How do you hunt?

V

V4Vendetta

New member
I have a confession to make. I have never been hunting. I don't know how:o . This might be acceptable for Yankee's & city folk but I grew up in North Carolina backwoods. Hunting is my heritage.

If I was to go hunt, I'd never even need to leave my front porch to get deer & turkey's that's how deep in the woods my house is. I know it involves guns or arrows & animals but after that I'm lost.

My question is this. What caliber for deer & turkey's? How do you clean deer & turkey's? Is it really nessasary to pour animal urine on yourself:barf: ? What else do I need to know?

I know you need a permit to actually hunt the critters but what's the use in buying a permit if all you know how to do is kill the critters?

Thank you for the information.:)
 
Learning on your own is not impossible, but it's the hard way to do it. There are a lot of different "tricks of the trade", but you can learn by yourself if so inclined. My suggestion would be to find someone you can spend time with who will show you how.
 
My question is this. What caliber for deer & turkey's? How do you clean deer & turkey's? Is it really nessasary to pour animal urine on yourself ? What else do I need to know?
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I usually just drink the urine, so I sweat that smell.

Question 1: At least .243 for deer and 12G for turkey
Question 2: It really helps to see it. I'll see if I can dig up an internet site with pictures
Question 3: NO! There is no need to bother with animal urine. I use scent away spray and rubber boots to stand hunt.

It would be a big help to have an experienced hunter to accompany you one your first couple hunts. Since you have land that shouldn't be a problem.
 
Problem is, I don't know anybody who hunts except my uncle Joe & he moved to Texas. I haven't seen him in years.

My dad knows a little about hunting but he's not physicly able to hunt anymore & is a poor teacher besides. He's a good fellow but he's the type who just wants to get stuff done & over with the quickest way so he can move on to other things. I don't think he's what I'm looking for either.

EDIT: Why do turkey's need the 12 gauge instead of a caliber like the .243?
 
It's considered unsporting to use a rifle to take turkey where I hunt.
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Why? I apologize for asking what to you may seem to be a dumb question but that's just how little about hunting I know.:o

Is it because you could kill the turkey from further away with a rifle instead of a shotgun?:confused:
 
No need to apologize.

Yeah, in a nutshell it's no challenge to put a bullet in a turkey (headshots might be a challenge). Turkeys have incredible vision.
 
I just looked up "means and methods" in the Texas Parks and Wildlife book. They stipulate a shotgun must be used to take Eastern Turkeys.

I would suggest taking a hunter safety course if you are serious about hunting. There's a lot more to it than heading out into the wilderness (or backyard in you case.)
 
http://www.ncwildlife.org/

Go to this website and familiarize yourself with the laws. Fish and game Cops don't mess around.

Once you are familiar with what is legal, then you can move on to where and how.

Seriously though, READ THE REGS!!

They will answer why you can't shoot a turkey with a .243 ....it's illegal!

Oh yeah! You are going to have to take a Hunters Ed course to get your liscence. You will meet people who hunt and will most likely show you the ropes!
 
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Good advice so far.

Read the regs posted above. in NC you must use a shotgun or a bow to hunt turkeys.

Get your hunter's safety course out of the way.

Get yourself a good climbing stand and learn how to use it SAFELY

Pick a spot on your property with good game trails around. Especially trails between thick areas (bedding) and fields or acorn flats (food). Set up in the spot and observe. You'll learn a lot about animal behavior.

As to field dressing, there are many procedures. Google it and you'll get some step by steps.

To hit the highlights, though:

What you need:
1 good sharp knife with a blade no more than 4 inches long
1 pair rubber gloves
1 pair plastic field dressing gloves that go up your arms
1 rope (about 6-8 feet)

For a buck:

Make a shallow cut across the abdomen just above the penis. This should just go through the outer layer of skin. Peel the skin, penis and testes down away from the body. Do not cut the urethra, you'll see it just below the skin. Peel it all the way back until you see the urethra going up into the pelvic girdle. Cut around the inside of the pelvic girdle CAREFULLY. By doing this you are freeing the anus and urethra/bladder from the inside of the pelvis. Take care with your knife not to puncture the urethra.

For a Doe:

Cut above the mammary glands and peel back away from the abdomen. You don't want milk in the meat. Cut around the vagina and anus to free them from the pelvic girdle as above.

From here on it's the same for both:

Start a cut just at a point right below the sternum. This should be just a small starter cut and you shouldn't use more than a quarter inch of your knife blade here. Put the first two fingers of your weak hand into the cut and spread them. Turn the edge of the knife facing away fromt the animals internal organs and cut all the way down to the pelvis keeping the blade edge away from the internal organs. Finish trimming around the pelvic girdle from both the body cavity side and the tail side until the bladder and bowel move freely. You'll see the bladder at this point and it will likely be FULL of urine. You do not want this in the meat, keep it from tearing or puncturing.

