New Member Intro....

[randomguy]

Hey everyone:

First time poster here, so be warned. Stupid questions may follow. Possibly many.

I'm just getting started deer hunting. I come from a farming family, but not a hunting family. So I shot as a kid, mostly for varmint control, and I love the outdoors, but no one in my life ever really exposed me to hunting. Now I have a son who's 10 and has bugged me about wanting to go hunting since he was probably about 6 or so. It finally dawned on me that I can either do this with him and we can learn together, or he's going to wait until he's old enough and he's going to do it without me anyway, so why miss the oppurtunity?

So now I'm just shy of 40 and I've got to learn how to hunt so that I can teach my son. It's honestly pretty intimidating and overwhelming. I've got tons and tons of things to learn, but I love to learn, so it doesn't seem like work. I've got many questions about gear, techniques, even philosophical things and I look forward to interacting with you all. Thanks in advance!

 

[dogdoc]

Welcome. Lots of knowledgeable people here willing to help. Do you have the land available to hunt?

 

[randomguy]

My family does have a small piece of timber that's apparently being hunted now without authorization. I went out and hung several signs a few weeks ago, but when I found the guy's stand, I was unsure about property line, so I didn't leave a note on his stand. Now I know that his stand is right on the property line, but he's shooting into a clearing that's our farm ground and he's crossing county property (no hunting allowed) to get there. So I've gotta deal with that as well as well as learning all this other stuff.

I've found some rubbing spots, some bedding spots, and some pooh. I hung a camera along a small stream, but I didn't get any photos, so I moved it to a different area. I'll head back up there in a few weeks to check it again. Like I said, it's a pretty small piece, but there's signs of life and I hope to get traffic leading from some other large pieces that are connected, but not ours.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[Blizzard Ridge]

Welcome! I am sure you will pick up a ton of useful information on this site. If you have an aerial of your property feel free to send it to me and I might be able to help you get headed in the right direction with your scouting.

Fence hunters are a problem for us all. Just stick to your guns and some times in the hunting world it pays to be a butt hole. You will have an awesome adventure ahead of you in your quest for the magnificent whitetail deer. Good luck and do not be afraid to ask questions that is how we all learned.

 

[OkieKubota]

Welcome!

Do you know anyone who hunts? I have had people approach me in the past to teach them to hunt and it has always worked out well. If you have someone that can be boots on the ground with you to show you what to be looking for on your sets could save you a lot of time and trouble...

How much property are you working with?

 

[randomguy]

I do know several guys who hunt. I've had several conversations over a beer and waiting on kids and stuff, and all are helpful with advice, but no one has really offered to, as you put it, put boots on the ground with me. I do have a cousin that's offered to take me out next season a few hours from here. I'll most likely take him up on it, but I'm also hoping to get to know my site a bit and will probably at least be out there next season even if I happen to be tagged out and just watching.

As for our ground, this little area is about 40 acres including the U-shaped clearing, which is farm ground (corn/beans). The wooded area is a small peninsula connected to several hundred acres of thick timber. The portion that we own is probably only about 6 acres or so. My plan is to lurk in the timber overlooking the clearing, which appears to be the same strategy that's been utilized by the trespasser. So hopefully that'll be productive (ha!)....

 

[randomguy]

Welcome! I am sure you will pick up a ton of useful information on this site. If you have an aerial of your property feel free to send it to me and I might be able to help you get headed in the right direction with your scouting.

Fence hunters are a problem for us all. Just stick to your guns and some times in the hunting world it pays to be a butt hole. You will have an awesome adventure ahead of you in your quest for the magnificent whitetail deer. Good luck and do not be afraid to ask questions that is how we all learned.

Thanks BR. As for the fence guy, I guess my plan is to get back and check my camera before the end of bow season. If the stand is still there, meaning that all my signage did not get the message across, I'll leave a note on the stand politely asking him to remove his stand and not return. I'll go back a few weeks later and if it's still there, should I call the game warden, or what? Other ideas on how to deal with this? Obviously, this is my first time through something like this.

 

[Blizzard Ridge]

I would call in the game warden and if you know who the guy is he can pay him a visit. If you don't know who the guy is you are going to just waste the warden's time. Leaving a note in a plastic bag will probably get the point across. I would also leave my phone number on the note so he has the option to give you a call to explain himself.

What part of the world are you in?

 

[buckdeer1]

Find a trail or an area along field that there are tracks and set your camera or if legal in your area dump some corn and put camera on it.Are you going to bow or gun hunt?Is there small game or turkeys there?Check to see if you need hunter safety also in some states there are classes that you can take to introduce to outdoors.A hunter safety class would be needed for son also.

 

[randomguy]

I'm in central Illinois. I'm grandfathered in to NOT needing a hunter safety course based on age, but I'm going to do it anyway since I'm primarily learning this stuff on my own. My son is 10 and he's not quite ready for all this yet. So I'm thinking that I'll do a season alone, then have him take his course and take him out the season he's 12. Not sure he's ready to shoot a deer and/or watch it dressed, so I'm not going to rush it.

