Would like to deer hunt someday... but need advice

[SC4006]

Hey im obviously new to thefiringline, so as my first post I would like to ask a question that i've always wanted to ask more experienced hunters. I am currently 18, and someday i'd like to go deer hunting, when I get the proper rifle to do so. From what i've heard, it seems pretty fun... but at the same time I have a little too much sympathy for animals I guess. My grandfather always told me that its actually better for the deer to kill it, because otherwise it could likely starve to death during the NH winters. I am not sure how true this is, but could somebody give me some reasons why its good to hunt deer, so I can feel a little better if I ever went hunting maybe? Thanks

[10Ringmagic]

They are very tasty!

[JerryM]

Sorry I cannot answer your question. Hunting was something that was in my "blood." I enjoyed the scouting, hunting and eating of the meat, plus the outdoors.

If I had felt as you do I would not have hunted, and maybe you shouldn't also. In today's environment there are few places in the US where deer are so plentiful on public land that they need to be thinned by hunters. There are always enough hunters that like to hunt so that you need not concern yourself that you have a duty to do it.However, if there are some places that might help you, but if you don't want to kill an animal then choose another sport.

Jerry

[Art Eatman]

Even if you don't shoot, it's fun to learn how to go out and play with Bambi. Remember, he practices being a deer for 365 days a year. He's pretty good at it. My favorite game was finding the biggest buck in the pasture. That means you have to find and look over a bunch of deer--who aren't interested at all in ensuring your success. So, then, having identified the biggest buck, if you want to go to eating him, ya gotta find him a second time.

Most really-shootable bucks figure that having been seen once is once too many times. Finding Ol' Bucky the second time is what proves out a hunter.

There are lots of little tricks to watching wildlife besides just sitting and imitating a stump--which for some folks isn't all that easy itself. Sneaky-snake walking hunting, still hunting as some call it, means learning how to walk silently. How to sorta flow, rather than march. You get to where you can ease up fairly close to any wild animal, humans don't stand a chance. :D

Heck, you can always hunt with a camera. It takes just as much skill--or maybe more--than heading out to shoot something.

[JerryM]

[Heck, you can always hunt with a camera. It takes just as much skill--or maybe more--than heading out to shoot something.]

Excellent suggestion. It gives you the outdoor and hunting experience without shooting a deer.

Jerry

[SC4006]

Thanks for the replies guys. The sport of hunting does seem quite intriguing, but I guess its not for everyone. I'll still think about it someday, but for now I guess i'll just keep to having fun target shooting and plinking, something I love doing.

[warbirdlover]

To overcome my early reluctance to shoot a deer I decided to use enough gun to kill it very quickly and humanely. I've found a .300 Win Mag and a .270 Win kills them instantly and they don't know what hit them.

The TV shows all show them running off after the shot. I NEVER find this to happen. Mine have always dropped on the spot. And I've shot dozens and dozens of deer. Of course I always hit them in the lungs/heart or sometimes the neck if that's the only shot I have.

Just a thought for you.

[doofus47]

welcome aboard.
+1 on the camera angle. There are many times while scouting that I wish I had brought a camera with me.
Later on, if you get hungry, you can cut out the middle men and join the food chain directly by bringing your rifle or bow.

[Art Eatman]

Always remember that only the hunter or the gardener provides his own food. Everybody else hires somebody to do the scut work for them--even the hunter when he goes to the grocery.

I note in passing that Texas juries have been harsher on the person who hires a murderer than they are on the guy who actually did the shooting. It's a moral thing. :) Do-it-yourselfers are of higher moral value. I guess wrt hunting it's a self-sufficiency thing.

[1tfl]

There is difference between harvesting, killing and hunting an animal.

One early morning couple months ago my neighbor saw a hog in the back part of his property and he was running low on meat so he got his rifle and went out to the 2nd floor porch and shot the hog while still in his pajamas. He harvested that animal for meat. There was no sports to it, just harvesting some animal for meat just like going to supermarket or out to the corn field to pick some corn for dinner.

