Getting my feet wet

Frack N Cylons

Frack N Cylons

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The past few years, I’ve wanted to try my hand at hunting and keep putting it off. This coming year, I’m not going to do that. I’ve considered some squirrel hunting over the next couple of months to test the waters before I try whitetail, this would give me a chance to get to know some of the game lands and some hands on training with skinning and all that. It would also let me know if it’s just not for me. I’ve taken a hunter safety course but it’s been years. I will prob refresh.

This feels like a dumb question, but I’m going to ask it. Is it really as simple as getting a license on the website, heading out into Uwharrie, and harvesting animals?

I know some of you experienced guys are probably rolling, but I do appreciate it.
 
frakncylons said:
The past few years, I’ve wanted to try my hand at hunting and keep putting it off. This coming year, I’m not going to do that. I’ve considered some squirrel hunting over the next couple of months to test the waters before I try whitetail, this would give me a chance to get to know some of the game lands and some hands on training with skinning and all that. It would also let me know if it’s just not for me. I’ve taken a hunter safety course but it’s been years. I will prob refresh.

This feels like a dumb question, but I’m going to ask it. Is it really as simple as getting a license on the website, heading out into Uwharrie, and harvesting animals?

I know some of you experienced guys are probably rolling, but I do appreciate it.
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And a hunters ed course of some sort. I took mine over 35 years ago. Not sure the requirements
 
I’ve never hunted public game lands so I’m not sure but I would imagine you have to sign in at least.

Most hunt clubs require that.
 
The biggest thing to be aware of is the location of other humans and their property.

If you're hunting open gamelands that can be a challenge. Someone could be 100 yards from you and you don't know it.

Finding someone who knows the land, and the location of the nearest houses, etc. is a good plan.

Other than that, get a license and go nuts.
 
premise said:
Don't know anybody out here that you can hunt off their land? Hunting squirrels at my house is sitting in the carport and shooting them off the bird feeders. The lazy bastards don't even go into the woods to forage anymore.
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I could nail squirrels in the backyard with a pellet rifle, but getting the animal is just part of the goal. I want to be in out in the woods away from my stupid neighbors.

I don’t really know anyone with land, no.
 
premise said:
Don't know anybody out here that you can hunt off their land? Hunting squirrels at my house is sitting in the carport and shooting them off the bird feeders. The lazy bastards don't even go into the woods to forage anymore.
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Which “squirrels” are you shooting at?
 
concepthomes2 said:
Which “squirrels” are you shooting at?
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I'm missing the joke here.

But I absolutely hate squirrels. All day long I look at their happy asses running around Charlotte, free of the fear of death that should plague all bushy-tailed tree rats, unable to blast any of them.

OP - I'll ask around with a couple friends if they mind you hunting their land.

We used to hunt Pisgah. Not sure if we were supposed to anything extra, but we rode in set up camp, shot squirrels and ate them.
 
That’s kinda what I did eight seasons ago, when I was 55 years old and knew nothing about it. I made every mistake possible except for falling out of a tree or shooting somebody. Haven’t done those yet. But I still have a circle scar over my eye where I got excited and buried the scope into my forehead. I’ve had at least one deer in the freezer every year except two. No big trophy yet, but I’m doing ok, and daggone, it’s a lot of fun. Here’s a picture from last month.

The guys over at NC Hunt and Fish forum have been a big help to me and they are always friendly to new hunters.
 

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i have some heavy pellets that worked great in the suburbs back up in MI. all my lighter pellets broke the sound barrier and would have drawn questions.
The heavy ones are slow though, and it's hard to "eyeball" a moving squirrel head when it ranges anywhere from 20 feet to 150 feet with a projectile moving that slow.
I could maybe switch back to my faster pellets though... it's not so much a problem here
 
Chdamn said:
I’ve never hunted public game lands so I’m not sure but I would imagine you have to sign in at least.

Most hunt clubs require that.
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Nope.... Just stay within the boundaries and have the appropriate licensing. Not shooting anyone else a distant third....



....only slightly joking....
 
@frakncylons

It is pretty much as simple as you describe.

Pay attention to the signage and boundary markings. Study the map of the gameland ahead of time and make sure you review the specific rules for that gameland. Some aren't open every day. Some have specific rules, particularly for deer, etc.
 
One thing I don't think anyone mentioned is that you must take the hunter safety course before you can get a license. I don't know if they are doing those now with the virus going on, and they always fill up as deer season approaches, so don't wait until the last minute.

There are a number of other rules that will get you in trouble. For example, some gamelands allow you only take does on specific dates. This web site from the NC Wildlife Resources Commission might be a good place to start:
https://www.ncwildlife.org/Hunting/Hunting-in-North-Carolina#89841829-new-to-hunting
 
MostWanted said:
One thing I don't think anyone mentioned is that you must take the hunter safety course before you can get a license. I don't know if they are doing those now with the virus going on, and they always fill up as deer season approaches, so don't wait until the last minute.

