New Hunter

[Maximus7]

I'm a 24 year old college senior. I'm taking my hunting class on the 8th and 9th of august. I'm new to hunting but im interested and wanted to know where I should go to hunt for my first time.

 

[greg54]

Welcome aboard!!

[Maximus7]

Welcome aboard!!

thanks! always been interested finally taking the steps to participating 

[DirtTime]

Welcome. Welcome to the fine world of hunting! As for where to go, that depends on what you want to hunt and where you live. The whole state is pretty much covered here, so I am sure you can get advice on good locations in just about any area.

[Hunter76]

welcome aboard Area 7 m here.

[fasteddie]

Welcome to Hunting NY

[grampy]

Welcome! Lots of good folks here that will be happy to answer any questions a new hunter may have. Remember, the only dumb question, is the one not asked. We have all been where you are now and will be there when you need us.

What game will you be hunting?

What will you be hunting with? Bow,shotgun,rifle?

What part of the state will you be hunting?

Will you be able to tag along with an experienced hunter? This will shorten the learning curve quite a bit.

I wish you a lifetime of hunting adventures! Good luck!

[Maximus7]

Welcome! Lots of good folks here that will be happy to answer any questions a new hunter may have. Remember, the only dumb question, is the one not asked. We have all been where you are now and will be there when you need us.

What game will you be hunting?

What will you be hunting with? Bow,shotgun,rifle?

What part of the state will you be hunting?

Will you be able to tag along with an experienced hunter? This will shorten the learning curve quite a bit.

I wish you a lifetime of hunting adventures! Good luck!

thanks I want to hunt big game but I'm really open to everything, I live in the Long Island area but I have a house in Monticello. So I'm open to a lot of area. I haven't purchased a rifle or bow yet because I haven't taken my class but i would like any starter rifles I should try. I'm also taking the bow hunting class at the end of August. I don't have any experienced hunters I can tag along with, my brother hunts but up by ft.drum.

[grampy]

Have you aquired any hunting gear yet besides firearms?

Things like....

Hunting boots for early season and for cold weather.

Camo clothing, no need to go expensive here look for sales, for now . A good base layer works wonders when it's warm out or cold. Use multiple layers when it gets colder.

A decent knife for field dressing your deer and game. Keep it small, 3 or 4 inches will do most jobs.

A good comfortable foam seat to carry along will make any sit more enjoyable.

There is an endless list of things to consider for hunting. At first try to keep it simple until you see where your hunting journey is taking you. Then just add as you need or can afford. Try to learn somthing new with each outing. And above all just have fun!

[Maximus7]

Have you aquired any hunting gear yet besides firearms?

Things like....

Hunting boots for early season and for cold weather.

Camo clothing, no need to go expensive here look for sales, for now . A good base layer works wonders when it's warm out or cold. Use multiple layers when it gets colder.

A decent knife for field dressing your deer and game. Keep it small, 3 or 4 inches will do most jobs.

A good comfortable foam seat to carry along will make any sit more enjoyable.

There is an endless list of things to consider for hunting. At first try to keep it simple until you see where your hunting journey is taking you. Then just add as you need or can afford. Try to learn somthing new with each outing. And above all just have fun!

no I haven't started acquiring gear yet I need to put a list together of the essentials I'll need

[ATbuckhunter]

Welcome!

[Doc]

Be sure to use those two days of hunter safety education classes as a networking opportunity. There will be a lot of people there that already have hunting grounds, or ideas of where they will be going and they are all local. Make use of that fact.

 

Also, "where to hunt" would make a good classroom question because I am sure you won't be the only one there that has the same question.

[GreeneHunter]

Rod and Gun clubs are a good way to get into hunting/fishing !  As mentioned by "Doc" before networking is an excellent way to find hunting ground . Seasoned hunters generally welcome new hunters into the fold (so to speak) !

[Maximus7]

Be sure to use those two days of hunter safety education classes as a networking opportunity. There will be a lot of people there that already have hunting grounds, or ideas of where they will be going and they are all local. Make use of that fact.

Also, "where to hunt" would make a good classroom question because I am sure you won't be the only one there that has the same question.

ok thank you! I definitely will

[Jaeger]

Hi and welcome!

 

I started on Long Island and had no one to teach me or go with.  Still, I learned by myself and had a blast exploring new areas.  It is quicker with a mentor tho'.

 

A great place to start for finding hunting land is with the Dec (stony brook in WMU 1c, suffolk county).  There you can get maps with direction and sizes of the public areas.

 

Contrary to most, I've always had a great relationship with the local Environmental Conservation Officers.  If you play by the rules, many will tip you off to underutilized areas.

 

Starting with the Otis pike preserve group of lands around the peconic river will get you going.

 

Same holds true for upstate, I'm in Delaware county and first thing I did was visit the satellite DEC office, wildlife Dept. in Stamford.

 

There is also a ton of material on the DEC website, put it in your favorites.

 

Also, don't forget the small gun/bow shops.  They know of good areas as well, just don't forget to buy something small as appreciation for advice, worked well for me when I moved upstate.

 

I could go on and on (already have!) but finding new areas, trying new styles, is most of the fun!

