All wisdom for a first hunt

[Reeveus]

Howdy everyone,

I am local to the Salt Lake area of Utah. Grew up with a survival instructor for a father, Kevin Reeve of OnPoint Tactical if anyone happens to be familiar, and was surrounded by what I would describe as akin-to-hunting culture. We did many things outdoors growing up including tracking, hiking, starting fires with flint and steel etc. However, I never went hunting with my dad while he was alive. Now I am at the point in life where I am looking to undertake a personal hobby I can do with my kids that also has a conservation and self-reliance aspect to it.

Coming in to the hunting world practically cold turkey is overwhelming. There are blogs and threads debating every aspect of every piece of equipment you could possibly buy and methods of hunting along with changes to application rules and laws governing harvests. I am in my third decade of life and I like to think that I can scour blogs and posts, and so on pretty well (also been religiously watching Randy Newberg and Steven Rinella content). The issue is at some point the nuance becomes so fine that I don't absorb what I am sure the experienced people are trying to share and I become lost.

Now to the ask: Given my novice level of wisdom regarding all things hunting (I guess except for the shooting and tracking aspects) I have compiled a list of several questions that I am still trying to figure out. They range from everything like, "Is it a dumb idea to go elk hunting alone" to "Can hunting big game reliably fill my freezer so I never have to buy beef again?"

I will list all of these questions out below for you leisure in responding. I realize that some things I am going to have to learn by hard experience, but if I can shorten that learning curve by having some answers to the questions then I will do that.

For context, I am planning on doing my first ever hunt in Utah this fall. It will be big game (elk).

1. I am the only one in my family who is interested in going hunting. Is it smart to do big game hunts alone? From a safety perspective and from a social perspective (Is it strange to do hunts solo)? Is it even possible to do big game hunts solo? (for example having to pack out an entire elk alone seems impossible.

2. A topic I have come across a lot is pre-season scouting. I have heard of GPS tools like OnX to help determine landownership boundaries but I also have read about the need to physically scout out the prospective areas. How do you balance these two? Obviously you can holistically do one without the other, but what other resources exist that could make these two aspects of scouting more efficient?

3.I will not be asking questions about what specific gear to buy, as I know opinions are as variable as the sea, so what I will ask instead is what kind of gear have you grown to rely on.
- Another way to break this question down is to ask what kinds of situations have you found yourself in wishing for (or being grateful for) a better quality ___. Was it a crappy knife that made butchering a pain? Was it a backpack that made packing out an animal so much easier?

4. Is overcrowding really as bad as people make it out to be? I hear public lands are the most frustrating to hunt because there is so much pressure. Is there any way to avoid this while in the planning stage of hunts?

5. How do you approach private landowners to ask about hunting? Is this something you do during the pre scouting phase or does it need to be a year in advance?

6. One of the reasons I wanted to get into hunting was from the conservationist mindset of "I will only eat the meat that I harvest." While it may be a noble principle, how realistic is it to have a stead supply of big game (or upland game) meat to feed myself and my family throughout the year? Will I more likely become a vegetarian if I am only hunting in Utah and neighboring states?

7. Is it worth it to do out of state hunts if you're on a budget? I imagine the out of state costs of applications, lodging, and travel on top of the logistics of getting a harvested animal home make it not as feasible for a young person without a lot of money to spend on it.

I will likely add more questions as time goes on but I do appreciate the help in advance.

Thank you kindly,

 

[Harvey_NW]

For context, I am planning on doing my first ever hunt in Utah this fall. It will be big game (elk).

I've never been to Utah, but I'll answer this as best I can from your perspective.

1. I am the only one in my family who is interested in going hunting. Is it smart to do big game hunts alone? From a safety perspective and from a social perspective (Is it strange to do hunts solo)? Is it even possible to do big game hunts solo? (for example having to pack out an entire elk alone seems impossible.

Lots of people solo hunt, I'm not one of them who enjoys it. You just need to have a plan. Either have someone on call that's willing to come help you pack, or know the limits of your physical fitness. If you end up heading out solo for elk, I would highly recommend familiarizing yourself with the gutless field processing method. If temps are higher I'll get the meat off the bone asap, otherwise get quarters in bags and in shade, by a creek, or under a tarp, and start making trips.

2. A topic I have come across a lot is pre-season scouting. I have heard of GPS tools like OnX to help determine landownership boundaries but I also have read about the need to physically scout out the prospective areas. How do you balance these two? Obviously you can holistically do one without the other, but what other resources exist that could make these two aspects of scouting more efficient?

