New Adult Hunter, go solo?

[g squared 23]

When I hunt public, I also try to do it during the week. I'll scout midmorning looking for a new spot, and head out and hunt a known spot in the pm. Not having 10,000 other trucks around is easier during the week.


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[Jax]

Excellent advice thank you! I cant believe this thread is still going, I feel bad for not having reported back.

Last year I just did some gear tests, roamed around some public forests just to be out in the woods, quickly learned my pants were WAY to loud, and I was carrying more gear than necessary, dropped my limbs from 80s to about 65s, and changed my sight out to an HHA Ultra which I absolutely love. This year I am increasing my range time even more, joined a private archery club, and I am hoping to take my bow out with me for the first time this fall. The biggest challenge right now is learning about public land and making a choice, but I am eager and enjoy the research.

The most important lesson I have learned so far, and hopefully this helps anyone else in my position that didn't grow up with it or have family/friends that share the same passion, and its advice that has been shared in this thread often, is to just get out there and do it, on your own. For two seasons I was sitting around unsuccessfully trying to coral buddies into taking it up, and thats now two seasons of lessons and adventures I could have been out in the woods learning.

Thanks everyone for your great advice and wisdom, I hope to report back in a couple months that I bagged my first Pope & Young (jk, Ill settle for finding some scat!)

If you're going to be hunting public land, you need to do much, much more scouting than hunting. You can get away with "observation hunts" on private land, but not in the poorly regulated lands of Illinoise.

Learn how to scout. If you walked in the woods right now, you wouldn't have a clue what you're doing, so do some serious research on scouting public land.

http://www.thehuntingbeast.com

The hunting beast is the best collection of information you'll find on learning how to find and hunt public land deer.

If you're going to hunt public land:
1. Scout more than you hunt. Now is the perfect time.

2. Never, ever, ever sit on a field edge unless you don't want to kill a deer

3. Figure out exactly where the deer bed and WHY (wind, cover and terrain normally) and use your head to figure out how to hunt the deer.


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[Jeff H]

Excellent advice thank you! I cant believe this thread is still going, I feel bad for not having reported back.

Last year I just did some gear tests, roamed around some public forests just to be out in the woods, quickly learned my pants were WAY to loud, and I was carrying more gear than necessary, dropped my limbs from 80s to about 65s, and changed my sight out to an HHA Ultra which I absolutely love. This year I am increasing my range time even more, joined a private archery club, and I am hoping to take my bow out with me for the first time this fall. The biggest challenge right now is learning about public land and making a choice, but I am eager and enjoy the research.

The most important lesson I have learned so far, and hopefully this helps anyone else in my position that didn't grow up with it or have family/friends that share the same passion, and its advice that has been shared in this thread often, is to just get out there and do it, on your own. For two seasons I was sitting around unsuccessfully trying to coral buddies into taking it up, and thats now two seasons of lessons and adventures I could have been out in the woods learning.

Thanks everyone for your great advice and wisdom, I hope to report back in a couple months that I bagged my first Pope & Young (jk, Ill settle for finding some scat!)

Sounds like you have a good handle on things Jax. With hunting like so many other things there is no substitute for time afield....or on the water.. or in the saddle. Time cures most things.

 

[Beechnut]

Shooting at a range when it's warm weather is easier than a breezy day in the 20's. Try shooting a deer when your body is shaking from the cold.

Don't forget a compass or some other navigation device (learn how to use it). Always let someone know where you are going. If you don't have much woods time, getting lost is easy to do.

Have fun and don't take anything serious (except gun and tree stand safety).

 

[PaulFWI]

I started hunting rabbits and squirrels when I was 12 years old. Grew up on the south side of Milwaukee during the 1950s to 1970. My first bow was a home made English yew hand me down from an older cousin. Everything that was taken was fixed by my Mother, a Polish lady who could cook. I hunted along railroad tracks and small pockets of woods. Had a 80 acre track of land that contained several Catholic institutions on it. There was an old growth oak woods on part of this acreage. It butted up to Lake Michigan. That was the seed that started my life long hunting journey.
Just get out and do it.

