Hunting for the First Time

I'm looking to maybe start hunting, did you go with someone experienced or read up and go alone?

>>31948154
Why would I want to ask a noob something?

If anything I've hunted for years. You should want to ask guys like me stuff.

>>31948261
Oh I went with one of my uncles; I wouldn't have gone alone. At least I would have MUCH preferred not to have gone alone.

>>31948266
I went with someone who had been hunting for probably around 40-50 years, if not more.

>>31948154
did you actually kill anything?

What were you hunting?
Did you creep on it, did you track it with dogs, did someone drive it to you, did you see any skin walkers, did you sit up in a tree stand and wait while your fingers froze to blocks, or are you some Russian who's rich to the point of perversion, hunting from a helo?
What guns?

>>31948297
Sadly not. We checked my uncle's snares and got a rabbit there. We spotted a grouse, followed it into the woods, but no dice. Couldn't get it.

>>31948317
We were primarily hunting for grouse but if we ended up finding a rabbit then we'd have taken that as well. There was a FUCKLOAD of moose droppings, some old but most pretty fresh, and he figures there was an adult and a calf moose there recently. Probably a cow and a calf. Initially I heard the grouse and seen it move, we went into the woods a ways and just as I was unloading the shotgun because I thought we lost it, I heard/seen it move again, but even if it was still loaded I couldn't have gotten a shot off.

No dogs, my uncle drove me there, no skinwalkers, no tree stand (though we came upon a homemade wooden ladder, but it seems to have been used to saw off the limbs of a big tree rather than to sit up in the tree, but hey, never know, maybe he just sat up there at some point. We didn't risk it. Sadly I'm not Russian, but that's some history and heritage that I'd be quite proud to have.

Helo? You mean a helicopter? Haha, nah. We just walked through some trails where he had seen grouse before. Also went to a spot where we seen a grouse yesterday; it was something like maybe 5m from me when it took flight and scared the shit out of me, landed in a tree, and I swear it was so close i could have taken it out with a pistol no problem, but we didn't have a firearm at the time.

It was a Maverick 88 pump action with polymer/plastic furniture. Pinned to 2+1 shells due to whatever he was hunting with it previously, but I didn't care. We kept it unloaded since grouse are typically rather dumb and don't often go very far when spooked. He didn't know about how to unload the tube without racking the slide and I showed him because I learned it from some Youtube vids.

Maverick 88 is basically just a cope of the Mossberg 500, isn't it? Or a combination of features from Mossberg 500 and Remington 870? Bit rusty.

File: IMG_20161109_152625.jpg (3MB, 4444x2690px) Image search: [Google]

3MB, 4444x2690px

Do you plan to go again? Why did you want to start hunting? Are you planning on going for more than birds?


Remove antler

>>31949962
>Dat muzzleloader tho
I'm no expert on hunting, obviously, but by the location of that blood, I assume the bullet didn't go quite where you wanted it?

Anyways, yeah, I DEFINITELY plan to go again. I've wanted to go hunting for years because it's rather big in my family besides my parents. I hope to get a moose with a .303 some day; both grandfathers and many uncles have hunted many moose and deer with .303. I'm not really big on hunting birds, but still the thrill of the hunt was there, and I would enjoy going again if I ever do. My uncle says he'd like me along as well; his hearing is pretty bad to say the least, meanwhile I have just about perfect hearing. I spotted that one grouse we went after, and also heard it too. He didn't hear it, but seen it the second time when we were in the thick of the bush.

I really like that Maverick 88 though, and having done some studying, it would seem that some parts are made in Mexico which is why it's so cheap (only around $200). I don't much like the Mossberg 500's ambidextrous safety, and neither do I like the Remington 870's pump release being positioned in front of the trigger guard. So it seems to me that the Maverick 88's cross-bolt safety and position of the pump release being behind the trigger guard is the perfect combination for me. I'm not one for shotguns, but if I ever buy a pump action, it'll likely be a Maverick, and not just because it's cheap.

I definitely think there will be more hunting within the week, and hopefully I'll get something. He didn't bring ear protection though, nor eye protection. I probably won't bother with eye protection, but I WOULD like ear protection, at least for one of my ears, perhaps leave the other bare so as to listen for noises. It'll suck; I've shot 12 Gauge without ear/eye protection before, and I know it's dumb, but this is a VERY small town/community we're talking about, with a rather old hunter. Quite old fashioned.