I've hunted a lot of places that I wasn't able to step foot in until the hunt. Getting a physical lay of the land helps, but tools like OnX and Google Earth give you a pretty good idea of what to expect once you've done it a couple times. Look at harvest stats, and even call the biologists and talk with them. To me, pre-season scouting is more about making educated guesses based on the specifics of the entire situation. I try to figure out if they're resident to the area, or migratory, when they show up, how that correlates with the rut, what kind of predation is there, how much hunt pressure might be there, identify potential food and water sources in the area, etc. My tactics will change on the fly based on how they respond.

3.I will not be asking questions about what specific gear to buy, as I know opinions are as variable as the sea, so what I will ask instead is what kind of gear have you grown to rely on.
- Another way to break this question down is to ask what kinds of situations have you found yourself in wishing for (or being grateful for) a better quality ___. Was it a crappy knife that made butchering a pain? Was it a backpack that made packing out an animal so much easier?

Depends on what you're planning to do - if you're talking about "backcountry" hunting and backpacking, I would say clothing, backpack, and sleep system were the most impactful changes for me. I like Kuiu gear, Exo Mountain Gear packs, and a good insulated sleeping pad. I also take a legit thermarest pillow, screw that blow up nonsense.

4. Is overcrowding really as bad as people make it out to be? I hear public lands are the most frustrating to hunt because there is so much pressure. Is there any way to avoid this while in the planning stage of hunts?

A bit blown out of proportion, probably seems worse if you're not geared up and ambitious enough to get a few miles off the road.

5. How do you approach private landowners to ask about hunting? Is this something you do during the pre scouting phase or does it need to be a year in advance?

Never had it go well for me and didn't put much effort into it, but some people I know offer some sort of goods like smoked salmon when asking. Best of luck.

6. One of the reasons I wanted to get into hunting was from the conservationist mindset of "I will only eat the meat that I harvest." While it may be a noble principle, how realistic is it to have a stead supply of big game (or upland game) meat to feed myself and my family throughout the year? Will I more likely become a vegetarian if I am only hunting in Utah and neighboring states?

Depends on a couple things, but it can be done. My wife and I did it for years, but we put in a fair amount of time hunting and butcher everything ourselves. If you like steaks/chops and want to eat them regularly, you'll have to steak out some less than ideal cuts like top and bottom round, and sirloin tip. We butcher in priority of steaks/chops, a couple roasts, pan fryer medallions, stir fry/taco meat, then grind.

7. Is it worth it to do out of state hunts if you're on a budget? I imagine the out of state costs of applications, lodging, and travel on top of the logistics of getting a harvested animal home make it not as feasible for a young person without a lot of money to spend on it.

You'd probably be better off learning area close to you, and familiarizing yourself with the draw system of your state. Figure out how to apply for special tags and start building points. If you're really only concerned with meat, it might be worthwhile to look into neighboring states options for antlerless tags. There are some states where you can buy an OTC tag, or multiple, and go fill a truck bed full of does. The locals love it! LOL.

 

[kthomas]

I'm also a new solo hunter with no one around me that hunts, and perhaps my (very limited) insight can help you out, as I'm just slightly ahead of you on this journey. This year is my second year hunting, and I'm currently doing the work for my very first Coues hunt.

It's a lot to figure out in one go, with no real mentors. It totally feels overwhelming at first approach. These are some of the steps that have given me some confidence and has reduced some stress:

A. Learn your animal. Learn where they inhabit, and what their behaviors are. What elevation do they like to be at? What do they feed on? What is their range? Do they typically stay near a water source? What are signs of this animal that I should be looking for? What are their behaviors in the morning? Afternoon? Evening? Get a good general idea of your targeted species and its behavior.

B. Your Fish & Game could be a great resource. I'm in AZ, and they do a great job breaking down the game units and their respective species, and provides info on those individual species and general strategies for each game unit. This will give you a great starting point, and from here you can start to formulate a little bit of a plan on where to hunt.

C. Once you have established a general plan for where you want to hunt, you can start by doing some "e-scouting". On-X makes it easy, I use it in combination with google earth pro. This is where I will start looking at the terrain and start getting an understanding of it, before I even put boots on the ground. I'll be looking for things like access points - how do I get access to the land? Where are the roads going in and out of this area? What do the roads look like? Will they be passable for my vehicle? What the general land looks like - contours, elevation, water sources, general vegetation, etc. My goal here is to find out where I can drive to, what terrain features look like they will hold animals, and terrain features that I can get to (generally by hiking) to glass the terrain.

I like to come up with a plan on where I am going to drive to and park, where I think I would like to hunt, and identifying potential terrain features that will serve as glassing points - these will all be saved into On-X as waypoint markers that I can then go verify in the field.

