New to hunting - Need help with everything

[Skot]

Hi Everyone,

I just got my hunting license! Now to start planning my first hunt, and i need some serious help on pretty much everything.

I plan on doing a compound bow hunt in Colorado, early to late September. I haven't applied for any tags yet, mainly because im not sure what is a good first starter animal to hunt. I would like to be able to hunt moose and elk eventually, but for my first hunt, it may be too overwhelming.

I was thinking maybe a mule deer or white tail might be the way to go.

When doing research mainly through gohunt, rokslide forum, and various youtube hunting channels i am a bit lost on what gear I need and dont need; if i should be in a tree stand, saddle, or blind. Im not the biggest fan of heights so i was thinking hunting from the bush or blind but not sure if practical for mule/white tail deer.

If anyone can provide insight to the following questions that would be greatly appreciated.

here whats I have so far:

Compound bow: Hoyt torrex, currently at 50 lbs for drawback, I do have broadheads but not sure if i need better arrows as mine are carbon fiber and more for target practice and shooting into hay. Does the material for a hunting arrow different than a target practice arrow?

Gear:
I dont have much yet but here is the gear I was thinking about buying

Sitka mountain pants subalpine
Vortex Viper HD 10x42 Binoculars
tripod for binoculars/glassing - not getting spotting scope to save money
Men's Sitka Core Lightweight Long Sleeve T-Shirt
stone glacier m2 rain jacket
sitka binocular harness
crispi nevada boots

I dont have a puffy jacket, i know its septemeber so most likely wont get snow but its colorado so who knows, plus i usually run cold so i was thinking of getting the stone glacier Grumman Down Jacket, reviews say its warm but not very durable

Hunting backpack, im thinking I would be out hunting for at least a week so I need a bag that can hold on the gear and food for a week and then 60 lbs of meat, I was looking at stone glacier sky 5900 backpack but its 700 bucks, not sure if worth it or not

Im not glued to any of these brands, just looking to get the best gear.

Hoping to keep everything under 2k


Thanks!

 

[Metal]

Gear aside, finding a mentor to hunt with is a huge benefit when learning about hunting.

 

[Soj51hopeful]

Lots of questions there, I would start by asking do you live in Colorado? And why start with a bow. Brand new hunters have much better success starting with a rifle.

 

[Dos Perros]

Recommend you go to www.rokslide.com and read everything there and then come back with specific questions you can't find answers to.

 

[Jimmy]

Walk before you run, brother. Try and get out for some weekend scouting trips before you go on a week long backpack hunt.

 

[Hnthrdr]

How long have you been shooting your bow? How often do you shoot? Are you a Co resident? I would say it’s good to get out and go, but you picked the steepest learning curve ( big game archery) Rifle hunting would probably be a good way to start hunting. Honestly small game day trips is probably the best way to start. None of us know if we have tags yet, since the draw hasn’t happened yet. I would recommend getting a tag or two this year for sure but need to know your limits. Do you have someone a buddy or a friend who would take you with them? What is your level of woodsmanship or experience camping/ backpacking. Sometimes car camping is a better way to start hunting. Rokslide has a ton of info and is a great place to learn.

Arrows can be used for target practice or hunting. Biggest change will be the field point (target) or broadhead (hunting) id worry less about gear and more about being very proficient with your bow and learning how to field dress animals, woodsmanship ect…

 

[BigNate]

Wow have you opened up a can of worms!

First, I'm glad to hear you're wanting to hunt. Getting involved with a local hunting related organization might help you meet a mentor, and I highly recommend both getting involved and learning from a mentor. I will caution you to choose your mentor carefully.

Second, gear can get so expensive you'll find yourself cutting corners. You don't need to have a full load out of Sitka. There's similar options for far less, and the money you save can be spent on better quality binos. Other equipment can also be shopped.

Along the same line, archery is an interesting choice for starting out. It can be more expensive, harder to master, and harder to be successful. You may want to consider rifle hunting to start. Sometimes buying gently used equipment is the way to go until you figure out what works for you.

Spend money on the backpack and boots. Going cheap on either one rarely leads to anything but misery.

 

[Bachto]

Gear aside, finding a mentor to hunt with is a huge benefit when learning about hunting.

This is the best advice. Going with someone who is experienced at least somewhat will help you so much.

