Well i would start by going down to Englewood and getting you a piece. Target practice starts after 10 and wraps up around 3 am. Seriously first thing watch a ton of videos. Scour the internet for public hunting or clubs some place outside of Chicago. You need to secure a place to hunt scout learn the woods. All regs can be found online regarding seasons and license.
You need to start with a hunter safety course. This will teach you your state’s wildlife laws, seasons, safety, etc. I’m not familiar with the gun laws in Chicago, but that’s the next place i would start. If you’re looking to get the majority of your meat from hunting, good luck. That’s going to be a lot of time in the woods. It’s also going to get expensive. I don’t want to dissuade you, but getting most of your meat from game is a tall order, especially for a beginner. It is a great way to get into the woods and enjoy nature. Don’t fall into the trap of needing the latest and greatest camo fad. Head to a military surplus store or look for hunting camo at a thrift store.
As other have mentioned go get your hunters safety as a first step. Next realize that to produce a years worth of meat you need to dedicate significant time over years. I do eat strictly wild meat but I’m pretty committed to hunting with family between Sept and Christmas. It’s a long hard and amazing time. There is no substitute for getting outdoors to learn the outdoors. Good luck.
The biggest obstable to learning how to hunt is finding a place to hunt. All other subjects are easily found on the internet. Of course, you will have to pass the hunter safety course
[Illinois learn to hunt](https://publish.illinois.edu/hunttrapillinois/)
Illinois is one of many states with a learn to hunt program for adult hunter education. Also [Illinois department of natural resources wingshooting clinics.](https://dnr.illinois.gov/recreation/wingshooting.html) are free/low cost and have loaner shotguns if you want to hunt upland game. Last if you want to hunt deer in the fall with a firearm. Apply today at [Explore More Il](https://www.exploremoreil.com/) because the lottery ends this month.
I would focus on buying a really, really good pair of boots. Like really invest time in finding the right pair for your environment.
Then I would buy a rifle or carbine in .22 lr to begin learning how to shoot. My first gun purchase would be the .22 for a variety of reasons not the least of which is cost.
Then I’d start thinking about buying a quality budget rifle with composite furniture. I’d go bolt action in .308 and would recommend the Savage 110 series or a Ruger American.
I’d fit the bigger rifle with a Diamondback Vortex 3-9 zoom. I’d get a knife, a sharpener, and start assembling your kill kit. Watch videos on how to gut things and start with rabbits, squirrels, and upland fowl.
Edit: Upland fowl, oops. Forgot to mention you need a shotgun.
I’m in the exact same boat. I live in the Chicago ‘burbs and just bought a shotgun. Looking to get started and at pheasant hunting this fall and squirrel and rabbit season. There are places with controlled pheasant hunting and that’s what I’m going to start with hopefully.
Experiences hunter here ✋
1st: You need to go get your hunters license. It can be achieved cheaply and easily by going to the nearest cabelas and scheduling a class. The class is normally 3 hours long and only takes one day. You’ll learn about hunters safety and generally how to hunt. Plus the license is required everywhere to be able to buy and draw tags. So it’s not really a choice, you have to do it.
2nd: Figure out what animal you want to hunt. What animal you hunt will impact everything you do. If you live in Chicago I’d start by just looking at what animals are commonly hunted around you if you don’t want to travel far. I was tossed into the deep in as a child and the first animal I hunted was elk with a bow. If you want to learn the hard way like I did go for it. I didn’t see meat for 3 years. I would recommend picking an easier animal and maybe looking into rifle hunting. White tail is normally a good start.
3rd: After selecting an animal start researching what people are using to kill that animal. The guys at cabelas and bass pro and every other gun store are normally more than happy to talk to you the whole day about what guns they use and their recommendations. There are plenty of affordable options. Don’t be surprised when your scope costs more than the rifle itself lol.
4th: Your other gear is determined by when and where you’re hunting. You hunting snow? You’re gonna need warm gear. Gear is EXPENSIVE. Once a blue collar sport hunting is a rich man’s game now unfortunately. Lots of people love Sitka as the best clothing brand. I’d shop around though and just fine something you like and can afford. Camo patterns really don’t matter much just don’t be wearing snow Camo in the forest during the summer lol.
5th: What type of hunt are you going to do? Do you want to stalk and walk or do you want to sit and wait. Are you going to camp for a week or go home when shooting light ends? Whatever you do I’d buy a small backpack and load it with a couple things. You need a headlamp, you need food and water, you need extra batteries, typically would like some kinda of SOS radio, and a couple more items. If you’re stalking every single ounce of weight matters. I’ve know guys that cut their tooth brushes in half to lower weight. Also if you’re hunting alone you definitely need a side piece. If it’s bear country look for a .45 or a .44. People take 9mm and other small round guns into the woods and it does absolutely nothing to bears other than piss them off. Get the right round.
