Hi! I'm very interested in trad hunting and would love to bag a doe or a buck, but I have no idea what I would be doing out in the wood!
Here's my situation:
I'm a high school senior... from a north shore suburb of Chicago, IL. Next year, I'll probably be going to college at Rose-Hulman, which is in Terre Haute, southern Indiana. The family also has a shack up north in Eagle River, Wisconsin. I have no relatives/connections with hunters that I can talk to to learn about what I need to do to get ready. I don't know how to get in contact with people that could help me out around here.
I've always loved archery, starting out with a tiny little wheelie, then got an old youth recurve, recently got a strong wheelie (Bear White Tail II), and now built my own bow with the help of the bowyer's bench forum. I'd like to buy or build a nicer glass lam recurve (looking at a bingham's kit T/D recurve kit now). I've always wanted to go out and hunt my own food, and now I am at the age that I can make that a reality.
I am definitely not accurate enough yet, but winter's coming and I have nowhere to shoot for now, being that it gets rather cold/snowy outside. I'm already looking forward to spring shooting.
If anyone wants to drop some info to help me learn about preparing/learning how to hunt, that'd be great. Thanks, everyone!
You can learn everything besides experience online. You are asking very broad questions. Read all you can online, in books, and in magazines. Find anywhere to shoot. A barn will do just fine. Shoot whatever bow you are most confident with.
And go spend some time in the woods as much as you can just observing nature. Go sit in the mornings, noon, and afternoons. Learn the predominant wind patterns for the land you will hunt. Learn what the deer like to eat, where do they get water, where do they sleep?
Get a topo map of the area you are going to hunt. Learn about edges and funnels.
If you feel confident enough in your outdoor skills, get to the property with snow on the ground and you can find out a lot about travel patterns.
i'm sure others will jump in. Try to find a traditional mentor that you can pick his/her brain during the winter months and maybe find a place to shoot. Good luck to you! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Take a Hunter Education Course. Not only will it help you onward in the right direction, it's the law in most states that you must be certified to buy a license.
Rose is an excellent school! Congradulations are deserved on that alone!
There are a couple fish and wildlife areas close to Terre Haute (Chinook, fairbanks landing, wabashika, and The new one Deer Creek).
I agree with the others, take a hunters education course, spend as much time as you can in the woods between studying and school, Join a local club such as the one in Cloverdale (not to far from Terre haute). Theres alot that can be learned both shooting and hunting by just hanging out at the clubs/shoots and talking with people!
The best way to learn to hunt is to go out in the woods and fail! Once the wild has schooled you several times you will get the hang of it . . . its called classical conditioning!!!(thats what I learned in college yesterday :) )
One thing all TRUE hunters have in common...they all want to teach SOMEONE how to hunt.
As has already been said, join a club, and don`t be afraid to ask.
Your eyes face forward...it is as natural as learning to walk.
I agree with the others, if you have no experience hunting and no one to show you a hunter ed course would be a good place to start. Being safe and learning proper ethics and etiquette in the woods (especially on public lands) are the first steps. Becoming a proficient shot at close range comes next and then everything else can be learned and improved as you go. You can learn much by reading and asking on this site. But if you can find someone with experience close by you probably will learn faster.
Try to make it to the big Cloverdale shoot in June if you can - that will be a great experience for you in the trad thing.
Get on the IDNR website and figure out what you need to take care of to be able to get a license - as I recall if you are going to school in IN you might be able to qualify for a resident license (dont quote me on that). You'll certainly need a hunter safety course.
What are you majoring in? I work with lots of ChemE's from Rose.
R
The only way to learn is to be in the woods. Find trails the deer use, learn their primary food in your area and search out those areas. Learn to identify your regional tree species. I recommend The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees(Eastern edition). Often most wildlife like to travel near edges. For example, where trees meet a pasture, or maybe where hardwoods and pines run together. You'll learn alot just taking your time, learning to watch where you step, go around instead of through. Stop, listen, watch and be still. You'll be amazed at the critters that present themselves.....Phil
I second going to Cloverdale this coming June. It is very close to Terre Haute. I would suspect that if you asked anyone there to give you advice on hunting ( and trade bows), you would feel like a long lost relative. Plus, you would have a good idea what your effective range would be after doing the 3D course.
