Is this a bad time to be looking for a mentor
04-23-2020, 10:09 AM
#11
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 2,742
As they said go and be a "deer watcher" in areas where you might be able to public hunt. Get a climbing stand and learn to use it and a safety harness and climbing rope. Watch where they move and learn to pick better trees for your stand. You'll start to learn how to notice deer trails after you are out observing more. Learn to walk farther on public land as most people won't and you'll see more deer during the season.
Get yourself a compound bow and learn to shoot it. Being a newb in rifle season, without help, would be overwhelming and maybe dangerous. I would imagine deer get chased off state lands in PA as I know they do in MD. We have a few mountain state lands near me and it looks like orange dots on the hill rom the road. No way, I would want to be out there during rifle as it is too many shooters and that many hunters and the deer aren't there.
Don't worry about shooting a buck and take what ever game the state allows ar first. You can define your ethics of game choice after you know what you are doing and have killed some and learned some. Don't let people define your choice for you.
Hunter safety class are just canceled right now and will be back when the craziness ends.
Get yourself a compound bow and learn to shoot it. Being a newb in rifle season, without help, would be overwhelming and maybe dangerous. I would imagine deer get chased off state lands in PA as I know they do in MD. We have a few mountain state lands near me and it looks like orange dots on the hill rom the road. No way, I would want to be out there during rifle as it is too many shooters and that many hunters and the deer aren't there.
Don't worry about shooting a buck and take what ever game the state allows ar first. You can define your ethics of game choice after you know what you are doing and have killed some and learned some. Don't let people define your choice for you.
Hunter safety class are just canceled right now and will be back when the craziness ends.
a compound bow requires more skills, and consistent shooting form, more skills to get closer to game, and knowing more about shot placement, to be ethical and have good results
NOT saying its impossible to do, just saying it would be harder for a new guy to learn on there own
if they really wanted to get into archery type hunting, and being NEW
they would IMO be way better off getting a X bow
less to learn on form, the shop tends to help them on knowing shot ranges, as most scopes have hash marks for 10-20-30-40-50 yards and so on like
(bow have pins, that have to be adjusted) scopes tend to be out of box and good(still need to be checked)
but be a lot easier on a new guy to start off with a X bow, where legal(pa they are)
as for entering the woods in rifle season,
its NOT that bad anymore, yrs ago when we had a million plus hunters on opening day in the woods, it was pretty wild at times in spots, but hunter numbers are about half what they used to be, and truth be told hunting is a rather very safe sport, with few accidents, even with so many out there at once on opening day of rifle season
learning where higher pressure is at, can save you some worries and that can be done by asking local game wardens , ask them about pressure on opening days, on any game lands where one plans to hunt and you will get GOOD info IMO
and then there are always them GIG game lands where one can walk in a LOT farther than most others and have a LOT of elbow room if one is worried
this however turns into a LOT more work to get a deer out LOL
but it is fully possible to find spots few if any are at on public lands in PA on opening day!
and many of these spots get deer pushed into them for the same reason!
actually increasing your odds on scoring!
04-28-2020, 09:47 AM
#13
Super Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Northern California
Posts: 18,535
Near the end of last year, I hit the big 4-0 and decided that my decade b-day present to myself was going to be to finally learn to hunt. I've been interested for a while, but never got off my butt to do anything about it. I've been researching and learning independently for a while now, just to see if I would maintain the interest and get some basic knowledge under my belt. My plan was to wait until spring hit to start looking for a mentor (I'm not originally from this area and don't know any hunters currently) so that by the time the next season hits, I should be good to try my hand at it. I figured the spring time is when hunters are doing all the scouting, tree stand maintenance, and other grunt work to prep for the season, so working with a mentor starting then would help me develop a stronger foundation for the actual season.
However, with everything being shut down (I'm in SE Penn.), I can't start networking at my local sporting goods store. I can't take hunter safety in person and meet people there. All I would be able to do is post around here or reddit seeking a mentor in my area. Though, I'm not sure if anyone would be interested in mentoring at this time with everything going on.
Granted, I could just wait for all this to pass, but I think that I've reached the limits to what I can do with my youtube/internet-based research and now I'm just sitting around wasting time. Is it worth trying to find a mentor at this time, or is there anything I can be doing on my own this time that's constructive? Thanks!
