Deer Hunting, How To Start?

[jyl]

My brother-in-law and I are going to make a joint New Years' resolution, to each take a deer in 2008.

He grew up hunting in West VA, has taken deer before, was a Marine, and is a very good shot. But he has been out of hunting for a long time, and will need to get a rifle. I have never hunted and also have no rifle, am a good shot with pistol but will need lots of practice with a rifle. Neither of us know anything about where to hunt in Oregon, both being pretty new to the state.

So, how should we get started? Are there hunting clubs that will show the ropes to two new guys, one being a total newbie? Or would you spend the bucks and hire a guide for a week? Anyone here an Oregon hunter?

And any suggestions for the rifle? I want to get one this winter and start practicing this spring. Not at all averse to buying used, and looking for a solid quality working rifle, not a thing of beauty.

[Dantilla]

Originally Posted by jyl

So, how should we get started?

Go to the zoo. The deer stand still for you there.

[Mo_Gearhead]

GUNS????
In Missouri they walk right up in the yard.



I lept off the roof with a K-bar in my teeth, landed on this ones back and slit his throat before he threw me off. He only ran about 50 more yards and dropped. Hurt my leg though in the fall! (Ouch)

Note: See posting; "What are you drinking?"

[pwd72s]

jyl? You really are trying to be an Oregonian instead of a Californicator moved to Orygun....right?

How to get started deer hunting? Uh...tough question. Me? I grew up in a mill town...hell, it was just whar everybody did.

Portland people had a tougher learning curve.

(Edit) Me? I quit hunting, back in the 70's...too many big city folks who didn't have a clue what they were doing were entering the brush with guns. This scared the crap out of me.

[BertBeagle]

Anymore I don't see how they call it hunting. They are in your yard, on the golf course and everywhere. Now days I think it is more like deer shooting than deer hunting. You can ride around at night and "hunt" them with the bumper of your car if you're not careful.

What skill is used in this "sport"?

Now Bobwhite quail hunting is real sport with a challenge to the shooter and the dog. (not the game ranch kind that release pen raised birds that have never flown)

[legion]

I'd like to try deer hunting too.

Like you, I know next to nothing about it.

Unfortunately in Illinois, it is difficult to get a hold of deer tags (lottery). Even if you do, there are only two parks in the entire state that allow hunting with shotguns: most are bow only. Either way, all of the public parks are overrun with hunters and few deer. To have any shot of scoring you need to lease some hunting land ($$$$$).

[MT930]

Find a friend or family member who is a hunter, spend a season with them. Pick someone that grew up doing it and is successful most years, that enjoys the experience and is not out to kill to be killing. We love new guys and try to help them have a good experience sharing safety tips and in-sites, remember the funs over after you pull the trigger. I have had lot of great times spent in the field. Try bow hunting it is to hunting as Porsche is to cars.

[Hard-Deck]

Join a reputable shooting range, take safety classes. Go hunting with someone with recent experience.

[mattdavis11]

You might try starting out with a pellet gun and stray cats around your hood. With time, you can work your way up to more powerful weapons and larger animals. By deer season, the neighborhood should be critter free, and that's a win-win for everyone. Also, when you use this approach, it gets progressively easier.





























I kid. A .270 is perfect for deer. I shoot a Ruger M77.

[aigel]

Originally Posted by BertBeagle

Anymore I don't see how they call it hunting. They are in your yard, on the golf course and everywhere. Now days I think it is more like deer shooting than deer hunting. You can ride around at night and "hunt" them with the bumper of your car if you're not careful.

What skill is used in this "sport"?

You obviously haven't hunted in the west. I am very familiar with CA and OR isn't much different. Its a different story here. There are more deer killed in PA on opening day than they take all season in CA. I am not kidding. It's armed hiking here more than anything else.

George

[KFC911]

I haven't hunted in 30 years (fishing is my thing these days), but in NC, there are more deer now than there were a few hundred years ago...them suckers adapt, and food is plentiful. A friend of mine has hit two with her car in the past six months, and I came close a few weeks ago. IMO, deer hunting is about "woodsmanship", etc. and the more serious, "better" hunters typically use blackpowder rifles, bows, etc. as the season opens earlier, and one must get MUCH closer to the deer (easier said than done) in order to get a clean shot. It's not my thing anymore, but if the deer population isn't thinned down by hunters, then cars and diseases will. I remember the very last time I went...sitting there in mid-teen temperatures freezing my tail off...I never saw a deer that day...probably due to the fact they could've heard my teeth chattering from a few hundred yards away .