As has been said....Spend time in the woods.
Nothing can trump it.
Join a local archery club that has indoor shooting facilities near you there very likely is one. You will meet hunters there too.
And do the other things being suggested here too. Hunter Safety class, and get a license.
All I can add is if you have a camera use it and work at getting pictures of every wild critter you see.
Don't use the zoom feature but try to fill your screen with the whole animal.
If you can get close ups of Wild squirrels, rabbits,crows, ect. It will sharpen your stalking skills quickly.
God bless,Mudd
Ryan & Adeeden summed it up. Attending Rose will place you (geographically speaking) in a great area to "wander Indiana". Also the hunter education course, I believe, is offered at Gander Mountain (easy to find- catty corner to the mall). Get acclimated and mix with the locals and you'll find yourself with opportunities.
The Cloverdale Shoot is very cool- I've been 2x just walking around and its amazing what you can learn by just chatting people up. Seen some of the sponsors there- neat to meet them in person.
Thanks for all the input! I'm going to look for a hunter safety/education class that I can take, and spend some more time in the woods which is easy with a forest preserve that is really close to me, and the fact that I usually end up there on average of once a week with family or friends. The place is pretty nice in terms of geography--prarie, woods, and the des plains river running through the place lend to distinctly different areas throughout. The boy scouts made me pretty adept out in the woods, and I love working with topo maps. Perhaps i'll try to get one of my area to practice navigating/analyzing wilderness. Because people aren't allowed to hunt around here, we have a sizable deer population and it's common to see them out and about.
Mudd, your game of taking pictures up close and personal sounds like a really fun way to improve stalking skills. Thanks for the idea. I'm going to look into the cloverdale shoot--I should be able to make it out, assuming it doesn't conflict with graduation dates and whatnot.
Ryan, I'm looking into either Mechanical or Electrical engineering. Really excited to be going to Rose.
Thanks for the advice so far! if you have more, keep it comin'
John,
Others have provided good advice.
Let me start by saying your goal is terrific. My dad taught me much about hunting and I taught my son and my brothers. I can point to nothing in my life that did more to develop responsibility, fair play, self-reliance, confidence, discipline, and I like to think, a more interesting person than hunting.
As noted above, you'll have to take a Hunter Education Course to be legal in any state you wish to hunt. However, to learn more specific information about bowhunting I recommend you ALSO take the National Bowhunter Education Course. By the way, both courses can be taken on-line followed by an abbreviated field day later.
These are some of the things you'll need to learn, over time to be effective:
1. Understand the animal you want to hunt; habits, preferences, behavior, anatomy, etc.
2. Proficiency with your bow: develop an effective range (a distance you almost always hit). I wouldn't venture forth until I could center the kill zone on a life-size deer target (if that's what you want to hunt) nearly every time. Of course you're going to need to have other equipment such as tuned arrows with razor-sharp broadheads.
3. Woodsmanship; deer foods, especially know white oak from red oak, how to walk quietly, deer sign (tracks, scat, rubs, and scrapes). Alarm calls of squirrels, crows, & blue jays. Of course the more you learn about other vegetation and critters the more interesting your journey will be.
4. If you put in the time you will kill deer. So you'll need to know how to field dress, keep the meat clean, and where to have it processed or learn to do it yourself (many great videos on this subject).
5. Of course you'll also need to know the wildlife regulations that govern the seasons and hunting of the animal you intend to hunt.
I highly recommend you try some hunting besides deer. I think squirrel hunting is a terrific way to learn and hone hunting skills. Hunting squirrels teaches one to be quiet, walk quiet, stalk, hide, shoot well, learn oaks, hickory, cherry, beech, and walnut. In Indiana squirrel season come in on August 15th - 45 days before the statewide deer archery season.
