Did any of you guys go directly into big game hunting as opposed to small game hunting first?

[mi650]

I started deer hunting at 14 for a couple years, then took several years off for a variety of reasons. Picked it back up at 23, never hunted any kinds of small game until I was 25 or 26.


I read an article once called "Basic Training on Bushytails". It made sense, basic premise was that if you can sit still enough to pick off squirrels with a .22, you can sit still enough for deer.

 

[Cameron.25]

I started with big game and have stuck to that so far. No small game or birds for me, except one turkey and a couple grouse i came across elk hunting

 

[MDR]

Grouse were my gateway drug.

 

[Rotnguns]

It seems like a natural path to start small -literally- and then graduate to big game once you have the basics of hunting under your belt.

How many of you actually hunted big game as your first experience? If you did start out hunting big game, did you hunt small game later on? In hindsight, would you recommend folks do start out with small game animals first?

I believe in going the small game route first for a number of reasons - the least of which is it’s usually easier to find land to do so and if you’re successful it’s not overwhelming field dressing the small game.

For me, rabbits and quail first. Very good way to teach kids about muzzle control and overall gun safety, along with a greater likelihood of quickly bringing game to bag. Then deer, bear, and elk with centerfire rifles.

 

[SloppyJ]

I'd imagine if you grew up hunting, you started with small game. If you're a late onset hunter, you likely started with big game.

First thing I ever shot by myself was a squirrel. Then game birds, then deer.

 

[MJB]

Started with predators then, deer, turkey, squirrels, bear, rabbits, dove, quail, elk, pheasant, antelope, Africa BG, pigs.

I'm missing Mt. goat, grizz, moose, bison, and some more African BG and maybe a BH sheep if I can draw a tag one day.

Bottom line
........welcome and go hunt anything you can!

Even dove which isn't hunting it's shooting!!!!

Insert picture

 

[JerkyFreak]

Where do small game end and big game start?

If pigeons are small game, shooting them with an airrifle to protect your dog's food is probably a good start. Also, sitting and waiting for the mice that want to steal dog food is probably also good practice.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Where do small game end and big game start?

If pigeons are small game, shooting them with an airrifle to protect your dog's food is probably a good start. Also, sitting and waiting for the mice that want to steal dog food is probably also good practice.

For me the line is coyote and under are small game. Everything above that is big game…

 

[Rich M]

Starting off with small game allows a lot of the groundwork to be laid for big game. You learn safety, tracking, etc. Usually are coached on proper behavior and stuff like that. I was hunting rabbits before i was 5, then into upland birds and into deer by age of 8 or 9. Dad would leave in one direction and I would go in another.

Not saying you can't learn that stuff hunting big game as a kid, just easier and more fun for most kids and newbies with small game.

 

[CMP70306]

Did one pheasant hunt, then immediately went to deer. I think I’ve hunted pheasants a total of 3 times. Never hunted “small game” unless it was opportunistic, such as a coyote coming out on an elk hunt. I have zero interest in small game whatsoever, so it doesn’t bother me that I’ve never really done it.

I don’t think there’s any such thing as a “logical progression” with first game hunt size. If a kid lives in Alaska and his first kill ends up being a moose then good for him, same if it’s a kid down south hunting squirrels or rabbits.

I also think there’s something to be said for getting a kid or a new hunter out for something that actually interests them. If a guy has a dream to do nothing but hunt elk and that’s what he really wants, I see zero logical reasoning behind “ok well first you need your squirrel badge, then your rabbit badge, then your fox and coyote badge, then turkey, then whitetail, then mule deer, and THEN you can hunt elk.” It could potentially do nothing but drive them out of the sport from boredom.

I think the “logical progression” stems from the fact that back in the day you couldn’t get a hunting license until you were 12 which meant you didn’t get tags for big game until you were 12. Small game however was plentiful, had liberal bag limits, no tag requirements and could easily be hunted by someone younger even if it wasn’t technically legal. So if you started hunting young you most likely started hunting small game before you were allowed to start hunting big game.

It’s also more engaging for a kid, squirrels are much easier to find than deer and only require a short sit before they come out vs the multi day grind of a deer hunt. There are also more shooting opportunities and if you put the time in you can get far more practice in one season of small game than you could in a lifetime of big game hunting. My Dad always said that small game hunting with .22’s made him a better deer hunter as it taught you how to pick your shots.

That’s how I got my start, the first animal I killed was a squirrel with a .22 while out hunting with my Dad when I was 11. Since then I’ve shot one other squirrel but the majority of my hunting has been for deer with some turkey, bear and buffalo thrown in as well. My new thing this year will be pheasant and Chukar hunting over my first bird dog, if I can find a grouse that would be icing on the cake.

 

[Kurts86]

I used to think small game was a logical progression but having been involved with a lot of adult onset hunters I don’t think that is the case. Quite frankly small game and upland hunting opportunities are pretty poor in many parts of the country and the skills don’t necessarily translate. Going on a pheasant hunt for a day doesn’t help someone that wants to learn to deer hunt. When I was involved in R3 programs something like 70% of participants were interested in going straight to deer hunting.

I think early on the best thing is to spend a whole season committed to learning one species from scouting to shooting to hunting to butchering. If you aren’t developing a hunter that can do it all it won’t stick when they are on their own.

I do think all hunters should be exposed to multiple species, locations and hunt styles but I feel like it should be after they get the hang of one thing.

 

[KyleR1985]

Grew up fishing.

Mom Found a 20lb compound bow at a garage sale when I was 10. Bowhunting neighbor came home to me shooting arrows straight up in the front yard trying to land them in the front yard.

Told me he was a bow hunter and that he had targets I could shoot if I wanted.

I shot my first deer 2 years later with a bow.

I small game hunted as a side effect of being in the deer woods with him over the next several years.

But I not only started with whitetail, but I didn’t kill a deer with a rifle until I had killed a half dozen with a bow.

It shaped my entire hunting career. I’m somewhere around 60 whitetail, as many hogs, a mule deer, and an elk all with a bow. Ive only killed 6-7 deer with a rifle - most of those in bow range.

I’m an adult onset small game hunter - aimed mostly at not wanting to buy meat if at all possible.

 

[jimh406]

I started with small game. I think you can learn a lot in a short amount of time hunting small game with a rifle or bow. I suggest that would be a good learning experience if you've never done it.

 

[Ditt44]

The summer I before I turned six, my dad brought home a Glenfield .22 bolt action. He taught me to shoot sitting on our back step. Soda cans and .22 shorts. That progressed to shooting Starlings out of our pear trees. He took me hunting with him when I was seven and I was only loaded when stationary and we watched for squirrels. That progressed to a Western Field .410 full choke bolt gun which is one of the greatest squirrel/rabbit guns ever made I did a lot of 'feral' hunting on my own, running to the house off the school bus and grabbing either the .22 or .410 and trying to hunt for 45 minutes or an hour.

Deer came when I turned 12 per PA laws at the time (1980). I feel small caliber, small game is the best way to start anyone at any age. I am doing that with my wife actually. Teaching her to shoot that same .22 at life-sized squirrel targets. And she's pretty darn good. Progression is good for any shooter and hunter. If you can be a good squirrel hunter, you can be a decent deer hunter and small game shooting will definitely make you a better shooter overall.