new to hunting just trying to have fun

[mariob]

hi i am new to this forum i have a lot of questions and i recently hunted unit 9 for deer. i live in flagstaff and want to know about the hunting opportunities up here in this area. i do not have many skills as far as tracking and hunting knowledge. i just started last august, and i just love it :-) anyway i know people don't usually like to give up information, but i figured i would give this a shot and see what i get back. thanks

[PRDATR]

Hello and Welcome.

 

This will give you a place to start for hunting unit info.

http://www.azgfd.gov/h_f/hunting_units.shtml

 

With that said, there is no better teacher than spending time out in the woods and observing wildlife.

 

This will also give you a starting place.

http://www.azgfd.gov/h_f/hf_resources.shtml

 

 

There is almost always something to hunt in AZ including rabbits and predators whuch can be done inexpensively with a single shot shotgun. G&F also has a few books for sale and one I believe has pictures of animal tracks.

One way to observe tracks is to walk a stream bed and look along the bank for tracks. Sandy washes are another place and if you walk them during the first half hour after sunrise while the sun is low the light will cast a shadow across the track making them a bit easier to detect.

 

Tracking an animal which has been shot and bleeding requires locating the initial blood trail and marking the spots with something like tissue paper so you can get a general direction of where it is going as well as being able to backtrack to the last know blood spot if the trail disappears.

 

Call G&F or go into the local office and see what info they have or see if you can do a ride along with one of their field people. Taking a Hunter Ed course will also get you a bunch of knowledge and you'll meet others with a like interest.

 

Just remember, you are going to see something cool and learn something new everytime you venture into the field. If you didn't then you weren't paying attention. LOL.

 

WHen you are in the forest don't just look ahead or down. Look up too. Thats where you'll see porcupines and owls sitting up on the branches of Ponderosa Pines. Flip over rocks and roll logs too, theres plenty to see there too.

 

Tell us about your hunt.

 

Good Luck.

[tjhunt2]

Welcome to the site and you certainly picked a good one for information on hunting. Just don't look at the discussion forum, although it has a ton of information, check out cwt's complete articles on just about everything you'd need to know to get started in hunting. Good luck and I look forward to seeing you post some pics and stories of your own.

 

TJ

[mariob]

Welcome to the site and you certainly picked a good one for information on hunting. Just don't look at the discussion forum, although it has a ton of information, check out cwt's complete articles on just about everything you'd need to know to get started in hunting. Good luck and I look forward to seeing you post some pics and stories of your own.

 

TJ

thank you guys very much

[mariob]

thank you guys very much i will see what the site has to offer and i have a few mentors but they don't have a whole lot of time so i'm branching out and seeing what i can figure out from other sources