One final note from me, college doesn't have to interfere with hunting. I know too many fellows who stopped hunting while attending college that never returned to the field afterwards. I earned two degrees simultaneously at Purdue (Wildlife Science and Forest Production) and took 160 credit hours of classes in 4 years with a 5.41 GPA (out of 6) and hunted every weekend of squirrel and deer seasons 120 miles from school.
I will second what Bowwild said (seems I do that a lot) having been through the college thing. Your schedule will, as you already know, be quite full Monday-Friday, likely 18 hr loads most semesters with an engineering major.
Give yourself "You Time" Decompress from class and get in the woods. I did it. Perhaps sometimes too much but oh well that was then.
Best of luck to you.....
what bjorn said....join a club of some type,you'll meet people who will help you learn. :readit:
I can't add anything to the excellent advise already given. I'd just like to wish you the best on the journey! Most folks that enjoy hunting tend to have grown-up in a family where it was a tradition. The fact that you didn't, but are drawn to it is great. Good on you!
I'd like to help in a small way. I have a copy of "Traditional Bowhunting for Whitetails" by Brian Sorrells. It's an excellent book and will help you out. Send me your address by PM, and I'll send it to you.
Welcome to the wonderful world of Traditional Archery/Bowhunting. I wish I had started at your age, I really envy you John. :archer2:
DannyBows.. Thats down right nice of you...Thats what this place is all about.
One Jersey guy to another..
shooting bows and hunting are separate things that eventually need to come together. finding a local mentor for each would be best.
don't forget that the hunting part means not only finding and killing game, but also what to do afterwards.
don't let the weather stop you from shooting - you'll only need a few feet of room and a good butt so you can work on shooting form in yer house/room/dorm/whatever. even without shooting, pull back yer bow daily and hold at full draw for at least a few seconds, to stay fit.
Just my opinion but the best way to build your hunting skills is by small game hunting. The seasons are very liberal time wise and access to ground. It will teach you how to stalk in the woods and you woodsmanship skills will be greatly enhanced. Learn all the types of trees and how to identify them. This is what is missing in much of our young hunters today. Good luck and have fun!
Read what you can and spend time in the woods with the gear and without.Learn to identify deer sign and take note to tracks and trails.Learn to use maps and orient them to your area and find land features like valley's, draws,funnels,and such.IMHO learning the land and the travel habits of deer are the main keys to success.
This is all great advice. As others have said spend all the time you can in the woods and read any books on hunting that you can. I also like to read books specific to the species that I want to hunt. I have found that it helps to learn as much as you possibly can about the game you are after. One last thing that I can't believe noone has mentioned, be patient. This is one that gets so many and even myself still from time to time.
lpcjon2 is providing a terrific tip to learn to hunt the "lay of the land" and edge. I pay much less attention to tracks, scat, and trails as I do the topography and layout of vegetation, crops, and streams. Deer are attracted to edge, places where one type of cover meets another (pines meet hardwoods, woods meet openings, rivers or streams running through any of this.
If you can obtain an aerial photograph of places you are planning to hunt, you can learn the area a bit. You can see the patterns of openings, woodland, water, roads, adjacent property, etc. With a topo map that matches the area you can find he draws, steep areas, benches, etc. I've been using them since the late 70's.
You have gotten great advice here,the only thing I want to stress is join an archery club if they have one when you get to college,this will help you meet people who can help you with shooting and hunting.
Do not try to learn from the deer porn channel!
I hunted pheasants,quail,duckscottontails and squirrels as an older boy,teenager and very young man.
I started hunting deer when I was around 23.I started by reading everthing I could get my hands on religously and digesting all the information best I could.I read books and alot of magazines back then.Traditional Bowhunter is a very good magazine that I would recommend to get the juices flowing so to speak.
