New to hunting - Need help with everything

[ScreamingPotato]

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

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?

These^^

Get out into the mountains and do a quick overnight camp in an area you think you may hunt.

Take your bow during Grouse season and hike around and get a Grouse in the bag, or snowshoe hare, etc.

Graduate your game and take steps as you go.

 

[Scale]

find somebody you can tag along with and learn from first. safety first.

 

[Metal]

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.

Sage advice. Unless picking gear is part of the fun, I second this. And you will get a better feeling for what gear you value or want when you spend some time out hiking/sitting/hunting outdoors.

 

[tony]

People have hunted in blue jeans and flannel shirts, used K Mart rifles with Tasco scopes on them for years.
As mentioned, don't worry about fancy gear.
Study this site and ask questions

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Read forum rules. Do not ask about honey holes, aka, exact location where to locate, deer, elk, Rams, any game animal, or Forum moderators will wack your pee-pee. Go out and learn from trial and error.

 

[Skot]

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.

Yep, currently live in Colorado, lived here for the last 5 years so my body should be acclimated. Bow hunting seemed more appealing to me, I like the challenges bow hunting brings, but maybe Im biting off more than I can chew as first time hunter.

 

[Skot]

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

When do you start scouting/ how often do you scout before a hunt? I was thinking of doing a antler/shed hunt to help break in boots and test out my gear.

 

[Skot]

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…

Thanks for the response!

Iv been shooting my bow now for about 6 months, try to get out every other weekend but will most likely be going every weekend once its warmer. Stacking arrows at 60 yards, do you think i need to prepare for further distances? I lived in Colorado for the last 5 years, hiking and ultralight backpacking. Usual backpacking trips consist of pack weight 40-50 pounds, 1,000 ft incline for 5 + miles. But have never carried anything close to 100 pounds.

I have a buddy who has been bow hunting hunting elk since he was 12 and took a few down, he said he would come out and show me the ropes if i got a tag. Stocking, reading wind, gutting, etc..

When it comes to camping for a hunt im not sure the best approach, maybe personal preference. Do you hike all your gear in a few miles, setup camp and then go out and spot and stalk and your campsite is your base. Or do you setup a new campsite as you progress through the mountains looking for animals?

 

[Hnthrdr]

Thanks for the response!

Iv been shooting my bow now for about 6 months, try to get out every other weekend but will most likely be going every weekend once its warmer. Stacking arrows at 60 yards, do you think i need to prepare for further distances? I lived in Colorado for the last 5 years, hiking and ultralight backpacking. Usual backpacking trips consist of pack weight 40-50 pounds, 1,000 ft incline for 5 + miles. But have never carried anything close to 100 pounds.

I have a buddy who has been bow hunting hunting elk since he was 12 and took a few down, he said he would come out and show me the ropes if i got a tag. Stocking, reading wind, gutting, etc..

When it comes to camping for a hunt im not sure the best approach, maybe personal preference. Do you hike all your gear in a few miles, setup camp and then go out and spot and stalk and your campsite is your base. Or do you setup a new campsite as you progress through the mountains looking for animals?

Okay all very good info. 60 yards on a living breathing animal that moves unpredictably is a long shot, plenty long IMO sounds like you are good to go as far as practice and being experienced camping/ back packing.

Great that you have a buddy to show you some ropes. As far as getting super “deep” just have to have a plan to get the meat out before it spoils which could be a tall task in Sept sometimes.

I have hunted from a buddies cabin, I have truck camped, I have hiked in a spike camp and then day hunted and I have hunted with camp on my back. They all have their plus and negatives, just have to figure out what will work best for you, and only you can decide that, are going OTC or draw? If you know where you will likely go I would scout heavily in July-August and see what will work best for that area, it’s nice to have camp on your back, but it’s also super nice to be running around with a bow a kill kit and water bottle.

Like many have said there are loads of resources here, just type stuff in the search bar you will answer most of your questions I’m sure but if you have anything else just ask away

 

[Skot]

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.

What are some qualities I should look for in a hunting mentor? I was thinking since im new maybe a paid guided hunt might be the best option. Looking online for colorado and seeing a lot of guided hunts well into the thousands, hoping they could teach me years if not decades of tips for hunting but not sure. Any experience with guided hunts yourself?

I was also thinking a guided hog hunt in Texas might be an easier way to start, and would ultimately be cheaper than a colorado guided hunt.


For gear i think you are right, i was looking at all the expensive gear like sitka, kuiu, stone glacier. I think at least for my first hunt ill go cheaper and get stuff from Cabelas, 50 dollar hunting pants compared to sitka's 209 dollar pants. Definitely dont need to break the bank on clothes when i dont even know what im doing yet.

For binos im not sure how much to spend, i thought the vortex viper 12x42 for 500 were pricey, but if im not getting all the fancy clothes would it be beneifical to get 1000 dollar pair, specifically the vortex razor 12x42? Is it better to buy once cry once for binos?

 

[Skot]

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.

For rifle hunting how much practice do you take into account before hunting? What ranges do i need to be proficient at?

 

[Jethro]

I have a buddy who has been bow hunting hunting elk since he was 12 and took a few down, he said he would come out and show me the ropes if i got a tag. Stocking, reading wind, gutting, etc..

