Hey all,

I was hoping to get some advice. I am interested in hunting. My son also wants to hunt as well, but have never done it. I've got all sorts of handguns, shotguns and AR's but hunting seems to be a thing I want to try. I already have my eye on a rifle. A Tikka T3 Hunter in .270 with a Leupold VX2 scope.

Anyway, what do you all recommend as far as a way to start out? I wish I had some friends that are hunters. That would help and make things easy! I do not want to do this solo. Is there any type of Assoc. or organization that I could look into? I just need to know what type of clothing to get, do I need a license to hunt, etc... Any help would be appreciated! I just want to make sure I go about this the right way and spend some quality time with my boy. I am looking to just start with deer for now.

Thanks all!!

 

You may want/need to take a hunters safety course or something. In my state it is required after a certain age. The first thing you want to do is start reading the rules and regulations in your area on the internet

the second thing you want to do is start looking around for someone that owns land, a club, or public land that is huntable... some land owners that own farms will let you hunt their land if you ask.

Tikka makes pretty good guns, .270 is a good caliber, and leupold makes decent scopes as well. I would recommend deer stand hunting, trying to walk up on deer is a pretty hard thing to do unless you are out in the big west hunting larger game on 1,000's of acres. I would just suggest some good warm hunting clothing and a blaze orange vest. Some people I know don't even wear camo, just warm clothing but since I hunt other game, I just wear camo.

 

Ditto on the Hunters' Safety Certificate. I'm sure whatever state you live in requires them. You will also need to get a hunting license. There are still hunting seasons going on, but alot of them are winding down. If you've already got shotguns, you can go bird hunting. The Tikka .270 is an excellent rifle for deer, coyotes, anything up to elk, (if the shot placement is right). Check with your state's Dept of Wildlife & Parks or Dept of Conservation. Each state has a different name, but they probably have a website that will have ALL the legality info you need.

Welcome to the hunting group, it is a very enjoyable sport, even if you don't bag anything. Being in the outdoors is great, getting your game is just a bonus!

 

i wear camo. in a tree stand. get a hunters book and read through it..you may have to take a course as said before, but probably 100% positive your son will...you will just have to check out the rules on the internet...i think they vary from state to state

i use a .243 or a 30-06 for deer..then i have a .17 for squirrel and a remington 870 for duck hunting

 

i eat all the game i kill..except cyotes...cant do that!

 

Every state has some sort of environmental conservation area that will explain all the state laws and regulations I saw you lived in Virginia so you can start here. http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/ and I would recommend maybe joining a local gun club or something which can usually be found on the NRA (National rifle associations website) cause there you will find other people that hunt and can share information and give you tips on hunting in your area. I cant give much in-site to what rifle would be good for hunting cause in a lot of places in Upstate New York shotgun hunting is our only option, but if I was to hunt deer with a rifle I would probably want to go with a .270 but end up buying a 30-06 cause bigger is better but not always more practical for some people imo. If you wanna buy clothing check on your game website and see when the hunting season's are and buy clothing for that temperature range for that time of year. I usually make all my hunting purchases from Cabelas.com and they do have stores in the us where you could potentially go also, there beautiful and huge, a day trip to one is more of an experiences than a shopping trip. Good luck on everything, I dont come from a hunting family whatsoever so I had to figure most of this out on my own, so from what I have told you those were the main things I used to get my self knowledge and gain experiences.

 

Also, depending upon where you hunt, a rifle may be a no-no. In MD, much of the state does not allow deer hunting with a rifle.

Definitely a hunter safety course is a must and may be required. Check your local laws.

 

Thanks guys! Plenty of good info already. I do live in Virginia and will start with the state/local laws first. I will also see what clubs there are.

As for my choice in rifle, I was going to go with a 30.06 first, but I think a .270 will be fine for me. I just don't see myself hunting large game. If I decide to later, that'll just give me an excuse to buy another gun!

 

Good advice from everyone. The hunter safetly class is the first step and you will be able to meet lots of hunters in the class as well as the instructors that should be able to point you in the right direction. Clubs are great but good ones are often hard to get into and can be expensive so check your state for public land in your area as well. Reading books, magazines and watching hunting shows help some but they tend to hunt prime areas and it doesn't always work out so easy as they make it seem. The tv shows have lots of failed hunts but you rarely see them. So just remember it is a lot of trial and error but it isn't rocket science either. Have fun it's a great sport!

 

All the above advice is very good, but I'll add one more thing.

If you're not a member, please join the NRA. The magazine alone (you get to choose which one you want) is well worth the yearly membership fee. If you have the funds, a life membership is even better!

In today's political environment, the NRA-ILA is our best defense against anti-gun and anti-hunting laws.

http://dataservices.nranews.com/svc/nra_classic

 

Already an NRA member. I live about 5 minutes from the NRA HQ!!! I go there to shoot. I will see what info they have on hunting as well!

 

Id go with a 30-06. It will do anything a 270 will do but better. If your wanting to get a quality gun but save a little dough, take a look at the Weatherby Vanguards. They run about $400 and are very well built great guns. Can't find a better gun at that price.
Also, join a hunting forum. They will have all the answers you need and some!
Good luck.

 

If you have experience with rifles, the .270 will kick less than a 30.06, but the 30.06 will have a little more knock down power. As mentioned the Weatherby Vanguard guns are nice, but also take a look at Remingtons, their 770 series are all inclusive, (scope, gun, bore-sighted) and under $400. But you can not go wrong with what you've already looked at

 

I was originally going to go with a 30.06, but started thinking, it might not be a good choice for my first hunting rifle. If I decide later to go bigger game, then I may look into one. The Tikka's around here are $595. It's that darn Leupold scope that costs about the same as the rifle!

 

out of my 30-06 and .243 i use the .243 more, that durn 30-06 is to damn loud! i like bolt actions..both of mine are, and i have an auto 30-06