I lived in Southern ILL when i started hunting deer and thier was all kinds of public land and I spent alot of time in the woods trying to understand the woods and the things that were going on thier with flora,fawna and the natural surroundings in which the animals inhabit.Through my reading and the hands on experience I was gaining through alot of time in the woods the learning curve was not that long.I was feeling comfortable and natural in my pursuits outdoors hunting deer and turkies in about a year or 2.I emersed myself in it very religously really.Being a student you may have the time to do the same hopefully.I was in school at the time.
Time outdoors and some literature will get you going.Sounds like you have an inate passion and that makes a big difference.
In the meantime maybe you can get a big bag target and do some shooting indoors at you home and work on your form and shooting technique at very close range.I dont see why not?Then in the spring get to a range or out of the city to do some stump shooting.
I lived in IN for about 12 years.Thier are some good oppertuntities for public hunting.Especially in Southern IN.I did alot of hunting in the Hoosier Forest when I lived thier and it was beautiful country.
Good luck on your journey and have fun!
Well, it took me about two hours to clear a line in the basement and set up a good backdrop to be sure that I will not harm the wall, but I now have a ten or fifteen yard range (haven't measured yet) that I can work on shooting with over the winter! I'm reading up on form and proper shooting, and I'm already improving.
Spent some time out in the woods today with my best friend; she was a girl scout that paid attention, and she taught me a thing or two about tree species. I already knew how to identify some of the more obvious tree species, but wow, she really knows her stuff. I'm lucky to have her as a friend as she loves the outdoors like I do, which is rare to see around these parts. Forgot to bring the camera along, but we followed around a doe for a while before we had to leave. Never got close enough that would be considered in-range. She's slightly opposed to me going hunting because when she was younger she came upon a dead deer with an arrow sticking out of its body that a careless hunter never retrieved. It's a shame that incidents like those happen.
I started looking up different archery clubs around Chicago, but it doesn't seem like a viable option right now because of two things: cost and transportation. I work at this place called flashcutCNC, which pays alright, but I can't get many hours in because the only times I can work are after school (typically four) until six, and the costs of membership to some of these clubs are inhibitory (Chicago Bowhunters). Transportation is also an issue as both my parents have jobs (one of them working two jobs) and I don't have a car. The problem here is that all of the clubs around are at least 40 minutes away. But maybe there's a club just north of the Wisconsin border that's closer... I'll have to look into that. I did find a few indoor ranges that I could go to every once in a while when I have a car; hopefully I can meet some people there to talk to.
@DannyBows, I sent you a PM, and thanks for the tremendous offer! I said this in the PM, but TradGangers are terrific people! Thanks to everyone for their support and assistance. I'm looking forward to when I can show off my first trad kill.
QuoteOriginally posted by Jerry Jeffer:
Do not try to learn from the deer porn channel!
That got a good chuckle out of me! I hardly ever find myself watching TV, though.
John,
You might inquire with a couple of the clubs if any of the members live near you. It is possible, especially if you are meant to find a club, that someone will be right around the corner.
I'm always amazed how things that are supposed to happen, do. I could tell a story or two that involve 8-9 years of separation or 4,200 miles that brought me into situations that were awesome. Doesn't hurt to give it a chance.
In 1976 I ran into a fellow at the Lafayette Bowmen in Indiana (Purdue). Jim was 8 years my senior and not a college student. We hit it off and he has been the best friend of my life. We have hunted Ontario, Colorado, Wyoming, Michigan, & Indiana. We talk nearly every day to compare notes about each other's hunts, archery activity, family, etc. we live 240 miles apart. This guy ran me back and forth to the Emergency room 3 times during a 9-day elk hunt (180 mile round trip) in 2006 as I struggled with a too-large-to-pass kidney stone.
Jim reminds me all the time of our first interaction. I showed up with Autumn Orange XX75 arrows when they were pretty new to the market. I declared to all in earshot that these new arrows were indestructable! They all got a pretty good laugh when on about target number 3 (corrugated cardboard black bear)I missed, hit a small tree and had three pieces of XX75.
