Looking for hunting mentor

[darren]

I am gearing up to try hunting for the first time this coming season. Late 30s California transplant, moved here four years ago. I have done a fair bit of hiking and backpacking and shooting and such, but have never been hunting and nobody in my family or circle of friends hunts. I'm most interested in going after deer with a rifle in the backcountry, fair chase. My goal is a freezer full of high quality, fresh wild meat, but how I come by it is more important to me than that end goal.

I'm not looking to cramp anyone's style or scoop their favorite hunting grounds. For starters I would get a ton out of meeting up over a drink to ask a bunch of newbie questions and get some feedback on areas I'm thinking of trying and tactics and such. I'd be happy to buy a round or two of beers in return. I'm in Seattle, so that's the most convenient area for me, but I am happy to travel a bit as well.

Thanks for reading.

[ICEMAN]

Darren, good for you for stepping up and asking for mentorship. Although I think getting hooked up with a mentor can be a bit difficult, I applaud your approach. I bet you find someone willing to share info with you. Good luck. You are taking on a great sport and will have a new tradition for you and your family.

Welcome to Washington and hunting!

[lamrith]

Darren,
Welcome from another newbie!!  I also applaud your approach.  I am new to hunting myself, followed on an elk hunt once in AZ, but that it is.  Luckily I have a friend here that hunts and  family in AZ so I have some mentorship to rely on.

One thing you need to do and I hate to say it may almost be to late this year, is go thru a Hunter Education class.  All hunters born after 1972 are required to have that training before they can hunt.  Given your age approximation I know you were not born before 1972, young whiper-snappers!  That last I looked most of not all the classes were filled/booked, but that was down here, you may have better luck up there?  That should be probably priority #1, drop everything and find out right now if you want to hunt this year..

[darren]

Thanks ICEMAN, I appreciate the kind words. I did receive a nice pm from a guy who offered to answer my questions, which was a really nice surprise. This seems like a great community here. Thank you for the welcome.

Thanks lamrith, I am a pesky whipper snapper that's for sure.    Fortunately I am all set with the Hunter Ed. I passed the written/online portion and I'm signed up for the field exam this Sunday. So hopefully I'll pass that and be all set for licenses and such.

Cheers guys, see you around.

[zkhowes]

Darren - this is wild man. I came here to post almost the exact thing.

• No stranger to the backcountry, I've been backpacking my whole life and on a few hunts with friends.
• Looking to hunt big game in the high backcountry.
• Looking to harvest some good, organic meat for my family.

I'm also in Seattle. Perhaps Darren and I can buy someone a couple of beers and just start comparing notes as a first step?

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

Whoever steps up to help is gonna be one drunk mentor! 

[lamrith]

Whoever steps up to help is gonna be one drunk mentor! 

Loose lips, might share more secrets!

Great to hear on the hunters Ed btw

[darren]

Darren - this is wild man. I came here to post almost the exact thing.

• No stranger to the backcountry, I've been backpacking my whole life and on a few hunts with friends.
• Looking to hunt big game in the high backcountry.
• Looking to harvest some good, organic meat for my family.

I'm also in Seattle. Perhaps Darren and I can buy someone a couple of beers and just start comparing notes as a first step?

Haha, that's awesome. Sounds good to me.

Do your friends hunt in Washington or elsewhere?

[darren]

Loose lips, might share more secrets!

 

[TheFewTheProud]

I'd volunteer but I don't know how I'd get all the way home haha

[zkhowes]

Darren - this is wild man. I came here to post almost the exact thing.

• No stranger to the backcountry, I've been backpacking my whole life and on a few hunts with friends.
• Looking to hunt big game in the high backcountry.
• Looking to harvest some good, organic meat for my family.

I'm also in Seattle. Perhaps Darren and I can buy someone a couple of beers and just start comparing notes as a first step?

Haha, that's awesome. Sounds good to me.

Do your friends hunt in Washington or elsewhere?

Utah (where I'm originally from), Montana, and Colorado. I might have an opportunity to hunt with them in Montana this year, but that's pretty far and I'd like to learn about some of the high country hunts here. Also, I need to get equipped which looks like it could costs some crazy money but I'm sure there is a value line for getting started that I just need to learn about.


Other hunters, we'll arrange travel for you so you can enjoy your beverages and get a safe ride home.

[acnewman55]

I took the same approach when I decided to start hunting a little over a year ago.

I think you'll have trouble finding somebody willing to "mentor" you face to face.  Less likely is somebody willing to have you tag along.

Don't be discouraged though!  Digital mentorship is widely available here! You will find an incredible amount of knowledge (both for hunting in general and local knowledge) on this site.  Search through the forums and you can find answers to a lot of your questions, if you can't -- there are many on here willing to field your q's.

I ended up finding another newbie on this forum.  He was interested in hunting some of the same areas, and we share other common interests.  We decided to try to learn the ropes together, and we spent four weekends together over the course of last year's bear and deer seasons.  We were not successful - but we learned a lot.  I expect we'll be back out there together this season.

An important thing to know for a transplant is that Washington's terrain varies greatly across the state.  The easiest way to over-simplify would be to split it into East, West and Cascade Crest.  Species and tactics vary quite a bit depending on where you want to hunt.  I would either decide on a species, or a region, and go from there.

Use this tool to look at various regions hunting units: http://apps.wdfw.wa.gov/gohunt/

Then find a buddy, and go sleep out in the woods where you want to hunt.  Hike all over it.  Get to know the terrain and the local food sources, etc.  Have fun!

[klikboom]

I don't live down in Seattle, but I'm down in Fremont on Monday evenings for some music lessons. I can meet from 5-6pm in Fremont before my lessons if that works. I like free beer, and i love to talk about hunting. I don't have the time to "mentor" but I can give you the basics.

I was in your boat a number of years ago, trying to learn how to hunt from scratch. Had my license and .308 and wanted to kill a deer. If you have those things (or comparable) and add in willingness to spend a lot of hours of walking around the timbered hills you see on the horizon you can definitely end the season with some good wild meat in the freezer (I did).

[darren]

I don't live down in Seattle, but I'm down in Fremont on Monday evenings for some music lessons. I can meet from 5-6pm in Fremont before my lessons if that works. I like free beer, and i love to talk about hunting. I don't have the time to "mentor" but I can give you the basics.

I was in your boat a number of years ago, trying to learn how to hunt from scratch. Had my license and .308 and wanted to kill a deer. If you have those things (or comparable) and add in willingness to spend a lot of hours of walking around the timbered hills you see on the horizon you can definitely end the season with some good wild meat in the freezer (I did).

That would be tremendous. Thank you! Will pm you.

[darren]

Don't be discouraged though!  Digital mentorship is widely available here! You will find an incredible amount of knowledge (both for hunting in general and local knowledge) on this site.  Search through the forums and you can find answers to a lot of your questions, if you can't -- there are many on here willing to field your q's.

Thank you for your feedback. I am finding a lot of good information on this forum and pm'ing with a guy who has given me some suggestions, which was nice of him.

I have also been using google earth to scope out terrain and such, although I know it's no substitute for boots on the ground.