How does an old guy get into hunting for the first time?
Rick Barter (rvb)
Both my grandfathers did, but I was young when they passed on and
never got the chance to go with them.
I love animals and being outside and would really like to learn this
skill so I can be more self-sufficient. I also just think that you
should know where your food comes from and that there's much better
food to be had by growing/hunting it yourself.
So, where does an old fart like me go to learn firearms/bows, how to
hunt, and where to do it?
Thanks,
rvb
--
As Iron Sharpens Iron,
So One Man Sharpens Another.
Proverbs 27:17
.
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
news:6tnkv3djaukm60m3u...@4ax.com...
>I live in Kentucky, I'm almost 40 years old, and have never hunted.
> Both my grandfathers did, but I was young when they passed on and
> never got the chance to go with them.
>
> I love animals and being outside and would really like to learn this
> skill so I can be more self-sufficient. I also just think that you
> should know where your food comes from and that there's much better
> food to be had by growing/hunting it yourself.
>
> So, where does an old fart like me go to learn firearms/bows, how to
> hunt, and where to do it?
As far as where to do it, that part I can't help you with, not knowing the
public hunting grounds of Kentucky. But as to the learning of firearms and
bows, I do have some suggestions.
First of all, not knowing how to shoot at age 40 isn't a problem. This way,
you probably don't have any bad habits to unlearn! I'd look for some gun
and/or hunt clubs in your area and join. Take your time and pick the brains
of the members, politely asking questions and seeing if someone will mentor
you.
There are shooting schools/instructors as well that you could probably
benefit from. I've attended classes at the Rancho Del Zorro Shooting
Academy and even though I've been shooting for over 40 years, I still found
my time there to be extremely beneficial. You can learn more about this
school at http://www.rdzshootingacademy.com
There are also some very good instructional videos/DVDs available. Watching
these and applying the information to your situation can be quite a lot of
fun. Subscribing to various hunting magazines and actually reading the
articles can teach a person quite a bit as well, giving them a base of
information to build on with personal experience.
Archery will be a matter of finding a reputable archery pro shop and talking
with the owner, finding what fits and feels comfortable for you to shoot.
Most shops will include a certain amount of instruction time with the
purchase of a bow setup. The nice thing about bowhunting is you can usually
practice in your backyard or driveway, depending on local laws in your
community.
The only way you can really learn to shoot and to hunt is actually get out
there and do it. If you're smart, you'll learn as much from your mistakes
as you do from your successes. So practice, Practice, PRACTICE!
--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com
Eric Maiwald
> I live in Kentucky, I'm almost 40 years old, and have never hunted.
> Both my grandfathers did, but I was young when they passed on and
> never got the chance to go with them.
Hi Rick,
I'm very much like you - I didn't grow up hunting but wanted to get
into it so when I was a in my mid-30's I found a friend who was also
interested and we began. The first season we just went to a hunting/gun
shops and asked questions - where do you hunt? what do you hunt? what
are the regs? where do we go? etc.
The best advice we received was to begin in the spring - one shop owner
told us a lot about the regs here in Maryland and suggested a shotgun
to start. He also said to get the gun in the spring and then spend
the summer learning to shoot at a trap and skeet range. He also suggested
a few places. In Maryland we had to have a hunter education course so
he suggested that we do that during the summer to be ready for the fall.
The trap and skeet range that we began shooting at was part of the Izaak
Walton League and we ended up shooting a lot that first summer. We made
friends with a bunch of folks at two different chapters and asked more
questions about hunting.
After taking the hunter safety course in the late summer, we started.
> So, where does an old fart like me go to learn firearms/bows, how to
> hunt, and where to do it?
I guess the best advice is to find other folks who like to hunt and
spend time with them. Clubs, ranges, hunting shops are great places
to start. If you can find someone to take you out the first few times
you will be far ahead of the game. Even if they will just take you
out to scout, you will begin to see what to look for and where you
can go.
If you can, take a hunter safety course and ask more questions. You
will find hints in that kind of class about where to hunt, the land
that is open to you, etc. As you learn about where to hunt, you may
also find some landowners who might allow hunting (perhaps you already
know folks from other things you are involved in such as your church,
scouts, etc.).
Hope that helps,
Eric
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Eric Maiwald So Many Hobbies,
emai...@fred.net So little time
"A compromise which results in a half-step toward evil is all wrong."
--Theodore Roosevelt
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Calvin
> I live in Kentucky, I'm almost 40 years old, and have never hunted.
