New Hunter Needing A Mentor
 

Greetings every one, I am very new to hunting. I need a mentor to teach me what I need to know about hunting. I am in the Curry County area of Oregon. So my question is there anyone in the Curry County area of Oregon that is willing to take on the mentor role to teach me to hunt.

Update/Edit/Aditional Information:
I am 40+ years in age. I am intrested in big game hunting (such as deer, elkd, and moose), Samall Game (Rabit and Squaril), as well as bird hunting (turking, duck and geese). I currently have a rifle chamered in 308 win and will be eventualy wanting to go bow hunting when finaces allow. Furthermore, I do have a learning disability and make of it as you will as it's as it is a aspect of who I am a person with how I am able to learn where I learn by reading, seeing and doing with taking longer to learn than what most people have patince to deal with.

While I'm not from Oregon i certainly will try to help you.
Google " Mentored hunting in Oregon."
I'd start there first. It appears Oregon may have Learn to Hunt programs similar to Wisconsin.

Try that first

Next step would be to take and complete Oregon's Hunter Education Program.
JW

Thank you. I will do so.

If you have any questions either post here as you will get other views and ideas or by all means Private Message me.
i hunt. Been at 60 plus yrs. I also teach Learn to Hunt programs and i have had the pleasure teaching hunter education in the state of Wisconsin for 28 yrs.

JW

I will gladly do so and I am having a bit of trouble finding the adult mentored stuff for my state.

You might consider posting more about yourself. Like age (there are a lot of hunting programs geared towards youth), if anybody in your family or circle of friends hunts, what animals or birds you're interested in hunting, what part of Oregon you're in, etc. This website occasionally gets anti-hunters and other people posting for help which tends to make people suspicious of new members until they get to know them a little better. I am not familiar with the Learn to hunt program so would defer to JW on that. I did notice a possible mentor program but it is for ages 9-15.
https://myodfw.com/articles/hunting-opportunities-youth

I am familiar with Hunter Safety and would strongly recommend that, especially if you take the class in person and not just online. In a classroom setting, you will get a chance to meet other people who are new to hunting and may make connections and new friends who are also interested in hunting. The odds are that at least some of the people in any given class will have some family member(s) who also hunt. Once you pass Hunter Safety, you can buy a hunting license and begin hunting.

Best of luck and let us know how it works out for you.

I am familiar with Hunter Safety and would strongly recommend that, especially if you take the class in person and not just online. In a classroom setting, you will get a chance to meet other people who are new to hunting and may make connections and new friends who are also interested in hunting.

The above may be the best advise you get here. I wish they never would have allowed or begun online hunter education classes. Find a sportsman's club in your area where you can meet with like minded people with experience in many aspects of hunting and possibly find a mentor.

Oldtimr and CalHunter thank you for your replies and I will do and I did do an update/edit to my original post. If there is any aditional info that you think I should include let me know.

That makes it a bit easier to offer advice. Being in your 40's offers some advantages over being a teenager as your budget is usually larger and more stable. I honestly don't know about the hunting mentor program and had never heard of it until JW mentioned it. FWIW, JW is a Master Hunter (at least IMHO) and has been hunting, teaching and mentoring hunters for decades. I'd strongly encourage you to send him a PM (Private Message) through this website as he requested. And JW, I think it would be super helpful for a lot of newer members if you posted more about the Learn to Hunt hunting mentor program as these types of questions tend to come up a lot. From what you've posted so far, it sounds like the program would be a Godsend to many newer hunters.

I would again strongly suggest you take a Hunter Education class. You will learn how to safely hunt, weapon safety, ammo regulations (like no lead shot on ODFW wildlife areas, etc. and a lot of useful information that a new hunter needs to know. If you want to see what Hunter Education (Safety) classes Oregon offers, check out the below link.
https://myodfw.com/articles/hunter-e...ses-field-days

Apocalypse, the reason I asked what part of Oregon you're in is that in general, most of Eastern Oregon has draw only big game zones which are usually hard to draw for. Western Oregon (along the coast) has some zones that are much easier to draw for. If you check Oregon's Fish and Wildlife website (ODFW), you can see what zones are available, drawing odds for big game and actually find a lot of useful information. Your .308 rifle would be perfect for deer, elk and moose.

For small game like rabbit and squirrel, you will only need a license and to hunt during whatever seasons Oregon has for those animals. You won't need to draw a tag for them. Your .308 would obviously be too much gun for either but a .22 Long Rifle would be perfect.

For upland game like turkey, duck and geese, you will need a shotgun. You might want to check out hunting pheasants as well cause they are lots of fun to hunt. Hopefully this helps point you in a good direction for learning more about hunting., Welcome to the forums.

LTH or Learn to Hunt programs.
They have been around a while and in my state i am a volunteer. I have taught Learn to Turkey Hunt and Learn to Pheasnt hunt.
This state of Wisconsin program helps new hunters learn how to hunt tjat type of game.
The LTH Turkey for instance.
The program is open to anyone from age 10 yrs to 110!
The requirements.
Be 10 yrs of age or older. If under 18 you do need a parental or guardian signature.
Never purchased a license.
And best of all this program is free! Yes free. You will get a Free harvest tag. You will be paired with an experienced mentor. The mentor has passed a state background check and has at least 5 yrs experience.
And it is Free!
You are required to attend a 4 hour training session. That is mandatory.
The class covers 4 topics. I teach 2.
I open with basic firearm safety. You will learn TAB-K and what a muzzle is.
We talk about dominant eye and basic firearm safety tips.
Then you are taught the biology of the game you are after. We usually jave a DNR Game biologist but i have aldo taught rhis. This gives you the information needed what a legal target looks like.
Then a State Game Warden teaches the rules and regulations you need to know to harvest legally. I have also taught this at times. How to read the time table. What is a legal target etc.
Lastly i get to teach rhe calls to use, how to pattern a shotgun and why, how to actually hunt a turkey as there are a few proven methods, and where to aim and shoot and why.
Then you meet your mentor. Your mentor has a good knowledge of where turkeys are. Each mentor has secured permission to take you turkey hunting! And each mentor makes arrangement where you will meet.
The last thing i require the mentor has his or her student shoot at a stationary caldwell turkey sillohette target setup at 20 yards amongst a few decoys.
This shot is with a trap load. Used because of cost and low recoil.
And the caldwell spatter target clearly shows a good killing hit as they are aiming at the head and neck
It is the closest act of mock hunting i can think of as it relates to a real occurance. And it works very well.
We do use a bipod or strapoed monopod. And we use blinds. Dome do run and gun but that is up to the mentor.

The harvest tag is FREE! The tag is good for 2 days. And if under rhe age of 17 we try to make it valid for the spring youth season.
I am blessed with over 20 people who mentor. And this program is state wide.
Usually the 1st day we might gather for a free lunch. Harvested birds i will demonstrate how to clean.
And i have a few power point programs how to save your tail and beard and make a wingbone call from your harvest.

That is a LTH Turkey as we do it.

A LTH pheasant hunt is similar. Still a 4 hr required class of Firearm Safety, Biology, State Regulations, and Mehtods to hunt. The difference we do take students to a trap range.
And the student gets to hunt behind a pointing dog and the behind a flushing dog.

Many states have these g programs.
Look for them.

JW

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