[HardDrive]

I am an avid deer hunter. Hunted all my life.

Here is my 2 cents.....

Rifle? Weatherby Vanguard .30-06. I have one and love it. Inexpensive, and accurate out of the box. A Remington BDL would be a comparable rifle. The reality is that there are many excellent rifles that can be had for less than $500. There are many used rifles available that can be had for less than $300 that will work just fine. Out West a good scope and mount are important. I use a Burris Fullfield II 3x-9x-40mm.

I say .30-06 because it is so versatile. Gun heads can argue about calibers all day, but I don't think anyone will deny that the .30-06 is one of the most versatile and long lived calibers of all time.

You could go with a guide, but they are quite expensive. If you are starting from scratch this might be a good option. But I suspect we can hook you up with someone. Frankly, I would love to organize a hunting trip somewhere in the PNW next year. I hunt in Michigan in November, but the Washington seasons are earlier.

Deer hunting is a very local activity. My experience in Michigan means nothing out west. I think Jeff Higgins will have much better knowledge than I about western hunting.

Some basic questions. In your state, are you allowed to:

-Hunt using bait (corn, sugar beats, apple, etc...)?
-Hunt from a tree stand?
-Hunt on public land?

These are all going to play into where and how you hunt.

The most obvious part of hunting is simply finding a deer and shooting it. Duh.

The less obvious parts:

-You have shot the deer. Do you know how to gut the deer OR have wisely brought along someone who does (a guide perhaps...)?

Gutting a deer can be a nasty business if you don't like blood and guts. Its a big animal, and I can't say I know anyone that enjoys it. But it IS NOT difficult, and is more straight forward than one might think. Because a deer is so large, its is easy to find your way around, and gravity tends to do some of the work for you. There are guides available online. The big 'no no' is cutting into the bowel or bladder, which can have some rather obvious negative effects.

-You have shot and gutted the deer. How are you going to get the deer out of the woods?

It may be pretty is that spot 3 miles from the nearest logging road, but you sure as hell better have an ATV if your going to shoot a deer there. Even on a sled, dragging a 150lbs deer .5 of a mile is a serious workout, even on flat ground. Once you get it out, you should have a truck, or a 'hitch hauler' to put the deer on.


-Where can you take it to have it processed into venison? Do they make sausage?

Google

-Who is going to eat 50lbs of venison?

Harddrive


I would love to help you get started. If there is anything I can do, please shoot me a PM.

Next year, perhaps we could have a deer camp out west here in WA/OR for a long weekend?

My last 2 cents: BE ETHICAL. If you are going to kill a deer, then kill it. Don't take wild shots, don't take shots at ranges that are questionable.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

...I would love to help you get started. If there is anything I can do, please shoot me a PM.

Next year, perhaps we could have a deer camp out west here in WA/OR for a long weekend?....

There ya go John...HardDrive is your guy! I would suggest that you spend "this season" acquiring a rifle (30-06...can't go wrong there), getting comfortable (and accurate) with it, getting a tree stand, lining up the "land" you're going to hunt, etc. and planning. Going with an "old pro" like HD, Higgens, etc. is a fantastic way to learn the humane, "correct" way to harvest a deer properly and generally learn the ropes. You guys should try to put together a hunting trip, and I'm sure it would be fantastic. HD, do you hunt from a stand (someone mentioned "hiking with a gun" ), can you guys "bait" during the season, and are dogs ever used out west? Just curious...kind of makes me want to break out the old 30-30, or go buy another rifle!

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

My last 2 cents: BE ETHICAL. If you are going to kill a deer, then kill it. Don't take wild shots, don't take shots at ranges that are questionable.

Perfectly said.

I don't deer hunt anymore put my son wants to start. Being ethical is the first and last lesson.

[Zef]

Bow hunting...that's the way to start with...Gun hunting is not hunting...it's killing...We talk about hunting here...!

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Zef

Bow hunting...that's the way to start with...Gun hunting is not hunting...it's killing...We talk about hunting here...!