File: IMG_20161109_155229.jpg (1MB, 2254x1494px) Image search: [Google]

1MB, 2254x1494px

>>31950058
It entered perfect behind his left shoulder, the exit wound is the hole in the pic. Took one lung out completely and half the other one. Problem was the round ball pulled tissue into the exit wound leading to an almost nonexistent blood trail. I heard him crash about 40 yards from where he was hit so I basically walked right up to him

>>31950094
Right on, did you slice its throat once you got to it to make sure it had bled out and was confirmed dead? Did you gut it there in the woods, or brought it back home to do the deed there? That's going to be the tricky part for me, I think. It might very well end up grossing me out, but I want to watch the process and learn what I can. I've cleaned my own fish before, so that's a start, but I remember in grade 4 or 5 or something like that, a student brought a rabbit that her father had caught in a snare to school so that the teacher could teach the class how to clean it. I was the one loser pacing back and forth in the back of the class, trying to block out the sounds. That was ages ago though; I'll be fine. Accidentally stabbed my hand once; fair bit of blood, and could see the muscle under the flesh as it was healing. So yeah, I believe I've improved. Didn't even go to the hospital for that, though I probably could have used some stitches.

Anyways, whether it grosses me out or not, I very well imagine that I'll want to keep at it, and turn it into a hobby. Just a shame that my parents are such anti-gunners. Well into my 20s and only TODAY have I finally gone hunting? That's fucked up, but hey, even though we didn't get a grouse, I found it fun as fuck, ESPECIALLY when trying to find it in the woods off the trail. By the sounds of it, my uncle (or possibly a different one) is going to take me moose hunting once they get the time, and will even bring one of their .303s so that I could use the cartridge I want. Going to be fucking amazing, and I want to slice its throat with my pocket knife once we get up to it. I can do that much, and imagine I'll be able to at least hold a leg up to make it easier to clean it there in the woods. As for getting blood on me, frankly, I'm almost looking forward to it. "Up to your elbows, and down your back" is what I often hear, in terms of how bloody you end up. We'll see. That might've been from stories of huntin decades

>>31950162
No we didn't cut the throat it's an unesseary step, we gutted then quartered him out in the woods and packed him out in bags. We're letting the quarters and cuts chill for at least 4 days before we cut them up and vacuum seal them. As for the covered in blood thing, most of the time it just gets on my hands and pants if I end up covered in it I'm doing something wrong

>>31950215
Right on, so what kind of musket is it? A rifled musket I assume, since it's cap and ball. Is it a replica of something Military? Something Civil War era perhaps?

>>31950301
It's not really a replica but it copies the style of the old Hawken rifles. This one is a T/C kit from the 70's

>>31950323
Sweet, black powder is something I've wanted to get into for years. A Brown Bess and Baker Rifle, gotta get one of each of those some day. Party like it's 1799, or in the case of the Baker Rifle more like 1809.

>>31948154
How bad were your shakes the first time you shot? I remember years back I used to get them bad and finally just got used to shooting things.

>>31951077
I only shake before and after. Idk

>>31951077
I first shot a firearm sometime in 2007. I'm new to hunting, but not new to firearms whatsoever. I've fired thousands of rounds before. Sadly, I didn't shoot; we never came across any grouse or rabbit except the nice sized rabbit that was caught in his snare. I don't find I shake anymore, though then again I haven't shot a firearm since about 2011 I think, so when it comes time to shoot, I might end up shaking a bit. I remember whenever I shot .44 Magnum, ESPECIALLY with a wood/steel grip instead of a soft plastic one, my hand would end up shaking, but I enjoyed it. Especially the powder burns.

>>31951111
Nice quads, and I think once you get used to shooting, the shaking stops. I can still remember the first time I shot a firearm. Springfield XD40. White-knuckling it. At the time I was basically an obese teenager and getting flashbacks of the MASSIVE revolver in the first Batman movie from the 80s that was comically throwing the Joker backwards with each shot.

Well yeah, being a 6' tall fatass, I took the recoil like a champ. After the first shot, I looked at it like "Are you fuckin' serious? That's it?" Then emptied the mag in like 2 seconds. Was shaking before and after I think, but I just chalk it up to excitement and adrenaline.

Actually, perhaps it's good we didn't get anything; neither of us have cell phones and not only did I forget my camera, but it's not charged and I have no charge cord, so there's no way to take a picture. I'd like to get a picture of my first successfully hunted bit of game.

