liked the advice about about going out into the woods pre-season and just looking around and trying to find some deer. I'll definitely go spend a day or three camping and hiking and sitting still and looking for animals.

There are two big things that I feel like I need to figure out before I go hunting. I need to be as knowledgeable as possible about field dressing an animal. Some have suggested learning by trying, and that's not a bad idea, but I might also try to get some instruction (either before or during). A DVD sounds like a good idea - I'll start looking for one. I also need to figure out a way to get the dressed animal out of the woods and to a butcher. I drive a Honda Accord, and I'm not really one to tie a deer on the roof, so I might try to get my hands on a truck (borrow, rent, zipcar, etc). My understanding is that attaching the carcass to a backpack frame is a good way to go to get back out to your vehicle.

Lets say you're a mile or so into the woods and you take a deer. How would y'all get the carcass back out?

Massachusetts has a Map, Compass and Survival course that is a mini orienteering course that is excellent, and free. I always carry a GPS, spare batteries, and two compasses. I have had a compass fail and there are times that a GPS won't get a signal though the newer ones are better.

The best advice is to read and get out in the woods well before the season and do some scouting with someone who has some hunting experience to learn to identify deer sign. You must learn and figure out what the deer are eating and when in your area. early archery season and late muzzleloader season are all about food. The rut is all about sex so during the rut find the does and what they are eating. The bucks will find the does. You need to learn the behavior to understand why deer do the things that they do. As soon as you think you have them figured out something will change and they will surprise you.

Hunt the wind for deer and minimize your movement.

Field dressing videos are a good place to start but there is no substitute for someone showing you how to do it properly. IMO a very sharp knife is a must and a smaller knife is better than a longer blade. If you hit the intestines, with your shot or the knife, make sure that you clean the carcass out good when you get it back to the house. I always take out the inner tenderloins at the house if the intestines have been punctured.

Be prepared to properly store the carcass at the house overnight. If you shoot a deer late in the day you will have to find, field dress, and get it out of the woods. Doing this in the dark adds a whole new dimension to it. A really good head lamp and flashlight are a must.

There have been nights where I didn't get home until 10:00PM or 11:00 PM and the butcher is long closed by that time. I keep ice jugs in the freezer and wrap it in a tarp overnight on these occasions. That way the deer is properly chilled and doesn't turn overnight.


As far as getting them out a lot of it depends on the terrain that you are hunting. You need a length of good stout rope in the neighborhood of 3/8" on an inch. I carry 25' of 3/8" rope. To drag a deer out tie the rope around the head, antlers and take the two front legs and tie them up around the head. cut a piece of wood about 2' Long to use as a handle and adjust the rope so it goes over a shoulder and lifts about the first third of the deer off the ground and off you go. Hunting with healthy friends is a bonus here.

You can also build a cart to wheel the deer out on. I built a rickshaw style cart out of EMT and a couple of bicycle tires. If I am using the cart I just walk out to the truck and get it. Once you have used a cart you will never go back to dragging a deer out.

I would guess that a deer will fit in the back of a Honda, just use a tarp to protect the inside of the car.

You also need to address the tick issue. I use a permerthrine based clothing spray to keep the ticks off of me.

Bob

 

[ogaraej]

Zeppen, I started hunting last year, goose, duck, coyote and know turkey I am slowly learning... by reading and researching as well as asking as my hunters as possible to share their knowledge its actually been working out very good. I live in taunton and hunt north and south as well as rhode island......you are always welcome to come out with myself and my friends anytime you would like, i will send you a PM later this evening.