Month: September 2018

Show Notes:

Everyone wants to hunt somewhere that no one else hunts and that the animals are undisturbed and grow big. Private land seems to be that ideal place.  Often it’s not as great as it sounds but there is no doubt that it is usually the best available option.  Getting permission to hunt on a nice parcel of private land can prove difficult.

On this episode we discuss 4 strategies that you can use to get access to private land:

1. Talk with your game commission to see if they have a hunter access program that lists willing land owners.
2. Use you maps or OnX Hunting App to find ideal places, scout them, and try to build relationships with the owners.
3. Train your ears and be more thoughtful with your conversations to identify people you know or meet who could connect you.
4. Do not overlook the small opportunities that you have not considered or wrote off before you knew better.

Show Notes:

Finding a place to hunt can be one of the biggest challenges for people new to the sport. Public land provides some unique opportunities but also has some issues. However, if you know how to find it and how to use it, public land can be a major asset. 

When I first started hunting I did not know about all the public land close to me, I didn’t even know how to find out about it. I asked someone once and they told me about a place and the directions were essentially “east”.  It was maybe a year before I found a way to figure out where that land was. It was two or three years before I learned what was there and figured out how to make use of that land.  On today’s episode I will tell you how to get years worth of learning in minutes. No exaggeration! 

Key Take Aways:

• You don’t need any permission to hunt on public land, and it’s free.
• Public land tracks are often larger than private.
• Public land has more hunting pressure and requires a strategy to use well.
• You can find public land through the game commission, Google maps, and best of all a good hunting app.
• OnX Hunt is a must have tool for every hunter, new and experienced. It saves so much time, energy, and confusion. There is no easier way to find and navigate public land. You can learn more at their site www.onxmaps.com

Show Notes:

Getting your first hunting license is easy, if you know what you want to hunt. There are a lot of licenses, tags, and add-ons you can buy that can add up to a serious chunk of money and most new hunters have no use for all of them. In this episode we look at deciding what you want to hunt before you head to the store. 

Key Take Aways:

• Think about the game in your area, what you want to hunt, have opportunity to hunt, and have equipment to hunt. Then buy only those tags.
• You can always buy more tags later if the opportunity to hunt something comes up, but keep the cash in your pocket until it looks like you will actually be able to pursue that game.
• Think about game that requires special tags, like antlerless deer, and handle those right away.
• How to easily navigate the complex process of antlerless deer tags.
• When in doubt, ask the game commission questions, they are often happy to help.

Show Notes:

If there is one official hurdle to getting started in hunting it is the hunters safety course. The course isn’t hard, but figuring out how and where to take it, and what is the official course for your state can be more challenging that most people think, especially because lots of online education companies claim to be offering something that sounds like what you want. But they are not certified by the game commission in your state to give you the certificate you need to get your first hunting license. 

This episode will help you navigate the hurdles and get you or the person you are helping into the woods quickly and painlessly. Plus it will help you get the most out of the opportunity that taking this course provides, after all, you are in a room full of other hunters and future hunters, you can really benefit from the connections you make here.

Key Take Aways:

• Always attend your safety course in person when possible, it’s a great opportunity to network, meet local hunters, and try to find information about where you can hunt.
• Do not trust online hunters safety courses unless they are offered or recommended directly by your state game commission. When in doubt, call your state game commission to ask.
• Visit this site for links to each state’s local government to search for your game commission’s page 
• Visit here for the humane society’s list of most state’s game, fish, or conservation agencies. Be warned, it’s not 100% complete, but it will help most people.
• Enjoy the class, it’s not hard, and it will help you think more about how to hunt and how to be safe and successful.