D. Next up is going out and putting boots on the ground and do some actual scouting. While you can get a really good idea from satellite views what the terrain looks like (especially if you spend much time using satellite images previously), but nothing beats putting actual boots on the ground. Now is the time to really get familiar with the area. Assess access points, the terrain and how you can tackle it. Make sure you can get to the points you pre-planned out, and if not, time to re-assess and come up with a different plan. I just went scouting an area for the first time yesterday after doing some e-scouting, and my own plan has been modified based on what I saw in person.

Steps C & D are a bit of an iterative process. I will be going scouting again a couple of more times before my actual hunt begins. I will also do more e-scouting between scouts to further research the area. My goals going forward are to evaluate the new plan and test it out (go down hiking in where I think I want to hunt), and to identify locations of the bucks I want to hunt. Coues live and die within a ~1 mile range their entire lives, so identifying where animals are will be key for me.

E. Then comes time for the hunt. This is where I put the above all to practice to hopefully tag out. The idea of the above is to make the actual hunt less stressful, and hopefully more productive. You already have a plan in place, its now time to execute. The animals just need to do their part and show up for you!

Hopefully this helps, from one solo FNG to another one

My first hunt 2 years ago was a bit stressful, because I didn't do any of the above and felt completely unprepared. That induced a lot of unnecessary stress. I also wasn't successful. This year is a lot different, and I already feel much more comfortable and prepared. Come time to hunt, all I will need to do is execute on my plan and hope the animals cooperate.

Edit to add: I purposely went A to E, as I wasn't trying to answer all of your numerical questions. I wanted to provide my own input as a new solo hunter, to share what I've learned.

 

[elkliver]

1. A lot of us enjoy hunting alone but as a new hunter, you really want to find someone to go with you. Yes, there are safety issues but all of those can be dealt with in some manner. sat phone, Garmin in reach, etc. If you have never butchered an elk by yourself, i think it will be hard for you to understand the work involved. I hunt alone a lot and can tell you that once i have an elk down... id really love to have someone with me. Late hunt, you have more time to play with but if its warm, the clock is ticking

2. Google scouting is great but not the same as boots on the ground. IF you live a long ways away, there is no way to help it and you will learn as you go. Once you have put boots on the ground, your future google scouting will be better. It can be a great area, and the elk just aren't there. but a 2 mile move could have a huge herd.

3. Sounds like you have a background that involved camping/survival training. Use what you know there. Do not fall into the marketing trap where you have to buy all special equipment in order to hunt. Good back country gear(stove, pack, boots, clothes, etc) is fine. Just go hunt. I'll tell you a secret, it doesn't have to be camo! I'm sure you already know this but avoid cotton. I also avoid Nylon from a noise perspective. Wool and fleece are your friends. as to the hunting specific gear, like a knife... go with quality. a benchmade with a 4-5 inch blade will do you wonders. For the rest.... Ignore all the Youtube personalities. Not that they are wrong, but they also have access to every gear option you could think of. Its not needed. When you get more experience, you will know what to upgrade. Some of the best cold weather hunting pants in the world, are army surplus wool pants. Used to be under 20 dollars Hard to find them now.

4. It can be, yes! avoid the well used trail head and move if needed. That is part of what you will learn with experience. If it looks like a great place to hunt, everyone else will think so also.

5. Thats a tough one and hard to do from afar. If you have a meat tag(Cow, Doe, etc) its possible but a good topic to talk over with fish and game. In some states, there are access programs. if its a Bull or buck tag... 95% not going to happen unless you know someone. As mentioned, Salmon or Crab or other trading goods is a good place to start the conversation. meet them first.... dont jump right to the ask. Can you imagine meeting a stranger for the first time on the sidewalk outside your home and them asking to sleep in your backyard?

6. Possible but you need to think about what you are hunting. Cow tags, Doe tags, either sex tags will all put meat in the freezer. Then there is bird hunting, fishing, etc,. I've gone on streaks where i have eaten almost straight wild game or other forage. Yes, you can put a lot of meat n the freezer but if you think you are going to draw a bull elk tag every year and put an elk in the freezer... You will have a rude awakening

7. For me, yes on the out of state hunts. I love to hunt and if i don't draw a tag, i really want to have additional options. You could Cow hunt in Colorado for a reasonable price and see what you draw in Utah.

 

[EastHumboldt]

Get a rifle (or bow) and go out in the woods. Be careful not to shoot anybody. Don’t expect to be successful right away and don’t put a lot of pressure on yourself. This is how I started all by myself in 1988. Like you I asked a lot of questions and read a lot, but there’s no substitute for experience.

If you’ve done solo time in the back country, a solo deer hunt is more doable. If you haven’t done solo time. Do that before you make a hunt. Some people can’t take the isolation, some just don’t think it’s fun to be alone for long stretches. Maybe you can find a friend who doesn’t care about hunting but wants to go along just for the back country time. There’s a forum on here for meeting up with fellow hunters. It’s the Rokslide rally point.

