I’ve never been hunting, and in fact have never held a gun in my life. My sister is the only person I know who hunts (well, besides her friends), but she lives in Idaho, which is a bit of a trek from San Francisco. Nevertheless, I’m interested in learning to hunt, partly because I like to try new things, partly because I like meat. Anyways, I figure I’ll have to learn to shoot, and then probably find someone to take me hunting? Frankly, I’m a bit clueless - it seems that everyone I know who hunts (i. e., my sister’s friends) either learned as kids, or went with friends. Are there hunting clubs? Day trips? Hell, I don’t even know where you would go to find anything to hunt. Since I’m a bit of a city boy, can anyone enlighten me?
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Just to get you started, it depends on how much money and time you want to put into this and what type of hunting you want to do. You can pay for planned hunting trips with a guide but you need to figure out what type of hunting you want to do first or you aren’t going to have much luck. You can go for simple things like rabbits or birds up to trophy animals like large bucks but those are very different things and require different equipment. You need to learn basic firearm handling first and that will apply to any type of hunting you do. There should be some available in your area and you will just need to take one probably for legality but also for responsibility. That should be fun on its own.
That should give you an idea of what types of guns you are most comfortable with. Simple shotgun hunting is pretty easy if you can locate your target in the first place but rifle shooting can take a lot of proficiency if you are dealing with long distances. Shotguns are close range weapons. There are more advanced types of hunting like archery but don’t even try that until you have some experience.
I would just look up a hunter safety course in your area and take it. The people there will give you ideas and hook you up if there is something you are really interested in. Having a sister that hunts isn’t very unusual. A lot of the pictures pouring into my Facebook account these days are from very hot females proudly displaying their kills.
Hunting is just like any other recreational activity. You can take it as far as you want but you have to learn the basics. Getting started doesn’t need to be very time-consuming or very expensive even if you buy your own shotgun or rifle but you need to find someone in person that can show you the ropes and teach you to shoot.
First get a .22 rifle and practice with it at a range, or somewhere far out in the woods where it’s legal to do so. The rifle and the ammo will both be very cheap. You should start out with a simple rifle with iron sights.
Then start out hunting small animals like rabbits and squirrels. You may need a small-game license to hunt those depending on where you are. Rabbits and squirrels are pest animals that can destroy the ecosystem if they aren’t culled off, so don’t feel bad about killing them.
You will need a hunting license, and in California you have to go through a Hunter’s Safety course to get it. It involves classroom training and usually a short field course involving crossing fences safely and marksmanship with a .22 rifle. You’ll want to familiarize yourself with the California Department of Fish and Game web site. I linked to the page about hunter education.
I also happen to be a member of a California-centric hunting board called Jesse’s Hunting and Outdoors. They have a section for people looking for mentors, which sounds like it would help you. Read the threads, get a feel for the people, and they’ll help you if they can. They can probably direct you to a local rifle range where you can learn to shoot - you’ll want someone to teach you and can usually find someone at a range. Ask the rangemaster.
I’m not real close to San Francisco, so I don’t know about more specific training in your area. There are programs on becoming an outdoors woman that aims at women trying to get into the sport, but I don’t know what there is for men.
I’m 42. I went on my first hunt when I was 30.
What do you want to hunt? Rabbit? Moose? Something between? 
“Hunting” is an *extremely *broad term. There are many different things to hunt, many different terrains and climates, many different weapons, and many different styles.
Around these parts, whitetail deer hunting is huge. Turkey hunting is also pretty big. And many folks enjoy rabbit and squirrel hunting. And then there’s pheasant, quail, and duck. Some folks love to trap. And then there’s bounty hunting, i.e. simply getting rid of nuisance animals. The main one around here is coyote.
One of the questions you should ask yourself is this: do I want to be active & mobile while hunting, or do I want to sit and wait? Some hunting requires you to be walking around (rabbit, quail, etc.), while some requires you to ambush the game (e.g. whitetail deer, turkey).
While I’m at it, I should mention the biggest mistake new (and even seasoned) hunters make: they read a few hunting magazines and become convinced that they must purchased the latest-n-greatest tools, clothing, and accessories in order to be a good hunter.