There are a number of other rules that will get you in trouble. For example, some gamelands allow you only take does on specific dates. This web site from the NC Wildlife Resources Commission might be a good place to start:
https://www.ncwildlife.org/Hunting/Hunting-in-North-Carolina#89841829-new-to-hunting
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There are in person, virtual, and online course available according to this:

Hunter Education Courses

Hunter Education Courses
www.ncwildlife.org

The online ones have a fee. The in-person apparently started back in early October. I virtual appear to be the in-person class using Microsoft Teams, while the online are 3rd party acceptable substitutions.
 
i highly, highly, highly advise you finding someone that has been hunting on game lands for a good while.

it’s a totally different challenge than putting out a bait pile on private property and calling it a day.

hunting game lands in the west, well hope your stamina is in order, dragging a deer up the side of a mountain that you shot at the top, and it ran down it will make you rethink your life decisions.

out east and central isn’t as bad but some of the game lands are just not really good to go spend time on.

there is only a few gamelands i hunt on anymore for deer.

but first and foremost you need to complete the Hunter safety course if you’re hunting on anything but private property. if you still have your certification then you can use it. if you can’t find it call up the NCWRC and see if they have one on file.

if you’re a disabled veteran they offer lifetime license for cheap as long as you meet the requirements and you get to partake in hunts no one else can

each game lands does have their own “restrictions and rules”. study the NCWRC book when it comes out every June/July as they do make rule changes.
 
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How far are you from Davidson county? Lexington? We have a lot of land and tons of squirrels. I went deer hunting this afternoon to try and shoot one last though to last us until next year. I borrowed my brothers thermal monocular just to test out because I’ve been wanting one for a while and was able to take this picture with my phone. I watch them play through the monocular. There are a couple birds in this picture but mostly squirrels. The black dots are squirrels except for a couple birds. They aren’t the best pictures since I’m using my phone to look through it.

Also on the game lands, I have hunted game lands ever since I was little. But we mostly coon hunted at night and never had any problems with people. I’ve been deer hunting a few times and won’t ever go back. Got in before daylight found my spot and sat down on a hillside overlooking a bottom. When the sun came up it looked like a pumpkin patch of blaze orange. I got up and left. It wasn’t opening day or near any holiday either.
 

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frakncylons said:
The past few years, I’ve wanted to try my hand at hunting and keep putting it off. This coming year, I’m not going to do that. I’ve considered some squirrel hunting over the next couple of months to test the waters before I try whitetail, this would give me a chance to get to know some of the game lands and some hands on training with skinning and all that. It would also let me know if it’s just not for me. I’ve taken a hunter safety course but it’s been years. I will prob refresh.

This feels like a dumb question, but I’m going to ask it. Is it really as simple as getting a license on the website, heading out into Uwharrie, and harvesting animals?

I know some of you experienced guys are probably rolling, but I do appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Deer season is closed, so yes, it is basically that simple just to go squirrel hunting.

Being successful when squirrel hunting may have a learning curve, but you should be good to go to try once you get all your licenses and necessary permits.

You probably will want to start off with a shotgun so you would not be shooting a rifle up into the air.
 
phideux said:
If you are going to hunt out of a tree wear a harness.
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Exactly. I hunt alone most of the time, but I have a Hunter Safety Systems harness, with the rope style tree strap that never lets go of the tree. Phone stays in my pocket where it won't fall and leave me hanging on the side of a tree. And family always knows where I'm at and when I'm expected back.
 
phideux said:
If you are going to hunt out of a tree wear a harness.
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My dad hunted this one field and it had a telephone pole that he climbed up. He used one of those climbing stands where you face the tree instead of leaning back against it. I’m not sure all the details but he was climbing up or down and lost his grip and some how his foot got stuck in the V of the stand where you stick your feet to climb(that is if you don’t have the straps to put your feet in). He hung upside down for a while until he got up the strength to pull himself up. He never climbed no more than 10-15 ft in the air but still even from that height it still would have done some damage.
 
frakncylons said:
The past few years, I’ve wanted to try my hand at hunting and keep putting it off. This coming year, I’m not going to do that. I’ve considered some squirrel hunting over the next couple of months to test the waters before I try whitetail, this would give me a chance to get to know some of the game lands and some hands on training with skinning and all that. It would also let me know if it’s just not for me. I’ve taken a hunter safety course but it’s been years. I will prob refresh.

This feels like a dumb question, but I’m going to ask it. Is it really as simple as getting a license on the website, heading out into Uwharrie, and harvesting animals?

I know some of you experienced guys are probably rolling, but I do appreciate it.
Click to expand...
You know how to get here. Come kill all you want. There are hundreds here
 
If you have already had the hunter safety course, as stated in the original post, there is no need to retake it.
 
