I am as new as new gets. This is my first posting here and I only started shooting a couple of years ago when I got thrown into a class in Maine on making stick bows. The bug bit hard, and now I have my original stick, a hand-me-down Shakespeare, a hand-me-down wood compound, and a new compound. I am working on getting a used NM Shelton through the classifieds section of the site as I believe it to be the kind bow I want to focus my practice efforts on. I am also new to hunting. I am not from this area and didn't grow up hunting, so I have no clue where to start. I got my hunting license, archery license, and class A carry permit, but what I need is an old timer mentor. The DFG offers classes for women and children, but they must think being an adult male requires hunting genetics. I have put out feelers at the local archery shop and hope for some luck though this site as well. With another son on the way, my time is limited, so I've resigned myself to the fact that it will be some years before I'm in the woods, but that gives me plenty of time to practice and acquire necessary gear. I'm not looking for a trophy. I just want to fill my freezer and enjoy as much time in the woods as I can. I want to avoid lots of gadgets and equipment. I want to learn to stalk and hunt, not sit in a tree. I live in southeast MA by Providence if anyone can help or give advice.

Welcome. You can gain a lot reading this wall. I hunt with a bow but know very little about archery. Good luck Kenny

Grey Fox: You hunt with a bow but know little about archery!! That putting the cart before the horse in so many ways. You owe it to the game you hunt to learn way more about archery before hunt them. Bob

I started "hunting" at 6 years old. What weapon you use doesn't matter much. I just don't know where to tell you to start as an adult. Definitely find a mentor, and become a student of the natural world. Be open and aware to everything around you. Good luck.

You don't have to be an archery encyclopedia to hunt with a bow but some basic principals are needed, such as understanding your limitations, form and follow through and some arrow selection/ tuning. Obviously some proficiency is needed at your comfortable range, again know your limitations.

Try joining a local archery/bowhunting club and become active. Good place to make some new friends that may be willing to provide you with some needed mentoring.

Aromaker. The two deer I killed this year did not know I knew nothing about the history of archery. I can shoot a bow. You do not know me. Bite me.

Grey Fox, You do not know Bob either, so the juvenile "bite me" wasn't called for. Knowing the sport doesn't hurt and I happen to agree with Bob. The more you know the more you can help others as well.

Welcome to the sport CG Titus, it is a wonderful sport and our history makes it even more so. Look up Jimmy Blackmon's youtube videos and that will help. If you can, connect with some other archers, there should be a few in your state that shoot traditional equipment. If you can, attend a big shoot like Denton Hill in the summer, or even find some local spring/summer shoots where some good traditional shooters go.

Welcome Chris, There is always someone here. That is willing to help out and give you advise. Still hunting or stalk and hunt. Is the hardest way to hunt an Eastern white tail deer. Even for the serious seasoned bowhunter. I recommend one of the easier hunting tactics first. Get some experience first hunting one of the easier methods. Before you tackle the toughest. Good luck!

Let's be nice newbe in here, what ever you choose have fun with it. If it's about killing deer stalking I would say compound. If you want to practice a lot and be close to you deer less than 20 yards trad equ. The wat to go. I will say in my years of experience don't try to do both you will only be average with both.

You are right George. I do not care to know Bob. I am a hunter of game I eat. Not an advisor. You don't know me either. Carry on.

Well, you certainly got off on the wrong foot on this one. We, Sir, generally don't send insults toward other 'Wallers, even if we don't like them or don't agree with them. Especially a contributor like Aromakr. Don't know how old you are, but you have some growing up to do. There is a ton of info and experiences to be had here. If you dont want to play by our rules, go pee on someone elses site.

Regardless of weapon the stalk is almost an art form to get to your effective range. I hunt on the ground 90% of the time. The quick rules. Learned over a few seasons.

All the normal hunting rules still apply, slow motion, obey the wind. These are my non-breakable stalking rules, it takes a lot of discipline to do them all and not slip up for a minute and cheat. If you use them you will succeed!