I would not recommend a solo elk hunt as your first one, unless it’s a truck hunt. Just breaking an elk down is daunting enough, let alone packing it out by yourself. If you are an absolute animal capable of carrying 100 lbs it’s still 3-4 trips and you can’t leave the meat laying around for days on end. During hunting season most elk don’t hang out near the road. A good sized muley can yield 80 lbs or more of boned out meat so even that is a serious project by yourself. Have a detailed plan for dealing with the meat when you get out of the woods. See if you can find some hunters who will let you help with butchering and wrapping, so you can learn that beforehand, unless you plan to hire that out.

I’m not trying at all to discourage you. Just being realistic.

Wherever you hunt, spend twice as much time with binos glued to your face as you do walking. Get up high early in the morning. Sit down and look around with your binos. When you get bored look some more. Patience and observation are your friends. Be quiet and if you move try to stay in the shadows or cover. Pay attention to the wind. They see pretty well, but they hear and smell even better.

With your background you probably know this part already. The weather in the high places where deer and elk live can kill you in a few hours. Be prepared for it.

You don’t need a 4000 dollar rifle and scope, you can kill game with a 500 dollar savage combo. you do need to practice a lot and become proficient with your rig and be realistic about your max range. Mine was about 250 yards for years, and I got very good at stalking so most years I would fill my tag even with what is now considered a very short max range.

I hunt for the fun of it and consider the meat an added benefit. If someone is just in it for the meat, they have to be lucky enough to live right in the middle of deer city. Like you live on a ranch and you know exactly where the bucks and bulls hang, and you can just drive over there and get one Saturday before lunch. Otherwise, By the time you get all the gear, fuel, tags etc…. It’s probably close to the cost of 1/2 a steer. Those who say otherwise probably can’t add. What I’m saying is you can’t count on it to pay for itself in meat.

Go get em. Have fun. Good luck.

 

[Wolfshead]

I’ll add my two cents here.
Note, I have not read any of the other post to this as I want it to be from me and not influenced by others.

I am a late onset hunter starting at the age of 51-52ish? And coming from a family that didn’t hunt while I was growing up.

Number one: it is fine to hunt by yourself. However I hunt whitetail deer and not Elk. I also have a few people who I can usually call if I need help in any way. This question is going to depend on your situation, actually hunt, to hunt.

Number two: Nothing beats boots on the ground in the areas you would like to hunt. With OnX you can scout from home to a certain extent, but you’ll never really know until you get there. I always cyber scout areas I feel will hold the game I’m searching for and either preseason scout or scout my way in. I’ve found a couple of good spots heading to where I thought might hold deer. I’ve also gotten to a spot, and while checking the wind had a big animal bust out of a swamp bed. I didn’t see the animal, but it sure sounded like I spooked a large deer. I found the spot cyber scouting and scouted my way in.

Number three: you are correct, gear is personal. I’ve tried a lot of packs and waist packs and no packs….
I think in that regard comfort is key.
I look at it in terms of being prepared to spend a night in the woods.
In mine, as I hunt sometimes alone.
I have a knife on my belt, and one in my pack.
I have two ways to start a fire.
I have some 550 cord.
A couple of plastic storage bags, for heart liver, also could be used to collect water….
A big contractor’s bag and/or a space blanket.
A compass
That is pretty much what I start with….

Number four: Again depending where you are. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. One thing I think that helps me is being first to get there and last to leave.
Not always first, and not always last. Getting up early, and getting there before first light. I like to be walking in or almost to where I’m heading when first light begins.
With deer dusk is a great time, so many times I’m walking out in the dark.

Number five:
I place a hand written note in their mailbox with my name, address, phone number, and email address on it.
“My name is Wolfshead,
I am an avid (bow, crossbow, gun) hunter who enjoys the outdoors and hunting Whitetail Deer.
I am writing to you to ask permission to hunt on your property.
I am the only one who would be hunting here (or I also hunt with my Brother/In-law) with your permission.
Most of the time you would never know I was here, if granted permission.
I would never change anything on your land without your permission or consent.
I am also willing to share my harvest with you or help with any needed chores in return for permission.
If you’re open to having a conversation please contact me at the addresses provided.
If I don’t hear from you by….. then I will assume you’re not interested.
Thank you for your time and consideration!”

Number six: not sure about what Utah has to offer, but there have been years when I did not make a harvest, and years when I’ve made multiple. It not necessarily a sure thing.

Number seven: I think you’ve answered that question yourself.

Hope this helps and best wishes!