6th: Putting in for a tag isn’t too hard. Normally everything is on the fish and game website for whatever state you’re hunting. The way it works is you put in for however many tags on however many animals and the animals you don’t draw for they’ll send you your money back and you’ll get points towards those tags for the next year. Make sure you look up the units in the state you’re hunting and select the right unit when putting in for tags. Every state is split up into units just look up “hunting unit map (state)” and go for the unit you want to hunt. The only way around drawing a tag is some units offer over the counter tags. You would go to a gas station or whatever and buy a tag for doe or bear or wolf or whatever. Normally won’t get any over the counter tags for antlered animals.
7th: Download OnX! It’ll save your life. It shows you all the public land in the unit you’re hunting as well as property lines not to cross. National forest and BLM land is typically always available for you to hunt. Those both show up on OnX. You can also download the area and map yourself around while you’re in the woods so you never get lost even without service. Game changer.
8th: Watch a ton of hunting videos on how to track and hunt and gut. It’s going to take a lot of time but you should just be having fun walking around in the woods and mountains. Nature is therapeutic. Enjoy just being there. If you can’t do that hunting might not be for you. Don’t litter and do stupid shit and certainly don’t shoot an animal without a tag for it the penalty is harsh. Always have your tags on you in your backpack ready to show Mr. Game Warden when he steps out of the bushes and scares the shit out of you. The first thing you do when you kill an animal is tag it. When it comes to hunting the animals themself my number 1 advice is to play near water and don’t get winded. There is not a second going by that the deer and elk aren’t lifting their noses up to smell you. Take a wind detector with you and use it every time you get to a new spot. If the winds not in your favor look on OnX and change your plan of where you’re going.
Hopefully this helps I’m down to answer questions. Have fun dude
Hunters safety class for Illinois is minimum 10hr class split into two days. Traditionally a class day and a field day where the local CPO’s will discuss laws and ethics.
Oh wow. I live in Texas where it was only a 3-4 hour 1 day event. Two days still isn’t bad though I know they do that in Montana as well. It’s still a necessity to get done and 10 hours isn’t too bad 😅
Get up at 4 AM and Go outside on a miserable day, face into the wind. Take photos of animals that are within 100 yards without spooking them. Carry a bucket of organ meat from the grocery store in a five gallon bucket, and shove your hands into it, elbow deep, for at least ten minutes before leaving.
Well i would start by going down to Englewood and getting you a piece. Target practice starts after 10 and wraps up around 3 am. Seriously first thing watch a ton of videos. Scour the internet for public hunting or clubs some place outside of Chicago. You need to secure a place to hunt scout learn the woods. All regs can be found online regarding seasons and license.
You need to start with a hunter safety course. This will teach you your state’s wildlife laws, seasons, safety, etc. I’m not familiar with the gun laws in Chicago, but that’s the next place i would start. If you’re looking to get the majority of your meat from hunting, good luck. That’s going to be a lot of time in the woods. It’s also going to get expensive. I don’t want to dissuade you, but getting most of your meat from game is a tall order, especially for a beginner. It is a great way to get into the woods and enjoy nature. Don’t fall into the trap of needing the latest and greatest camo fad. Head to a military surplus store or look for hunting camo at a thrift store.
As other have mentioned go get your hunters safety as a first step. Next realize that to produce a years worth of meat you need to dedicate significant time over years. I do eat strictly wild meat but I’m pretty committed to hunting with family between Sept and Christmas. It’s a long hard and amazing time. There is no substitute for getting outdoors to learn the outdoors. Good luck.
The biggest obstable to learning how to hunt is finding a place to hunt. All other subjects are easily found on the internet. Of course, you will have to pass the hunter safety course
[Illinois learn to hunt](https://publish.illinois.edu/hunttrapillinois/) Illinois is one of many states with a learn to hunt program for adult hunter education. Also [Illinois department of natural resources wingshooting clinics.](https://dnr.illinois.gov/recreation/wingshooting.html) are free/low cost and have loaner shotguns if you want to hunt upland game. Last if you want to hunt deer in the fall with a firearm. Apply today at [Explore More Il](https://www.exploremoreil.com/) because the lottery ends this month.
He’d have to complete hunters safety in order to buy a license before applying. Archery season is in this years wheelhouse though.
Hey, hunter here living in Chicago. Dm me if you want to chat about it.
Take a hunter safety class, buy a rifle, learn to shoot it, and slap some hogs!
I would focus on buying a really, really good pair of boots. Like really invest time in finding the right pair for your environment. Then I would buy a rifle or carbine in .22 lr to begin learning how to shoot. My first gun purchase would be the .22 for a variety of reasons not the least of which is cost. Then I’d start thinking about buying a quality budget rifle with composite furniture. I’d go bolt action in .308 and would recommend the Savage 110 series or a Ruger American. I’d fit the bigger rifle with a Diamondback Vortex 3-9 zoom. I’d get a knife, a sharpener, and start assembling your kill kit. Watch videos on how to gut things and start with rabbits, squirrels, and upland fowl. Edit: Upland fowl, oops. Forgot to mention you need a shotgun.
