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.
I got my state license earlier this week and will be getting my tags for deer, turkey and black bear in a week. The tag costs $23, which seems extremely reasonable to me. Limits are 3 turkeys in a license year, no more than two of which can be taken during the fall gobbler season, 6 dear, no less than 3 of which have to be antlerless, and 1 bear with a live weight of no less than 100 pounds or field dressed weight of 75 pounds.
I am also a first-time hunter, and in Virginia I am required to take a "safety and ethics" class. I have registered already and am looking forward to the class. It should be a good opportunity to pique the instructor's brain on other hunting related topics as well.
The State of Virginia's Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has a fantastic web-site that makes it incredibly easy for a first timer like me to learn the laws, tag limits, and locations of certain types of game. I'm really looking forward to breaking into a new hobby this fall.
I'm open to advice from anyone who has hunted in this state in the past. What has worked for you? What hasn't? Know any good spots you can recommend?
If you have never dressed out any big game before, it might be worthwhile to invite along an experienced hunter who can help you (in exchange for some of the meat of course). Particularly for a bear.
Keep in mind that bears can fight back if you manage to wound them. Not common to get hurt, but, just sayin'. Try to get some diagrams, drawings, or targets that show internal anatomy, so you know where to aim. This can be hard to figure out from some angles. I would pass up any shot where the animal is facing more than about 45 degrees away from you.
6 deer is a lot of meat. Like they said in the Army, take all you want, but eat all you take.
Keep in mind that in some heavily hunted areas, there are a fair number of guys wandering around the woods with a rifle, who really don't know what they are doing. In many areas of the South, a tree stand can be a very good way to hunt deer, but some guys just don't like to climb and sit. It does have the advantage that almost no one is stupid enough to shoot at you thinking you are a squirrel, though.
Likewise, unless you are an incredible natural caller, you probably can't call a turkey in to your blind. More likely you will call in another hunter, one dumb enough to get out of his blind and come to you - if you were a real turkey, you would see him coming way before he sees you. I knew a couple of guys who did this, and, yeah, one shot the other, no real permanent damage, but it hurt like hell picking the shot out of his legs, I guess.
Don't take me as being negative, take me as trying to make some suggestions to help you stay out of negative territory. Good luck!
If you have never dressed out any big game before, it might be worthwhile to invite along an experienced hunter who can help you (in exchange for some of the meat of course). Particularly for a bear.
Keep in mind that bears can fight back if you manage to wound them. Not common to get hurt, but, just sayin'. Try to get some diagrams, drawings, or targets that show internal anatomy, so you know where to aim. This can be hard to figure out from some angles. I would pass up any shot where the animal is facing more than about 45 degrees away from you.
6 deer is a lot of meat. Like they said in the Army, take all you want, but eat all you take.
Keep in mind that in some heavily hunted areas, there are a fair number of guys wandering around the woods with a rifle, who really don't know what they are doing. In many areas of the South, a tree stand can be a very good way to hunt deer, but some guys just don't like to climb and sit. It does have the advantage that almost no one is stupid enough to shoot at you thinking you are a squirrel, though.
Likewise, unless you are an incredible natural caller, you probably can't call a turkey in to your blind. More likely you will call in another hunter, one dumb enough to get out of his blind and come to you - if you were a real turkey, you would see him coming way before he sees you. I knew a couple of guys who did this, and, yeah, one shot the other, no real permanent damage, but it hurt like hell picking the shot out of his legs, I guess.
Don't take me as being negative, take me as trying to make some suggestions to help you stay out of negative territory. Good luck!
Mitch, no offense taken, I most certainly appreciate the help. I do plan on having a more experienced hunter along for the instruction for my first few trips. And of course, common courtesy demands that he be given a share of the spoils. (Perhaps a bad word to use in this context.) I also do not plan on shooting 6 deer just to fill my tags. One deer is a lot of meat, and I do not believe in shooting an animal if I don't have a use for the meat.
As for the turkeys, I actually was not even planning on hunting them until I learned that they are rolled into one tag with the deer and bear here in VA. Since I have the tags, I'm going to give it a try, but I've done little to no research on hunting this game. For the fall season I plan on using a .22 magnum because I don't have a shotgun that is a legal hunting shotgun and I'm not willing to modify it. I am looking to get a new shotgun anyway, but that'll happen in time for the spring season.
As for the technique, I'll try a call and hope they come to me. We'll see.
Well, I have not hunted turkeys, and in many states you can use either a rifle or shotgun. Most people who shoot them with a shotgun go for a head shot with a very tight choke, so as to avoid filling the meat with pellets. With a rifle most go for a body shot as if the bird was big game. Or so I have read.
Assuming you can use lead shot, you could pick up a good old single barrel shotgun relatively cheap. Or, grab an 870, new or used, hard to go wrong with that. Both options I am thinking 12 gauge, although, if you were to find a good 16 gauge, you might get it cheaper and assuming you use it primarily for hunting, the more expensive shells and a bit harder to find won't bother you much.
I have bought a lot of guns at gun shows, and had very few that had any sort of mechanical problem or were bad shooters. There are a few bad apples in any big enough barrel of course, but for the most part the people at gun shows, buyers and sellers, are good honest people, not trying to unload a "problem" gun. Once in a while I will see a gun offered up as a sort of "gunsmith special" with it's problems stated, and price discounted. In any case a single barrel shotgun, if the action opens and closes, is reasonably tight, and the hammer/trigger work normally, there ain't anything else to go wrong...
Maybe someone who has actually shot a turkey with a .22 Maggie will post up, did you go with the expanding bullet or the FMJ, how well did it work?
As for calling turkeys, probably the best thing is to find someone to tutor you, next best would be some sort of instructional video. It may help even then to have someone else listen to the tape and your own call, just like your own voice sounds different to you, if you are using a mouth-blown call, you may not be able to judge the tone as well as a buddy.
Enjoy the getting ready as well as the hunt when the time comes.
Many turkey seasons are in warm enough weather that you may want to think about a really good, big ice chest, so as to cool the bird down quickly as you can.
My county is thick with turkey this year. I will use a .22.
We in CA only get one deer but we can pay for one extra tag.
I have a lot of black bear but we have a understanding.
My county is thick with turkey this year. I will use a .22.
We in CA only get one deer but we can pay for one extra tag. I have a lot of black bear but we have a understanding.
Two deer for me this year. Well two tag that is, we'll see if I can fill them both.
California is seeing an explosion in the black bear population. I've seen more bear than legal bucks in the last two years.
Got my tags today! Still a long way to go before I'm ready to head out, but that's okay because the seasons are still a few months away. I still have a class to take and some additional gear to buy, as well as some sighting in to do on my rifle. Looking forward to getting out and learning more about hunting this fall! Thanks for the replies so far, guys.
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.