> Both my grandfathers did, but I was young when they passed on and
> never got the chance to go with them.
>
> I love animals and being outside and would really like to learn this
> skill so I can be more self-sufficient. I also just think that you
> should know where your food comes from and that there's much better
> food to be had by growing/hunting it yourself.
>
> So, where does an old fart like me go to learn firearms/bows, how to
> hunt, and where to do it?
Wow, big question. You don't say what you want to hunt so
I'll generalize and start small.
First, there has to be a "basics of shooting" video,
classes/clubs in your area to get help etc. Take a hunter
safety course first off. That will give you the basics of
gun safety.
Then, got a basement that you can setup a metal box and put
cardboard in it as a backstop? Get a BB gun (NOT a powerful
one! i.e. No 900+fps Co2's etc) and just practice proper
shooting style. ( breathing etc). When good with that
graduate to a .22 LR say and hit the range and practice.
Cheap to shoot and no recoil. Then move up in caliber.
Now, for shotgunning. Got any skeet or trap clubs in your
area? Great way to learn if you can find someone to "take
you under your wing"
As for hunting technique? Depends on what you're hunting and
what kind of territory, how you like to hunt etc etc etc.
Now your into the "learning never ends" areas and the only
way is to: ask, read, do it, pay attention to your
surroundings at all times, find an experienced person in the
area to team up with. etc.
Bottom line. Safety FIRST at ALL TIMES.
Never, ever, ever point a gun, bow or any weapon at anything
that you have not positively identified before raising the
weapon. Never, ever, ever, release the safety until you're
100% positive that you've got a legal animal and a safe shot.
--
Steve
MB
Hunters Education Class is the best spent time for anyone that is getting
into hunting for the first time. It gives you a great base set of knowledge
about safety and general hunting techniques.
I've taken the one that Texas Parks & Wildlife puts on 4 times. The first
was when I was 13 and then 2 more in college when I went with friends to get
them started in hunting and then another time after to learn to be an
instructor. I learned something new each time that I went.
Matthew
D. Parker
> I live in Kentucky, I'm almost 40 years old, and have never hunted.
> Both my grandfathers did, but I was young when they passed on and
> never got the chance to go with them.
>
> I love animals and being outside and would really like to learn this
> skill so I can be more self-sufficient. I also just think that you
> should know where your food comes from and that there's much better
> food to be had by growing/hunting it yourself.
>
> So, where does an old fart like me go to learn firearms/bows, how to
> hunt, and where to do it?
>
> Thanks,
>
> rvb
Well, the first piece of advice I'll give you is to stop referring to
"almost 40" as being "an old fart", especially if you're going out
into the woods with guys who are well past your age and also carrying
firearms ;-)
That said, use the internet as a tool for researching hunting in
general, as well as hunting specific to your area. You should be able
to find discussion forums specific to Kentucky that will likely
represent a wealth of local knowledge (as well as an endless supply of
B.S....but you learn to separate the wheat from the chaff.) For
instance, a quick Google search turned up the following...
http://www.kentuckyhunting.com/
http://www.kentuckysportsmen.com/
http://www.biggamehunt.net/sections/Kentucky/
...among many others. After you've amassed some knowledge about what
kind of hunting is available where you are (or where you're willing to
travel to) and which kind(s) you want to take up, start shopping for a
good value in an appropriate hunting firearm for the purpose. If
you're altogether new to shooting then I would strongly recommend you
acquire a decent .22 rifle and use it to develop the shooting skills
and habitual adherence to safety procedures that you're going to want
to have down before you set foot in the woods. It's a good investment
because the money you save on the thousands of rounds of ammo you'll
put through it (versus the far more expensive rounds used by whatever
larger hunting rifle/shotgun you eventually get) for this basic
instruction and practice will easily pay for the rifle itself.
(That's more true these days than ever before, with the cost of ammo
going up at about same pace as the price of gas.) Plus, at the end of
it all, you'll end up with a fun little plinking and small-game gun in
addition to whatever you get for larger game/birds.
That's all I'll suggest for now, as others are sure to come along and
give you plenty of other good advice as well.
Steve Calvin
> Well, the first piece of advice I'll give you is to stop
referring to
> "almost 40" as being "an old fart", especially if you're going out
> into the woods with guys who are well past your age and also carrying
> firearms ;-)
LOL - good point D. I guess at 54, I'm ancient! ;-)
> then I would strongly recommend you
> acquire a decent .22 rifle
As I said earlier, I agree but would really recommend a BB
gun. It's a lot of fun. Most folks have a place they can set
up in their homes (not apartments mind you), recover the
BB's, hone skills, etc.
