Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There is a tech at work who hunts deer in GA. Deer Hunting sounds fascinating. What are the necessities to get started?
What type of Firearms? .223? 30-06? 12 GA?
What type of ammo?
Is there a limitation on how many rounds you can load?
Are there hunt clubs? How about for novices?
What type of equipment do I need?
Deer Stand?
Clothing?
ATV?
The MOST important, especially if you have zero experience, is a hunter saftey class. You need one to get a license anyway. Different states have different rules about caliber & firearms. In CT where I live you cant use a 223, 243 is the smallest they allow. One or two states only allow shotgun but some areas in many states are shotgun only. A shotgun generally has a shorter range. Some states limit the number of rounds. I hunt from the ground 99% of the time while firearms hunting. So I dont use a tree stand most times, but theres ALOT out there, too many to really recomend one without knowing you & your hunting area.
You will get the answers to most of your questions from the class.
Far as the meat & cooking it theres alot of misleading stuff out there. All I can really say is dont cook it past medium. If well done is how you like meat then stick with stew, roasts & burger. Cook a steak well done & you can use it for a shoe sole.
I take between 2 & 6 deer a year. We cook it any way you can imagine with zero complaints. I wouldn't say its similar to goat but its different than beef, mostly because of leanness, most of a deers fat is on the outside, its not marbled thru the meat like a beef is. My wife gets fancy but I just rub it with whatever spices or rubs are on hand, maybe a little terriaki or soy sauce & throw it on the grill or into the pan. Nothing like it.
Lately I'v taken to leaving the backstraps in 8" lengths and cooking just like that after coating it in something or other, slicing once done it'll melt in your mouth.
One thing thats very hard without someone actually showing you first is field dressing. It gets covered in class but pictures & lecture arent the same as dead critter & guts. Thats something I recomend getting assistance with, the best way to spoil the meat is not field dressing quickly and getting it cooled down.
I bowhunt here from mid Sept until the end of January. Early in the year I'll stop on the way home & stuff the deer with ice so I dont need to butcher right away most times. If its really hot, like it is in Sept sometimes, I'll quarter it right away & leave the chunks to age in the fridge a week or so. I'm not certain ageing really helps but it certainly dont hurt.
I'd add that IMHO a guy who can hit a paper plate 10 out of 10 times, offhand position , within say 30 seconds of "on target" time (a cooldown period for the rifle is OK) is a better *field* marksman than one who can hit an apple 10 out of 10 from a rest (or even sitting) with no time constraints.
When I posted that deer is like goat, what I am trying to say is the domestic meat that comes closest to venison is IMHO goat, my point being if you try to cook venison exactly like it was beef, you may end up with a rather tough steak. Tin Knocker is correct to say that venison is a rather unique meat, not a whole lot like anything else - while elk is a lot more similar to beef.
For Georgia tree-stand deer hunting, frankly, for most shots, you don't have to be all that good a marksman, or all that fast, and a 30-30 carbine with iron sights even, one that will hold say 4" 3 shot groups (on average the bullet lands within 1.5" of point of aim), with ordinary factory loads like you can get at any discount store, will work fine. If you *want* more capability, go ahead and get it, certainly the 30-30 shooter would have to turn down a few shots at dawn or dusk that could be done with a good scope, but if you are in the right place at the right time you can get several shots a day that are quite do-able with any rifle that meets the minimum legal requirements for deer hunting.
That said, if a guy is just breaking into deer hunting and has the dough to spend on one (roughly $3000) a Steyer Scout is probably the best all-round rifle you can get. Light, short, handy, easy to hit with, powerful enough, but not so powerful as to kick hard enough to bother most (if the 308 kicks too much for somebody, a 243 version is available)
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,309 posts, read 38,774,074 times
Reputation: 7185
Quote:
Originally Posted by M3 Mitch
I'd add that IMHO a guy who can hit a paper plate 10 out of 10 times, offhand position , within say 30 seconds of "on target" time (a cooldown period for the rifle is OK) is a better *field* marksman than one who can hit an apple 10 out of 10 from a rest (or even sitting) with no time constraints.