#1 Go slowly. Painfully slow when you have to. On one buck I took 45 min. to cover the last 30 yards. Once your at your spot covering 5 acres in a half day is too fast.

#2 Nearly no noise. Windy or post rain, damp ground days are a must. You can get by with some outside of 60 yards if it sounds natural. Make it a point to sound like a squirrel. Use a wind gust in the trees or a plane overhead to camo your noise.

#3 Stalk in a way to use the terrain to just peek your head over or to the side to check a spot where they'll already be in range and always think a deer is there.

#4 Never let them see your legs move! Use a log, grass, or creek bed to hide them.

#5 Go straight at them, side to side and weaving will get you caught.

#6 No eye to eye contact and keep your bow in front of one eye on the approach.

#7 Stalking bedded deer is low production. They will spot you more often than you spot them. If they're up and moving you have the advantage.

#8 A low top leather shoe with good grip even if they're wet, a boat shoe can work well. They have a ton of feel so you're not breaking a bunch of sticks and twigs with each step and you can tell how much pressure you're putting on the ground. They also force you to go slow. Emulate your foot movement like that of a cat. Sometimes you won't be able to take full steps. Foot up alongside your other leg, pause, look for a quiet spot to set it down. Always stop with your left foot forward for balance and ease of shooting if you get hung up.

Practice on squirrels out in the woods. When you are getting 7-8 yards from feeding bushytails you are ready for deer.

OK what just happened? I went through the thread twice and still got the posts mixed up. Well, it was directed toward the insult. You know who you are.

Still-hunting is looking for deer while moving slowly on the ground. Stalking is what you do after you find a particular deer you want to take. The latter is much more difficult and many times, like me, you will still-hunt and find a place to stand for a bit...then move along and repeat. Whatever you choose can be very productive, you just have to work at it.

CG Titus, are you determined to hunt with a bow only or are you going to go with shotgun and muzzleloader as well?

What's nice is there is something for everyone of us here. Be it a newbe or a seasoned bowhunter. You have guys that know their archery and guys that know their hunting. Some even know both. It's all good..... Enjoy the wall!

CG Titus, I have heard that the Being an Outdoors-Woman program does allow men to attend the classes(but not the guided hunt) so you could try to look in to that.

You could try to check out these guys: http://theelusivewhitetail.com/ I went to a deer processing seminar by them (in southeast MA, might have been Uxbridge) a few years ago. Their website doesn't look like it has been updated in a few years though, so I don't know if they are still doing anything....

Check out this thread too, a few people mentioned some clubs and shops in southeast MA

http://leatherwall.bowsite.com/TF/lw/thread2.cfm?threadid=264695&category=88

For starting out, I always thought Fred Bear's 'Archer's Bible' was a pretty good primer. I still like to read my old copy... I still see used copies on ebay for around $20. My copy is falling apart though, need to be re-bound.

If you want to learn to still hunt, spot and stalk... find an area deer are using. Stand still often, when you move, only take a couple three steps, and stop and stand again.

I almost ALWAYS stop beside every single tree along my path and stand for a bit. Learn to use the ups and downs of terrain to your advantage. Always keep the wind in your face, or hunt slightly quartering into the wind. Never travel in a direct straight path, always flow with the terrain.

Most people stand hunt in the morning and evening, then still hunt mid day, I always felt that was backwards. I have been most successful still hunting morning and evening. Feeding deer are far easier to spot than bedded deer in forested terrain.

It is VERY hard to still hunt within bow range of bedded deer, although i have done it by slipping along the top edge of a hollow,or bench, or top of the mt.

Sneak along just over the top out of sight. Every couple steps, sneak over where you can just see down over, go no further, don't expose your whole body then stand there watching. Then back straight up, and again sneak along just out of sight, and keep repeating. If you spot a deer, stand still and plot your move....and you better learn to walk quietly, or they'll be looking when you peek over, and they'll be gone in a flash. When its dry and warm out, Ive tied my shoes together and looped the laces around my neck and draped them down my back..and crept along in my stocking feet more than once.

good luck.