A .22 is a deadly weapon. Most people don't think of it in
that light but it's a serious weapon. Skill should be
developed before that, IMO.
--
Steve
Chris Barnes
> D. Parker wrote:
> > Well, the first piece of advice I'll give you is to stop
> referring to
>> "almost 40" as being "an old fart", especially if you're going out
>> into the woods with guys who are well past your age and also carrying
>> firearms ;-)
>
> LOL - good point D. I guess at 54, I'm ancient! ;-)
You are only slightly more ancient than me (I am 46).
;-)
Isn't it amazing that the older we get, the more years it takes to
notice a difference? Steve & I are 8 years apart - yet I considered
that to be "a slight difference". A few years ago, it would have been
a BIG difference.
LOL
--
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Chris Barnes AOL IM: CNBarnes
ch...@txbarnes.com Yahoo IM: chrisnbarnes
"Usenet really is all about standing around and hitting the ground
with clubs, on a spot where many years earlier a dead horse lay."
Rick Barter (rvb)
<DanPark...@YAHOO.COM> wrote:
>On Apr 7, 1:01 pm, "Rick Barter (rvb)" <rick.bar...@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>> I live in Kentucky, I'm almost 40 years old, and have never hunted.
>> Both my grandfathers did, but I was young when they passed on and
>> never got the chance to go with them.
>>
>> I love animals and being outside and would really like to learn this
>> skill so I can be more self-sufficient. I also just think that you
>> should know where your food comes from and that there's much better
>> food to be had by growing/hunting it yourself.
>>
>> So, where does an old fart like me go to learn firearms/bows, how to
>> hunt, and where to do it?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> rvb
>
>Well, the first piece of advice I'll give you is to stop referring to
>"almost 40" as being "an old fart", especially if you're going out
>into the woods with guys who are well past your age and also carrying
>firearms ;-)
:) Understood! And thank you for taking the time to reply.
The replies I'm getting from the folks in this group are very
thoughtful and helpful.
Steve Calvin
<snip>
>> Well, the first piece of advice I'll give you is to stop referring to
>> "almost 40" as being "an old fart", especially if you're going out
>> into the woods with guys who are well past your age and also carrying
>> firearms ;-)
>
>
>
> :) Understood! And thank you for taking the time to reply.
> The replies I'm getting from the folks in this group are very
> thoughtful and helpful.
>
> rvb
aw, stop buttering up the "old fart" <lol>
--
Steve
Rick Barter (rvb)
hehehe
William
Old guy? Old fart? I have loved the outdoors and nature since a young
boy (7 years old?). I have always loved fishing. I studied botany,
went bird watching, etc. It wasn't until I was fifty years old that I
finally went hunting (and developed an interest in firearms). I am
now 55 years young. I am wonder what my next hobby will be?
Bill
Bill Larkins
hunt", it depends on what part of Kentucky you live in. I did a bit of
hunting (squirrels) in the Daniel Boone National Forest down near
London, KY a few years ago, that's a pretty decent place to hunt, I
think. I found that the Daniel Boone wasn't very accessible where I64
crosses it near Morehead, though.
I was born in Paducah and grew up on a farm outside Harrodsburg, but did
all my childhood hunting on privately owned farm land, ours and that of
relatives, so other than the Daniel Boone, I don't know much about
public hunting lands in Kentucky. If you know someone who owns a farm,
ask them.
Rick Barter (rvb) wrote:
> I live in Kentucky, I'm almost 40 years old, and have never hunted.
> Both my grandfathers did, but I was young when they passed on and
> never got the chance to go with them.
>
> I love animals and being outside and would really like to learn this
> skill so I can be more self-sufficient. I also just think that you
> should know where your food comes from and that there's much better
> food to be had by growing/hunting it yourself.
>
> So, where does an old fart like me go to learn firearms/bows, how to
> hunt, and where to do it?
>
Bill Larkins
Volunteer, George Washington National Forest
trash...@GWForest.com
.
Larry Caldwell
rick....@GMAIL.COM (Rick Barter (rvb)) says...
> So, where does an old fart like me go to learn firearms/bows, how to
> hunt, and where to do it?
About the only way to learn hunting is to go hunting. It will be easier
if you can find someone to show you the ropes, since there are lots of
hunter's skills that are not really collected in one place. However,
you can't rely on many "hunters" to really know what they are doing.