I'm going to respectfully disagree. A bow in the hands of a novice hunter is VERY unlikely to produce a "clean kill" and that's a no-no from my perspective. I seriously doubt a novice would get anywhere close enough (say 40-50 yards), to a deer, much less make a clean shot. I hear where you're coming from, but just don't think that's a good way to "learn how to hunt". "Hunting" versus "Killing", it's all the same...the goal is to cleanly and humanely "harvest" a deer and a bow in the hands of a novice isn't likely to produce that result. I can't think of much worse than an animal getting away with a non-lethal arrow in him. One other thing I might add whether it's with a rifle or bow. If you make a shot and the deer is only wounded, imo you MUST be willing to do whatever it takes to track the deer (for miles if necessary) and finish the job...just my .02 worth.

[targa911S]

you could buy this 30-06 from me. 1903 A3 Springfield. Very accurate. I inherited a Sako in 30-06 so I won't be needing it anymore.

[HardDrive]

Lets get started. Lesson #1: DON'T DO THIS.

[jyl]

Wow, thanks for all the reponses, including the PMs (you know who you are, thanks for all the effort and time you put into writing me).

I am digesting all this, and figuring out next steps. I am going to do some research, and some of you will probably get more PMs from me over the coming months.

Getting excited about this . . .

. . . yeah, I am familiar with the "its the hunting, not the killing" mantra. Indeed, I had to be equally zen-like when I was flyfishing a lot, because, well, sometimes those fish were uncommonly smart. But I never kept fish anyway, so it was kinda different . . .

[Jeff Higgins]

Getting started in hunting in middle age has got to be one of the toughest things a guy can set out to do. There are so many nuances to it that are only picked up through experience. I would very strongly encourage you to find some one that hunts that would be willing to take you under his wing; without such a mentor, you are likely to get discouraged and quit.

You have one big strike against you right out of the gate. Living in Oregon. Oregon and Washington have some of the lowest success rates on deer (and elk) in the country. Some one mentioned "armed hiking"; that's really not too far from the truth in many areas in both states. Both states do offer decent hunting in select areas; I can fill you in on Washington, but I know little about Oregon. One constant between the two states are their west sides; the "wet" side of the Cascade range. Rain forest like undergrowth and predominantly private, both are to be avoided, especially for a new hunter. You can go for years and never see game in that kind of environment.

Stick to the east side, in the more open, high desert sort of areas. You will see more game, even if you cannot get close enough to shoot. Seeing game, and knowing it is around, is very encouraging for a new hunter. Add to your chances of success in this kind of country by hunting where others have actually been successful. Get a harvest report from your game department; it gives numbers of animals harvested by unit for a several year period of time. Tap that same game department for information on private vs. public land in these units; some very high success rate units may be entirely private. If you cannot get access, it won't matter how many others have been successful.

Start getting ready now for next year. Do your homework as outlined above, and get a rough idea of where you would like to go. If you are lucky enough to get together with an experienced (successful) hunter, you will obviously go where he goes. If not, narrow your choices down to a few and start scouting. Get out and check out those areas. Grab a day pack and some binoculars, and start "hunting" now. You should try to narrow down your choice of areas in the first couple of months of next year. You are basing your choice on success rate and access (much of this is done before you leave the house, with that info from the game department) and finally your scouting.

You should know where you are going to be hunting by no later than spring. You should know where you will camp, or which hotel you will stay in, and you should have a camp ground or hotel reservation by summer. By the end of summer you should have walked the very ridge, river bottom, or wherever you intend to hunt. Several times, until you know them quite well.

If Oregon assigns tags by unit in a drawing, you obviously will not know ahead of time where you are going to be hunting. You should know which areas you will apply for, however, so that will still give you the opportunity to scout those areas. We are luck in Washington; we can hunt wherever we want, with no area specific drawing. That allows me to know from year to year exactly where I will hunt in that year.

This might be starting to sound like a great deal of work, and a fairly serious commitment of time and resources. It is. Succesful hunting is a great deal of work. Shooting the animal and packing it out is actually the easy part. It is the time and effort you put in prior to the actual season that will make or break you. Sure, you could buy a rifle and just hit the woods blind on opening day, and still probably have a lot of fun. You need to realize, though, that that reduces you to just another "armed hiker". There is one hell of a lot of work involved in becoming a hunter; your approach will be vastly different.