Hunting Greenhorn needs advice!

[scotthoward]

First of all, thanks to everyone who reads and posts, I'm pretty much in the dark here.
Anyway, I have decided that I want to hunt, but I know nobody in my area (Vancouver) who hunt. I know where I need to start as far as getting my hunter number and license, but I would like to know people's opinions on buying a rifle.
I'm not sure whats best: start with hunting duck and small game and work up to bigger game, or get a .300 right off the bat and go for broke.
Any advice anybody can give me in this area would be greatly appreciated as I am real excited to dive headlong into this new hobby.
Thanks bros, take er easy

[Marc]

Hi Scott,

There is nothing to say that you can't do both, hunt birds and big game in the same season. It's totally different styles of hunting and both fun. If you want to get some hunting under your belt then you can do some early bird hunting before the big game starts up giving you a chance to do a bit of scouting as well of the areas you're in.

You don't need anything to fancy for shooting birds. I started with a single shot shotgun which made you try that much harder as you only had the one shot.

Your best bet when you have all your coursing done would be to joint a rod and gun club and get some practice in and meet some people.

[elkdom]

1, join a shooting/sportsman's club such as Mission Rod and Gun
2, buy a good .22 rim fire. practice and firearm marksmanship is KEY.
3, meet some hunters,make some contacts, learn some "methods"
4, big game rifle is another question, something in a caliber providing good stopping power,and not TOO BIG on RECOIL!, yet "ECONOMICAL" to shoot is very important, as you are totally new to all aspects of shooting hunting, again practice and marksmanship is KEY!
some calibers that are inexpensive to shoot a lot with commercial ammo, yet with proven knoc-down power for BC are a follows
.308 Winchester, .270 Winchester, 30-06 Springfield, as for what gun?? thats your style preference,what manufacturer built it? or, bolt action, lever action, auto loader etc,,,

[NaStY]

First off, welcome the the site.

You will find alot of info on here by using the search feature as well.

You will also find out everyone has a different opinion when it comes to hunting and you will have to find what suits you best.

Dont expect the whole thing to come together in a day.

Get out there as much as possible.

And if all else fails, just get out there and have some fun......

[MichelD]

You could start hunting right now. Without a gun.

Go to the VPL and take some books out on mule deer hunting, and whitetail too, but remember that kind of hunting is different than most mule deer hunting, and occurs from Osoyoos East in B.C. more or less.

Read through the archives here or just pick a spot and go look for game.

Get out of your vehicle and hike around. Start thinking about what game trails look like, are there any droppings? What kind?

Do you hike much?

Explore back roads?

The province is rich with locations, and even within 2 to three hours of the Lower Mainland you can get into some interesting country.

If you have time you could spend until September exploring every weekend.

[bridger]

welcome to the hunting fraternity. this is a great sport and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do and have for a long time. there are lots of guys on the site that will give you good advice. When i started hunting in BC I joined the local rod and gun club and started meeting guys and discussing hunting areas etc and got started that way. you might want to try it. good luck

[PGK]

Buy a good bolt action 22 first. You will make yourself into a better shooter and hunter if you start with a good accurate 22 bolt. Don't get talked into a semi-auto. You will sacrifice accuracy and patience. There's always too much temptation with a semiauto to hurry your shots and get into rat-tat-tat-tat-tat mode. It's fun, but you don't hit much.

I will second Mission R&G, I hear lots of good thing about their club, even way up here in the north. If you want to hunt birds, you'll need to go for a 12ga shotgun. Again, for a new shooter, I figure manual action is best. Buy a pump! I'm a Remington fan, so I say buy a Remington 870 Express with a 26 or 28'' barrel, or if you have the coin, an 870 Wingmaster (which is the high quality version of the express).

I won't go much into rifles, because discussing the proper rifles and clibres for new shooters has caused small wars at times. But I echo sentiments already posted. You do not need, under any circumstances, a rifle larger than a 30-06 for any game species in BC. For under a grand, you have a thousand production rifle options in dozens of calibres. Popular choices are Tikka T3, Remington 700, Savage, Browning XBolt and Winchester m70 in calibres like 7mm-08, 308 win, 270 win, 30-06 and 7mm magnum.

[BearSniper]

Welcome:grin:

All the above is excellent advice. A good ethical hunter is ALWAYS first a good shot.