Let me tell you something… 90% of what you read in hunting magazines is pure BS. If you want to go bow hunting, for example, you do not need ScentLok clothing, you do not need a $600 bow, and you do not need to wash your clothes in special, high-dollar detergent. I swear, there’s more BS in hunting magazines than in fishing, golfing, and audiophile mags, and that’s saying a lot.
Thanks for the replies so far, guys! I started looking into Hunting Safety classes, and while there are some nearby, it looks like they don’t have any scheduled at the moment (since the schedule only runs till the end of the year, I’m hoping there’ll be some in January).
As to what I want to hunt - well, I don’t know, I’ve never hunted anything before! I don’t have a lot of extra cash lying around, so I’m really looking for something pretty entry-level here. I’m assuming (since I don’t own a truck) that small-game hunting is going to be easier, resources-wise, than big game. Of course, if I could find a group of people with trucks or whatnot, that would be cool too, but I certainly can’t afford to buy a truck for hunting, and even renting one would be a bit pricey for me. I’d really rather wander around looking for game than lie in wait, too, so it seems like small game is gonna be more my speed. On the other hand, I’m lazy, and big game are presumably going to have more meat, which is a primary motivator for me. And, finally, I live in San Francisco, which means there’s a lot of wetland around, so maybe waterfowl? Any advice on what’s going to be easiest to get into, and fairly cheap?
Also, per equipment: don’t worry, Crafter_Man, I don’t read any hunting magazines, and I’m pretty cheap, so no $600 bows for me. I suppose I’ll need to get a gun of some sort, but any advice on what I need? It sounds like I want a .22 rifle for small game, and I know you use shotguns for birds, but my knowledge is pretty vague other than that. Also, about how much should, say, a simple .22 hunting rifle cost? I poked around online, and saw everything from a hundred bucks to a few thousand, but I don’t really know the terminology well enough to have an idea of what I’m looking for.
ETA: Cowgirl Jules, that site has a hell of a lot of fora: where would I find the mentoring section you mentioned? I’m assuming the California forum would be worth a look too.
Here, but an awful lot of the other fora are going to be useful. the California forum is mostly about deer hunting. Most of the other types are separated out by type - small game, bear, varmint (bobcat, coyote), waterfowl, upland game bird. Spend some time reading, get a feel for what type of hunting you’d like to do.
I didn’t start hunting until I was 22, and didn’t have any sort of mentor at the start. I did already know how to shoot though, which helped. There’s no reason you can’t start at any age.
edited to add: as far as .22 rifles go, you can’t go wrong with a nice Ruger 10/22. It’s very common, you can pick one up for a couple of hundred bucks, and you’ll never need to move up from that unless you want to. We use one for squirrels, my son practices on one, they’re just an all-around good gun.
Have you ever butchered anything before?
Consider that butchering your kill is going to take some time, some energy, and is going to be bloody. Most people I know who hunt deer will field dress it (gut it, basically), use 2-3 people to carry it out of the woods, then have the rest of the processing done by an actual butcher who will cut it up as you desire, package it, and freeze it. You can do it all yourself… but set aside at least a day for that.
Mostly I’ve butchered fish and fowl (meaning from dead carcass in front of me to neatly wrapped for freezing) and I don’t mind it, but it does make some mess. Wear old clothes, an apron, make sure your tools are sharp. Either put down newspapers/drop clothes or be prepared to do some thorough scrubbing for clean up, particularly the first couple times as you are perfecting your technique.
I’ve thought of taking up hunting myself, but I haven’t hooked up yet with a mentor, plus money is very tight so procuring a weapon is a stretch right now. If I do take it up, though, I’m more inclined to start with small game just because I know I can handle the subsequent processing myself. A deer? That could weigh as much or more than I do! I’m concerned I’d find it overwhelming without help or a game butcher.
Well, as I said, I have no truck, so the only way I’d be doing big game hunting is if I was with a group anyways. I haven’t butchered anything before, but I’d like to learn, and if I had someone to tell me what to do for field-dressing, I’d be happy to give it a shot. The final butchering might be a bit trickier, although, again, I’d totally love to learn to do it myself - it wouldn’t be my first time spending a day cutting up meat (although I suppose I might need a bigger meat grinder). Besides, venison sausage! Who can say no to that?
zombie or no
depends on what’s near you besides them.
In addition to the .22- varmint shooting suggested earlier, if it were me I’d find a mentor or two, and go out and learn woodsmanship and field dressing first, before I considered myself qualified to make actual kills.