Interested in Hunting

[unionguy]

My POST lives on!

 

[DeanMk]

My POST lives on!

Did you ever go hunting?
How'd you do?

 

[unionguy]

A friend and I tried a few times and that was kind of it. We really didn't know what we were doing, but we did enjoy it. I'd recommend any hunters out there take someone under their wing and teach them...we could never find anyone to do that. I've been out in CO since 2013 and I might have finally found someone to take me out and teach me; so keeping my fingers crossed. (To be fair, my job keeps me hopping and it's hard to plan trips)

 

[DeanMk]

Yeah, there's so many flakes out there...and you never know who you're dealing with over the net....makes "the want" to go hunting with someone you met on any forum pretty negligible....especially if you haven't had much interaction with the person.
Glad you were able to get out with someone, though.
I think a lot of us were lucky, in that it's knowledge and experience that were afforded us by our parents.

Dean

 

[unionguy]

Very true. Definitely wish my dad had passed on the knowledge, but he didn't. At least I taught my two sons the proper ways around firearms...something else I had to learn myself.

 

[DeanMk]

Way to go, Unionguy.

 

[HighlandLofts]

I moved out here to Washington State twenty years ago, i bought one hunting license to go deer hunting. Never again will I buy a Washington hunting license.
I go back to New York State every year to go deer hunting. $100 for a non-resident small game/big game license. And doe tags are $10 a piece and you can get two and you can buy them over the counter at any sporting goods store or town clerks office. I just bought mine online last week. Deer tage are transferable.
A round trip airline ticket cost me $275.

Last year I harvested five deer, one buck and four does. The average deer kill in washington State is 26,000 deer a year.
New York in smaller in square miles and the average deer kill is 220,000 deer.

A non-resident Pennsylvania small game/big game license is $100. Doe tags are $10 and have to be mailed in to the county clerks office and they mail you the doe tag.
Pennsylvania is smaller in square miles then New York and thier average deer kill is 330,000 deer a year.

When I hunt either state I get a deer. You don't have the hassles from the game department like you get out here.
You don't have to pay to get a lottery tag.
You go hunting you see deer, if you are any kind of expierenced hunter you will get a deer.

 

[trevi]

I moved out here to Washington State twenty years ago, i bought one hunting license to go deer hunting. Never again will I buy a Washington hunting license.
I go back to New York State every year to go deer hunting. $100 for a non-resident small game/big game license. And doe tags are $10 a piece and you can get two and you can buy them over the counter at any sporting goods store or town clerks office. I just bought mine online last week. Deer tage are transferable.
A round trip airline ticket cost me $275.

Last year I harvested five deer, one buck and four does. The average deer kill in washington State is 26,000 deer a year.
New York in smaller in square miles and the average deer kill is 220,000 deer.

A non-resident Pennsylvania small game/big game license is $100. Doe tags are $10 and have to be mailed in to the county clerks office and they mail you the doe tag.
Pennsylvania is smaller in square miles then New York and thier average deer kill is 330,000 deer a year.

When I hunt either state I get a deer. You don't have the hassles from the game department like you get out here.
You don't have to pay to get a lottery tag.
You go hunting you see deer, if you are any kind of expierenced hunter you will get a deer.

Interesting! I left Pa for the west coast for better hunting reasons, bigger game and options and a greater challenge. I get bored and tired of tree stand hunting and freezing. Still debating if I should hunt one last time in Pa with my buddy who got me into it.

Will be my first season hunting in Wa. I hope I am not regretting my move as elk and moose were the main reasons i headed this way, o, and the many lakes/ bays, sounds....

 

[trevi]

Very true. Definitely wish my dad had passed on the knowledge, but he didn't. At least I taught my two sons the proper ways around firearms...something else I had to learn myself.

Well, I am kind of the same, a college friend got me into the game one week before hunting in PA. I shot my first buck the first week. I got lucky!

 

[unionguy]

Well, I am kind of the same, a college friend got me into the game one week before hunting in PA. I shot my first buck the first week. I got lucky!

Yes you did, that's awesome!

 

[Alexr4920]

Definitely be prepared to come home with nothing. Hunting is a lot about luck as it is skill. The deer are where they are. you just have to find them. Often during hunting season they all group up in areas where you cant hunt.

