Seeking mentor(s)

Hi everyone,

I apologize in advance if this isn’t exactly the place to post this, I really don’t know where else to turn.

My name is Daniel. I’m 27 years old and just got my outdoors card last week. I have always been interested in hunting, but living in the GTA and with 0 people around me who hunt I have always struggled with figuring I out how to hunt.

I recently moved out to simcoe, near hagersville and decided I’d take the opportunity of a large backyard to get a bow and at least start somewhere, even if it’s just archery.

im looking for anyone who is willing to show me a thing or two about hunting, anything. Even if I can just watch. I can help carry stuff if you want, or even offer to drive if you wish to save gas and mileage. I promise to be as quiet as possible and respectful. I just simply want to learn.

I have a buck tag atm too which I do not mind sharing.

thank you for taking the time to read this, God bless.

Kind regards,

silent_dan.

"JUST archery" !!!??? Well, you've insulted half the OOD hunting crowd right off the bat who consider archery the pinnacle. Just kidding!!! sort of.

I'm sure there's a few folks down your way that will respond with offers but there's plenty of self-learning resources available, not only here but U-tube, magazines, books, etc. If all else 'fails', just get your butt out in the bush and experience some 'hard knocks' on your own. It'll be gratifying beyond your expectations.

Welcome Daniel.

you might get lucky and find a mentor. but in most cases, unless you know hunters personaly, it wont happen.
thats why there are guides you and me can pay, to experience a hunt, and learn from. they charge a pretty penny too ...

so for DIY hunt, you have to put in hard work behind the keyboard and monitor. Youtube, search sites like this, and when u decide for a hunt [Archery limits you, might want to get ure pal] start finding places on Crown land atlas, and get ure booths on the ground.

your chances of finding help and mentors once you put in the hard part increased dramatically. Hunters actually want to help others with same goals and who want to learn. but you gotta show ure also cool with not sleeping Sat night and getting to crown land at 4-5 AM in rain and cold .

Have you seen the bowhunting section on oodmag.com? There's a wealth of information on there, from beginners to experts.
https://oodmag.com/bowhunting/

Morning Pal, welcome. I know from experience that when green to hunting, you feel as though you need to be taught. Having a teacher showing you the ropes is awesome...but.....alot of hunting is trial and error....it takes some people year after year to get they're first deer, as one year you might get busted from the wind, a fart, anything....then the year after, you know to be downwind, not eat 2 bowls Gram's homemade baked beans...etc....I hope someone reaches out to you down ur way, but If not, don't be discouraged....there's years' worth of info on YT, and everything from big woods bucks to backyard corn fed monster bucks.....I've shot a bunch of deer with my rifle, but thus will be my 3rd(ish) year trying with my Xbow....good luck bud, you sound like a responsible eager young lad, and hopefully somebody will reach out...

Living in Simcoe there's no shortage of public land to access. Goggle hunting Norfolk and should identify all the public areas to hunt. Than it becomes a process of elimination.

Hey Daniel,

I was in the same place at the same age, also having grown up in the GTA and moving to a small town as an adult. I'm now heading into my fifth fall season, and while I still have a ways to go in terms of proficiency as a generalist hunter, the ratio of wild game to humans who have been harmed as a result of my hunting endeavours continues to look good. A mentor is great if you can find one, but don't let the paralysis of the unknown stop you from just getting started. I never had a hunting mentor, and while that was frustrating at times, the gratification I got from finally succeeding after days, months, or years of effort outweighed that frustration.

I don't want to patronize, project my own experience onto yours, or assume what you may and may not be looking for, but I do wish someone had told me a few things when starting out:

-Public land deer hunting, particularly as a beginner with a buck tag in southern Ontario, is much more difficult than hunting agricultural land in terms of the legwork and research required to make something happen. Know that going into things, and gauge your willingness to knock on strangers' doors for permission accordingly.

-Small game hunting typically involves much more action than ambush hunting large game like deer. As such, it's great as a beginner to keep you engaged, and to be able to make multiple mistakes and learn multiple things in a single outing. There's nothing worse than waiting days for a deer to finally walk under your stand, only to realize you hadn't chambered a round and can't do so quietly. If you have your PAL, a cheap 12 gauge pump shotgun is ideal for a beginner. My favourite things to do were to stalk up puddle ducks in public marshes for a jump shoot, or walk logging roads listening for grouse.

-Lack of land access (or perceived lack of land access) is the single greatest barrier to beginner hunters having success and sticking with it. Look at the Crown Land Use Policy Atlas and your local conservation authority's online mapping to find out where to go. YouTube and Google are your friends when learning how to navigate these platforms.

-If you have the money, there's no shame in paying a game farm to plant a few pheasants for you to get some experience and "success" under your belt. Often times the folks that run these operations are passionate hunters themselves and are happy to give you pointers as long as you're safe and respectful. When I was a kid, I learned to fish with a worm and bobber at a trout farm and not out fly fishing for marlin on the open ocean.

-If money is tight or you don't have your PAL, get a blunt arrow tip and chase some squirrels.

If you love being outside, a walk in the woods exploring some new ground is never wasted. Good luck!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Juan Almonte

Hey Daniel,

I was in the same place at the same age, also having grown up in the GTA and moving to a small town as an adult. I'm now heading into my fifth fall season, and while I still have a ways to go in terms of proficiency as a generalist hunter, the ratio of wild game to humans who have been harmed as a result of my hunting endeavours continues to look good. A mentor is great if you can find one, but don't let the paralysis of the unknown stop you from just getting started. I never had a hunting mentor, and while that was frustrating at times, the gratification I got from finally succeeding after days, months, or years of effort outweighed that frustration.