One thing I don't often see mentioned is the ability to take care of
what you shoot. I have tasted some awfully gamey venison from hunters
who didn't know the first thing to do was cut the musk glands off of a
buck's hind legs. You have to plan ahead to cool the carcass and get
the meat into refrigeration before it spoils. You just can't rely on a
convenient blizzard to refrigerate your steaks. A lot of your eating
pleasure is going to depend on what you do the first hour after you kill
something.
Skinning and gutting can be learned out of a book, but skill only comes
with practice. You will likely put holes in a few good hides before you
learn the technique. If you learn to stretch, scrape and salt hides,
you can swap them to a tannery for buckskins. Some people tan their
own.
Shooting something is just a minor part of hunting. Don't be
embarrassed by not knowing everything. Don't be afraid to ask
questions, but take advice with a grain of salt. You will find that not
everyone knows what they are talking about. For instance, what I just
said about hides is nonsense if you are hunting hogs instead of deer.
The best way to handle a hog is to dump them in a bathtub of boiling
water and scrape the hair off with a sharp knife before you gut them.
That presents some serious logistical problems when you are hunting wild
hogs, so it probably won't happen. Out comes the skinning knife again,
and then you are faced with how to handle maybe 300 lbs of pork on a
warm day. That's what hunting buddies are for. :)
--
For email, replace firstnamelastinitial
with my first name and last initial.
Steve Calvin
>
> Old guy? Old fart? I have loved the outdoors and nature since a young
> boy (7 years old?). I have always loved fishing. I studied botany,
> went bird watching, etc. It wasn't until I was fifty years old that I
> finally went hunting (and developed an interest in firearms). I am
> now 55 years young. I am wonder what my next hobby will be?
>
> Bill
Wanna buy my Vette?? :D
--
Steve
Chris
time I went out I was hooked. Squirrels were nice because I could move a
lot and it was fast action and not too hard to hit (although I have missed a
lot) like dove. I wish we more tree squirrels around here (Colorado).
If any one knows of a good squirrel are in Colorado I would love to hear
about it. :)
Chris
rigger
Hi Rick,
I'm kind of where you are but plus about 20 years,
so I don't have much to offer but the following link
will take you to one of the best sites for hunting
information I've found:
Good luck, and keep your powder dry.
dennis
in nca
misanthropic_curmudgeon
> I live in Kentucky, I'm almost 40 years old, and have never hunted.
> So, where does an old fart like me go to learn firearms/bows, how to
> hunt, and where to do it?
Similar story here. I cant tell you what to do, but can simply tell my
story. Take from it what you will.
I had some basic firearms knowledge from Cubs, which is akin to the US
Boy Scouts and goes from 8-11, from shooting single-shot .22's at an
indoor range and a solitary rabbit hunting trip with my Cub Leader
when I was about 9 or 10.
When I was about 20, I brought a cheap second hand bolt action .22
which I still have, and got the guy who sold it to me to teach me how
to use it. I brought a bolt-action so that it was the most simple to
operate and the least to go wrong and endanger myself. I then spent a
bit of time over the next 6 or so years shooting rabbits and possums,
which I imagine is not dissimilar from the US pastime of squirrel
shooting.
Al the time I would listen to the farmer or other shooters about where
the rabbits were, think about how and where to approach them, and
think some more about concequnces to a given action or inaction. I
learnt about using the brow of a hill, following fencelines, and the
habits of my prey. I learnt how to dress out my prey and (my women)
learnt how to cook it.
I then brought a cheap second-hand single shot shotgun for the same
reason I'd brought a bolt-action .22: simplicty. I started shot-
gunning rabbits and moved onto ducks when I found a paddock with them
in. I was constantly listening and asking, and not being afraid of
saying I was new and wanted to learn, and I found many willing to
share and talk (much like this newsgroup). I listened, took much with
a grain of salt, and remembered that many animals have been hunted
before the advent of this-or-that product.
I next brought a pump-action shotgun, and really got into gambird
hunting at every opportunity: there is no substute for time in the
feild, even if it is just a walk around a city park and thinking where
I would place my maimai (US: hide) or how I would stalk into the wind
and use the terrian to my advantage: see the terrain during a walk in
the park as an animal would. When in a plane, I'd look out the window
and think like a duck, and where you would like to land and feed.
I joined a couple of hunting clubs, and slowly my knowledge and
equipment grew together. I never said no to an offer for a hunt from
more experinced hunters, doing the driving and the fetching to be
valuable and I learned from them.