When I posted that deer is like goat, what I am trying to say is the domestic meat that comes closest to venison is IMHO goat, my point being if you try to cook venison exactly like it was beef, you may end up with a rather tough steak. Tin Knocker is correct to say that venison is a rather unique meat, not a whole lot like anything else - while elk is a lot more similar to beef.
For Georgia tree-stand deer hunting, frankly, for most shots, you don't have to be all that good a marksman, or all that fast, and a 30-30 carbine with iron sights even, one that will hold say 4" 3 shot groups (on average the bullet lands within 1.5" of point of aim), with ordinary factory loads like you can get at any discount store, will work fine. If you *want* more capability, go ahead and get it, certainly the 30-30 shooter would have to turn down a few shots at dawn or dusk that could be done with a good scope, but if you are in the right place at the right time you can get several shots a day that are quite do-able with any rifle that meets the minimum legal requirements for deer hunting.
That said, if a guy is just breaking into deer hunting and has the dough to spend on one (roughly $3000) a Steyer Scout is probably the best all-round rifle you can get. Light, short, handy, easy to hit with, powerful enough, but not so powerful as to kick hard enough to bother most (if the 308 kicks too much for somebody, a 243 version is available)
I wouldn't necessarily disagree, but I wouldn't advocate a novice shoot offhand either... If you have ever been in the field with a new hunter who lost a deer with an abdominal wound or who has crippled a deer with an errant shot you know what I mean. Take a deer from a supported position, make a clean kill and decide whether or not you will hunt again. If you decide you like it, then you can get serious about practical shooting.
Also, I've never handle the Steyr so I can't speak from experience, but a well-tested and more economic option could be the Remington 700. It is widely available in a variety of chamberings and will ding your wallet to the tune of $500-$1000 for a basic model.
EDIT: Also, if you're doing practical offhand shooting for "dinner plate" hits you probably want to zero your rifle a little differently. I think a 150 grain .308 would be 2 1/2" high at 100 yards to be able to point and shoot at a paper plate out to about 250 yards.
Last edited by jimboburnsy; 01-19-2011 at 07:55 AM..
Look at Layne Simpson's 10 rules - I'm advocating that the newbie get some *practice* shooting offhand, not that they should take an offhand shot when a rest is available or it's practical to get into a steadier position. One problem he notes is people taking an unsupported shot when a support is available, but another is shooting badly from offhand.
Sometimes, though, you take the shot offhand, or you don't take it. Sometimes "not taking it" is the right answer.
The Remington 700 is just one of many rifles that will work great for deer hunting. You have to work at it to find a centerfire rifle that won't make a good deer gun, really. But if a guy can afford it, the Scout is in a class by itself and will help him make hits like nothing else out there. If he does not keep hunting, the Scout can be sold for most of new price, there are plenty of people who will buy it.
Good point about zeroing the rifle for the best range without hold-over. Your figures are good for most any 243-270-30/06 etc. "class" of cartridge.
There is a lot to the shooting game, and to the hunting game, for a new guy to know before heading into the woods for the first deer hunt.
You can site your rifle in at 25 yards, they have targets that will have a red circle and a green circle, 1 above the other, when your sited in at 25 yards, you shoot at the bottom cirlce and it should hit in the upper circle for 2- 300 yards....
You can site your rifle in at 25 yards, they have targets that will have a red circle and a green circle, 1 above the other, when your sited in at 25 yards, you shoot at the bottom cirlce and it should hit in the upper circle for 2- 300 yards....
If something was given in this thread....to what caliber, what powder load, bullet weight, what type of powder, wind corrections, humidity corrections, temperature corrections, or even type of gun...
Then I would agree with you, but since none of that was given....I gave a general comment...
No biggie.
I just tossed it out there because theres alot of things like that now that can be misleading. Even a known load will vary from gun to gun & especially in different barrel lengths.
there are good rules of thumb though. I generally start by sighting anything in at 25 yards, often its very close at 100 depending on load & caliber as well as scope or iron sights.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
