How long did you hunt before your first kill?

[spur_ride]

Took about 30 min to seal the deal on a doe on Vashon island

[Hurricane]

For me I started hunting in 04 with Archery. First trip out I tagged a doe. Last year I got My first elk after 7 years of trying.

[turkeyfeather]

For turkeys I got mine the first year. For deer I hunted one year modern before switching to archery and got my first deer in year two of archery (year three overall).

[throttlejocky20]

I killed my first deer the second season i hunted! But i think we should star a thread about how many misses we had before we made our first kill. I know for my the adreninlin took over and i couldn't hit the front of my barrell.

[Instinct]

4 years, got my first elk in 2011. Every year w/ archery came close but my first year hunting was modern.

[shedmaster]

Guess I got l got lucky ... two years with a bow... two bucks with a bow...

[buck man]

One year to spot and stalk a mulie doe. Two years to get it one for elk. Really good memories those hunts. Learned a lot from my mistakes.

[Little Dave]

Second season I got a nice bull elk.  Spent a full year practicing shooting form, the first season was good and I had elk in range most days.  The next year I spent more time with calls which made a big difference.

How did you go about learning how to actually use calls? Like, lol How do you know if your doing them right or not. Theres so many different variations of all species its kind of intimidating.

Saw a class taught by Rocky Jacobson, champion elk caller.  (Class was advertised here actually, met a few other HW folks)

Went there, enjoyed the class, learned a little.  Threw out the squeaky toy that everybody else seems to use and paid more attention to sounds I'm hearing and the calling patterns I need to make to bring in the elk.  This particular morning, I called just twice.

[archeryantlers]

Bowhunting is what I love; I enjoy the hunt itself as much as shooting an animal. Though I would say you get out of it, what you put in.  I started bowhunting at age 23(wish I would have found it sooner). Shot a doe my second season. Took 3 seasons to find (and connect on) the type of buck I was looking for, in Northern WI. Took 3 seasons(1 week each year) in Eastern Montana to stalk an harvest an open country buck. Took 13 consecutive days to harvest my first Elk (6x6 in Arizona).

[bear hunter]

2 years and 3 days in to the 3rd season to bag my first deer.

[sweetfreedomgirl]

If talking hunting in general, I started hunting at age 18 or 19 and took my first animal (deer) with a rifle at 23.

If talking archery, I took my first animal (deer) in my second archery season.

[Harborhunter]

I killed a cow on the second day of the season, during my first season archery elk hunting.  I really didn't expect to get an opportunity that fast, but i ended up getting the chance and couldn't pass!

[LBES]

How did you go about learning how to actually use calls? Like, lol How do you know if your doing them right or not. Theres so many different variations of all species its kind of intimidating.

I shot my first 5 point in my 2nd year bow hunting in 1999-ish... did it by hunting hard, but not smart. This may sound cliche, but around 2007 I started watching Will Primos videos (Big Bulls) and breaking down the tactics of their calling. From then on, I worked on calling - more so with estrus calls and fighting cow calls - and I have had much more success. It's just too hard to spot and stalk elk; especially on the west side where I hunt.

Good luck!

[coachcw]

about 25 minutes , beginners luck with a bow

[Skyvalhunter]

Still hunting for it.