without dogs? the same list + big game (turkey, elk, moose, ram/bighorn, etc).
you can do pretty much any hunting by walking around (minus turkey, they're way too finicky to kill if you aren't camo'd and noiseless).
Depending on where you live, a guided bird hunt is probably the most fun and the highest chance of success (quail/pheasant). Around here, you call up the place and set a date, and they will go out a few days before and release a set number of birds on their property (they're raised in a cage and they also don't fly around too much, so they don't go far after release). Then they provide the dogs and take you out for A few hundred bucks a person for 4-5 hours or so. If you're further N in the plains area, they go for wild birds more b/c they're found there more abundantly. you'll want to practice with skeet if you aren't comfortable shooting moving targets with a shotgun, or you won't hit squat.
for the more hardcore hunter: you can do big game stalk hunts in the midwest/southwest (they don't do that much here in the SE b/c it's too wooded)...where you might go on a 2 day hunt and ride in to a camp and then walk out from there and you find them in a big valley or something and have to basically army crawl close enough to shoot. these are expensive if you are being guided.
"Someone walk me through what a typical day of hunting is like."
that depends entirely on what you're going for...
Deer hunting in a stand: You want to be IN the stand BEFORE they wake up or as close to before as possible. So you need to know where you're going beforehand, and get there at/before daylight. You gotta be all ninja-like the whole time. You get up in the stand and sit there and shutup. they usually are the most active at 7-9AM or the last 45 minutes before dark. And don't take a shower the night before with some ridiculous smelly stuff, they can smell like dogs, and they won't come anywhere near where you are if they're downwind of you. shoot a deer, and go find it if it didn't drop straight to the ground (blood trail time). cut it's belly open and clean 'er out. then drag it out on your cart/4wheeler/truck and take it to the checking station (so the wildlife management folks can keep track of how many have been killed), and then to a processor if you aren't doing it yourself.
stalking: I've never done it myself, but it's similar...you get up at the crack of dawn and go find a spot you think they might come to and wait. then move in to them when you can.
bird hunt: you get there early or late afternoon and walk the fields. kill them when you see them/when the dogs point them out and flush them, and then after you've got your limit or you're tired, you go back and clean them.
squirrel hunting is just like bird hunting, just in the woods. It's ideal to have 2 people at least, so someone can have a .22 and shoot them from further off, because squirrels spook easily. Gotta be there early so you can be in the woods when they wake up. You don't want to be just getting there while theyre eating breakfast on the tree, they'll go inside their holes or to the other side of the forest.
rabbit hunts are in more swampy areas usually, and with no dog it's rough work (you've gotta kick up all the bushes and thick grass you can find because they won't come out unless they have no other choice).
turkey hunting is basically sitting on the edge of a field and being as quiet as possible with the occasional call if needed. they spook SUPER easy and they can see very well (in color as well, so gotta wear full camo and cover that face/hands).
make sure you check out the seasons for whatever you want to look into, there's some hefty fines for shooting out of season animals. and buy the license required. In the SE, it's pretty cheap...$28 for fishing and small game license, and $18 on top of that for big game...that's TN. MW area is a lot more I would imagine because it's more big game hunting.
I suggest a bird hunt if you are comfortable with a shotgun. they're a lot of fun, and quail/pheasant/dove are easy to shoot if you're skilled at all. they offer them around here for $300 or so per person with the dogs included. You can get 10 or so quail each and I think 4 or 6 pheasant, and they will clean them for you. and if you're lucky, you'll be scheduled behind a group like I was the last time my dad and brother went a couple years ago...the guide told us the group he had taken out the weekend before (he did it as a side job on the weekends) were all terrible shots, so they only got like 5 of the pheasant he put out. So we ended up doing quail only and got a bunch of the pheasant he had put out for the group before.
sorry that's so long...there's not much I like more than hunting, fishing, and playing games on the computer so I ramble on a lot
-----signature-----
Soo... useless boobs run the world eh?
Sounds about right actually-Alkizmo
The jewel sequins, Hollywood designer clothes and makeup, and flashing LED panorama really
capture the dark cynical hopelessness of the grunge era -Vega
Archriker lvl 250 ret.
Sounds about right actually-Alkizmo
The jewel sequins, Hollywood designer clothes and makeup, and flashing LED panorama really
capture the dark cynical hopelessness of the grunge era -Vega
Archriker lvl 250 ret.


