My wife wants to go deer hunting. We don’t know any hunters and have never hunted. We have a couple guns but that’s it. Not only have I never had a desire to hunt, I am intimidated by this. But I’m willing to give it a try. Is this a stupid idea? Can you learn everything you need to know with YouTube videos?
A big question is knowing where the deer are–and I think that would depend on local knowledge.
I think you should attend a gun safety class. In some states there might be licensing requirements requiring this (although this is more associated with handguns).
I would try to find some hunters. Maybe ask friends of friends or a hunting association or ask the local wildlife official or sporting goods (guns) shop…
PS: A major reason for hunting is partying with your buddies–not actually killing the deer.
Where are you located and are going to hunt? Have you ever field dressed an animal? Assuming that you shoot a deer you are going to need to field dress it, that means removing the blood and innards. If you don’t get them out fairly soon the heat from them will begin to spoil the meat. The meat needs to cool down quickly. You need a sharp knife and some knowledge about the inside of an animal. You must be careful not to poke a hole in the intestines or you can contaminate the meat with fecal matter. It isn’t really like cleaning a fish. You can take it somewhere to have the meat cut up and butchered properly afterwards but you don’t want to be driving around with a whole animal with the guts inside for long, that is why you field dress it. To cool down the meat and leave all those innards in the woods. If the idea of cutting open an animal and reaching inside to pull out the warm, bloody, guts, steaming in the morning air bothers you, hunting might not be for you. And like Han Solo on the ice planet Hoth, you may think that they smelled bad on the outside. Wait until you open them up?
I will just assume that you already are familiar with the safe operation of your guns and can shoot accurately but walking around the woods and fields with a loaded gun, climbing over logs and trip hazards, requires a little more care than just shooting at the range. Carrying a loaded gun without a bullet in the chamber is best. If you don’t have time to chamber a round before shooting at the animal you really didn’t have time for a safe shot. You have to be certain of where the bullet will be going if you miss, or even if you hit the animal it may go right through. What kind/caliber of rifle will you be using? There are restrictions on that and they vary from area to area.
All in all I would say not to try this leaning as you go thing. Look for a hunter’s safety class. Contact the Fish & Game Dept (or whatever it is called where you are) and they can probably direct you to some resources. They have an interest in your learning how to hunt properly. They want you to get into it and keep buying license and tags each year. That would be where I would start. You need to learn the rules for your area too because, surprise, they are different everywhere. Some places allow you to take a doe, some only a buck with a forked horn on one side, some will allow you to use a shotgun, other areas that is a big no, no, etc. Fish & Game people are also happy to cite you when you don’t follow the rules. This can be expensive and may involve them just taking your guns off your hands.
Go to your local hunting supply store and get a synopsis from the Fish and Game that will tell you all the rules and restrictions a other valuable info, this booklet should be free or maybe a nominal cost. You need it FIRST. Do your research, learn, talk to people and maybe next year you could be ready.
Safety class is important. Never point any weapon at anything you wouldn’t want to accidentally shoot. Treat every gun as loaded all the time. Safety switch doesn’t matter, unloading it and double-checking it doesn’t matter, it’s always loaded.
And yes your state/locality may have quite a bit of hunter licensing and red tape to go through. This is even if you’re hunting on your own land.
The kill shot takes some care. You don’t want to Wound an animal that runs off and dies later.
Then you field dress it.
Be very careful if you are planning to use a stand. Most injuries and deaths in hunting involve people falling out of stands.
I went bird hunting with some first timers when I was a teen. We were successful. A deer is literally a whole other level. And I would point out even more strongly that the hunting grounds/land has not been fully emphasized above. Part of the reason to join a group is to gain access to someone’s property. You will also know when and who else is hunting on the land simultaneously- important for safety! You can’t just go hunting along roads or in parks or randomly on public or private property.
Families return to a hunting ground (even for out-of-staters) for literally generations because they have access to that land through friends, ownership, etc.
If you want to do this alone, offer to pay a farmer or property owner for access to their land.
The deer processor will skin it and cut the meat.
Many of them will make link or sausage patties. They’ll ground the meat mixed with beef fat. Course ground makes terrific chili. The fat keeps it from being dry.
Make sure of your target, and make sure of your backdrop. If you can’t positively identify the animal as a deer, and if you can’t be reasonably sure of what is in the distance in your field of fire, don’t pull the trigger. Binoculars are your friend.
What guns do you have? You need something that will deliver a humane kill. And that you can shoot accurately. Many jurisdictions set minimum ammunition restrictions for hunting deer and may also prohibit high power rifles. In Indiana there are also set seasons for what you can use. There’s bow season, muzzle loader season and firearm season (shotgun and handgun). Indiana used to prohibit center-fire rifle but I think there has been some relaxation of that. I’m not a hunter so I don’t really keep up on the rules.