There are many sources of information that you can find to read, or watch on YouTube, or talk about with the guys at the bow shop. However, the only real learning you'll be get is by being out there chasing after deer. Soak up as much information as you can through those second hand sources, then get out in the field as much as you can and see what you can do. Welcome to to this obsession and best of luck!

I audited a new hunter course this fall - now required in NC to get your first license - with my brother in law..we're both well over 55. If you PM me with your email address I'll mail you the course book, which has lots of very good info. My favorite bit of info was the 5 stages of hunters: novices, shooters, trophy hunters, method hunters and sportsmen, the last being old farts who celebrate the camaraderie and the opportunities to pass on what they've learned. I commend to your reading the Shrew Haven hunting camp threads and a search for other posts by the guys who gather at Shrew Haven...

One other bit of good advice. Text book hunting.

While how to's are a helpful start, Deer don't read text books. They don't know they are supposed to always travel through tunnels,funnels, use trails, feed in soybean, or food plots, prefer white oak acorns. travel, morning and evenings, bed in the same areas and feed in the same areas.

deer do whatever suits them at the time. Don't get stuck on "how it's supposed to be"....learn to be flexible and adapt to "how it is"

Bowhunters, especially traditional types are lone wolves. As you said most of us hunt under time restraints and getting afield takes some scheduling. It is hard when you have a family at home and especially young active children that have so many weekend activities these days.

I tried for years to contact the state Bowhunter organization in my area without much luck. Today with the internet, that is where I would start. Look for a local 3D club. Just go visit or better yet attend their next shoot. Talk to the officers of the club. They will help you find what you need. Hunting is a great past time with many rewards. Hunting with a bow is a real challenge. Game on the table is done mostly with the gun.

You have a lot to learn and going on a rabbit hunt with gun and dogs or squirrel hunting with someone that has a dog will teach you a lot. Working a trap line with someone would teach you even more. Hunting deer with a bow will be a slow learning process.

Welcome to Leatherwall and the sport of archery. God bless and Merry Christmas!

welcome lots of advice on here. Ive been hunting the majority of my 54 years on this marble. The best advise is not to "overthink it" Have fun , as when hunting becomes a chore...its a chore. Maybe start out small gaming it. Quite a challenge hitting squirrels with bow and arrow. I hunt now for relaxation, to see the sights and enjoy the smells and sounds.

So sit back and enjoy the ride. Im no expert but Ill help you as much as I can.

all i can say is,tune your equipment,have fun,bows sure are nice lookin',but don't just look at it.......shoot it,practice,practice practice,practice practice,practice practice,practicepractice,practice practice,practice practice,practice practice,practicepractice,practice practice,practice practice,practice practice,practicepractice,practice practice,practice practice,practice practice,practice and when your done practice a little more...... once good form is developed hitting the target where you want to is second nature,and listen to what people tell you on this wall lotsa good advice and knowledge here!!!

Hey Titus welcome! I would get your form and shooting down and practice all of the time like others have said. Even with a family I always make time to shoot even if it is 9:30-10 at night after my wife and two kids are in bed. Spend a bunch of time in the woods learning about the deer and all of the other critters that call the woods home. I know you would like to Stalk and or still hunt but my advice would be to sit still and hunt from the ground or in a stand for your first couple of years. I see so much and learn so much about animals almost every time I'm in a stand. I see things that I never would have if I would of been sneaking thru the woods. Just this season alone I have had several close encounters with hawks,bushy tails,raccoons,turkey,and even a red fox. Good luck with your choice on how you want to hunt and keep coming here for advice and you'll do great.

Lots of good info in here, some of it IMO is a little defeatist in attitude, but well intentioned as stalking is tough. If putting game on the table is the priority a no-wheels bow on the ground outside of a blind is the hardest way next to an atlatl.

My biggest revelation/aha moments on hunting were these two things and one of them has already been alluded to by shade mt.

Deer are going to survive in the most efficient way they can.