Couple miles north of me is a farmer who's crop occasionally gets destroyed by hogs. Couple times a year he will set up on his field at night and shoot as many hogs as possible. Not unusual for him to kill a dozen hogs in single night.

I guess if you never hunted you couldn't understand the "sport" of hunting.
There is a lot more to hunting sport than pulling the trigger and killing an animal. Actually the killing the game is very small part of hunting. The thrill comes from learning and understanding your game and the field, learning to master your weapon of choice and respecting the animal you kill and eat. For me, the stalking and getting the animal within your kill sight is the best part of the sport. And as we say around here, the real work comes after your animal is killed when you have to haul him out and skin, gut and process the meat.

Also, it's okay to go hunt and not pull the trigger. Some of my best hunts were with young kids who couldn't sit still and stay quiet for more than 5 minutes. We may not get a shot but those kids have the best time in the world and will remember the hunt for many years.

[PawPaw]

It's the shots I didn't take that I remember the most. Not for the sense of loss but for the sense of wonder that I made the decision to not take the shot. For me, the hunt is over once the crosshairs settle on the animal. I could just as easily be clicking a shutter as tripping a sear.

That said, there is all kinds of hunting. We've got a rule (for example) on our lease that all feral hogs are to be shot on sight, even if it ruins your hunting for the day. I don't consider shooting hogs to be hunting, even though hogs may well be the smartest animals in the timber. Hogs are something we deal with, not hunt for sport.

[dieselbeef]

after ya kill it..ya gotta clean and process it...why i dont hunt anymore...lazy

[Tickling]

In today's environment there are few places in the US where deer are so plentiful on public land that they need to be thinned by hunters.

I wish some of you hunters would visit my neck of the woods here in Oregon.. I can count (no exaggeration) at least 50-80 deer, solitary males or in pairs and herds of does 3-10 in each. And that's just on the two mile county road I drive to work on each morning!

If you need some reasons to shoot them.. Around here they cause (again on my two mile county road) at least an accident a week. Which has led my deer-loving neighbors petitioning the city to erect stop signs at every driveway.. And now they're trying to have speed-bumps added.. To save the deer :rolleyes:

Of course these same neighbors feed them too.. Even though these deer will eat every green thing in your yard. They're horrible pests.

[Pahoo]

You want us to tell you why you should shoot an animal and feel good about it. .... ;)
No one but you can make that measure. I can't say that I ever feel good about any kill. Instead there is a feeling of satisfaction that I have done my best on a particular hunt. If I broke it down to the kill level and it's success, I would have hung it up a long time ago.

By my measure, hunting is not a "sport" instead, it's a way of life. It's a total picture of preperation, learning outdoor and shooting skills. Knowing abut the game you hunt, cleaning and cooking. It's also about demonstrating responsible and ethical hunting.

I teach Hunter Safety for the state, mostly at the M/L station. I also teach hunting ethics. I don't promote hunting nor glorify firearms. Some students are surprised when I tell them that they don't have to kill animals nor shoot any firearm. But if you do, then do it in a responsible manner. ... :)

It's private, personal and entirely your call .... :D

Be Safe !!!

[oneounceload]

[Heck, you can always hunt with a camera. It takes just as much skill--or maybe more--than heading out to shoot something.]

Excellent suggestion. It gives you the outdoor and hunting experience without shooting a deer.

And it can be done year-round!

Remember - there is a difference between "hunting" and "killing", just like there is a difference between "fishing" and "catching"

The "hunt" is the prelude to the killing part, one being successful at the first part does not guarantee or even mean you get to do the second part. There are many times I have passed on taking a shot because the situation wasn't right.