This is huge. Spend some time going with your bud and helping him with his tag. You’d learn a lot as camp cook/packer.

You’re putting in some effort. That’s good. Remember to breathe and keep it simple. Not every elk needs to be shot at 60 yards, 5 miles from the truck, while wearing Sitka and SG. Nothing wrong with killing an elk at 18 yards, 3/4 miles out, while wearing wrangler pants and an EB puffy.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

I have a buddy who has been bow hunting hunting elk since he was 12 and took a few down, he said he would come out and show me the ropes if i got a tag. Stocking, reading wind, gutting, etc..

When it comes to camping for a hunt im not sure the best approach, maybe personal preference. Do you hike all your gear in a few miles, setup camp and then go out and spot and stalk and your campsite is your base. Or do you setup a new campsite as you progress through the mountains looking for animals?

Find out what type of beer that buddy likes and keep his fridge stocked, he's going to make your start 100 times better and 1000 times faster than just going at it alone.

As for camping, just plan to truck camp to start until you start running into situations where you need to spike out. You may drive from your camp to get to insertion points or hunt on foot from camp, but it gives you a lot more options as things progress. IME in Colorado there's just not enough roadless distance to bother camping anywhere away from the truck, hard to find a spot more than 2 miles from a road in any direction in the units I've hunted. Furthermore, unless you know for sure you want to be in a certain spot, packing in a camp to an area is a big chore and glues you mentally to that area so you're less likely to move on quickly enough if there's no animals there or you've blown them out. You might take an extra day deciding to move and that day can be valuable for success.

 

[Jimmy]

When do you start scouting/ how often do you scout before a hunt? I was thinking of doing a antler/shed hunt to help break in boots and test out my gear.

I scout in Late June and July and as much as I can. Might be one trip, might be 3-4, the more you put in the better prepared you'll be and know where to be when season starts.

Wear your boots around the house and town. Break them in before you go very far in anywhere.

Any reason to get out and hike, explore and learn is good. You'll learn more that way. Some people want to learn everything online, but you can't.

 

[Bachto]

For rifle hunting how much practice do you take into account before hunting? What ranges do i need to be proficient at?

for Colorado I would suggest being able to hit a 4 - 6 inch group at 300 yards. that is obviously debatable and someone might say something different. Practice until you can do that consistently.

 

[BigNate]

"For binos im not sure how much to spend, i thought the vortex viper 12x42 for 500 were pricey, but if im not getting all the fancy clothes would it er to buy once cry once "

It isn't always the price but generally speaking the better glasses are more money. Higher magnification binos are not my favorite. I find they are hard to hold still enough and cause eye fatigue. The better the lens coatings the less glare and aberration. Lens coatings cost extra. I like my Leica 10x and wouldn't go up in magnification. I generally like 8-10x. Swarovski, Ziess also are very good.
My son has some Vortex and I didn't think they were terrible but I had some Nikons that were clearer to me. Sometimes the exact same model and magnification aren't even the same pair to pair. See if you can go to a store that will let you look through them outside. The sales guy will understandably want to hold your hand but many will let a couple pair at a time out if you're not just kicking tires.

 

[ReddingArcher]

Definitely go with your buddy on a tag of his or have him go along with you on yours. Like others have said gear is secondary. Don’t overlook the classifieds here once you’re approved. Camofire is another good site that has some good deals on gear. Some of my favorite pants are the Prana pants, they are double duty hunting and everyday pants and don’t break the bank. I’d probably look for a doe tag or two to get comfortable having an animal in your crosshairs.

 

[Davyalabama]

The search area on rockslide will be your friend.

New hunters are needed in this sport. The guys that have responded have some valuable insight for you. Do you have real woods experience? Have you read the thread, cheap stuff that works? DIY gear mods? Now if you are the buy once cry once type, go to the Gear forum and roam around.

There have been many self-taught hunters, you don't have to have a mentor, it helps. It is going to be your attitude, persistence, and willingness to absorb what you experience and translate it into progress.

If you're young, get an app (I hate apps for this, I want it on paper, I'm old, but some apps look really cool, and they look like they start you with some useful tools and what you may want in your journal), if your young or if your old, get a small waterproof journal and pen (this is for while you're out in it), then come home and get it into a larger journal and or excel. Yep, excel, that platform will help your search when you need some info fast. All this will allow you to see it later. Do a google search, it will give you ideas of what all you may want in your journal.

Piece of advice on this, the more minute of detail you have, the better your journal. List small things like tracks sighted and where, rubs, scrapes and licking branches, major trails, garbage (yep, you need to know if others are going to be there when you get ready to hunt the spot), this is going along with all the other stuff I mentioned about googling what all to put in your journal---------big thing, list all the animals you sight at first, not just your targeted species ----- also list where an animal appeared from, was it bedded, where did it exit --- my personal (distinguishing characteristics of the animal -- look at the face, the legs, an ear for a scar, gait, etc.) ---- if you ever do get a mentor or buddy to hunt with, list them in the journal, what all you talked about and did together (you'll wish you had years down the line).

Now, why did I mention excel, it will allow you to go back and look for patterns quickly.

Excel isn't just for math nerds, hahahahaha

 

[Gobbler36]

My advice is hunting is not what YouTube makes it out to be

 

[Rubachub]

Wow. Colorado for a first time bow hunt. Good luck and have fun!


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