new to hunting

[ironsniper1]

hey all my grandfather has a 30-06 shotgun and im wanting to get into hunting deer for my gf so she can make jerky etc, what exactly do i need to get into hunting deer? if i cant do that is there anyone who sells deer meat in bulk? any and all help and advice would be great!

[Jonnin]

A 30-06 is a rifle. A shotgun is very different; and you not knowing the difference means you need to start slowly and learn about your guns before you jump into the woods.

So, first things first, you need to get a hunters education safety course, which is required to get a liscense.

Next you want to explore where you will be able to hunt in your area, and when.

Once you have a place to go, you can buy your hunting liscense (got to buy it every year).

With the paperwork started, swing over to the NRA website and refresh your gun safety rules.

While doing all the above paperwork, you will want to find a range to practice your gun with. You should take it somewhere with a 100-200 yard range, and learn to hit where you aim with it using hunting loads. Part of hunting is being able to hit what you aim at so you kill it --- wounded animals are often inedible (adrelenine ruins the taste in a hurry) and its a pain to track them thru the woods, and a bit cruel to boot, so best to get this skill down.

Spend some time arounds guns to understand the difference between a shotgun and a rifle and the purpose of each.

Hunting is pretty involved. Do not be in a rush to get there, it may even take the better part of this year to reach a point where you have what you need to actually take a deer. It works a LOT better if you can find an experienced buddy to take you along and help you out.

You cannot buy deer meat to my knowledge: no one raises them for food and hunters do not have the liscense to sell their meat. You can buy some jerky or processed meat at a few places, but that is also not super common.

My apologies if I sound overly concerned --- if you know your way around guns and shotgun was just a slip of the pen, you can bypass some of this advice of course. I just have to assume from that sort of comment that you are new to guns, and work from there (?).

[ironsniper1]

A 30-06 is a rifle. A shotgun is very different; and you not knowing the difference means you need to start slowly and learn about your guns before you jump into the woods.

So, first things first, you need to get a hunters education safety course, which is required to get a liscense.

Next you want to explore where you will be able to hunt in your area, and when.

Once you have a place to go, you can buy your hunting liscense (got to buy it every year).

With the paperwork started, swing over to the NRA website and refresh your gun safety rules.

While doing all the above paperwork, you will want to find a range to practice your gun with. You should take it somewhere with a 100-200 yard range, and learn to hit where you aim with it using hunting loads. Part of hunting is being able to hit what you aim at so you kill it --- wounded animals are often inedible (adrelenine ruins the taste in a hurry) and its a pain to track them thru the woods, and a bit cruel to boot, so best to get this skill down.

Spend some time arounds guns to understand the difference between a shotgun and a rifle and the purpose of each.

Hunting is pretty involved. Do not be in a rush to get there, it may even take the better part of this year to reach a point where you have what you need to actually take a deer. It works a LOT better if you can find an experienced buddy to take you along and help you out.

You cannot buy deer meat to my knowledge: no one raises them for food and hunters do not have the liscense to sell their meat. You can buy some jerky or processed meat at a few places, but that is also not super common.

My apologies if I sound overly concerned --- if you know your way around guns and shotgun was just a slip of the pen, you can bypass some of this advice of course. I just have to assume from that sort of comment that you are new to guns, and work from there (?).

the shotgun thing is what i was told by my grandfather so i just repeated it here, thanks for the advice! i will look into all of it

[monkeylizard]

Here's a link for the Hunter Safety course from the TWRA:

http://www.state.tn.us/twra/huntered.html

I did mine at Donelson Christian and it was excellent. I'm sure the on-line course is fine, but in-person has a lot of value.

They'll go over the license requirements as part of the course as well as talk about hunting on public land vs. private.

[Jonnin]

the online course is not sufficient. The wife and I did that, and it is nice, but it is really just a study guide. We STILL had to go to the class to take the test and ended up going back over the same stuff from the online version again. I do not remember why but the test from the online package did not count and we had to take the live test at the class to get our "ben there dun that" paper.

The class is pretty easy. We both got 100% on the test. It spends an unholy amount of time on how to climb a tree, which at my age is not gonna happen, but it is really good stuff and I learned a lot of new unsafe things to try that I had never even thought of.

[DaveS]

These folks posted really good information. Research should be your first step!

[ironsniper1]

These folks posted really good information. Research should be your first step!

i did research but there was so much that it was confusing so i figured best way to find out is to ask!

[DaveS]

Deer hunting is a good way to start. A 30-06 with the proper ammo (130-150 grain bullet is my preferance) , a good knife, a good pair of boots, orange vest and hat, and any other "comfort" items you may need or want. Hunter safety course, Lisences ect., ect.. I hope your girl friend wants more from deer than just "jerky", because you are in for an expensive surprise!

Deer hunting is a fine sport indeed, but it can't be all covered here. Find someone in your area to "mentor" you.

It would help us, to help you, if we knew how old you were, did you live in the city or county, any hunting experience at all?

We could probably help you a little better with this info.

[ironsniper1]

Deer hunting is a good way to start. A 30-06 with the proper ammo (130-150 grain bullet is my preferance) , a good knife, a good pair of boots, orange vest and hat, and any other "comfort" items you may need or want. Hunter safety course, Lisences ect., ect.. I hope your girl friend wants more from deer than just "jerky", because you are in for an expensive surprise!

Deer hunting is a fine sport indeed, but it can't be all covered here. Find someone in your area to "mentor" you.

It would help us, to help you, if we knew how old you were, did you live in the city or county, any hunting experience at all?

We could probably help you a little better with this info.

never been hunting but have wanted too, im in davidson county in donelson and im 25 years of old age and cant cut the mustard any more

[DaveS]

You will be required to get the "Hunter Safety Course". Until then, you can get an "Apprentice" lisence good for one year. Spring squirrel is coming up and it might be a good time to make a move on all this. This time of year, I reccomend a shotgun over a rimfire due to foilage. Just get out and get a feel for mother nature. You might just not like it!

First and foremost...READ THE HUNTING REGULATIONS!! There are thousands of dollars of money saving tips in there!

Happy Hunting

Dave

[Guest adamoxtwo]

I would highly recommend that you find someone to go out with you the first couple of time. Most of the folks here will tell you that it is wise to take a partner out in the woods with you. Knowing the regs is extremely important. Also, whatever rifle you take out into the woods I highly recommend that you shoot it over and over and over again. Get use to it and learn to respect that weapon. Every year you hear of people who have accidents in the woods. Don't be that guy Also, read read read. There is a lot of material out there on hunting White tail deer and about their tendencies. If you have a question there are some great knowledgeable folks on here and all you have to do is ask.

[FJCrusing]

Don't expect to a kill your first season either. Be patient. Before the season starts do some scouting to figure out where the deer will be once the season starts. Like others have said already, find a mentor or experienced hunter. I did the same when I first started hunting. You have about 6 months before the season starts for rifle but don't wait too late. Start reading and take the hunters education course now and spend some time at the range this summer. Now is actually a good time to pick up hunting gear as well as it's typically on clearance or discount price since it's off season. Good luck and let us know if you have any questions. Here is some info on the 2012 season - http://www.tn.gov/twra/deerseasons.html

[DaveS]

Well said FJ!!!!