greatone

So I am 22 y/o and live in SW Pennsylvania. I have always been exposed to hunting and have always had the desire to, but being raised by a single mother she didn't really want to let me. Now that I have more money and more free time, I'd like to start hunting now. I do have extensive fishing, camping, and hiking experience...just no hunting.

I have taken the hunter safety course. I have a few people to go hunting with. What should my next step be?

Thanks,
DU

the outsider

What do you want to hunt?

bhensley

With out know ing what you want to hunt we could make you a laundry list worth about $25K easily! Let us know what you want to hunt and it will narrow it down alot.

Stoningtonwhitetail

ummmm.....we what do you want to hunt? do you own a gun? I would say go to the gun range and get used to using it....are you going to bow hunt....do you own a bow?

more info is needed to help....

The Deer Destroyer

If your going to start hunting whitetail deer, I'd say get a bow. If you got one practice, practice, practice. Get good and then hit the hollow. Good luck! Hunting is the best thing in the world. I hope I can always hunt.

greatone

Well I would like to begin starting whitetail. I have experience with firearms, it is more learning what do I need to hunt and really how do I start? What type of rifle should I use? What about all the different scents and lures? Tree stand or what?

Just basic questions I have.

Thanks and look forward to the replies.

DU

p.s. Let's get rifle down and then I will move onto bow, which I have some experience with.

fastetti

Sounds like you have your head on straight, Ive always liked to see people start with a rifle and move to a bow. Just my opinion though.

Well, rifle wise, you have many options. I prefer a .270 or a 30-06. I like both because they can be used for a variety of game. If I had to choose one, it would be the 30-06. There are many types of them out there and the gun can be used for many other things such as elk, bear, etc. Usually you can find a good used one for sale if you check a variety of outdoors stores. Ive bought a used rifle before and has worked perfect.

Treestand wise, I'd pickup a climber. If you don't have any private land, you probably will be going to the public land. A climber lets you move around and you don't have to worry about anyone stealing your stand. If you don't want to spend the cash on a tree stand right away, hunting off the ground is fine to. Put some brush together to break up your outline and you should be fine.

In the beginning, I wouldn't worry to much about scents. Id pick up a bottle of cover scent, but would worry to much about buck lures. Spend some time in the woods and then learn from your experience.

My main advice would be, get you firearm, do a little bit of scouting and try to find some heavily used deer trails and set up there. The more your out in the woods, the more you'll learn. We can give you all the advice you need, but nothing beats experience. Good LucK!!!!

greatone

I am going to go with either the .270 or .30-06 I have no plans on hunting bear or elk or anything other than whitetail deer at this point. I also plan on turkey in the future but let's focus on deer for now. Who knows, maybe I will move onto water fowl in the future as well.

I am shopping around now for a rifle, and I am going to purchase the Tree Lounge climber. The ease of use and comfort is important.

I have been hanging around Gander Mtn. trying to decide what equipment I need such as camo.

Anything else I need right now or anything else I should consider.

DU

Mossy_71

PRACTICE:

When you decide on arifle/scope combo and you purchase it from a retailer, have them bore-site it at the very least (this will get you on paper) or, if the service is available, have them site it in for you. Get comfortable with the gun by going out to a range or anywhere that you can shoot. Learn the gun so that you can determine yours and the guns limitations. Know the distances you shoot so that you never attempt a shot further than your comfort range. The make/model/load bullet you sight in with should be the same that you practice and hunt with since all of them will shoot differently.

BIOLOGY:

Learn evrything you can about the whitetail. Magazines, books, videos, or seek knowledge from peers (like this site)...these are all good places to learn. Never hesitate to ask for advice or anything else.

Know the vital areas. This is important to effectively and ethically harvest your deer. Know what shots to take (broadside, quarter away, etc.)and the ones to stay away from (quartering to, walking directly away). You owe to the game you hunt. There are a lot of ani-hunting groups out there looking for ammunition to make you and us look like mean, cruel people.

Learn the deers prefered native food preferences for your area and try to locate these areas. This will increase your odds tremendously.

CLOTHING:

This is a personal preference. For me, I only wear Mossy Oak brand camo (Break-up, New Break-up, and Treestand). These patterns fit well into the surroundins where I hunt. You should determine the same for yourself.

My other preference in Scent Blocker suits. There is a lot of debate out there about whether charcoal-lined clothing really helpsaid in scent control or it is just a ploy or gimmickby companies to makea lot of money.

You will come to find that there many products out there with the same type of debates. Every day there seems to be a new deer call, new scent control system, deer scents, etc. that hits the market. Be careful and seek advice from others, but keep an open mind...what works for other may not for you and vice-versa.

SCENTS:

The most improtant thing to consider is controlling your own scent. A deer's first line of defense is their nose. If you can fool it your chances of harvesting a deer will improve considerably.

Here are some personal tipsI use for my own scent control:
[ul][*]Wash clothes and towels for showersin a detergent that is free of scents (I use Hunter's Specialty brand, but any of the same type will do)[*]I hang my freshly washed clothes (towels included) outside to dry (straight out of the wash to avoid any odor absorbant)[*]Prior to bagging the dried clothes in a scent control bag, I will run them through the dryer for 20-30 minutes (Before placing them in there, I clean the lint trap, spray the inside of the dryer with a cover scent...fresh earth). I use fresh earth dryer sheets and also place fresh earth scent wafers in the storage bags with the clothes.[*]I wear full rubber boots for hunting and regularly wash them with water and the Hunter's Specialty soap and let them fully dry outside then pace them in a rubber container with fresh earth scent wafers.[*]I shower before every hunt with Hunter's Specialty's Hair and Body wash and dry with the towels I have carefully prepared. I also use Hunter's Specialty's "scent-free" deodorant. When finished, I hang the towel outside to dry during the day.[*]I always wait until I get to the woods to put on my hunting clothes and boots.[*]Once clothes are on, I spray myself with fresh earth cover scent.[*]Carry a sandwich bag of sliced apples to munch on while on stand. This will help reduce mouth-borne odors as well as a snack.[*]Always pay attention to the wind. When setting up to hunt a food source or trail, be sure you are downwind.[/ul]

The main thing to consider when using attractant scents (food or animal) is to make sure you use them moderately. Also consider the time of the season, placement of in relation to the wind and your stand location,and what period the deer are going through when using scents such as Tarsal, urine, etc. Scents such as Doe-in-heat usually work best during the chase phase or pre-rut (in my opinion), during the rut, and the post-rut when some of the yearling does will come into heat or does that had not been successfully bred during the main rut.

Tarsal glands can have a negative impact on younger deer. They can shy away from areas where this scent is used in attempt to avoid a confrontation with a more dominant one. However, the dominant buck of that area will see this as an intruder to his domain. In that event he will usually come in to investigate.

As for placement of attractant scent, take careful consideration of wind direction and stand location when dispersing them. Deer will gerally tend to circle around to the downwind side to attempt to identify the source.

I could go on and on but I don't know the limitations of posts on this site. If you have anyspecific questions, just ask.

Hope this helps and doesn't lead to too much confusion.

greatone

Thanks for the advice Mossy,

I am excited to get started. I have always been a very outdoor oriented person with regards to fishing, camping and hiking but am a late starter when it comes to hunting. I am sure this will be fun.

DU