Finally, a thought to keep in mind as you explain hunting to nonhunters. No matter how intimate a naturalist, photographer, writer, hiker, etc. might get with the outdoors, they are still A PART FROM nature. Where, as a hunter exercising innate predatory behavior we are A PART OF nature. I choose to be a part of nature as a hunter and am fine with those who would rather not be. Hunters have done more for the conservation of wildlife species and their habitat than any group of people on the planet, even if ours is a vested interest.
John, Here are a few links to some clubs just north of the border. I'm don't know what your budget is for this, but if you were able to afford it and they are close enough it would be money well spent.
http://www.kenoshabowmen.com/Membership.htm
http://www.waukeganbowmen.com/membership.htm
http://www.bigfootarchers.com/Current_Newsletter.html
John,
First off, I commend you for seeking a trad archery site for wanting to learn about hunting-hunting the hard way, but the best way. Most newcomers would probably want to get a rifle, shotgun, or compound bow and expect to get at least an 8 point in the first season (thanks to TV and magazines).
I taught myself to hunt when in the Army and have since taught about half a dozen co-workers to hunt.
My dad hunted when he was younger but we never went together until I took him out turkey hunting about 6 years ago. He goes every year with me. He doesn't hunt but sits in the blind and takes it all in.
Anyways, here's some suggestions:
-Hunt everything you can. I started with rabbits and a .22 (never got one), squirrels with a shotgun, deer, turkeys, ducks, pheasants. I say this because a lot of people want to start hunting and want to start with deer and expect to get one the first time out (like on TV). Some of my coworkers whom I've taught to hunt have only hunted deer with a shotgun and after not getting one the first season, or getting one the first time and never again, have given up. This is hunting, not killing. To me they are in it for the wrong reason.
Squirrels will teach you a lot about camo, movement and patience. Plus they frequent the same area as deer and you'll learn to differentiate between the two rustling in the leaves. Different animals sometimes require different techniques, but while hunting one you'll learn about others. For instance, maybe hunting squirrels you find a scrape or rub line to set up for deer. While hunting deer you find the trees the squirrels like. Hunting rabbits in a marsh you may find out the pheasants like the cover too.
-Don't expect success the first time out or every time out. By success I mean coming home with something you killed. I hunted for years and came home empty handed every time-and loved every stinking minute of it! I hunted 5 years before I got my first deer. I hunted several years before I got a squirrel. Each hunt is a learning experience. Each hunt is a chance to learn. Don't leave disappointed. It's the journey, not the destination. Today I sat in a stand for 2.5 hours in 17 degrees with a strong northwest wind and didn't see a deer. The highlight of the trip was watching a brown creeper, white breasted nuthatch and chickadee ten feet away in the neighboring oak tree. To some it doesn't seem like much, but to me it was awesome. Two days ago all I saw was a possum walk by down the trail. Made my day!
-Read all you can. A good series of books is "The Complete Hunter" series. They are hardcover, easy reads and cover all sorts of topics..deer, small game, field dressing, ducks, pheasants, etc. You can find them cheap (used) from on line sites.
-Bowfish in the summer. Stalking carp along backwaters will teach you patience and stalking techniques. Plus it's a ton o fun!
-As far as your friend and the deer incident, remember that we all make mistakes. I hate to see that too but maybe it was someone who hit it and just couldn't find it for one reason or other (happens to the best of us). Maybe the person that shot it was just as heart broken by not finding it. Just something to think about. I know I always first think it was some slob or poacher but who knows?
-It was said before but take the hunting safety classes. State one and National Bowhunter Education Foundation (NBEF). State one is required, NBEF required in some states. NBEF is cool because you'll work a mock blood trail and learn in person how to set up a tree stand and maneuver safely. I heard one course they actually field dressed a road killed deer! Try to sign up right away-they fill up fast (a good sign). You can do the on-line version and do the field day later or do the weekend course. Back in my day (as I age myself) we only had the weekend course. Good thing about the weekend/weekday course is you can ask questions in person and chew the fat during breaks too. Your friend sounds very nice, nice enough to go to the woods to support your hunting even though she's not 100 percent for hunting. Ask if maybe she'd like to take the class with you. Could change her mind about hunting. If not, it's still quality time together.