Ground squirrel hunting in eastern Oregon / Washington is a ton of fun. Just don't eat them. Birds are another good option. get in touch with the Oregon Hunters association. most likely you will be able to find someone who would be interested in taking you along to teach you some tricks.

for deer, find a good clear cut that you have good visibility of. sit in the tree line out of sight, and wait, and wait, ow and wait. watch the tree lines for movement. Or go walking and try and spook them out. deer don't run far.

look for apple trees, Deer love apples. Other then that it is kind of a trial and error. don't make noise, watch the wind direction.

I agree and totally your right..

 

[ma96782]

LOL.
Be careful out there.

Wisconsin Hunter is Gored By a Buck, Rescued by Helicopter, Then Slapped with a Fine

Aloha, Mark

 

[Kansaslawman81]

I have a totally different point of view on hunting. I hunt for the meat and usually hunt alone. Last year hunting season lasted 5 1/2 hours,left the house at 7:00am and had 2 hanging ,dressed and ready to bag with a beer in my hand by 12:30pm. The shorter the season the better and you can move on to doing something else. Just watch the habits of the deer in the area you choose to hunt. Watch for food (apples and close by farmers crops) and a good water source. Get the pattern/times down for feeding and watering and find a good in between spot to wait if you want to sit and hunt.I usually pound the brush and sneak up on them. I shot one and went to gut him out and jumped another bigger boy and took him too. Thats what's nice about getting an additional hunt tag every so often.
Just remember this "NO I will not take you hunting".

Really well said! Except for the part about "No I will not take you hunting".

 

[DeanMk]

Will be my first season hunting in Wa. I hope I am not regretting my move as elk and moose were the main reasons i headed this way, o, and the many lakes/ bays, sounds....

How did you make out on that first season of hunting?
Have you gone again since then?

 

[cameron25]

Ive only been hunting 5 years and have been solo 95% of my hunts. I seem to bring home a critter or 2 or 3 every year since the 2nd year so its definitely possible if you soak up as much knowledge as you can and try extremely hard. Im obsessed! Heading back to eastern oregon for archery elk this weekend, then to hells canyon if they put those fires out then straight from there to wyoming for antelope and elk

I listened to lots of podcasts in the beginning and there's some great info on youtube as well. I think the most important thing for me was just spending as much time as possible in the woods and mountains, and learning the behavior of the animals im after

 

[Yarome]

I think the most important thing for me was just spending as much time as possible in the woods and mountains, and learning the behavior of the animals im after

Yes'sir! Nailed it.

Learn the habits of the animals within the region you plan to hunt, but nothing can replace practical application by simply getting out there and walking the walk. Distinguishing droppings, picking out game trails and tracks, identifying bedding areas and what animals they belong to, feeding grounds and being able to identify recent activity, distinguish between different species tree rubbings... the list goes on. Constantly practice your walk and hunting cadence until it's a subconscious normalcy. Stalk. Keep a sight picuture in your mind of what you are actually hunting and practice identification within undergrowth. Wind and temperature are also factors that will affect behavior.

Visting an area frequently is the only way to notice patterns. Like anything, hands on experience is the best teacher and practice is the only way to proficiency.

Book learnin is great, but until you put it into practice it's simply a theory. You also learn that animals are individuals and don't always read the same books you do.

 

[trevi]

How did you make out on that first season of hunting?
Have you gone again since then?

Well, no, i did not harvest anything yet. Saw a legal elk but could not shoot it because an hour before i saw it, I learned i needed a special permit for that area; saw it on my way out. Western Washington has a lot private land that needs special permits; beware.

Have not been back due to work and travel but i still want to continue. I have seen a lot of signs and tracks. Still have not been fishing, either.

Sorry, i do not have any fancy stories to share,..... Yet.

 

[DeanMk]

Well, no, i did not harvest anything yet. Saw a legal elk but could not shoot it because an hour before i saw it, I learned i needed a special permit for that area; saw it on my way out. Western Washington has a lot private land that needs special permits; beware.

Have not been back due to work and travel but i still want to continue. I have seen a lot of signs and tracks. Still have not been fishing, either.

Sorry, i do not have any fancy stories to share,..... Yet.

That's ok. Those stories will come with time.
This state seems to be becoming a collection of "specially permitted areas".
When I was kid, we just headed down to the south end of the canal or over the mountains and went hunting.
Past a $10 hunting license and a deer tag, not much else required.
It's a different game these days....partly why I curtail my hunting to upland bird, when I'm lucky enough to go. At least with Pheasant, they have release sites you can hunt without pissing off some farmer.