I don't want to patronize, project my own experience onto yours, or assume what you may and may not be looking for, but I do wish someone had told me a few things when starting out:

-Public land deer hunting, particularly as a beginner with a buck tag in southern Ontario, is much more difficult than hunting agricultural land in terms of the legwork and research required to make something happen. Know that going into things, and gauge your willingness to knock on strangers' doors for permission accordingly.

-Small game hunting typically involves much more action than ambush hunting large game like deer. As such, it's great as a beginner to keep you engaged, and to be able to make multiple mistakes and learn multiple things in a single outing. There's nothing worse than waiting days for a deer to finally walk under your stand, only to realize you hadn't chambered a round and can't do so quietly. If you have your PAL, a cheap 12 gauge pump shotgun is ideal for a beginner. My favourite things to do were to stalk up puddle ducks in public marshes for a jump shoot, or walk logging roads listening for grouse.

-Lack of land access (or perceived lack of land access) is the single greatest barrier to beginner hunters having success and sticking with it. Look at the Crown Land Use Policy Atlas and your local conservation authority's online mapping to find out where to go. YouTube and Google are your friends when learning how to navigate these platforms.

-If you have the money, there's no shame in paying a game farm to plant a few pheasants for you to get some experience and "success" under your belt. Often times the folks that run these operations are passionate hunters themselves and are happy to give you pointers as long as you're safe and respectful. When I was a kid, I learned to fish with a worm and bobber at a trout farm and not out fly fishing for marlin on the open ocean.

-If money is tight or you don't have your PAL, get a blunt arrow tip and chase some squirrels.

If you love being outside, a walk in the woods exploring some new ground is never wasted. Good luck!

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Great response ��.........

Well 1 big plus is you have a tag you mentioned to share, that might get a few guys attention.

The biggest thing you should be worried about is understanding how to track and gut the animal once its shot. Everything else is trail and error for the most part or searching on YouTube or this forum even for recommendations.

I'm still learning today about things I didnt know and even teaching my dad things even though he's hunted for decades.

Books videos trial and error and personal experience are key if you dont have someone to hunt with.

If you also have land to hunt on im sure someone will message you very quickly lol.

Wish you all the best. Dont feel afraid to post questions in the bow hunt section either, lots of helpful people here on that subject .

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

Thank you for your reply!

I’ve been watching YouTube and listening to podcasts all week! I’ll also be going this weekend to some crown land and simply walking around, understanding the landscape sound, smells etc. I hope this post didn’t come off as laziness, I just figured it would be another thing I could try. Have a great day !!

Yes sir, I 100% agree with you! This is just another resource I am trying ! Believe me when I say I’m honestly and genuinely doing my best to learn as fast as possible. I shoot a minimum of 50-70 arrows per day. I only have 3 so it’s alotttt of back and forth walking hahah. I’ll be going to crown land this weekend to simply get my butt out there.

I’m up at 4 am everyday, work or no work! Been a curse and blessing all my life, lol!

Thank you for taking the time to read and reply i greatly appreciate that!

Just got exposed to this site, yesterday. Been amazing ! Thank you for your reply.

Thank you for your reply!

It’s daunting, it really is. But I 100% agree that the best way is just to get after it. I’ll be going out to the bush this weekend and every time I’m able to in order to simply learn the terrain. Trial and error is what I keep hearing and reading so that’s what I’ll be doing! Have a great day

Thank you so much for this great reply. Not patronizing at all, sir.

I’m 100% going to be hunting regardless of having a mentor or not. I’ve been spending all week getting everything I may potentially need in order to spend a day or two out in crown land. I want to do this far from southern Ontario, I want to actually experience the wild as best as possible in this province, obviously within the range of my experience and limitations.

Thank you for the farm idea, I hadn’t really thought about somewhere I could pay in order to go and hunt game there, when I am unable to go into the bush. I’ll be checking out if there are any near me.

Honestly thank you for this reply, I’ll be checking the atlas as soon as I get home from work to see what is a reasonable place to go with in a 4-5 hour drive.

God bless you!

Since you live in Simcoe, and intend to hunt with archery for deer, visit some of the apple growers in Norfolk county and see if they will give you permission to hunt. Deer are a real pain for fruit growers, and you might just get lucky enough that they will let you hunt their farms with your archery gear.
Worth a try.

Hey Daniel.

I have an archery tuning and arrow building shop, I am located out on six nations. Just about to open up to the public. I can offer bowhunting coaching.

I have an outdoor range, with a tree shooting stand for practice.

DM me for details if interested in any services. Thank you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Silent_dan

Thank you so much for this great reply. Not patronizing at all, sir.

I’m 100% going to be hunting regardless of having a mentor or not. I’ve been spending all week getting everything I may potentially need in order to spend a day or two out in crown land. I want to do this far from southern Ontario, I want to actually experience the wild as best as possible in this province, obviously within the range of my experience and limitations.

Thank you for the farm idea, I hadn’t really thought about somewhere I could pay in order to go and hunt game there, when I am unable to go into the bush. I’ll be checking out if there are any near me.

Honestly thank you for this reply, I’ll be checking the atlas as soon as I get home from work to see what is a reasonable place to go with in a 4-5 hour drive.

God bless you!

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Depending on the budget of course, I think, when getting started, ihunter app(huntable tract maps) and trail cams are better investment then new shiny firearm/camo cloth, stands etc...

Finding a deer trail is easy, however knowing how often does the deer frequents those trails is gold.

1 piece of advise - mount trailcams concealed or high up in the tree, to avoid them growing legs one day. [emoji846]