I also learned hunting out West, so to ME, "hunting" means actually going after the animal in their backyard, tracking them, spotting and stalking, and trying to get within range for a shot - not sitting in a tree waiting for them to come to some bait plot of food I planted - yes it's legal in a lot of states, and yes I'll catch flack for saying it, but to me - sitting in a tree is "deer waiting", there is no hunting as you are not involved in "fair chase" JMO,YMMV

[buck460XVR]

SC4006...I believe in NH, before you can buy a hunting license, you must take a hunter education course. This course not only teaches gun/firearm safety, but also hunting tactics, hunter ethics, Wildlife management, game recovery and care. This would be a good place to get some of the answers to your questions along with some hands on experience. It also would be a good place to find out if there are any new hunter mentoring programs in your area. Not only for deer, but for turkey and small game. Many states give youth and first time adult hunters special seasons and or tags, and private organizations like Whitetails Forever and the NWTF have experienced hunters that get as much thrill outta mentoring a new hunter on their first hunt as hunting themselves. The hunting of small game and turkey in many ways is similar to hunting deer and many times just as exciting and gratifying.

[Jack O'Conner]

Here is a good book to get you started:

MODERN Hunting with Indian Secrets. Try amazon.

Jack

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c146/rushmoreman/survivalbooks.jpg

[gaseousclay]

Hey im obviously new to thefiringline, so as my first post I would like to ask a question that i've always wanted to ask more experienced hunters. I am currently 18, and someday i'd like to go deer hunting, when I get the proper rifle to do so. From what i've heard, it seems pretty fun... but at the same time I have a little too much sympathy for animals I guess. My grandfather always told me that its actually better for the deer to kill it, because otherwise it could likely starve to death during the NH winters. I am not sure how true this is, but could somebody give me some reasons why its good to hunt deer, so I can feel a little better if I ever went hunting maybe? Thanks

what your grandfather said is partly true. deer hunting is necessary to prevent overpopulation. when overpopulation occurs, resources become more scarce and then starvation sets in. hunting helps keep a healthy balance. I don't know if you've taken a firearms safety course through your local DNR but I would recommend it as you'll learn not only about firearm safety but about conservation which is what hunting is really about.

as for having sympathy for animals, it's understandable. My interest in guns and hunting started two years ago. I read up on it, bought a rifle, took my firearms safety course through the DNR and I still haven't gone hunting yet. I ask myself the same question - do I have it in me to kill a deer? the answer, yes. why? the first being that hunting does seem like fun. second, hunting is about being in the outdoors for me and not about whether or not you take a deer. with that said, I would only hunt for the meat and likely share it with friends and family, or donate it to a food shelf. I know i'll probably be a nervous wreck my first time out but don't let the killing part get to you. so long as you take the deer quickly and humanely then you're doing no wrong imo

[fatwhiteboy]

The best place to learn how to shoot and live in the woods is to join the military. Enlist in the Army, go infantry. If you find that you like it, you can go to Airborne School and if you really like it, you can go to Ranger school. It will teach you discipline, self-respect and leadership. These are traits that will help you in the future. You don't have to make a career out of it but it is there if you want it. Marines are good working in the woods, as are some jobs in the Air Force.

[Art Eatman]

I grew up shooting rifles, from around age seven. I just took it for granted that I was supposed to make one-shot kills. And, truth be told, I have a rather high "batting average" at it.

For me, one part of the joy of hunting is finding a good buck, outwitting him, maybe. Learn enough about deer so I can figure out where Ol' Bucky is most likely bedded down, or what trail he's likely to use in his wandering from here to there.

Or maybe kick him out of bed, mid-day, look him over, and kill him. The drawback, then, for a lazy fella is that the fun is over and the work begins. However, that work leads to some good-tasting meat.

So, all in all, I feel good when I shoot. I've done all the intellectual stuff about finding Bambi, and the physical stuff about proper sight picture and precise shot placement. Bang, whop, plop. What's not to like?

[Mr Lucky]

Most states have Departments of Conservation that conduct Free seminars for hunters. Missouri has such a program. It is a day long program and it's actually required for all young hunters that have not been otherwise certified.

The National Shooting Sports foundation is a great resource you can use to find out how to contact your state conservation department, find places where you can hunt and what can be taken at different times of the year.