This is amazing - I worked where you hunted, decades later, I am sure.

You must be talking about the Cousin's Center in Cudahy/St. Francis in Milwaukee. Sprawling Catholic compound, at one time abutting the lake.

My mother worked there while I was in college. Some time later, in the 90s, the Church sold part of the property, the lakefront part, and Harnischfeger built a beautiful building there.

They went bankrupt. Local hedge fund St-rk bought the building.

Then, St-rk went under.

Now, the building is MKE FBI headquarters. They turned it into a fortress.

 

[Jsteinke5188]

Could you even imagine anyone driving their 13 year old to a spot 45 minutes from home and leaving them all day with pointy sticks, no communication device, and having no idea who is out there? My mother is a good woman and I begged her to do it...it was a different time that sadly very few will ever experience...

Those were the days, as soon as dad and I split up on the trail.... "see you after dark, shoot em up" ... side note I dropped my phone out of the stand this past fall, best hunt I've had in years. Now I don't bring the phone out!

 

[T.R.]

Many years back, I was scouting for a place to hunt deer within the Huron National Forest of Michigan. I had never driven there before but soon encountered a deer crossing yellow sign by the roadway. I stopped and walked back about 100 yards looking for a deer trail. Finding nothing, I reversed my steps and found a heavily used deer trail about 50 yards past the sign. I followed the trail for about half mile into the forest where it crossed another deer trail. So I made a plan to hunt within sight of the two trails but back aways so that any movement would not be seen by wary deer. I cleared a couple shooting lanes so I could fire my 30-30 carbine without brush in the way. Opening morning of deer season found me sitting on a mat ready to shoot. At about 8AM, a doe walked down one trail and a dandy six pointer followed close behind. I lined up my open sights on the chest of this buck and squeezed off a shot. The Winchester bucked slightly as the blast echoed through the forest and the buck toppled after a few jumps. He never knew what hit him. I was delighted that a plan came to fruition because of that deer crossing sign! TR

 

[MJWagner]

Hi All,

Looking for stories, tips, advice on solo hunting as a brand new adult hunter (32 years old).

Short story, my buddy and I have been getting ready for almost two years accumulating gear and getting comfortable at the range, last year we were going to do shotgun because we were not confident in making a clean kill with our bows yet, then he had a kid and backed out, so we cancelled our plans. This year, same buddy, we were planning on hunting on some of his families land, bows and all, and he got a new job, so he backed out again. Lesson learned, don't count on other people..., but I am limited in the people I know in my area that are interested in the sport.

So now I've spent the last year watching videos, getting range time, finishing my gear setup, and 3 weeks before the season my plans have fallen through.

I am nervous to go solo, but figure a lot of guys have done it and just wanted to get some inspirational tips. I am trying to decide where now as well, since I lost the luxury of private land and have to scramble to figure out my best bet for public land WI, IL, IN, OH. Even if I don't get to harvest I still just want to get out there and get some time in the woods, hopefully put some eyes on some animals.

I am so green, I am trying to figure out, if I harvest, what to do next. Quarter it and throw it in the back of my Subaru, throw it on the roof and bring to a butcher, but then what if I'm not local . .. .so many questions going through my mind it's frustrating.

Anywho, I'd love to hear stories of how people got started who didn't grow up with it in the family.

Thank you, and good luck this season to all!

Well typically well typically bow hunting is not a team sport, so solo isn’t a problem, as far as where to go, most public land information is easy to find with a quick google search , get a list of public hunting land, and then you have to just put boots ion the ground and and scout the land!!! After harvest, you just field dress the deer, drag it out who

Hi All,

Looking for stories, tips, advice on solo hunting as a brand new adult hunter (32 years old).

Short story, my buddy and I have been getting ready for almost two years accumulating gear and getting comfortable at the range, last year we were going to do shotgun because we were not confident in making a clean kill with our bows yet, then he had a kid and backed out, so we cancelled our plans. This year, same buddy, we were planning on hunting on some of his families land, bows and all, and he got a new job, so he backed out again. Lesson learned, don't count on other people..., but I am limited in the people I know in my area that are interested in the sport.