 

Good luck and have fun.

[Curmudgeon]

Welcome and good luck.

[DirtTime]

Great advice already. Making friends is the best way to get onto private land. Beats trying the door to door asking method.

Another thing to consider is figure out the areas you want to hunt most and buy your weapon of choice to fit that area. Brushy areas, open woods or fields, how far will you shots be.....

Also if you are on a budget or only want one gun and plan to hunt small and big game, you can't go wrong buying a shotgun with a slug barrel and field barrel combo. I would actually suggest this to anyone starting off because you have both worlds covered. Hunt everything you can for a season and then decide how you want to proceed.

Just starting out and doing it alone can seem daunting. There's a lot to know and learn. Ask questions, a lot of questions.

[Maximus7]

I'm looking for a mentor I think that is the next best thing for me to do

[Maximus7]

I want to hunt deer primarily im also in my last year of school in danbury,ct which is right next to putnam county

[NFA-ADK]

I shoot bow, and rifle and primarily go for deer.  If you are interested I can meet you at one of our east end rifle ranges and go over the basics and introduce you to some weapons so you have an idea of what you want to use.  Then we can go over DEC hunting spots on LI.  I am familiar with some of them.  If your interested in bow we can shoot at Suffolk Archers, depending on your draw length I might have some cheap options for you to start out with. 

 

One thing I would say you need to work on is shooting, it is the most under rated part of hunting.  If you intend on trying out bow hunting;  (I do recommend this type of hunting ESPECIALLY if you want to hunt close to home on LI.)  You would need to get one soon to be able to hunt this year with it.  It is not like a gun and requires more practice.  (LI is primarily bow until January when they open shotgun.)

 

I have been hunting since 1988 so I have some experience.  I am available this Saturday if your interested in going to the range. 

 

Welcome aboard, great people with a wealth of information!  

 

[shawnhu]

Welcome. I primarily hunt 3S and 3P

X-Calibur Lighting Systems

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[DirtTime]

I shoot bow, and rifle and primarily go for deer.  If you are interested I can meet you at one of our east end rifle ranges and go over the basics and introduce you to some weapons so you have an idea of what you want to use.  Then we can go over DEC hunting spots on LI.  I am familiar with some of them.  If your interested in bow we can shoot at Suffolk Archers, depending on your draw length I might have some cheap options for you to start out with. 

 

One thing I would say you need to work on is shooting, it is the most under rated part of hunting.  If you intend on trying out bow hunting;  (I do recommend this type of hunting ESPECIALLY if you want to hunt close to home on LI.)  You would need to get one soon to be able to hunt this year with it.  It is not like a gun and requires more practice.  (LI is primarily bow until January when they open shotgun.)

 

I have been hunting since 1988 so I have some experience.  I am available this Saturday if your interested in going to the range. 

 

Welcome aboard, great people with a wealth of information!  

 

There you go! Take NFA-ADK up on the offer.

 

 

Also for a list, to add to what grampy already mentioned, first and foremost get a compass and learn how to use it! A GPS is great, but batteries can die or they can break if dropped, it might never happen but preparation and readiness should always a top priority. The more you learn from the start about certain things will keep from going "$***! What do I do now!?" down the road. You might start out hunting small areas close to home, but you might start wanting to get into bigger woods, like the massive ADK Park. Not having a compass and map in there might be a bad bad bad thing.

Also, sorry to say this, but always keep some TP in your pack! You never know!

A small first aid kit with ( yes I am serious here! ) a tube of super glue and some duct tape.

[Elmo]

Welcome to hunting and welcome to the forum.  Several hunters live in LI including some new ones.  I, myself live in NYC.

[grampy]

I shoot bow, and rifle and primarily go for deer.  If you are interested I can meet you at one of our east end rifle ranges and go over the basics and introduce you to some weapons so you have an idea of what you want to use.  Then we can go over DEC hunting spots on LI.  I am familiar with some of them.  If your interested in bow we can shoot at Suffolk Archers, depending on your draw length I might have some cheap options for you to start out with. 

 

One thing I would say you need to work on is shooting, it is the most under rated part of hunting.  If you intend on trying out bow hunting;  (I do recommend this type of hunting ESPECIALLY if you want to hunt close to home on LI.)  You would need to get one soon to be able to hunt this year with it.  It is not like a gun and requires more practice.  (LI is primarily bow until January when they open shotgun.)

 

I have been hunting since 1988 so I have some experience.  I am available this Saturday if your interested in going to the range. 

 

Welcome aboard, great people with a wealth of information!  

 

This is what it's all about folks. Hunters helping hunters, to make it better for someone else. And remembering how it was when you started out. Then in time have them pass something along to another hunter. This is what hunting needs more of. And I've seen it time and again from some really good people on this site.

 

NFA-ADK, that is a very unselfish and generous offer. Hope the new hunter can take advantage of it. Offers like that don't come around too often anymore. Way to go!!!

[Elmo]

NFA-ADK, that is a very unselfish and generous offer. Hope the new hunter can take advantage of it. Offers like that don't come around too often anymore. Way to go!!!

 

Seriously.  We, as hunters, lament about the declining numbers but very few actually steps up to the plate and does something about it.