Can any Northeast hunters tolerate a newbie???

What would anybody think of doing a hunting get together?

I have no idea how it would work or who could organize it (i'm only 19 so it'd be hard for me) but I suppose it could work similiar to the camping get togethers but find somebody with lots of land or a state gameland and coordinate a hunt.
 
Adirondack1 said:
I'm planning a rifle season hunt in the Adirondacks for friends from another board. Tell me the specifics of what you want to do.
Do you want to actually pull the trigger or just come along and shadow a hunter to observe and learn .
If it's the later, I'm thinking if you volunteer to do some of the more mundane chores at camp like split wood or help butcher and cook there might be a slot.
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Adirondack1, I really appreciate that offer. But to be honest, I just registered for the Hunters Safety class and will have completed it by Sept. 13 and then intend on getting a hunting license, so I am more interested in actually pulling the trigger should the opportunity arise. Thank you very much though :)
 
i took the hunter safety course when i was 13 which was 15 years ago so i dont remember it much.

i do remember taking my bow hunting coarse a few years ago and i learned a whole lot their.they usually have some DEC officers come to answer question too.

in a way you can hunt year round.its only during the season though that you can actually take the game.

by hunting i mean always keeping tab.

glassing tree lines and fields all year long.i cant go hiking without scouting for deer while doing it and mentally keeping track of where i saw sign and deer and what they where doing and when.

it stays with you all year long.all year long you are keeping track and taking notes for those few precious months that you can actually get down to business.

think about it.once you really get hunting you can have a whole other type of knife to collect and spend your money on....hunting/skinning knives.

may i suggest bob dozier.
 
theonew said:
Adirondack1, I really appreciate that offer. But to be honest, I just registered for the Hunters Safety class and will have completed it by Sept. 13 and then intend on getting a hunting license, so I am more interested in actually pulling the trigger should the opportunity arise. Thank you very much though :)
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You may want to PM me and I can hook you up with a few friends on LI.
If you are a shooter, they could take you to some of the ranges they know about.
If they decide you're a SAFE shooter, then you'd be welcome to come I'm sure. As a Hunter ED instructor myself I stress SAFETY above all.
 
Your going to love to hunt. I've been hunting mostly deer for about 20 years. Started when I was 25 or so. The hunter course in NY is great, get some books, ask for them for christmas, get a hunting mag subscription or two, and find a hunter in the area. Then get out in the woods. Get out before season and enjoy. Look, listen, learn. You will get such a great apprecitation for nature by just being out there. As you do it more you will find out what you want to buy, gun, bow, knife, clothes, boots etc. Get simple inexpensive stuff at first, there's a lot of great used guns out there. Enjoy. and welcome to the world of hunting.
 
theonew,

Welcome to hunting! You're gonna love it!!! As wilderness skills afficinados, we all should have at least rudimentary hunting skills.

I hope you find somebody to take you out. Realize though that you are asking for a lot. Serious hunters will have scouted out their intended hunting areas months ago. They may have been learning a particular spot for years. Rifle season on public ground on the east coast can be pretty competitive. Access to quality private land is much coveted and not frequently shared. I'm not trying to dissuade you - I just wanted you to realize what you are up against and why you may not have received the level of generosity typical of WSS. If somebody does invite you in, recognize that he is making a big sacrifice and taking a big chance on a "stranger" and "newbie."

There are a lot of things you can do to shorten the learning curve in becomming proficient as a hunter. Break down the various skills required, determine which ones you are already proficient in and which ones you will have to acquire. Examples are scouting, stalking, sitting still, observing, knowledge of game behavior, marksmanship, tracking, field dressing, butchering, wilderness navigation, etc.

There are a ton of videos out there available for rent on all aspects of hunting. In particular, I would recommend the following:
  • The series Bowhunting Pressured Whitetails even if you intend to hunt with a rifle or shotgun. The author takes you through all aspects of scouting, site selection, and preparation. He distinguishes between those things you can/should do in the pre-season or during hunting season, and those that should be handled during the off-season in preparation for the following year.
  • Another good primer would be Mastering the Art from Primos.
  • Another archery title that would be useful irrespective of weapon is Shot Placement 101. It shows where the vitals are from ground level as well as from an elevated position.
  • Deer Processing 101 is an excellent treatment of field dressing and butchering a deer. This kind of instruction is what video was made for.
A book you might want to look at is Mapping Trophy Bucks by Brad Herndon. It does a good job of showing how to associate the various features on a topo map with likely deer activity.

Good Hunting!

-- FLIX
 
I guess I really wasn't aware about the competition for hunting spots. On my hikes in Harriman State Park I've almost been trampled by deer when I bushwack, but then hunting isn't allowed there so it makes sense why the population is so dense. Also I've spent many summers at a friends house/cabin in Greene Country NY and often woke up to 10 or 15 deer grazing in the back field. So I guess at the very least I could go up there and bag a deer from the front porch :D

I'm very much looking forward to getting into hunting and am also fully prepared to go it alone, it would just be so much more enjoyable to learn from someone with real experience but I do fully appreciate that people don't want to just head off into the woods carrying guns with someone they don't know very well :D
 
theonew said:
I guess I really wasn't aware about the competition for hunting spots. On my hikes in Harriman State Park I've almost been trampled by deer when I bushwack, but then hunting isn't allowed there so it makes sense why the population is so dense. Also I've spent many summers at a friends house/cabin in Greene Country NY and often woke up to 10 or 15 deer grazing in the back field. So I guess at the very least I could go up there and bag a deer from the front porch :D
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That's what I hear. I live in Clinton County which is next to the Canadian border and deer seem to be a little scarce up here, except in the commercial apple orchards. A lot of hunters up here go downstate to get their deer because they are so much more plentiful. Lots of pasture down there, up here it's mountainous.

On the other hand, I hear that the farther north you go, the bigger the deer get. A friend of mine who lives up here and hunts downstate, says the deer down there are about a little bigger than a large dog. But the occasional deer I see up here, I swear, stand about 3-1/2 feet at the shoulder. Does that sound right to anybody?
 
Here in northern New Jersey, I've seen both. I cut through a woodlot here and saw the tail end of a huge deer moving off, then got look at the biggest rack I've ever seen -- on a live animal, anyway. I've also seen does with fauns and the does were not much bigger than a big dog.

You may be seeing larger animals up north. Colder climates tend to favor larger body size, holding heat better.
 
theonew said:
I guess I really wasn't aware about the competition for hunting spots. On my hikes in Harriman State Park I've almost been trampled by deer when I bushwack, but then hunting isn't allowed there so it makes sense why the population is so dense. Also I've spent many summers at a friends house/cabin in Greene Country NY and often woke up to 10 or 15 deer grazing in the back field. So I guess at the very least I could go up there and bag a deer from the front porch :D

I'm very much looking forward to getting into hunting and am also fully prepared to go it alone, it would just be so much more enjoyable to learn from someone with real experience but I do fully appreciate that people don't want to just head off into the woods carrying guns with someone they don't know very well :D
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Like I said Theonew, PM me and I'll have my LI and NYC guys check out your gunhandling skills, if you're safe, then I don't have a problem.
However, be prepared for the tenderfoot jokes (kind hearted jokes) and you'll probably wash a dish or three, plus be on butcher detail if we score venison. (A good learning experiance actually)
 
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