advice for a novice hunter
 

Hi Guys,
i am new here and i wanted to find out some information about hunting in the usa.
i am a novice hunter from asia and interested in spending a few weeks in the US hunting.
i was in US last month and ended up spending 700$ for a 5 hour boar hunting session.
it was my first hunt and i did manage to learn quite a bit.
i am now interested in doing a few hunts this winter but dont want to spend a lot of money.
i have heard about public land hunting which is free but then i am not that experienced to venture out in the wild myself.moreover i dont have a gun permit in usa.
can you guys please give me some advice on how i can achieve the best experience on an inexpensive hunting trip?
few questions that come to my mind.
-are there hunting schools that teach you hunting?
-is it best to hunt yourself on public lands or pay some outfitter?
-do you get hunting guides who will come with you on public land hunts?
-which game should i start off with?


i apologize for throwing so many questions at you guys but any help will be appreciated.

thanks
Castor.Troy

I have hunted all my life and would love to go on a guided hunt but they are very expensive for whitetail deer. As far as gettin a guide for public land I have never hunted deer on public land but becareful who you get to be a guide on public land down here you might get an idiot who will take advantage of your not knowing some things. My advise find a state you want to hunt in and call there parks and wildlife administration and speek with them about hunters ed class. May want to look into hunting Eastern Wild Turkey I would say will make you throw rocks at deer huntin but both are my life long passion. Hope this helps good luck.

I am not a fan of public land hunting. Too risky for my taste. You never know who is going to be out there and how experienced they are.

I would suggest private land hunting with a guide until you get established in hunting and gain more knowledge.

There are tons of hunting courses, online and offline, no matter what state you are in.

The first thing you need to do is identify the state where you want to hunt. Each state is different, not only with regard to the wild animals resident therein, but also with respect to seasons, limits, weapon regulations, and a host of other matters.

Once you have done that, you can contact the appropriate agency in that state and find out the relevant rules, license fees, etc.

My husband and I hunt public land all the time and have been successful. You can learn a lot from these forums. There are even formus specific to certain regions of the country.


:sheep: May The Sheep Be With You

Hmmmm.? What State did you Boar Hunt in...?Do you have any Family or Friends located in a certain State you would like to hunt in?


Like most stated you need to pick a State in which you want to hunt and decide what Game/Animal your interested in hunting and find out the Seasons and what is alllowed to be hunted in that area?I'm all for Deer Hunting and if you do try it I think you will be hooked for life,Turkey Hunting is interesting also!If you Hunt Public Ground it can get pretty crowded and you have to be careful of the other Hunters around you,most Public Hunting area's here in Missouri do not allow you to use screw-in steps,your ladder or climbing stand needs to be marked with your name,address,phone number etc,you have to walk in to your hunting area (no 4-wheelers allowed in certain area's)...!.Any where you hunt your going to need and out of State hunting license which can be very expensive depending on the Game your hunting.For safety purposes I would suggest finding another reasonably priced Outfitter so your on private property and the Guide knows the rules and regulations of the State your hunting on and they will have food and lodging for you and most Guides have scouted the area's you'll be hunting and they have hunting stands and blinds already set up for you.There is a lot of preperations for hunting especially if your coming from out of the Country!Hope everything works out for You and You have a good experience here in the USA!!!

There really isnt a school for hunting, it is usually handed down experienc, and self taught. I would recommend taking a NY state hunter safety course. There are two, one for gun and one for bow. They are a wealth of information, are free, and will also potentially put you in contact with other hunters. The gun hunter safety is essential to get a hunting license in NY, the bow is neccessary for bow hunting BUT it has much more practical hunting information in it, including usually animal vital areas, blood trailing, and tree stand use. If you havent had much experience with firearms, I would also recommend a handgun safety course. The basic firearm handling practices are applicable to long arms, and safety can never be over emphasized, and you can never get too much firearm exposure. You can call around to local sporting goods shops (Gander Mtn, Dicks, local private gun shops) for classes being held.
I regularly hunt public land. NYS has millions of acres of it, and not all of it sees use at all. You do need a NYS hunting license. I do not know your situation for firearm possesion, so you need to clarify that. A call to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation may answer that, or the NYS Police. Both groups are good people.
On hunting public land by yourself, you certainly need to put in your time scouting for proper locations. Not all woods hold deer (or rabbits, pheasants, etc.). A licensed guide (not all guides hunt- some mountain climb, fish, hike, canoe, or other sports) does not guarantee getting or seeing a deer. The animals have thier own plans, but they should guarantee a safe experience, and be able to offer alot of advice and learning. You can google for NYS guides. If you call one, (allways best to talk to several different ones) tell them your background and what you want to do/learn. Ask for references and call them up. Guides can and will use public lands they are familiar with.
A shooting preserve offers the opportunity to shoot different species on a private (high fence) piece of land, usually with the owner acting as a guide. success is usually 100%, prices vary greatly. For someone like myself who was raised hunting the big north woods, there is nothing to hold my interest. Alot of the hunting experience is the quiet time alone in the woods, sometimes for days on end with no one else around (not that I am not sociable, it is how I de-stress). A relatively small piece of land ( sometimes as small as 100 acres, or as large as several thousand) holding a known population of animals (certainly several times higher than occurs in the wild) well known to the owner removes the element of the hunt for me. For someone (like you ) new to the outdoors and hunting, it could be the opportunity to get a taste for what the experience is like in a safe manner. Nothing is wrong with that. As well, private shooting preserves do not have to follow the NYS hunting seasons, so it is possible to deer hunt (or elk hunt, or bison, if they have them) during different times of the year.
The game you start with depends on what you are most interested in. New York has alot of wild white tailed deer. Some guides specialize in small game- rabbits, grouse, turkeys or pheasants, in season. Small game hunting can be fast and exciting, with excellent table fare when you are done. Most shooting preserves offer Russian Boar hunting which is exciting and pretty economical, with great tasting pork when you are done.
It is great that you want to experience this, and I hope you are able to. For someone totally new to the sports, it can be a challenge. Sportsmen tend to be pretty generous, but also protective of thier sports and sporting opportunities. What part of the state are you going to be in?
Well, I also am throwing alot out at you here, hopefully it will be helpful.

thank you for the advice daveboone.
i have already taken your advice and spoken to a few outfitters.
i wanted to hunt whitetails but they said that in feb most of the deers will be anterless and they can hunt those.
i have opted for the russian boar,ram and red stags.
ill get some experience this time and come back again in november when i can hunt on public land.
i just hope i get a good guide at the preserve.
thanks once again.