Turning Boot Leather into Dinner: The Hunting Thread

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > Turning Boot Leather into Dinner: The Hunting Thread

CarpenterWalrus: Mar 30, 2010; The Lazy Satanist

I just picked up a recurve bow with the intention of (eventually) hunting small game such as rabbit and squirrel. Gonna be keeping my eye on both this thread and the archery thread previously linked. I've never been hunting before and am probably going about it in the most difficult, dumbest way possible, so this thread will be invaluable, I'm sure.

# ¿ Aug 6, 2020 22:43

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# ¿ May 17, 2024 13:33

CarpenterWalrus: Mar 30, 2010; The Lazy Satanist

Money, partly. If I'm going to spend the money on a compound bow, I might as well get a rifle. I also want to develop the skill and physical strength a recurve requires. Honestly, if I can't pull of hunting with it, then at least I'll have it for target archery.

The rabbits in my area are extremely complacent. Most of the hunters in central IL go after deer exclusively and, even in the fields, you'll just about trip over a rabbit before it runs. I'll be the first to admit I am talking out of my rear end, as I've not gone out there yet, but I want to at least give it a try.

# ¿ Aug 7, 2020 01:50

CarpenterWalrus: Mar 30, 2010; The Lazy Satanist

Flatland Crusoe posted:

Like you run into rabbits in the woods you can hunt or see them in your yard because those are very different things.

I spent almost a decade hunting in northern IL and never felt like I ran into very many rabbits while hunting. Illinois in general has decimated nearly all its upland small game habitat with road to road fields with neatly mowed ditches and it�s small game participation has plummeted over the last 3 decades.

I have heard a lot of aspiring hunters wanting to start with archery and often trad gear because they think gun hunting is too easy before they have tried it. The reality of it is in most cases the learning curve for even gun hunting is really steep especially if you don�t have a mentor and don�t have access to a bunch of sweet private land.

If you don�t want to spend a bunch of money to small game hunt go buy a cheap shotgun. Otherwise if you are concerned about keeping hunting as an inexpensive past time I recommend looking elsewhere.

If you are serious about trying hunting in Illinois look up the Illinois Learn to Hunt program. They host a lot of workshops, match people with mentors and have a growing library of online resources to get started. I volunteered with the program while I still lived in IL and the guys and girls running it know what they are doing.

My immediate family has about 500 acres of lightly wooded farmland in central IL and I'm thinking of the rabbits there--pretty fat and lazy. Whenever I visit to help out around the farm, it's not unusual to get within twenty feet of them before they take off. Clearly, I'll not be picking off rabbits in Naperville yards. As for guns, my spouse has chronic depression and I do not want a gun in the house, so I'd have to store it somewhere and it'd be more trouble than it's worth to get out of storage for practice or hunting. I'm not anti-gun, per se, and I enjoy shooting them, but I'm going to fail at bow hunting before I get gun. I've looked into the Learn to Hunt program and they're not offering anything now, but I will certainly keep my eye on anything they offer in the future.

There's no way I'll be ready to go for the upcoming season, so in the meantime, I'm going to focus on learning good archery habits and as much as I can about what I'm getting myself into, and maybe take some meat home next year.

# ¿ Aug 7, 2020 07:09

CarpenterWalrus: Mar 30, 2010; The Lazy Satanist

DapperDraculaDeer posted:

Im also really curious to see how things go for people who are starting out bow hunting instead of gun hunting. Will you folks struggle with the same stuff I have or will having a blank slank to start make it easier? Should be fun to find out.

As the dummy who's decided to learn hunting and archery at roughly the same time, I would be happy to report my experiences as they happen. It'll be a while, though, since there is no way I'll be ready to go out this year. I'll be more active in the archery thread for the foreseeable future, but I appreciate all the input so far, in this thread and I'll be lurking and asking questions as I go.

Today, I learned that for the type of game I'm interested in, I'll most likely be using blunt heads. Does anyone here have any experience with these? Do they require special practice as opposed to pointed heads? Are there styles/brands that work better on rabbits vs squirrels vs grouse?

Any and all guidance is appreciated!

# ¿ Aug 11, 2020 05:21

CarpenterWalrus: Mar 30, 2010; The Lazy Satanist

My bow came in today, a week and a half ahead of schedule. I don't have any arrows yet, and was thinking about getting dedicated target practice arrows. Should I get the arrows I'll be using in the field to practice with, or will it make much of a difference?

# ¿ Aug 11, 2020 19:31

CarpenterWalrus: Mar 30, 2010; The Lazy Satanist

Ophidian posted:

Train with what you plan on taking game/competing with.

To a point a slightly different outer diameter or weight won�t make a huge difference but for the sake of consistency it�s best to use the same setup for arrows.

Awesome, thanks!

# ¿ Aug 11, 2020 20:30

CarpenterWalrus: Mar 30, 2010; The Lazy Satanist

I'm finally ready to start actually firing arrows with my bow! The question I have is what size and weight of arrow should I be using for small game such as rabbit and squirrel? I'm using a 45#, 58" recurve bow. I'll be using blunt arrow heads. I won't actually be shooting at game until next season, but want to start practicing now. Any help is appreciated!

CarpenterWalrus fucked around with this message at 17:19 on Jan 25, 2021

# ¿ Jan 25, 2021 17:17

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# ¿ May 17, 2024 13:33

CarpenterWalrus: Mar 30, 2010; The Lazy Satanist

charliebravo77 posted:

Crosspostttttt

Went on my first IL deer hunt in like 4 or 5 years this past weekend. Drove down to east-central IL and stayed with a friend who just bought a house nearby the public site I had a muzzleloader tag for. IL does a December muzzleloader-only season after the "firearm" (shotgun, some handguns and muzzleloader) season is over and it's usually a slower paced but more difficult hunt since the deer are moving more nocturnal. I took a half day Thursday, drove to the range to finish zeroing in my T/C Impact then drove downstate. My state biologist friend had explored the area a bit before and gave me a couple OnX pin suggestions on where to set up so I didn't need to do any scouting beforehand. Got out Friday morning for opening and settled down on a hillside overlooking a river bottom. This site and general area of the state was very appealing to me as it has what passes for actual topography in the state.

Those are great pics! I grew up in/around the Decatur area, so this definitely looks familiar. Were you out by Fox Ridge?

FYI, you included Brian's last name in the pics of his stand, and may want to edit that out if you post these pics elsewhere.

# ¿ Jan 25, 2021 17:29

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > Turning Boot Leather into Dinner: The Hunting Thread