Another thing to address the blind/tree stand questions. Think of hunting like fishing or even skiing. There are a million different ways to ski or fish. You will take a couple years finding what way of hunting is right for you. Skiing you can cross country ski, you can downhill ski, you can tour into the back country. Fishing you can fly fish, ice fishing, spin rod fish and so on. Hunting is the same way and you will have to experiment and find what you like.

Someone also mentioned rifle hunting first. I 100% agree. Bow hunting is a very large learning curve, but you already have a bow and seem to be going that route already but I might step back a little and rethink that. Just my opinion.

 

[elkliver]

What State do you live in? Forget about the fancy gear to start... lets pin down some basics first

 

[Legend]

Hi Everyone,

I just got my hunting license! Now to start planning my first hunt, and i need some serious help on pretty much everything.

I plan on doing a compound bow hunt in Colorado, early to late September. I haven't applied for any tags yet, mainly because im not sure what is a good first starter animal to hunt. I would like to be able to hunt moose and elk eventually, but for my first hunt, it may be too overwhelming.

I was thinking maybe a mule deer or white tail might be the way to go.

When doing research mainly through gohunt, rokslide forum, and various youtube hunting channels i am a bit lost on what gear I need and dont need; if i should be in a tree stand, saddle, or blind. Im not the biggest fan of heights so i was thinking hunting from the bush or blind but not sure if practical for mule/white tail deer.

If anyone can provide insight to the following questions that would be greatly appreciated.

here whats I have so far:

Compound bow: Hoyt torrex, currently at 50 lbs for drawback, I do have broadheads but not sure if i need better arrows as mine are carbon fiber and more for target practice and shooting into hay. Does the material for a hunting arrow different than a target practice arrow?

Gear:
I dont have much yet but here is the gear I was thinking about buying

Sitka mountain pants subalpine
Vortex Viper HD 10x42 Binoculars
tripod for binoculars/glassing - not getting spotting scope to save money
Men's Sitka Core Lightweight Long Sleeve T-Shirt
stone glacier m2 rain jacket
sitka binocular harness
crispi nevada boots

I dont have a puffy jacket, i know its septemeber so most likely wont get snow but its colorado so who knows, plus i usually run cold so i was thinking of getting the stone glacier Grumman Down Jacket, reviews say its warm but not very durable

Hunting backpack, im thinking I would be out hunting for at least a week so I need a bag that can hold on the gear and food for a week and then 60 lbs of meat, I was looking at stone glacier sky 5900 backpack but its 700 bucks, not sure if worth it or not

Im not glued to any of these brands, just looking to get the best gear.

Hoping to keep everything under 2k


Thanks!

Just go hunt. Don't let gear be an excuse.

A $50 backpack from a garage sales is still better than the pack I hauled a bunch of elk out with.

 

[displacedtexan]

Where do you live? How did you pick Colorado?

What's your experience and comfort/confidence level in the outdoors, especially alone?

Aside from having a functional gun/bow... Gear doesn't kill animals. It just keeps you comfortable killing animals.

 

[pokes15]

.

 

[SDHNTR]

Join your local archery club and state bowhunting organization. Be polite, humble and respectful. With your willingness to learn, someone will take you under their wing.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

See if you have a local archery hunting club, or just an archery club in general. There may be members who are willing to give you some advice. You may be able to find archery shooters at a local rod and gun club.

 

[Blind Squirrel]

Gear aside, finding a mentor to hunt with is a huge benefit when learning about hunting.

And if you can’t find a good mentor, pay for a guided hunt. It will save you a lot of time and frustration. That’s not really celebrated on this board, but if you’ve never hunted, I think it’s the best way to get into it. And practice a lot with whatever gun/bow you decide to start with.

 

[LongWayAround]

You should really consider doing some small game hunting or maybe whitetail does.

Archery elk/deer in the mountains is a big jump if you're not familiar with the basics.

Do you have camping, hiking, backpacking experience?

 

[moewells100]

Welcome! Internet forums and videos are great, but if you can find a current hunter to mentor you and take you out a few times, that will be much more helpful.

 

[MuleyFever]

This is a big question for a new hunter to ask on a forum. You are going to get all kinds of ideas and being new it will be hard for you to navigate them. Find an archery club you can go to and make some new friends. Find someone that will let you just tag along on a hunt or 2. Probably some guys on this forum that would let you tag along.

 

[SWOHTR]

Have you ever spent a night in the woods, alone, before?