Here is a link to the site: http://nssf.org/

I might suggest you first attend a basic hunter safety training seminar, buy a suitable rifle and then spend time in the woods or bush hunting small game. They are more plentiful and a good way to practice and see if you like hunting. You are not going to eat what you take then it would be best just to find a rifle range where you can still have fun plinking.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

Hunting: Urge came natural to me. Father, Brothers, Uncles, Friends and neighbors all hunted. Growing up on a farm you learn early how to hunt and shoot. To deer hunt with the rest of the family & neighbors. I considered it a privilege to hang with the "Old Guys" and accept some teasing and given the chance got my licks in too. For me it was a challenge at times having to keep up with those experienced older hunters sure-footedness back in the woods. Their all gone now.
Since those memorable times. I've only harvested for nourishment. Never for wanton waste. Enjoy the Great Outdoors with all it can provide SC4006. See why many of us hunters look forward to hunting seasons from one year to the next. That yearning you have to hunt. Take advantage of that Gift latter this Fall. You may be disappointed a little not getting a deer every now and then. But never Sorry for spending your time out in those beautiful NH woods of yours. Happy Hunting Partner.

[gun nut]

When I hunt deer it's more for population control. The meat always ends up with a home so it's not wasted. I still like hunting for most critters, but for me the excitement of deer hunting (deer shooting) is gone.

[a7mmnut]

Welcome. My suggestion is simply read and learn all you can about anything you love. Here is an excellent article that gives you a good place to start:

http://charliealsheimer.com/ca/articles/5stages.html

Deer and Deer Hunting magazine ia also great reading for the hunter in all of us.;)

-7-

[Edward429451]

If you need a pragmatic reason to hunt Bambi, go price good steaks in your grocery store. Then think about that Deer meat is 10X better than chem-cow meat.

Then there is the hunt. I prolly hunted 10 years before I got a good shot, and yet...all of those hunts were successful. Just being in the outdoors and learning sign, and how to walk quietly, how to sit quietly. Being with friends and enjoying the experience camping. Listening to the wind blow through the pine trees. All of this makes the hunt successful because it is a very positive experience.

Then suddenly there it is before you. Just like taking a picture. Yeah, then the work starts but it's great! You don't know fun until you've been elbow deep in blood and guts. Skinning it, butchering it, wrapping it. Good skills to know, and a lot of pride upon accomplishment. Then you have a great hunt story too. I took my first two deer with homemade cast boolit handloads, that was super cool.

It's part of the circle of life. We are meat eaters, even the Bible says have dominion over the animals. You help the chain by hunting. The coyotes get to eat, the herd is managed, your family gets to eat, your price on Jerky goes down, the States conservation program gets helped and supported. It's really win-win-win when you hunt.

[BIG P]

Hunting doesnt mean killing,I've went hunting with men that went 5 or 6 years without taking a deer,Some go to camp or cook or even just to hang around in the woods with friends.There is a lot more to hunting than just killing,I've been hunting about 30 years have no problem killing deer.

Because My family & myself have been blessed with having deer on our table for years & hunting is part of that blessing.

[Trockstroh]

I had the same issue myself, And i got over it by not wasting it. By this i mean that if I shot a deer I made sure that its life did not go to waste meaning I used as much as I could as food and the rest I buried to go back into the Cycle of life. This way its life had a purpose.

[Wyoredman]

Hunters are the original conservationists. It was hunters who lobbied their local governments to establish hunting seasons and charge for licenses so States could begin management of the dwindeling game herds in the early 1900's. Hunters also lobbied congress to have an excisze tax (Pittman-Robertson, Dingle-Johnson) placed on all hunting and fishing gear. The tax is used for habitat improvement and game management.

In the early 1900's the game herds in the US were almost wiped out, and without the sport hunters, we may not have any game today. So, to ease your mind about "killing" a deer, just remember that by becoming a hunter you are doing more for wildlife conservation and habitat thatn any non-hunter ever does.

I hope you realize your dream and get to harvest a nice deer some day!