However, with everything being shut down (I'm in SE Penn.), I can't start networking at my local sporting goods store. I can't take hunter safety in person and meet people there. All I would be able to do is post around here or reddit seeking a mentor in my area. Though, I'm not sure if anyone would be interested in mentoring at this time with everything going on.
Granted, I could just wait for all this to pass, but I think that I've reached the limits to what I can do with my youtube/internet-based research and now I'm just sitting around wasting time. Is it worth trying to find a mentor at this time, or is there anything I can be doing on my own this time that's constructive? Thanks!
04-28-2020, 01:33 PM
#14
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 9,230
Many states have a new hunter program. PA seems to follow suit. A simple google search brought me to this:
https://www.pgc.pa.gov/HuntTrap/Hunt...gPrograms.aspx
Mentored adults must be accompanied by an adult mentor who is a licensed hunter and must remain within eyesight of their adult mentor, and in proximity close enough for verbal instruction and guidance to be easily understood. Both mentor and mentee may carry firearms.
A Mentored Adult Hunting Permit may be purchased at any license issuing agent or online. Resident permits cost $20.90 and non-resident permits cost $101.90. An adult may purchase a permit for up to three consecutive years after which they must take a Hunter-Trapper Education course to purchase an adult hunting license.
For more information on this program's opportunities and regulations, consult the Pennsylvania Hunting and Trapping Digest. Information on Hunter Safety can be found in the online study guide: Today's Hunter & Trapper in Pennsylvania
That would be where I'd start. Here in TX we have a mentored program as well and experienced hunters can volunteer to mentor new hunters. I volunteered a couple years ago but haven't been tasked with doing it yet.
https://www.pgc.pa.gov/HuntTrap/Hunt...gPrograms.aspx
Mentored Adult Hunting Program
Beginning July 1, 2019, interested hunters ages 17 and older who have not taken a Hunter-Trapper Education course or held a hunting license in Pennsylvania or another state are eligible to purchase a Mentored Adult Hunting Permit. With the permit, mentored adults can hunt squirrels, ruffed grouse, rabbits (cottontails), bobwhite quail, hares, porcupines, woodchucks, crows, coyotes, antlerless deer and wild turkeys. Mentored adults may not harvest antlered deer.Mentored adults must be accompanied by an adult mentor who is a licensed hunter and must remain within eyesight of their adult mentor, and in proximity close enough for verbal instruction and guidance to be easily understood. Both mentor and mentee may carry firearms.
A Mentored Adult Hunting Permit may be purchased at any license issuing agent or online. Resident permits cost $20.90 and non-resident permits cost $101.90. An adult may purchase a permit for up to three consecutive years after which they must take a Hunter-Trapper Education course to purchase an adult hunting license.
For more information on this program's opportunities and regulations, consult the Pennsylvania Hunting and Trapping Digest. Information on Hunter Safety can be found in the online study guide: Today's Hunter & Trapper in Pennsylvania
05-01-2020, 05:48 AM
#18
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Indiana
Posts: 1,186
Falling back on your hiking experience is a good place to start. Spend some time on the trails.
Get yourself a map and compass, study places your going to visit. Stay on the trails for now but make note of every ridge, hill, valley, creeks, and changes in forest density. Keep looking at the maps and your going to get some experience, eventually start scouting different types of terrain. Water crossing is a great place to start. Trails are easily identifiable and a good way to start finding trails in other places.
You will need to get used to preparing for the weather, what to wear and what else to bring like food or water. It's a good place to start and a good time.
Get yourself a map and compass, study places your going to visit. Stay on the trails for now but make note of every ridge, hill, valley, creeks, and changes in forest density. Keep looking at the maps and your going to get some experience, eventually start scouting different types of terrain. Water crossing is a great place to start. Trails are easily identifiable and a good way to start finding trails in other places.
You will need to get used to preparing for the weather, what to wear and what else to bring like food or water. It's a good place to start and a good time.
Last edited by d80hunter; 05-01-2020 at 06:04 AM.
05-02-2020, 10:27 AM
#20
Super Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Northern California
Posts: 18,535
I've noticed a lot of spammers posting minimal comments that don't add anything to the conversations. They seem to have learned to avoid putting #'s in their screen names but are still using different IP addresses for almost every post. I'm poofing them as I find them. 