New hunter here in MD, looking for advice..

Inigoes said:

It would help to identify the general location in Maryland that you are looking to hunt in.

Maryland has public lands you can hunt on, but private lands require written permission. Living in Maryland is expensive, get used to the sticker shock.

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Mack C-85 said:

For limited time your best bet is going to be an outfitter. Try Pintail Point or Schrader's. Not cheap, but if you're only able to hunt a couple of days, it's workable. Also, great way to learn from knowledgeable people.

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Rcbrownr7 said:

Thanks for the recommendation. These arent places that have feeder that the deer just walk up to right? Just making sure as that is not something I am into.

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sxs said:

For small game you can check out the WMAs (Wildlife Management Areas) or State forest like Greenridge. I don't/won't hunt in Greenridge for deer as it is too crowded with inexperienced and sometimes dangerous hunters in numbers that aren't spread out enough (so-called pumpkin patch phenomenon where so much blaze can be seen around you it looks like a pumpkin patch). That is especially dangerous in rifle hunting areas where it may be difficult or even impossible to 'shoot in a safe direction'. Many on this site can likely tell you stories. However, small game hunting isn't nearly as widespread and popular. Sometimes an opening day can be crowded, but most other times you will see a few other hunters....or in late season, perhaps very few or none. Also, when people are hunting small game with shotguns, the dangerous range of the gun is very limited as opposed to the dangerous range of a rifle.

For deer, you would be best to be on a lease unless someone you know who hunts can put you onto a honey-hole that is lightly hunted. For waterfowl, you'll have to speak to someone who can either point you to a good lease (waterfowling is very fun, but leases are very, very expensive) or someone who can show you the ropes on how to gain use of public hunting areas.

Presuming you may have received Hunter's Safety training in Alabama, make sure you have a card handy when you get your license. However, if you have only hunted on your family's land without Hunter's Safety...or somehow have not had to take it in the past, now is the time to get your Hunter's Safety out of the way....before you get into Hunting Season. My club, Stoney Creek has a course coming up next week (starts on June 19th). 16 spots of 80 total are still available as off 2:30 today. To find a course, go out to Maryland DNR website ( http://dnr.maryland.gov/Pages/default.aspx) , select the Hunting tab, then Hunter Education then Course offerings. You can take the Internet course which also requires scheduling a field day, or a traditional class. The traditional class usually happens over 2 or 3 or more days depending on where offered. (Stoney Creek is Mon, Thurs, and Saturday....all in the same week). You schedule your training online, but if you do the Internet course, you will need the voucher number for that course before scheduling the Field Day and written test.

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deerslayer said:

I have an unbelievable property (300 ac.) that is loaded with deer and turkey outside of Denton which is about 30 minutes from Annapolis. I lease this with three other guys who only hunt on occasion. I have never seen a property as rich in deer (many huge bucks) as this property. I do not run this as a hunt club but common sense rules do apply. I may be losing one guy due to financial problems but not sure yet. It's not cheap but not to expensive. Pm me for details.

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outrider58 said:

I'm seeing a maxed out in-box in your future...

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Biggfoot44 said:

Waterfowl is mainly pay to play .

Small game, any of the various public land.

Lots of the public land also offers Deer. As mentioned some ( many) of the better known/ easily accessable spots have heavy crowds for Modern Firearms season. Options include finding obscure pockets of property, long hiked through rugged terrain to escape crowds, or primarily hunting muzzleloader season or pointy things season. At risking ire of pointy thing traditionalists, I will point out the possibility of Crossbows for those not heavily engaged in the Pointy Thing lifestyle.

And I know this is a Maryland based Forum, but the vast reaches of Geo Washington Nat'l Forest in neighboring Va are within your travel criteria . ( And Va has more logical rules on allowable firearms fir hunting.) ( Sort of. They micromanage what can be used where, but what can be used within each catagory is more relaxed.)

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Rcbrownr7 said:

Hi, I am new to the site and excited to be here. I grew up in Alabama hunting small game, mostly rabbits and squirrels but never hunted Deer and Waterfowl. I grew up around deer hunters but didn't have a male figure in my life to actually take me. I am really excited to do both here in Maryland but basically have no knowledge of the best way to get into this. I am looking for any advice you might give as well as where I can begin to look for places to hunt.

I have been looking for leases but I am only gonna be hunting every couple weekends so the ones I have found have been very expensive for me. This seems to be my biggest hurdle. Any advice or recommendations are appreciated.


TIA

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fabsroman said:

Yeah, I'm about to send him a PM too. lol

Would really like to find a place where I can shoot some ducks other than the occasional ducks that come into a goose spread in the middle of a field. Probably going to pick up a duck/jon boat here pretty soon and have been debating hitting the upper Potomac to see if I can figure something out. Also been looking at trying to buy some property in Cambridge, but that is a decent drive for me for just a day worth of hunting.

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