[dayman]

Your grandfather was right that - if not properly managed - deer do wind up either starving or getting sick enough that the coyotes can catch them.

However - as hunters - I think it's important that we do remember we're killing another living thing. So IMHO it's a good thing you're worried about killing the deer.
Liking deer, and taking killing them seriously, is what makes you only take clean shots, and what makes you use as much of the remains as possible.

I'd also say that hunting with a camera is nearly as much fun as with a bow or rifle. Plus, there aren't season restrictions on camera hunting.
But, if you like spending time in the woods, nothing makes you feel as connected as making the switch from "observer" to "active member" of the food chain.

[ZeroJunk]

I love to deer hunt and go 50 or 60 days a year. It is not uncommon to get within a chip shot of some fair bucks and umteen doe.

But, I rarely shoot one.

Nothing says you have to shoot the first one you see or any of them if you don't feel like it.

Just enjoy the outdoors and the challenge of getting close if that is your thing.

Hunting is not the same deal for eveybody.

[Nathan]

Look in the mirror. Can you see yourself? Can you see your ears? If you can, you are a predator. Predators hunt for food.

Ask a deer the same question...they have wider fields of vision and hearing for protection. They eat things they don't attack.

Last, grandpa was right. The state owns the animals. Hunting is the state's primary control method to avoid mass starvation in winter or from disease.

....and they taste good. As a kid, we ate a minimum of 4 deer and 4 antelope every year after I got my license. Tried for Elk too. If we got an elk, we might donate the antelope to the shelter. I was raised in MT, so YMMV.

[sc928porsche]

My advice to you is to go complete your hunter/safety course. You will need it anyway in order to get a hunting license. Once you have completed that, you will have a better idea of what type of rifle you want. Next step is to go out to a shooting range with your 22lr (yes, great training device) and while you are practicing your skills, ask politely when you see someone firing a rifle that you are interested in, if you could take a shot or two. This will narrow your choices to get something that you will want to hunt with.

Good luck and welcome to both the forum and to the hunting clan.

[Mayor Al]

While I agree with the guys who do hunt for the "SPORT" and the results, I tend to focus on the "Results" for my taking the time and expense to actually go out to 'Hunt'. We do use the meat from those critters we kill for our family food. We hunt deer and Hogs. We may go after some turkeys locally next year, but I am not sure about them.

My mobility has dropped a lot lately, so we use blinds and feeders to draw in the critters, and minimize the moving around that has become a real issue for me. So far we have done ok as far as the end result of a hunting trip would be. We have yet to be 'skunked' for either deer or hogs.

We do shoot crow and coyote, but to preserve our gardens and pets, not for food. No guilt watching a fruit stealing crow spin and crash after a good dose of shotgun pellets.

[Shell'sButt]

My advise to you is go along on a few hunts with family or people you know. If you are like one of my many friends who can not stand the sight of animals being killed or just plain injured, hunting might not be the best thing for you.

I'm not trying to discourage you from doing something new, and I am not trying to imply that you are not fit for hunting. I'm saying that you have a big heart for all creatures. I am the same way with coyotes. They remind me too much of my dog.

I hope you take hunting on, for it is a great sport that i have enjoyed for 16 years. Good Luck!!!

[johnwilliamson062]

My grandfather always told me that its actually better for the deer to kill it, because otherwise it could likely starve to death during the NH winters.
This isn't true. As far as i know this has not been true since land was commercially cultivated in the US(100+ years).

In today's environment there are few places in the US where deer are so plentiful on public land that they need to be thinned by hunters.
At least in my region deer are near their peak if not at it. I have read that in all of the US there are more deer now than before Europeans arrived by a large margin. In Ohio the state patrol says cars hit about twice as many deer as tags are filled. State farm claimed they have 4X the number of deer hit claims a few years ago though and that is only one insurance company. If the numbers state farm gave for hits are close to true then hunting hardly makes a dent in the population. Around me enough soybeans and field corn end up on the ground that deer don't come close to starving.