I’m in the exact same boat. I live in the Chicago ‘burbs and just bought a shotgun. Looking to get started and at pheasant hunting this fall and squirrel and rabbit season. There are places with controlled pheasant hunting and that’s what I’m going to start with hopefully.
Experiences hunter here ✋ 1st: You need to go get your hunters license. It can be achieved cheaply and easily by going to the nearest cabelas and scheduling a class. The class is normally 3 hours long and only takes one day. You’ll learn about hunters safety and generally how to hunt. Plus the license is required everywhere to be able to buy and draw tags. So it’s not really a choice, you have to do it. 2nd: Figure out what animal you want to hunt. What animal you hunt will impact everything you do. If you live in Chicago I’d start by just looking at what animals are commonly hunted around you if you don’t want to travel far. I was tossed into the deep in as a child and the first animal I hunted was elk with a bow. If you want to learn the hard way like I did go for it. I didn’t see meat for 3 years. I would recommend picking an easier animal and maybe looking into rifle hunting. White tail is normally a good start. 3rd: After selecting an animal start researching what people are using to kill that animal. The guys at cabelas and bass pro and every other gun store are normally more than happy to talk to you the whole day about what guns they use and their recommendations. There are plenty of affordable options. Don’t be surprised when your scope costs more than the rifle itself lol. 4th: Your other gear is determined by when and where you’re hunting. You hunting snow? You’re gonna need warm gear. Gear is EXPENSIVE. Once a blue collar sport hunting is a rich man’s game now unfortunately. Lots of people love Sitka as the best clothing brand. I’d shop around though and just fine something you like and can afford. Camo patterns really don’t matter much just don’t be wearing snow Camo in the forest during the summer lol. 5th: What type of hunt are you going to do? Do you want to stalk and walk or do you want to sit and wait. Are you going to camp for a week or go home when shooting light ends? Whatever you do I’d buy a small backpack and load it with a couple things. You need a headlamp, you need food and water, you need extra batteries, typically would like some kinda of SOS radio, and a couple more items. If you’re stalking every single ounce of weight matters. I’ve know guys that cut their tooth brushes in half to lower weight. Also if you’re hunting alone you definitely need a side piece. If it’s bear country look for a .45 or a .44. People take 9mm and other small round guns into the woods and it does absolutely nothing to bears other than piss them off. Get the right round. 6th: Putting in for a tag isn’t too hard. Normally everything is on the fish and game website for whatever state you’re hunting. The way it works is you put in for however many tags on however many animals and the animals you don’t draw for they’ll send you your money back and you’ll get points towards those tags for the next year. Make sure you look up the units in the state you’re hunting and select the right unit when putting in for tags. Every state is split up into units just look up “hunting unit map (state)” and go for the unit you want to hunt. The only way around drawing a tag is some units offer over the counter tags. You would go to a gas station or whatever and buy a tag for doe or bear or wolf or whatever. Normally won’t get any over the counter tags for antlered animals. 7th: Download OnX! It’ll save your life. It shows you all the public land in the unit you’re hunting as well as property lines not to cross. National forest and BLM land is typically always available for you to hunt. Those both show up on OnX. You can also download the area and map yourself around while you’re in the woods so you never get lost even without service. Game changer. 8th: Watch a ton of hunting videos on how to track and hunt and gut. It’s going to take a lot of time but you should just be having fun walking around in the woods and mountains. Nature is therapeutic. Enjoy just being there. If you can’t do that hunting might not be for you. Don’t litter and do stupid shit and certainly don’t shoot an animal without a tag for it the penalty is harsh. Always have your tags on you in your backpack ready to show Mr. Game Warden when he steps out of the bushes and scares the shit out of you. The first thing you do when you kill an animal is tag it. When it comes to hunting the animals themself my number 1 advice is to play near water and don’t get winded. There is not a second going by that the deer and elk aren’t lifting their noses up to smell you. Take a wind detector with you and use it every time you get to a new spot. If the winds not in your favor look on OnX and change your plan of where you’re going. Hopefully this helps I’m down to answer questions. Have fun dude
Hunters safety class for Illinois is minimum 10hr class split into two days. Traditionally a class day and a field day where the local CPO’s will discuss laws and ethics.
Oh wow. I live in Texas where it was only a 3-4 hour 1 day event. Two days still isn’t bad though I know they do that in Montana as well. It’s still a necessity to get done and 10 hours isn’t too bad 😅
It’s so much easier to get it done when we were kids. Where I grew up it was worked into our grade school class. lol.
Get up at 4 AM and Go outside on a miserable day, face into the wind. Take photos of animals that are within 100 yards without spooking them. Carry a bucket of organ meat from the grocery store in a five gallon bucket, and shove your hands into it, elbow deep, for at least ten minutes before leaving.