I've currently got my camera pointed at a spot that's been rubbed a lot, but I'm not sure how fresh the rubbing is. I'm a little concerned about putting a camera on the clearing because I'm afraid it'll get stolen, possibly by the guy I'm trying to oust.

I'm told that there's turkeys around this piece, but it's about an hour from my house, so I'm not really around to watch. Just starting out, my plan is for shotgun, but I'm not against expanding into just about anything (archery, turkey, etc.).

Thanks for the advice guys! Again, I'll listen to anything anyone has to offer!

 

[Blizzard Ridge]

Bucks will probably not be hitting any rubs right now. I would put on heavily used trail this time of year or edge of food source. Archery is where it's at. I enjoy it a lot better than gun season. Typically I hunt gun season to either take my kids or patrol properties for trespassers. Hunter's safety course is a great start to learning about your weapons and rules and regulations in the field I would suggest it for everyone to sit through. I have sat through it 4 times with my kids.

I also am in central IL, east central actually. I am located in Marshall, IL and would be glad to take you out for a day trip through one of my farms to teach you a few of the in's and out's and what to look for while scouting.

 

[wbpdeer]

Welcome to the forum and I think many members here will gladly help you. In regard to your 10 year old son, get him a gun he is comfortable with. A 22 rifle or a 223 rifle will not over power him. He needs to shoot the gun until he can do it with his eyes closed.

Teach safety, safety and safety. I like single shot rifles for beginners. You can borrow one as opposed to buying one. What he practices with will be different that what he uses when he deer hunts.

Take him squirrel hunting - that will improve his woodsman ship. Get him some boots and get both of you in the woods scouting.

Remember the law of readiness - he is young and if he ain't ready it ain't happening. Always make it fun for him and praise him for what he does.

I love the ole' phrase - as long as you hunt with your boy - you will not to hunt for him. Enjoy the journey while you can.

Wayne

 

[Paradise725]

Welcome! You've come to the right place. Feel free to start a thread for any specific question you might have. I guarantee there will be plenty of sound advice. Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dogdoc]

If you can post a satellite pic from Google Earth we could look at it and maybe give you some advise on good spots to hang stands.

 

[buckdeer1]

I teach hunter ed in Kansas and I would rather teach 10 year olds than 16 year olds.You might check maybe he should go twice but it would be good for him if he is going to even shoot a BB gun or .22

 

[swat1018]

At 10, he'd probably enjoy going with you. Hang a double ladder stand and learn together. And sometimes a set of 10 year old eyes don't hurt!

 

[randomguy]

Oh yeah, he's already bugging me to take him out there and show him around, which I'm going to do when I go back to check my camera in a few weeks. The hunting, scouting, and nature part, he's totally ready for. My wife and I just aren't sure that he's ready for the killing and cleaning part yet. He's a pretty "reflective" kid and he's always, always thinking about stuff. A couple of his friends go, but I think they have different personalities and we're just a little nervous that if it bothers him, he'd have a hard time shaking it.

We live on a small lake and we fish quite a bit. I told him I'm going to teach him to clean his own fish this season, so we'll see how he does with that and then re-assess. Maybe I'm babying him a bit much, but I just don't want to rush him into it. Plus, to be honest, I'd like to have a season under my belt to learn alone before I've got another person depending on me.

Thank you guys again for all the advice!

 

[randomguy]

I also am in central IL, east central actually. I am located in Marshall, IL and would be glad to take you out for a day trip through one of my farms to teach you a few of the in's and out's and what to look for while scouting.

That's very cool of you, I appreciate it and I'll keep it in mind this spring. Thanks! I'm around Peoria and my hunting patch is up northwest of here in Knox county. I mapped you and I'm probably 3 hours or so from you.

 

[Gravel Road]

Welcome! Nothing teaches as well as getting out into the woods. If you aren't in a terrible hurry to shoot a deer I'd recommend small game hunting. You can practice hunting techniques without the pressure of spooking deer and I guarantee your boy won't mind at all. He can watch and learn all the basics from still hunting, stalking, skinning and cleaning game animals. Maybe you can even find some close public ground that wouldn't be busy like during deer season. Just a thought...

 

[randomguy]

OK, so here's a shot of the plot. North is straight up in this image. We own the clearing and the western two thirds of the timber peninsula. The southern property line is just a few yards into the tree line, which is full of very thick brush and briars. There's sprawling timber over to the South spreading East and West. Some is private property to the SW, and straight South and East is municipal property, with no hunting allowed.

The "unauthorized" stand I found is in the SW corner, either right on the property line or just inside our property and the stand faces a little North of East, into our clearing. It's not a big piece, but it's what I've got to work with now, so hopefully I can make something work.