Trying to turn a friend into a hunter

[BeartoothFront]

soon I've got a friend who lives down in Denver who wants to try hunting this fall. I figured start him with deer this first time out. I'm trying to decide where to take him hunting. Do I have him come up to Montana? Do we put in for an easy to draw rifle in CO? Do we meet in Idaho and do an OTC tag? How about Wyoming? I'm open to any ideas.

 

[HighDesertSage]

WY antelope. Good meeting point too.

 

[Chucknduck]

WY antelope. Good meeting point too.

This

 

[JohnCushman]

WY antelope. Good meeting point too.

^^This again. Start him out with a doe tag, and if he decides he doesn't like it, he's only out the cost of the tag and conservation stamp.

 

[cedahm]

WY antelope. Good meeting point too.

Beat me to it. Lots of animals to look at, pretty wide open spaces, not much gear requirement, pretty much as good as it gets in terms of opportunity, and (sort of) equidistant.

As an anecdotal - My neighbor had similar "I really want to try hunting" inclinations and tagged along as an observer with a friend on a backcountry archery elk hunt his first time a few years ago to get his feet wet. He basically was turned off to ever hunting again after the experience of a full day bushwhack in, a couple full days hunting, a full day tracking a bull into some nasty slide after the (very good) shot, then another all day pack job to get out. That's a rough go for a first timer. Although, he is getting more and more interested in blue grouse and mountain turkeys when I've served up variations of both at neighborhood gatherings. I've told him that I would have started him on blue grouse to show him elk country, then ramped up to antelope for big game lessons.

 

[VAspeedgoat]

I might as well say it too, PRONGHORNS!

 

[kansasdad]

Hunter safety class needs to be attended to before he can go hunting, unless the state you pick allows for "apprentice" hunting like Kansas does.

 

[VAspeedgoat]

One thing I hadn't considered is shooting ability. Longer ranges associated with pronghorn need a ton of practice for a newbie. Deer, depending on the situation could be at more moderate distances. Whitetails in eastern Wyoming, Montana, and Colorado may not be too bad of an option especially on a tresspass hunt. Heck, if you did a doe hunt you could likely get permission and not pay a dime. Same for pronghorn does too. Just might want to guage his shooting ability early to help plan.

 

[Matt/VT]

I think a couple of small game hunting trips are important. Low pressure, more game, short duration. It is how many started as kids. It's fun and will hopefully leave him wanting more. Meet somewhere and camp out without the intensity of a big game hunt.

 

[MTGomer]

Eastern MT Muleys.

 

[JWP58]

WY antelope. Good meeting point too.

Bingo, just don't apply for a draw. Buy OTC leftovers (I need better draw odds)

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

Does he already do much outdoors? If he is already a backpacker/hiker/fisherman, I would try and do a hunt that builds on things he already likes to do. If he does enjoy those other hobbies, be might be turned off by the experience of fighting the orange army. Heck just having him ride along on an archery elk hunt in the rut might be a great start.

 

[1_pointer]

Don't rule out small/upland game. If he likes that, big game will be an easy sell. Few things I'd focus on; try to make it a fun hunt with a high probability of success and something that tastes good. For big game, I think pronghorns are a great choice. For small game, I think cottontails or tree squirrels work well.

 

[Flatland Crusoe]

I ruined a new hunter on high effort low odds deer hunts and really regret how I handled it. Antelope is the best big game species for sure to start on, but small game like doves or pheasants would be my other suggestion. Deer is ugly because of the orange army and I don't think a lot of common deer hunting scenarios are all that compelling as hunts compared to a lot of other stuff.

 

[JohnCushman]

I started my wife on doe antelope because they are plentiful and she was just as excited to see them as she was a buck, and the tags are easier to get.