"Getting into the hobby" threads...

[yuriy]

I've been browsing the forum quite a bit last week or so, and something I've noticed to be lacking (when compared to forums for my other hobbies) are threads that provide basic, but concrete information on various hunting-related topics for fresh newbies.

Some examples:
- Buying your first firearm
- Essential gear/equipment; everything from footwear, to clothing, to knives and emergency equipment
- What "is" hunting? Finding a location, hiking, best tips, how to do this and that.
- Field-dressing the animal and transporting it to your vehicle
- Unspoken rules / common courtesy items that all hunters know, but may not be obvious to others

A dedicated (and stickied) thread on each of these topics (and more, I'm sure) would be very valuable to newbies like me, and would certainly make getting into hunting seem like less of an overwhelming experience. Lots of this information is already available, but it's scattered through thousands of threads and is very hard to get a solid grasp on.

For example, when I got into motorcycling some seven years ago, I didn't know a single person that rode bikes and wasn't aware of any resources; I didn't even know about bike schools - the thought never even crossed my mind. I learned mainly through trial & error and the school of hard knocks (some harder than I would have liked!). I went through many of sets of gear, buying this and buying that because I thought it would be useful, and ending up wasting massive amounts of money on things I didn't need. If I had a thread that outlined the basic essentials of gear (as well as optional "nice to haves") and what to look for when choosing it, I could have saved massive amounts of money & headache, and generally enjoyed the hobby a lot more. The same concept applies to hunting.

Any experienced locals up to the task of throwing some info together? Thoughts?

[adriaticum]

Good points. I suggested this last year too. Education forum.
Info is generally all there just not as easy to find it.

[clte]

I think the problem is that each one of these questions takes some time to explain and can vary quite a bit depending on region.

[Whonnock Boy]

A lot of your questions can only be answered with lots, and lots of research. In the end you will find numerous ways to get the job done, but only one suits your needs, abilities, or desires. For instance, a person can get away with purchasing a gun, and driving the back roads to hunt. He's happy.... Another guy wants the full meal deal, with a gun or bow, backpack, tent, range finder, gps, various knives, day pack, binos, spotting scope, bivy sack, compass, water filtration unit, camp stove, etc, etc, etc, etc. The list is endless. With that, each and every piece of gear, has so many options to choose from. The only way to figure that out is research, and questions. Have fun, and good luck.

[yuriy]

I think the problem is that each one of these questions takes some time to explain and can vary quite a bit depending on region.

For sure. But even tackling the most basic questions/answers would be useful. It would be a starting point, a "boost" to newbies' education, if you will.

A lot of your questions can only be answered with lots, and lots of research. In the end you will find numerous ways to get the job done, but only one suits your needs, abilities, or desires. For instance, a person can get away with purchasing a gun, and driving the back roads to hunt. He's happy.... Another guy wants the full meal deal, with a gun or bow, backpack, tent, range finder, gps, various knives, day pack, binos, spotting scope, bivy sack, compass, water filtration unit, camp stove, etc, etc, etc, etc. The list is endless. With that, each and every piece of gear, has so many options to choose from. The only way to figure that out is research, and questions. Have fun, and good luck.

I can definitely see that. This is where a "basic essentials" and "nice to haves" would come in. No list would work for everyone (the only thing that pleases everyone is a jar of Nutella ), but it would be a good starting point to work from and customize to your own needs. On other forums such threads usually start with someone knowledgeable sharing their own opinions, and other people contributing to the thread; the original post then gets revised as necessary. It takes some effort, but good info accumulates pretty quickly, and once it's there, newbies can be pointed to the stickies whenever they bring up the same questions time and time again.

[WesHarm]

I agree it is really helpful to have at least a "Bare essentials" or "Starting point" to build off of... as an example the CORE instructor i just finished with ended up having a really helpful "Field Dressing" Slide tutorial after the exams. It was super helpful and gave everyone an idea of what to do he included a list of "Things to bring in your "Gutting Kit" " a simple list of things with some basic instruction is a great place to start so the newbie (like myself ) have somewhere to start from. I'll try and find the list and post it up here later since i wrote it all down.

[BearStump]

All the info that you listed IS available on this website. and once you've been on for a while it will all reveal itself to you. old threads get renewed and stuff that was written 8 years ago will come to the top of the pile again.

BTW I ride too, and I wouldnt want someone to hold my hand, to tell me what helmet will fit my head best, what jacket has what armour, what the different armour ratings mean. How to get in on track days, how to knee drag properly, how to get the front tire in the air with a 90 hp 600 cc bike. I find that the legwork that is put in to answer these questions for myself is what makes the experience, and is what makes it a "hobby". After all isn't a "hobby" just something you enjoy that can fill your spare time? I like to soak in all the info I can slowly on my own. If all the info was layed out infront of me and within the first year of riding, I knew pretty much all there is to know, well that hobby wouldnt last long and I'd move on to something else that I enjoy.
Be patient and spend time on here reading. You WILL definately learn more as a member here than doing it all on your own. You'll learn which guys are the old wise ones that can answer questions for you via PM, and you'll learn who the ass hat trolls are that you can add to your ignore list.
Welcome to HBC

[KBC]

As a total noob myself I'd love a resource like this all in one place.
Another problem with getting info is that a lot of guys don't want to share secrets. I've asked everyone I know who hunts (at least 10 different guys) if there's room for me the next time they go as I'd love to learn anything they could show me but not one has invited me. So maybe it's me haha.
I've given up on finding any help in person and have just decided to do as much research as possible and learn it myself.
Any pool of info for noobs would be a great help for guys like me instead of having to read through thread after thread just to find that one little tip amongst all the static.

[r106]

The answers to those questions are so broad. I started with nothing but a gun, ammo and a knife. My hunting clothing consisted of runners, jeans and sweater. And for the basics thats all you need. I've since added several items but the basics gotter done for the first few kills.

I do like the idea of the CORE course getting more in depth about gutting and care for the meat.

[keoke]

The easiest way into a hunting party is to find a hunter with daughters and marry the least crazy one.