My 2 cents would be , once you are up and running, say next fall, when you hit the bush, have a tag for just about everything possible in your region of choice.

It never fails, you'll see a monster mulie or black bear and you won't have a tag for it. You'll be cussing yourself all the way home.

Happy hunting

[Ambush]

Follow the advice already given. Then hope that some one from HBC lives close to you and does the right thing by taking you under their wing. You're off to a good start by starting your planning now rather then waiting till fall.http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif

Buy tags for the three most common big game species in the area you plan to hunt. And maybe "beginners luck" will reward you with the animal of a lifetime just to keep you hooked!http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif

HBC is a wealth of hunting information and not a bad daytime soap opera sometimes to.

[RJ]

Im taking the core course this weekend. I'm still fairly new and not in much of a position to give advice but I would agree with what's been said already. The worst thing you can do is jump into a large calibre rifle and develop bad shooting habits, flinches, closing you're eyes, and everyone should have a .22. If you get a nice one they will last forever. I shoot the one my dad did as a kid.

[bsa30-06]

All good advice given above.As far as not knowing anybody that hunts dont let that stop you,i was in the same boat as you 7 years ago.Then i found this site and got lots of good advice from the folks here.There advice was the reason i had sucess on my first bear trip.A couple times a year there are HBC gatherings here in the lower mainland try and make it and meet some members.I have hunted with a few members from here and all are welcome around my camp anytime.Lots to learn in this sport so get out as often as you can , even if its just for a day or a scouting trip.Best of luck, and welcome to HBC.

[mpotzold]

[quote=scotthoward;460172]I would like to know people's opinions on buying a rifle. ....as I am real excited to dive headlong into this new hobby.


Welcome!
For some of us hunting is not a hobby- it's a way of life!
Besides of joining various clubs as some members suggested I would first go hunting with experienced hunter/s if possible whether it’s for small or large game in any order. (the tag along stage).

Initially if possible borrow a rifle or a shotgun to get a feel of what is best for you. Ask on any hunting forum- which is the best rifle? overall or for certain game & you’ll get a hundred different answers all valid in their own way. If you decide to buy a rifle now I would initially recommend a 30/06 which you can always use as a back up rifle later on (I have a 375, a 300 Win Mag., a 243 and my favourite a 45-70 Marlin Guide Gun.) For a shotgun –any 12 gauge pump action..

From time to time some members do want to take a beginner hunting to introduce them to hunting & to show him/her the ropes.(ex. “Dad and Son”-members from Van)
Good luck.
A warning my friend-“Once bitten by the hunting bug you'll be hooked forever”

[scotthoward]

wow, what an amazing response! I'm really glad I decided to get into this sport and to join this site, you all seem like real nice and helpful fellas. So far all advice is reasonable, looks like Langley Rod and Gun is my next stop, 20 minutes from my house. Can't wait to get started! and don't worry dudes, I'll surely be back soon with more questions! Thanks again, see y'all in the bush!

[hunter1947]

Try going out with a family friend and do some shooting and try some different shotguns and rifles.
If I where you I would get my feet wet ,I would get a gun that will do for all ,a 270 would be my choice
http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon12.gif.

[huntinnewbie]

Hey Scott,
Have you taken your CORE and PAL yet. If not and you are only 20 minutes from Langley Rod and Gun then there are a pair of instructors that live i the Fernridge area. Took my courses from them and they are fantastic teachers. Let me know if you want the contact info and you can give them a call and see when the next course starts. Don't leave it too long as you will get your hunter number and licence fairly quickly but the PAL takes a long time.

[sawmill]

Congrats !You are about to enter a thousands of year old tradition,and some of the best cavemen are on this site.Everything written here so far is excellent advice.And trust me,when you get out with your rifle on an early frosty fall morning in gods country you will feel closer to life and nature than any man on earth.
Humans made churchs,God made the real thing.I figure He would not have made mountains if he wanted us to sit inside half of Sunday.
Good hunting !

[MichelD]

I'm in Port Hardy visiting the care home my parents are in. Just over a year ago I was in the place yacking with one of the nurses and he was an avid fisherman, and when I told him hunting tales, said he was going to take up hunting.

When I got there yesterday he reported that he'd gotten started with two bucks off the North Island last year.