You could call it built-in lazyness but it's more of a function of natural selection working correctly. They spend the least amount of energy to get what you need to survive. All areas are different but in each one there is a pattern on the easiest way for a deer to live. A lot of times the books will be correct on terrain features but once you learn the deer pattern in an area more than likely unless something disturbs it, the pattern will continue like that for decades. You can have a thousand acres to hunt but there will be five of those acres that will produce nearly every time you go there. Seasons can change locations around a little but just keep in mind that they have a pattern to survival and if you learn it the difficulty of hunting them will decrease dramatically.

The second thing that took me a loooooooong time to realize is that when you are learning to hunt and even into you being established as a hunter is being able to tell or recognize what a good plan or strategy is for that day and KNOWING it was good, and that it just didn't work that day.

A lot of time newer hunters will try this or that, and if it works or doesn't, it changes the game plan for the next day. If you're really green it can shape a lot of future hunting strategy or habit incorrectly going forward. It slows or hinders their learning process but that's just part of learning. When you can get to the point of KNOWING that your plan was correct, and it just didn't work that day you're well on your way to being deadly in the woods.

I belong to a very good club where most folks are compound archers. Beginning in September, I see lots of guys "tuning up" their hunting rigs -- they show up a few times and fling broad heads into the sand pits. And then they are good to go to kill a deer. They are happy, their compound rigs give them ability to make reasonable shots without much practice, and many simply say "I only do this to kill a deer." Good for them. It makes many of my friends happy.

But the best traditional hunters I know practice all the time. All year. Several times a week. Maybe it is only a few shots at a time, but they do it religiously. Why? Because good traditional archery is not about success -- not about outcome or results -- but about process. It is about not introducing our own imperfections into our tools. It is about reducing ourselves so much that we can operate as consistently -- as perfectly -- as the machine in our hands. Your shot will only be as good as your form and shooting process; and traditional rigs will always tell you when you let too much of yourself into your shot. BTW, this is not about "instinctive" as the term is often used to refer to "unthinking" shooting. Rather, it is about working so hard that total mindfulness is natural. It is not about not thinking about a shot, but being so fully comfortable about ALL the thinking a shooter must do in a way that such thinking becomes second nature.

Consequently, my suggestion is that you have to really, really enjoy practice. Not just tolerate it as a means to an end, but believe in your heart that the practice, not the hunting, IS the activity. Outstanding practice IS the goal.

So, plan to take 10,000 shots for every one shot you intend to make on a living animal -- you at least owe it to the animal to make the very best shot to kill it, and you want to be confident that you can succeed with that.

This certainly gives me much to research.

CG Titus, are you determined to hunt with a bow only or are you going to go with shotgun and muzzleloader as well? - I have a shotgun and would love to learn to hunt with that as well. I can use the compound and recurve, but I always return to the longbow for fun, familiarity, and comfort. I don't like getting bogged down with technology, and as someone here said "Bowhunters, especially traditional types are lone wolves", and that definitely describes me.

Every time I pick up the guide from the DFG, my eyes glaze over trying to learn it all. Rules about orange, times, dates, areas, animals, etc. None of it seems consistent and the fact that I live near RI throws an additional variable into the mix if I want to hunt there. Just trying to figure out what land I can hunt on has been a challenge. Is it public or private? How am I supposed to know without a map marking property lines? I could go to the state park, but then I'm packed in there with everyone else.

I have started taking classes at the Maine Primitive Skills School to jumpstart my time in the woods and it has been immensely helpful. As a hands-on learner, having someone show me is much better than just reading about it, but that doesn't stop me from reading every archery/hunting book I can get my hands on. Trying to find a class on field processing a deer has been challenging.