There are always enough hunters that like to hunt so that you need not concern yourself that you have a duty to do it.
Enough hunters or not, you certainly don't have a duty.


The TV shows all show them running off after the shot. I NEVER find this to happen. Mine have always dropped on the spot. And I've shot dozens and dozens of deer. Of course I always hit them in the lungs/heart or sometimes the neck if that's the only shot I have.
I have only shot a few deer and been present for a few more. None of them fell over dead. Even a double lung with damage to the heart results in the deer running 50-100 yards or so before collapsing. I do not use a 300 win mag though. I use a 12g and muzzle loader. Deer run fast, so the 50 yards is only a few seconds.

go price good steaks in your grocery store. Then think about that Deer meat is 10X better than chem-cow meat.
Ohio has pretty tough laws on selling game meat. The only place I can legally purchase venison they want $20 a pound! You are getting organic free range red meat and if you process yourself and use cheap equipment, even the first deer will cost you less than $5 a pound.

I also recommend if you have an interest get out in the woods. Do some scouting. See if you can track a little bit. Look for sign. Unless you are with people who are driving or set you up in a good spot you probably won't even get a decent shot at a deer your first year. I think someone here once said they went five years without getting anywhere close before things clicked. DON'T get someone else to take you out hinting until you are ready unless they know you aren't going to shoot. With my group of buddies, if we have a new hunter, we put them in the best spots and we drive the deer to them until they get a deer. If you aren't ready to shoot, then don't waste this effort & opportunities. Some hunters I know don't buy any red meat and if they don't get a deer or two their family is honestly going to take a nutritional dive over the next year.

[MikeGunz]

What part of nh you live? If in southern NH you cant even use a rifle. Limited to shotguns, muzzle loader, and archery. I just started hunting this spring and love it. For me its fun even if I don't see what im hunting. Its about being enjoying the outdoors in my opinion. ALso you will need to get your hunter course certification to get a NH hunting license.

Oh, and reasons for hunting deer is mainly population control. The fish and game is actually allowing hunters to buy 2 more tags to take deer this year because of the high populations right now. If they werent harvested run ins with cars would sky rocket and they would over populate and starve. Hunting the deer is for their own good in a twisted sort of way hah

[L_Killkenny]

Sorry to say the OP is another product of the backwards thinking that our schools and media outlets are cramming down our throats. A deer is not a man. While I'm not out to torture a critter I give killing a deer no more thought than killing a coyote or a cockroach for that matter. I'm a hunter and part of hunting is killin. I'll grin from ear to ear, give get a few high fives and pose for a bunch of pictures without one iota of remorse. That's what we are, I'll save my emotions for family and friends. Bambi was a cartoon character. Critters don't think like us and have no self awareness. After the shot they don't think "Geez, I've been shot" or realize they are dieing and cry for mother.

As for hunters actually lessening the suffering of critters that's a big "heck yes". Disease and starvation is much worse than getting shot and I've seen whole populations of critters in an area suffer from those things. Not pretty. The anti hunters around what you to believe that Bambi did just fine before we were here and they'd do just as well now that we are here. Wrong. You let deer, coyotes, coon etc run around unchecked and their suffering would be 100 times worse than sending the worst, slob hunters in the U.S. after them.
If you need a pragmatic reason to hunt Bambi, go price good steaks in your grocery store. Then think about that Deer meat is 10X better than chem-cow meat.


Hate to tell you this but for 99.9% of the population hunting and fishing is much more costly than going to the store. That and I prefer beef and pork by a wide margin.

[Edward429451]

Sometimes I forget how good I've got it here. The only extra money it takes me to hunt is for the tag and gas. Foods not extra, I'd have to eat if I was at home. I load my ammo. I sleep in a tent.

There's no accounting for personal taste. I like a good steak, and pork but there's no possible way (to me) that beef is better than Deer or Elk meat. If you like beef & pork better by a wide margin, it makes me wonder if the wild game you ate wasn't mishandled in some way.