How to get started ???

[todbartell]

There's no dumb questions, lots of good info on HBC here and lots of good members to answer questions. I would try to find a couple hunting partners with similar experience to yourself. Im sure there's others in similar situation that live in LML. There will be no shortage of experienced hunters who would also go hunting with you. Remember to be gracious and split fuel and food costs on a trip with partners. Share the harvest too, if you're lucky enough to get something

As to first rifle, I would recommend a bolt action 22LR (Savage Mark II, Marlin XT-22, CZ, Ruger American). Great to learn marksmanship with and good for small game (grouse, rabbit). If you'll be hunting deer and black bear mainly, I'd suggest something chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor or 7mm-08. Moderate recoil, lots of firearm options, and lethal out to a few hundred yards or more. Handle as many different models you can and then you can decide what is best for you. I'd suggest Reliable Gun in Vancouver for a good shop to buy from that is local to you

cheers

[ROY-alty33]

Start working overtime. Starting from scratch you are gonna need some serious scratch.

[TreeStandMan]

Early on, the most important thing to remember is patience. I had the advantage of doing a bit of hunting with my dad when I was a kid, but when I got back into it as an adult it took me three seasons to find success. I've seen an animal on the ground in each of the past four falls, but I've still probably spent 10 days in the field for each animal in the freezer.

What I'm trying to say is that hunting isn't easy. Start with small game like grouse and rabbits. Try for deer next, but be ready for it to take a while.

Other important things:

1) Get a .22 for small game. Get used to killing hare and grouse, it'll get you ready for big game.
2) For your deer gun, just keep it simple: .243, .270, and 30-06 are available everywhere and fine for deer. You can get a sexy caliber for your second rifle when you're more clued in.
3) Get out of your vehicle and walk.
4) Rinella's book, "The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game," will shorten you learning curve.

Good luck out there.

[S.W.A.T.]

Start working overtime. Starting from scratch you are gonna need some serious scratch.

I half agree with you.

I always tell people not to get caught up in the flair. You can be a very effective hunter for not much money especially when you are starting out. Your gear doesn't have to be top of the line and you probably have most things at home anyway. Obviously if a person gets pretty serious about stream remote locations then yes the necessary can be more. But for day or weekend trips it's not much more then a regular camping trip

[Seth]

Initial purchases:

Boots, binos, rifle, rain gear and tags of course. If I could only give one single piece of advice it would be to spend as much money as you can afford (or can’t afford) on boots. Meindle, Kenetrek, Lowa, Scarpa, Hanwag will all cost you $500 but will allow you to stay dry and comfortable while out hunting. IMO, it is your single most important piece of equipment, more so than even your rifle. I’d sooner spend $500 on boots and $250 on a used rifle/scope (that still shoots straight) than the reverse. Good luck. Tons of good info on here for you.

[ZombieApocalypse]

Thanks guys I appreciate your words. There has been alot of good advice here and plenty for a guy like me to get started with. If I ever was to get involved with hunting I would probably just keep it to day trips at this point because I'm a family man and I don't have that much time. That being said I'm a family man and I don't have that much money to put towards it as well so I'll be looking at ways to save money. My initial thoughts are to start small game hunting with a .22lr or a shotgun. We have a really good skeet shooting range in Richmond that would be an excellent way to practice. Any thoughts on this as a plan?

[J_T]

Have you considered going with archery tackle as a first step? Lots of opportunity to attend 3D shoots in the LML and meet lotsmof people. Its amazing how quickly archery can become a family past time. Less regulation concern with archery tackle. Generally safer, easy to find places to practice, arrows are retrievable. You can probably get all in for $1000.
Just an option to consider.

[mike31154]

You're PPCLI buddy will be a great partner to hone outdoor skills, mapping, orienteering, all manner of survival techniques. My 1st recreational shooting experience was a skeet range. 1st big game rifle a preowned FN 30-06.. Some experience as a kid shooting gophers with .22. 2 recurve bows now too.

[Wild one]

Join a rod & gun and meet hunters a good mentor is more valuable then anything you can buy

You mention small game being your first goal. Well being in the lower mainland waterfowl is the top small game in the area. For this reason I say shotgun

Shotgun is also most versatile as can be used for both small and big game. If you look into it a shotgun opens up deer opurtunity that can’t be hunted with rifle in region 2 as well

My advice is pick 3 animals that are your main interest and focus gear/effort learning to hunt just them. If you spread yourself too thin it gets expensive and will bombarded with too much to truly learn. Nothing wrong with packing tags for all animals open in an area but if you focus on one as a main goal your success will increase. Something many seem to overlook even the 3 deer species in B.C. act very different and their habits are best exploited in different ways

Your choice on the kind of hunter you want to become so set your personal goals and stick to them

Welcome to your new addiction lol

[ZombieApocalypse]

I have only done archery as a kid but it definitely sounds fun. I'm not too sure about hunting with it... for me anyways but it certainly is a thing to consider in the future. I'm thinking of starting with a shotgun as there's a range close by and if I do start hunting it will probably be for small game like grouse, ducks, and rabbits maybe. Any suggestions on a good first shotgun? A more experienced guy told me about semi's, that they would last a lifetime but are more expensive... others have told me about pump actions as they are cheaper. I'm 5'11 @ 215lbs... so I'm not a small guy and am fairly athletic. I know that doesn't mean to much but I'm not 140lbs (no offence to anyone that is) at least.