I would be open to different methods of hunting if it allowed me to perfect as many aspects of hunting as possible before moving on to the longbow. I am a sponge and willing to take in as much information as you all are kind enough to give me. I really appreciate all of the time you are all taking to help me wit this. Chris

Hey Chris I know I PM'd you but now seeing this post with more info on yourself I can help you out,,what's cool Is I hunt RI along with Mass this year I got permission to hunt the Providence water supply right over in Scituate so I'm not far from you.

is it self bows you want to use? I hunt with those as well as every form of longbow to high performance recurve,, depending on your shooting we can have you in the woods by next September, we'll figure out what your comfort zone is and then we'll know how to set you up on a stand.

gun hunting you just hunt the same way using what works for you maybe find a spot with better coverage, not sure if I do brig a gun its usually a smoothbore flintlock with a 40yd comfortable distance.

if you want to take a ride to my club in Hanson we could try some stumping or just shoot at the bales and see how things feel,, there is a few of us trad guys in your area your all set if you want to learn.

oh forgot to mention get your license for 2015 and join us for bunnys with the bow, no dogs its easier on foot with bow.

Welcome to the forum & to archery.

Pull up a chair, sit back, relax, & join in!

"Just trying to figure out what land I can hunt on has been a challenge. Is it public or private? How am I supposed to know without a map marking property lines? I could go to the state park, but then I'm packed in there with everyone else. "

Under state law, it is legal to hunt on private property if it is not posted (or you haven't otherwise been told to leave, and if you're within setback limits). HOWEVER, towns may have bylaws that supersede that and require written permission for hunting on private land even if its not posted. So check the bylaws of the town you will be hunting in - find the bylaws online, or go to the town clerk and ask that they show you the relevant bylaw (do not just take their word for it...)

Now, I would not really recommend intentionally hunting on private property that you don't explicitly have permission for, but where this might come in to play is if you're hunting on some public land (or private land you do have permission to hunt) that borders a piece of private land that is not posted or marked. Whatever the town bylaws are would make the difference on how strictly you should try to adhere to the invisible property lines.

I've always been told that you DO have the right to recover game from private property you can't technically hunt on, if you shot it from outside the property. Will have to try to find if that is actually codified anywhere though....

Hope that helps a little...

You could also check out http://www.huntingchat.net/forum/

Welcome ! Like Alvis said, practice,practice practice,practice practice,practice etc.

This is a great forum. Tons of super knowledgable people who love archery and hunting. And mostly, free of people who got up on the wrong side of the bed as in those first few posts !

Welcome! I would highly recommend, since you are new to hunting, you take two classes, and you should be able to contact your states DNR to find out where they are offered. One: A Hunter Education Coarse, Two: A Bowhunter Education Coarse. They may sound similar but they are COMPLETELY different. Those two classes will help you well on your way, as you come into the Greatest sport ever, Hunting and Bowhunting. Next to Fishing of coarse. DANNY

Actually that should have read "Fishing as a close second of coarse." Mind is thinking one thing fingers type something else. OH WELL. DANNY

Welcome! Loved your Stand-up and TV Show!:) Can't believe nobody else thought about your name!

Welcome, CG. Enjoy. Jawge

I've gained an incredible amount of knowledge through 3d shoots at local archery clubs. Not by shooting but by being there and watching, listening and asking questions. There are some folks that don't want to be bothered but for the most part, people are very open and love to pass on what they know. have fun, It's a great ride

I have already taken all of the hunting classes the state offers and am working on my tracking/stalking through the Maine Primitive Skills School.

I am talking to a couple of locals already that have been great in sharing their time and knowledge with me. The focus now, if you follow the hunting shows, looks to be more on equipment and less on developed skill. It seems that the outdoor sports aren't quite as ubiquitous as they once were, which makes it all the more important to make sure the knowledge and traditions get passed on to the next generation. For that, I thank you all and hope to one day be able pay it forward with my own sons.

A great reference book on Archery equipment, shooting in general is "Shooting the Stickbow" by Anthony Camera. He posts under the name Viper on here and other sites.

A good book on stalking is the one by G.Fred Asbell "Stalking and Still Hunting".

I'd spend the winter reading and boning up on everything before jumping in and buying stuff.

There are other good websites out there on hunting and archery. To name a few: tradgang, tradtalk, archerytalk. Hang out on these.

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