>>31948154
I have a hunting question and I suppose this is the thread to ask it. I recently had the chance to go hunting with a buddy, but I ended up not going. I was really looking forward to it for the act of it and maybe getting a deer head for mounting or something but not interested in the meat aspect of it. But my buddy, he insisted that if I kill a deer I must and I do mean must pay a person I don't know a hundred or more dollars to butcher it. My not wanting the meat didn't matter and when i said I didn't want to pay a guy for a service I don't want I got a bunch of junk about respecting the animal and appreciating it's sacrifice, which I just kinda get so I offered to let him have the meat cause I don't want it. But he insisted I pay for the butchering regardless. It was a dealbreaker that I had to pay for a service i didn't want for something I likely wouldn't have been able even do the first trip. So I said fuck it, and didn't cause that was bs. Am I in the wrong or fucking what?

>>31952137
I think he was being a prick. Whoever wants the meat, should pay for the service of butchering. Honestly though, I thought most hunters did their own butchering. No? Does he not have any family members he could take it to? Well either way, whoever gets the meat out to pay, or better off, man up and learn how to prepare the animal himself.

Why not just tell him that you won't shoot? Did you demand that you get the head either way? Well, to me, that still shouldn't matter. The point is the meat; if you end up with the head then who cares? Bah, I think your friend was just being dickish, but it sounds like it could have been fixed by just accepting the conditions and thereby not shooting any animals. If he decided not to give you the head out of spite just because you didn't pay for the butchering and because he shot the animal, then yeah, dick move. Though in my opinion if you ever get a head mounted, it should be one that YOU shot, but again if you were going to let him have the meat anyways, like, ALL of it, then he should pony up the dough to get it done. Or, as stated, be a man and do it himself.

>>31952245
See I thought must hunters did their own butchering too, but he fucking insisted, he rejected him using meat and said none would want it but I had to pay to have it butchered. It was his families land or something, and I couldn't "just go out and kill an animal for no reason" and he said That o should just think it as the price for using their land. Which is bullshit. I wanted the head or the hide and that's it and I figured that should be enough reason it combined with just going there to see if I could, but it wasn't good enough to let me not pay for it i guess. Anyways, the whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth and I just wanted to know if this was normal for hunting? The biggest thing was him justifying it as just hungry culture which made no sense me

>>31952354
I can't speak for hunting or hunting culture because I've only gone once and it was with my chill as fuck uncle. As for hungry culture, either that's a typo for 'hunting culture', or it sounds like some bullshit he made up.

Anyways, it's sounding like he just wanted you to pay for the butchering somehow, was really trying to use whatever possible logic (even land) to try and make it sound like you should pay for it. So yeah, I'd say good call on not even bothering. Wait until you find someone chill to go with who'll not be a cheapskate asshat. Still, look forward to when you CAN go though, because it's quite fun. Even though I didn't shoot anything and only seen ONE grouse, I found it fun as fuck. Even if I don't get anything NEXT time, I think I'll still enjoy it, as well as the exercise of all that walking about in the woods. It was also great to hold a firearm again; it's been too long.

>>31952479
It was a typo I meant hunter culture, my bad i was on my phone. I still want to do it, i like hiking and stuff and it could be really fun. The whole thing was just so shitty though. I have a relative who hunts but hes kind of an asshat and poaches out of season because #redneckthings or some bs maybe ill hit him up. I dont know anyone else and im not gonna show up to a club alone or something so i dont know if ill ever be able to.

>>31952528
Give it time. You'll find someone, I'm sure. Poaching is probably a bad idea, but hey, I don't know your area. When I went with my uncle I knew he had his license for it, and he had a firearm that belonged to his son that he took care of, not to mention he let me carry it in the woods but out in the open I had to let him carry it. Doubted anyone would show up in the woods though, because it's a small town and we drove quite a ways away from it. Either way, he was in the Canadian Rangers for decades before so even if a cop DID show up, he'd probably be able to talk his way into "Oh I'm getting old so thought I'd let him carry the shotgun and shells for me." Or something like that. Still, he said that a buddy of his was out in the woods at the same time, but we never seen or heard a soul. Quite safe.

>>31952659
yeah, if I was up in canada that sounds great. But im in florida, and everything so fucking crowded down here. I have relatives up in canada but no gunfolk or hunters. Im still looking forward to getting a chance for it though.