Go back to where you started your cut and cut upward through the cartiledge around the sternum to split the ribcage up to the throat. If your knife is sharp and sturdy this will be easier than it sounds.

Cut the diaphragm muscle from the front of the ribcage around to the spine. Turn the deer over and do the same on the other side. Reach up as far into the throat as you can and grasp the esophagus and trachea with your weak hand. CAREFULLY cut it above where your holding and then pull slowly but firmly downward toward the pelvis. The internal organs from throat to scrotum will peel out of the body cavity in one long section.

You can now use the rope to hoist the deer up into a tree by the neck and allow the blood to drain. If it's cold out you can continue to hunt the rest of the day (you're allowed two deer a day in NC). If it's warm or you see flies buzzing get the deer to a processor immediately.
 
Do yourself a favor and find a Fish and Game club. Go to a meeting or event they host and ask around. If you have to take a hunter safety course chances are its at the Game club there you will find about the friendliest and most willing to help guys you have ever seen. Talk them up a little, and if they are nice and seem to be well grounded, join the club its totally worth it. In the game club I grew up in I knew that no matter what if my dad was working or out of town there was at least 4 or 5 guys who would with no hesitation drag me along on whatever they were after and that is the best way to learn.
 
Shotgun pellets don't tear up as much meat as rifle bullets. The best part of a turkey is the breast, and any deer rifle will ruin about 90% of it. Where the use of a rifle is legal, the head is pretty much the only target, although a shot that just skims across the back will work.

Learn to read tracks by just wandering slowly along trails. Get out at first light and observe until an hour or so past sunup. Get out about an hour before sundown and just sit and watch until full dark. That will help you learn what critters do.

Learn how to walk smoothly and silently. It takes some thought and practice. Learn the step-pause-step-step-pause so you can move a bit and then look for a bit. "Sneaky snake" style. And look behind you, quite often. Critters will hide as you pass and then move after you've gone on.

And learn how to sit still, imitating a stump or large rock. Spell "patience" a lot. :D You learn to ignore itches or boredom.

It just takes time and learning to see as well as look.

Turkey shotgunning is easier than on quail or doves. You don't have to build the reflexes for how much to lead a bird whose speed varies a lot. rifle shooting is best learned via a bolt-action .22 with iron sights. You can later move up to a deer rifle, but it surely helps to have learned the basics.

Art
 
My question is this. What caliber for deer & turkey's? How do you clean deer & turkey's? Is it really nessasary to pour animal urine on yourself ? What else do I need to know?

I know you need a permit to actually hunt the critters but what's the use in buying a permit if all you know how to do is kill the critters?
Click to expand...

I think the best thing you can do is go join a club or something or get the neighbours to take you hunting. There are so many different styles of hunting. Every person in every part of the country hunts a different way. We have to drive because there are big distances that need to be covered in wide open Saskatchewan to find the deer and then we push bush to drive the deer out and ususally dont get much.
 
Good advice. Read the North Carolina hunting regulations. Print yourself out a copy. Many state wedsites have directions to field dress a deer with diagrams. It sounds harder than it is. Most important thing is to try to take a good shot to the front shoulders (diaphram forward) where you won't mess up the intestines and other digestive tract items which makes field dressing much less pleasant.

In most states you are required to take a hunter safety course. The class is interesting and will teach you a lot about guns, safety and so forth. You might even find yourself a hunting buddy in the process. Good way to start hunting is to hunt squirrels which gets you out in the woods observing nature and animal habits.

Lots of choices on firearms. With centerfire, just stick with a caliber of 243 or larger. I prefer 270 win, but many prefer the 243, 30-06, or 308. Much bigger and you are being unnecessarily pounded with recoil and not necessary for a deer sized animal; smaller and you are more likely to wound an animal.

Most hunt turkeys with a 12 gauge shotgun with #4-#6 shot. (Check state regs.) Some use 20 gauge shotguns (3" shells). Where I grew up, it was legal and common for hunters to use a light centerfire or 22 for turkey hunting in the fall. Not as easy to hit one as you think without damaging a lot of meat. Ever watch the movie Sgt. York?

Read the sporting magazines about hunting. You can learn a lot from them. There are many books written specifically about deer hunting.
 
Finding a good area can be difficult as well at least around here. Many many people hunt the easy to get to public forest land up here in wa state. So those areas are really crowded and heavily hunted. Most of the good wilderness is hard to access. Many are gated off or the roads dont exist anymore. Plus half of the time its hard to tell where it is okay to hunt. Is it private land or state or national forest. They dont post like they should in a lot of places. Knowing or getting to know long time hunters of the area can really help. Also I second reading the regs for the different areas is very crucial. You could cross an invisible line in the woods and not know it. The game wardens can and do run you through the ringer and fine you $$$$ big time for mistakes.
 
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