I also learnt about how not to cross electric fences, how to get my
4x4 stuck on sodden clay and ask the farmer to tow me out, and how to
feed and water myself to mainatain my ability to hunt from dawn to
dusk and beyond at times which is n my opinion a vastly underated
aspect of hunting in this country, although I cant comment about the
US. I learnt how to use my firearms, and what my limitations both as a
marksman and as a hunter are (and belive me when I say hunting and
shooting are not the same thing!).
I then brought my first centre-fire, and graduated to goats and deer
hunting. Again it is a old, secondhand, simple rifle, but it works,
and the story repeated itself.
And I never considered coming back from a hunt empty-handed a waste of
time or a failure, as I learnt something every time (even if it was
that there was no game where I had hunted!) and I had a great time
outdoors enjoying the solitude and the legacy of my ancestors, and
hunting and fishing has taken me to parts of this country I would have
no other reason to visit. Hunting makes me more human.
Some hunt for food, some hunt for trophies, and some hunt to 'play'
with guns, and some do it to be outside in the bush. Yet others hunt
like golfers play golf: to buy new 'toys'. Know what type of hunter
you are and you can be a very happy man.
I say this sitting here after 10 days in the bush, camped beside a
lake and hunting Red deer the hills around it. At 38 I was the
youngest by about 10 years. On the last day, one known as "the legend"
suggested I go out with him. I learnt more on Saturday than I could
have from any book or video I have seen (not to discount the worth of
those, for they definitly add value) even though we did not get a deer
that day.
And I say again, there is no substitute for time spent 'hunting', and
that does not have to be with a firearm. I look out the window now and
see the rain and cloud and wind, and I can think about how the rabbits
would be on the lee of the hill or under scrubby bush this time of
day, of how the ducks would be feeding up before their evening flights
back to the safe places for a night-roost in a few hours (and how in
these condtions they will be flying low and hard, not circling much
but will drop in quickly if my calls are right) and how the deer will
be very nervous and twitchy sheltering in the Punga (a type of fern
here) as the wind whips scents everywhere and they are in a state of
sensory overload even though any noise I wouldlmake would be masked).
> As Iron Sharpens Iron,
> So One Man Sharpens Another.
> Proverbs 27:17
Even a confirmed atheist like me can see the wisdom in the Book of
Proverbs!
Andrew
> > Both my grandfathers did, but I was young when they passed on and
> > never got the chance to go with them.
>
> > I love animals and being outside and would really like to learn this
> > skill so I can be more self-sufficient. I also just think that you
> > should know where your food comes from and that there's much better
>
> > So, where does an old fart like me go to learn firearms/bows, how to
> > hunt, and where to do it?
>
Check out fieldfrontier.com. Its a new hunting and fishing website to
get connected with the hunting and fishing community.
Let me know what you think.
Andrew
Bro...@theanglingbookstore.com
You are probably the perfect age to start hunting...there is nothing
like tromping around in the woods, being keen to the natural world
around you, and, most importantly, bringing home your own food. With
all the talk about what goes into our store-bought groceries these
days, I think we will start to see a major shift back to the land.
With every new pursuit, it is helpful to support your sport with a
solid foundation...for me, this means hitting the books.
We have a great selection of books and dvds on all aspects of hunting-
finding the right hunting gear for your needs, tricks of the trade of
hunting specific game, as well as preparing your next meal. Check out
the link below for the knowledge you need to be a successful, new
hunter.
http://www.theanglingbookstore.com/huntingbooksandvideos.aspx
Best of luck
Rick Barter (rvb)
wrote:
Thank you! I'll definitely check it out!
mark & kelly moberly
As a first timer you will need to be sure and SLOW DOWN your walk. Unless
you hunt from a stand stalking is much more stand and wait with a few steps
in between. It's not really a stroll through the woods.
It's great exercise. More than fun. And the wildlife you will see will amaze
you.
Brian
Rick,
Although I've been hunting off and on since I was a teenager, I can
relate because I moved out of state a couple of times as an adult.
Once I moved to Texas and then again to Colorado. Both moves put me
in a situation where I didnt know where to hunt which, IMO, is a
bigger problem than knowing how to pull a trigger or shoot a bow.
Both situations required me to just get out and talk to people I met
in the area. I had searched the internet over and over, but both
cases it was personal connections that got me the right information on
where I could/should go.
My suggestion is to get out and talk to people you know in the area.
That is what will get you into the field, shooting is all up to you
though.