Second read of the thread reveals Dallas Jones already covered this.
I’d suggest finding a older man that had to stop hunting.
Offer some of the meat for his help. You’ll need to get the carcass to him pretty quick. He’ll show you how to field dress it and suggest a local deer processor.
Every single state requires hunter’s safety, I assume the OP already took that. You should also mention which state/country and species of deer you intend to hunt in.
As an adult onset hunter, good for you. A mentor definitely helps, but you can without. Upland was a good gateway drug before deer but no reason you can’t start there. I did my first solo this year (antelope), no success and I’m sure another pair of eyes would definitely be beneficial but I don’t consider it wasted time.
Book recommendation: https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Hunting-Butchering-Cooking/dp/081299406X/ It covers everything from start to finish.
Watch Youtube about field dressing, I prefer the gutless method, which is generally the most foolproof and really only has a disadvantage if you want to make a rug. You might also considering watching butchering videos, I have never used a processor and don’t intend to start if I can help it. When I’m done, all that’s in the field is basically a spine and pelvis, and some guts. Most stuff is usable, the only thing I can’t bring myself to bother with is menudo/tripe.
I am not a hunter, but if I wanted to start hunting I think Dallas Jones’ advice is sensible, along with what most everyone else is saying.
No, I would not do the following for the first time without someone along experienced in such things, going only by youtube videos:
- Hunting anything (per aforementioned safety tips)
- Field dressing the animal
- Understanding tags and rules and regulations
- Selecting a location, where to go/access to land
IMHO, hunting should be learned directly from experienced, real people, and in the field.
My Google-fu is failing me, so I can’t find the story I just heard a couple of days ago on NPR, about a state DNR starting classes for adult first-time hunters. (Can’t remember the state, but the leader of the class was a DNR biologist.) A search on NPR’s website turned up a couple of stories about hunting and conservation groups that offer such classes. May want to see if your state’s Fish and Game Department has something similar.
Is it this one? I read similar in a different state and I don’t think NPR. A common program that does this is Field to Fork.
1 - take a hunter safety class and save the manual – lots of good info there about care after the kill and other useful things.
2 - depending on where you live finding deer won’t be a problem; finding legal deer could be. Make sure you know the laws - which loops back to the first point
3 - consider small game as a stepping stone. The woods are usually less crowded and once you learn the basics of field dressing on something hand-sized, big game gets a whole lot easier. In my clan we all learned from kinfolk but always on the smaller sized critters first.
It takes a certain kind of person to enjoy deer hunting.
Why I Like It
I enjoy the solitude and quietness. No one is bugging me about this and that. Watching the forest “come to life” after about 45 minutes is wonderful.
Making a good shot and tracking the deer is quite exhilarating.
It helps to control the deer population.
Venison is tasty, especially in a stew.
Why I Don’t Like It
Around here (Ohio), most of deer season is damn cold. The older I get, the less tolerant I am of cold.
Sunrise is the best time to hunt. But you have to be in your deer stand a least an hour before sunrise. I hate getting up early.
I’m the squeamish type, and I hate gutting a deer.
Dragging a deer is no easy task. And then I have to put it in my truck, take it to the processor (I don’t do it myself), pick up the meat, etc. It’s a hassle.
I use to do a lot of deer hunting. But I haven’t done much over the past 3 years.
Do you know how to shoot?
Do you know how to shoot at a moving target?
Do you know how to safely carry a gun over rough ground?
Extremely important: Do you know how to tell a deer from a donkey*, or from a large brownish dog, or from any other animal, in the woods?
Can you tell a doe from a buck, in the woods?
Can you judge whether your targeted animal is within your effective killing range?
Do you know how to find a wounded animal, in order to finish it so it doesn’t die slowly?
Do you know where all the houses, farm buildings, and roads are in the area you expect to hunt in; and how far your bullets can carry from your particular weapons?
If you’re not sure on any of that, please, get some training. We badly need more good hunters. We very much don’t need people who don’t know what they’re doing.
*that donkey is a real example. I knew one who got shot by hunters who mistook her for a deer. She was a valuable sheep guarding animal, and also a friend of her owners.
Yes, get that license. You can’t just pull up to some woods and start hunting. Hunting land us not easy to come by. Lease land is expensive. Most camps snatch any good hunting land up quick. There is some state land. Beware, there. Foot traffic will be crazy. Find a legal place to hunt.
DO NOT shoot deer off the roadside. Please.
That’s one of the stories I found when I searched NPR’s website, but no, that wasn’t the one I heard. But it was a similar program, though it was through whatever state’s Fish and Game Department.
OP, may I ask why you want to hunt? If it’s not about getting your own food, but rather experiencing nature, or even the chess game of tracking an animal, how about a camera hunt? You could have the thrill of the chase, and maybe the trophy of an arresting photograph, without worrying about field dressing or hauling off the deer you shoot.