You're probably not too far from me. My buddy is still learning and itching to go out (he helped me hang a stand this week and it was the highlight of his week!). Illinois has an apprentice license where you don't need to take the safety course if you go with an apprentice.
Talk it over with your parents and if they approve let's go hunting!
We can try rabbits and squirrels in January or February. May not be much, maybe just a walk in the woods with bows, but a chance to get out and learn.
You all are sure putting alot on this guy just starting out.Join a bow club or hunt club. I'm sure someone will take you under their wing.I would.
Find a beautiful piece of woods. Walk Slooooooow. Take a couple of steps and then stand still for 10 minutes. repeat. Take all day to walk 300 yards. The woods will teach you all you need to know. Don't worry about killing anything. That all comes in time. First you need to learn to be a hunter. Those of us that have been at it for 40+ years are still learning. Welcome to the club :-)
originally posted by Bowwild:
Finally, a thought to keep in mind as you explain hunting to nonhunters. No matter how intimate a naturalist, photographer, writer, hiker, etc. might get with the outdoors, they are still A PART FROM nature. Where, as a hunter exercising innate predatory behavior we are A PART OF nature. I choose to be a part of nature as a hunter and am fine with those who would rather not be. Hunters have done more for the conservation of wildlife species and their habitat than any group of people on the planet, even if ours is a vested interest.
Bowwild, that is one of the most profound statements or descriptions of hunters as opposed to non-hunters I've ever read. I love that. How true it is. I've used thousands of words trying to explain essentially the same thing to people, and still didn't hit-the-mark the way you did in that one paragraph. Thank You, and Thanks for sharing that.
I agree...take a hunter safety course.
Getaccess to hunt somewhere and go to it. You will figure it out.
Remember, you don't have to kill one the first time out or the first year or two out.
Man I wish I was in your shoes actually....I cherish alll the memories of trial and error when I began.
Pronghorn, I may take you up on that offer! I have to talk it over with my parents, but hopefully that'll work out. My dad would probably have to come along with if that happens. If they give me the go-ahead, I'll PM you with more details.
Whip, thanks for the tip about the clubs just north of here; I'm heading up to Kenosha Bowmen on the 18th I think, permitting I have transportation to get there. Hopefully things work out so that I can become a member and be able to attend meetings regularly and find some folks there to talk to.
I'm going to keep shooting in my basement for the rest of the winter--I'm improving a little bit. I've found that every day, you get better a tiny amount, and you may not notice it from day to day or week to week, but if you practice at something enough you'll see rewards farther off. Patience, as many have said, is something that is needed above most other things.
As for getting out in the woods, it's getting more and more difficult to even see daylight when I'm outside during the week; I get up before it's light outside, go to school, go to work, and then when I get home it's dark again. On the weekends, though, I do usually have time that I can spend in the woods.
Thanks for the support, everyone, I'll be sure to keep you posted along the way with regards to the progress that I'm making.
Sounds good. Talk it over. We have some time. PM me if you or your parents want more info. I fully understand their concern.
Wow John! You build your own bows! I think the vast majority of guys here have never attempted to do that.
Like others' have said, this is a great place to hang out. Here you will learn....and will be able to use your acquired skills to eventually teach some other newcomer.
I would like to give you a word of caution....NEVER hunt alone. I nearly lost my younger brother a few years back. He fell out of his stand during an evening hunt and there was nobody out in the deep woods to help him. Find a buddy you can learn with and, like others have said, get out into the woods and absorb nature.
I grew up in Michigan and spent some time in the Wisconsin north woods as well. Great place to hunt Whitetails.....good luck!
Coming here was a god place to start.