As others have stated make sure you look at the game lands regulations. Not only are some of the game lands open on certain days, you must also wear blaze orange and etc. Highly recommend a hunting buddy. Not just for safety reasons, but those little tree rats are sneaky and will quietly circle the tree on you. Having someone stay on one side while the other moves around the tree is a valuable tactic.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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I just had my first successful hunt, in the backyard. I was out hitting my little steel plate with a Diana 34 .177 when a squirrel hopped into the shooting lane. Now seemed like as good a time as ever so I gave it a head shot at about 15 yards. A little writhing and it just laid there. I waited about 5 minutes and it was still breathing (like a pant, not agonal,...weird), but not moving. I put another pellet through the shoulder area and it quit. Closer inspection showed the headshot was right behind the eye with significant blood. The chest shot went through the heart.

I did a quick YouTube on how to clean it and followed through. I reflected for a moment as this was the first mammal I’ve willingly (and personally) killed. Maybe that’s silly, but I did it and will probably do it again.

A couple things struck me. First, it was warm. I don’t now what I expected, of course it was warm. I suppose the only animal carcasses I’ve ever handled have been cold. The second thing that struck me was how quickly it went from animal to food in my head. I was a little freaked out going in to skin it, but once I had my fingers into the underside of the skin it didn’t seem like as big a deal.

Next time I need to be more attentive getting the skin off, I kinda sorta almost ripped it in half.

I plan on eating the squirrels I harvest from game lands and rural areas, I’m not sure about suburban squirrel at the moment. Either way, it’s in the freezer. The most fun of all this will be seeing what my wife does when she sees a frozen squirrel in the freezer.

I don’t think it matters since I was on my property, but I was able to get my SC hunter ed card and NC hunting license yesterday. Thanks to all for the input this far. To be continued...
 
frakncylons said:
I just had my first successful hunt, in the backyard. I was out hitting my little steel plate with a Diana 34 .177 when a squirrel hopped into the shooting lane. Now seemed like as good a time as ever so I gave it a head shot at about 15 yards. A little writhing and it just laid there. I waited about 5 minutes and it was still breathing (like a pant, not agonal,...weird), but not moving. I put another pellet through the shoulder area and it quit. Closer inspection showed the headshot was right behind the eye with significant blood. The chest shot went through the heart.

I did a quick YouTube on how to clean it and followed through. I reflected for a moment as this was the first mammal I’ve willingly (and personally) killed. Maybe that’s silly, but I did it and will probably do it again.

A couple things struck me. First, it was warm. I don’t now what I expected, of course it was warm. I suppose the only animal carcasses I’ve ever handled have been cold. The second thing that struck me was how quickly it went from animal to food in my head. I was a little freaked out going in to skin it, but once I had my fingers into the underside of the skin it didn’t seem like as big a deal.

Next time I need to be more attentive getting the skin off, I kinda sorta almost ripped it in half.

I plan on eating the squirrels I harvest from game lands and rural areas, I’m not sure about suburban squirrel at the moment. Either way, it’s in the freezer. The most fun of all this will be seeing what my wife does when she sees a frozen squirrel in the freezer.

I don’t think it matters since I was on my property, but I was able to get my SC hunter ed card and NC hunting license yesterday. Thanks to all for the input this far. To be continued...
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To skin one. Cut the hide around the middle and pull it off like pants and a shirt
 
frakncylons said:
I just had my first successful hunt, in the backyard. I was out hitting my little steel plate with a Diana 34 .177 when a squirrel hopped into the shooting lane. Now seemed like as good a time as ever so I gave it a head shot at about 15 yards. A little writhing and it just laid there. I waited about 5 minutes and it was still breathing (like a pant, not agonal,...weird), but not moving. I put another pellet through the shoulder area and it quit. Closer inspection showed the headshot was right behind the eye with significant blood. The chest shot went through the heart.

I did a quick YouTube on how to clean it and followed through. I reflected for a moment as this was the first mammal I’ve willingly (and personally) killed. Maybe that’s silly, but I did it and will probably do it again.

A couple things struck me. First, it was warm. I don’t now what I expected, of course it was warm. I suppose the only animal carcasses I’ve ever handled have been cold. The second thing that struck me was how quickly it went from animal to food in my head. I was a little freaked out going in to skin it, but once I had my fingers into the underside of the skin it didn’t seem like as big a deal.

Next time I need to be more attentive getting the skin off, I kinda sorta almost ripped it in half.

I plan on eating the squirrels I harvest from game lands and rural areas, I’m not sure about suburban squirrel at the moment. Either way, it’s in the freezer. The most fun of all this will be seeing what my wife does when she sees a frozen squirrel in the freezer.

I don’t think it matters since I was on my property, but I was able to get my SC hunter ed card and NC hunting license yesterday. Thanks to all for the input this far. To be continued...
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I actually enjoyed reading that. Seemed humble and sincere.

Congrats on the "harvest" (PC for kill).
 
congrats. I am hunting squirrel this year with a 22LR pistol and a red dot. It's a challenge and so is an airgun.
Here's a recipe you won't see every day for the vermin:

 
Not sure if I have posted this before or not, but my daughter in law bought my younger son this one year for Christmas.

Another year, she bought him a mounted squirrel head for Christmas.

1609952894340.png
 
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