So now I've spent the last year watching videos, getting range time, finishing my gear setup, and 3 weeks before the season my plans have fallen through.

I am nervous to go solo, but figure a lot of guys have done it and just wanted to get some inspirational tips. I am trying to decide where now as well, since I lost the luxury of private land and have to scramble to figure out my best bet for public land WI, IL, IN, OH. Even if I don't get to harvest I still just want to get out there and get some time in the woods, hopefully put some eyes on some animals.

I am so green, I am trying to figure out, if I harvest, what to do next. Quarter it and throw it in the back of my Subaru, throw it on the roof and bring to a butcher, but then what if I'm not local . .. .so many questions going through my mind it's frustrating.

Anywho, I'd love to hear stories of how people got started who didn't grow up with it in the family.

Thank you, and good luck this season to all!

Hi All,

Looking for stories, tips, advice on solo hunting as a brand new adult hunter (32 years old).

Short story, my buddy and I have been getting ready for almost two years accumulating gear and getting comfortable at the range, last year we were going to do shotgun because we were not confident in making a clean kill with our bows yet, then he had a kid and backed out, so we cancelled our plans. This year, same buddy, we were planning on hunting on some of his families land, bows and all, and he got a new job, so he backed out again. Lesson learned, don't count on other people..., but I am limited in the people I know in my area that are interested in the sport.

So now I've spent the last year watching videos, getting range time, finishing my gear setup, and 3 weeks before the season my plans have fallen through.

I am nervous to go solo, but figure a lot of guys have done it and just wanted to get some inspirational tips. I am trying to decide where now as well, since I lost the luxury of private land and have to scramble to figure out my best bet for public land WI, IL, IN, OH. Even if I don't get to harvest I still just want to get out there and get some time in the woods, hopefully put some eyes on some animals.

I am so green, I am trying to figure out, if I harvest, what to do next. Quarter it and throw it in the back of my Subaru, throw it on the roof and bring to a butcher, but then what if I'm not local . .. .so many questions going through my mind it's frustrating.

Anywho, I'd love to hear stories of how people got started who didn't grow up with it in the family.

Thank you, and good luck this season to all!

First bow hunting isn’t typically a group sport, so solo is the same as everyone else pretty much !!!!Well if you don’t have your own land and not interested in searching/asking for permission to hunt then you are pretty much regulated to hunt public land!! Luckily public hunting land is easy to find with a simple google search for whatever area you decide to hunt, once you have a few places as possibilities, then you will have to put boots on the ground (there’s no way around it) as someone else mentioned, small game hunting is a great way to scout for deer (I actually have never really scouted for deer without hunting for small game unless nothing was in season like the summer months ) but either way you gotta get in there and look around, you can utilize topo maps and google earth to narrow down where you want to check out most likely to hold deer ( there are tons of videos and such on YouTube that teach you what to look for on the maps that are key geographic features that deer use most often, but again no substitute for boots on the ground, you will still have to get in there and see it with your own eyes, and the farther away from main access roads, paths, and trails, the less people who will be hunting the same area!!!! After harvest, you typically field dress (gut) the deer, and drag it out whole!!!! The more intact you leave it, the cleaner it will be !!!! Once to the vehicle, you take it to the processor or wherever you are going to butcher it!!!!! You have a decent amount of time before you need to worry about it going bad, and some people prefer to age it before butchering anyway ( I typically let it hang for 5-10 days, in anywhere up to 60 degrees) before I process my own!!!! Bottom line is, just get out there, you can’t learn everything from the internet, books, ect!! And you certainly won’t harvest any deer from the couch!!! Get out there learn the land and animals, I put in thousands of hours and hundreds of miles on my boots every year between deer seasons,and I have been deer hunting the same general areas since I was a kid following my father around, and I am still learning new things about the land and animals every year!!!!( again, mostly while hunting small game)!!!!Everyone has a different amount of time that they can dedicate to scouting and hunting in general, but the more time you spend out there, the better you will become!!! So just get out there as much as life allows you to be out there!!!!