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Hunting help for a newbie

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crooketarrow:
  I have 100's of books on deer and deer hunting. I'll go through and write you a few down to get you started.

oscar3b:
Thanks crooketarrow!  I can use all the help I can get!

Lone500:
Hunting is a lot of... awareness.

First basic thing i can tell you is that you sit and wait usually near a good food source for your prey or near water, or you move about to find prey. Each presents its own problems.

In each scenario probably the most important thing to a beginner is to keep track of the wind. Get used to the way the air moves and keep down wind of animals or where animals could be. if moving you move into the wind. if you get good with your awareness of this then awareness of everything else usually comes pretty easily.

When moving it is usually impossible to move totally silent. No jerky motions.

With a gun its easy. you dont have to get nowhere remotely near the animal. if you can see it then its easy enough to blow a hole in it. with more primitive wepons you have to get a LOT closer. If you want to actually end up with something to show for the whole deal then practice stalking with a gun so when your prey runs then you can usually get them anyway.

And i dont know if this applies to everyone but I have never forgotten my first kill. I was a kid running around in the woods with a 22 rifle and i got a big fat ground hog i could barely carry. I see now i got lucky. I was good at stalking but at the time i didnt really have much awareness concerning the air. still remember it clearly though.

PeteC:
A lot of good advice here,and if you want to start huntin' with a selfbow,it can surely be done. My son-in -law's first 2 big game kills were taken with a self bow,and arrows, of his own making. Go for it!      Also take advantage of Hedgeapple's kind offer.    JMHO. God Bless

JO_EZ:
Oscar,
Last Sunday, I watched Steven Rinella's show MEAT EATER and he answered a similar viewer question about getting started. He said the number one thing to do was to hang out and hunt with more experienced hunters from your area. So, you are on the right track by taking up Hedge on his offer. For those of us who have been at it for a little while, these little acts of hospitality are what we need to do to help reverse the dwindling hunter numbers. I was introduced to one of my best hunting, fishing, trapping buddies by asking for help on a trapping forum a number of years back.

Also, watch about 4 episodes of Spong Bob Square Pants a day. If you are going after game with primitive gear, you need to tap into his over the top, glass-always-over-flowing, ridiculously sun shiny, against all reason optimism. Sometimes when you just hang out in the woods with high expectations of good things happening, you "luck" into situations and see things that you never would have guessed you would see in that area.

Good Luck!   

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