Depends what type of hunting you are doing and with what sort of guns. Take it to a range/field and see how much practice you need. I was a natural with a rifle but terrible with shotguns and skeet. So deer hunting needed 5-10 minutes duck hunting was rather purposeless.
Depends what type of hunting you are doing and with what sort of guns. Take it to a range/field and see how much practice you need. I was a natural with a rifle but terrible with shotguns and skeet. So deer hunting needed 5-10 minutes duck hunting was rather purposeless.
Looking at Elk. Maybe deer too. I've generally heard Elk is the best meat, though opinions vary some of course.
Depends what type of hunting you are doing and with what sort of guns. Take it to a range/field and see how much practice you need. I was a natural with a rifle but terrible with shotguns and skeet. So deer hunting needed 5-10 minutes duck hunting was rather purposeless.
Looking at Elk. Maybe deer too. I've generally heard Elk is the best meat, though opinions vary some of course.
Take the hunters safety course and go to the range a few times and you’re good to go. There can be some longer shots involved with elk and deer hunting, so you need to make sure you can make an ethical shot on the animal to keep from wounding it and not being able to recover it. Getting comfortable with your rifle, scope, and choice of ammunition is important.
I’d be less inclined to trust a newer hunter in something such as dove, quail or pheasant hunting where they could easily swing the gun around in your direction in the middle of the hunt. Large game hunting tends to me more spot and stalk or sit in a stand and wait.
You need to join an experienced hunter for your first time or two. Even if you kill an animal you'd have no idea what to do with the corpse. It's not like grabbing cheap meat, you will likely spend more time and money than if you went to the store.
Yeah it would really only take 10 min or so to get comfortable enough and get enough shots in to be fairly confident in an easy shot. I agree with the poster who recommended going with an experienced hunter your first time. I grew up shooting rabbits and gophers and squirrels. If an 8 year old can do it, it must not be that hard.
5 minutes. You can learn on the job, that what most people do.
I’ve been hunting and fishing for the past twenty years. Poster above is pretty spot on about learning on the job. Gun safety and learning the regulations in your area are probably the best place to start. Good luck and be safe.
5 minutes. You can learn on the job, that what most people do.
I’ve been hunting and fishing for the past twenty years. Poster above is pretty spot on about learning on the job. Gun safety and learning the regulations in your area are probably the best place to start. Good luck and be safe.
Also; find a hunting partner with experience who can teach you. After all these years I’m still learning.
Looking at Elk. Maybe deer too. I've generally heard Elk is the best meat, though opinions vary some of course.
Take the hunters safety course and go to the range a few times and you’re good to go. There can be some longer shots involved with elk and deer hunting, so you need to make sure you can make an ethical shot on the animal to keep from wounding it and not being able to recover it. Getting comfortable with your rifle, scope, and choice of ammunition is important.
I’d be less inclined to trust a newer hunter in something such as dove, quail or pheasant hunting where they could easily swing the gun around in your direction in the middle of the hunt. Large game hunting tends to me more spot and stalk or sit in a stand and wait.
Good advice. OP, you might want to try deer and elk before you invest a lot of time in learning to hunt. I haven't had elk, but I've had deer several times. I don't like it. Too gamey. Too tough. Too lean.
If you've literally never shot a gun, you need to start with a 22 to learn basic safety and accuracy. Then, you can move up to a rifle with sufficient power to humanely take down a deer or elk. Going with an experienced hunter is a great idea. I wouldn't go out with a novice, but there are hunters who like to share their sport. In fact, I wouldn't go hunting at all.
I live in the country and I often see deer outside my window as I type these posts. When hunting season comes, I keep hunters off my property.
HUNTERS - If never used a gun, how long take to learn before going hunting?
Using a rifle with a scope that is zeroed sitting in a blind shooting at deer eating corn from a feeder? If you have any coordination or common sense you will easily hit the deer on your first shot....never having shot before.
That's as easy as it gets. Then you can go up from there to shooting while standing (having just come to a sudden stop after maneuvering) a long distance shot (several hundred yards) at an animal that is on the run in the mountains. You will miss.
Depends what type of hunting you are doing and with what sort of guns. Take it to a range/field and see how much practice you need. I was a natural with a rifle but terrible with shotguns and skeet. So deer hunting needed 5-10 minutes duck hunting was rather purposeless.
Looking at Elk. Maybe deer too. I've generally heard Elk is the best meat, though opinions vary some of course.
Like others have said, the shooting is not so hard depending on the situation. You need to learn what to do after the kill. That's the hard part and the labor intensive part. Elk are freaking huge. Start with deer.
Ever heard of chronic wasting disease? It’s a very real threat to wildlife, especially whitetail deer. If the deer population goes unchecked due to lack of hunting, then the disease is going to spread and have more of a chance of jumping over to humans. The deer population has to be controlled, and the best way to do that is through ethical hunting of the animal. Quick death from a bullet is a lot better than a slow death from a communicable disease that basically shrivels the brain.
Anyone can point a rifle at a motionless target and pull the trigger; however, it doesn't mean that the person is at all safe.
That aside, I do upland bird hunting with dogs. I trust very few people around my dogs. I have hunted with fewer than 5 other people in the last 10 years, and they need to have some skin in the game, meaning they need to have a dog out in the field. The only exception was a co-worker who was a hunter safety instructor and his father-in-law is a world famous gunsmith. If I see other hunters in the same very large field, I pack up and head to another spot.
Shooting upland birds is an acquired skill and isn't the same as going to the clay range. A wild bird can flush and fly in any direction that it chooses. I would say that I am mediocre at the clay range, but have been told that I am an excellent field shooter on wild birds.
Finally, I always hunt in another state on opening day in my state. The sight of new blaze orange and new hunting gear sends shivers up my spine. "That's why we are going to Nebraska today".