Learning to hunt in SoCal?

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Hello All,

First post on this forum and very happy to be a part of a like-minded community.

Are there any liberal/leftist hunting clubs in Southern California? I'm an adult (44) but have never hunted and would like to learn. Born and raised in LA, hunting was never a thing here, at least not in my circles growing up. Now, as an adult, I want to learn and be able to teach my children how to find their own food if necessary.

Thanks in advance.

Re: Learning to hunt in SoCal?

4
borneo1910 wrote: Thu Dec 31, 2020 7:50 pm an AR-15 currently, but I'm aware that's probably not the firearm for hunting.
Legal restrictions aside, it depends on the game you intend to hunt and, of course, the round for which the rifle is chambered, given there are several non-5.56x45/.223 variants of the AR-15, i.e, 6.5 Grendel, 6.8 SPC, .300 Blackout, etc. The NATO round will take down a deer at 100 yards, but the Gendel sheds much less energy over distances beyond that. Most of the non-5.56mm cartridges popular for the AR-15 platform are best suited for <200 yards when used for deer, but the .30 Remington allegedly gets you to ~400. I have not tried the latter.

Re: Learning to hunt in SoCal?

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DispositionMatrix wrote: Thu Dec 31, 2020 9:43 pm
borneo1910 wrote: Thu Dec 31, 2020 7:50 pm an AR-15 currently, but I'm aware that's probably not the firearm for hunting.
Legal restrictions aside, it depends on the game you intend to hunt and, of course, the round for which the rifle is chambered, given there are several non-5.56x45/.223 variants of the AR-15, i.e, 6.5 Grendel, 6.8 SPC, .300 Blackout, etc. The NATO round will take down a deer at 100 yards, but the Gendel sheds much less energy over distances beyond that. Most of the non-5.56mm cartridges popular for the AR-15 platform are best suited for <200 yards when used for deer, but the .30 Remington allegedly gets you to ~400. I have not tried the latter.
ah copy. this is great info. My AR is chambered for 5.56.

what are "normal" target distances when hunting deer, boar, etc? My assumption is typical >100 yrds? I was just looking at a howa M1500 in 6.5 Creedmoor.

Thanks,

Re: Learning to hunt in SoCal?

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Distances depends on line of sight. Near Los Angeles you can reach out quite far before a tree trunk gets in your way. Deeper in forested areas however you’d be lucky to get a clear 75 yard shot. For that reason alone many favor hunting deer w a 30-30 levergun in mountains that are heavily wooded.

From what I’ve heard. Also no experience w hunting but interested.
Last edited by Bisbee on Fri Jan 01, 2021 1:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent." -Gandhi

Re: Learning to hunt in SoCal?

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As suggested, take a Hunter safety course. Read up on hunting in your area. Find public land that you are allowed to hunt within a distance you are comfortable traveling to often. Start visiting and hiking/scouting the land as often as possible. When hunting season comes in, take an appropriate rifle or shotgun.

For big game, you can’t go wrong with .308win, .30-06 or .270. When selecting a gun to hunt, weight and portability trump features and magazine capacity. Heavy guns with lots of shit hanging off them suck to lug around.
'Sorry stupid people but there are some definite disadvantages to being stupid."

-John Cleese

Re: Learning to hunt in SoCal?

10
Check for state laws regarding hunting guns. In southern MN, deer hunting is either a shotgun with a solid slug or a muzzle loader, although you can own and target shoot with any thing you can legally buy and carry. Saw a guy in a gun store discussing shooting his Barrett 50 cal rifle. In Northern MN, rifles are legal for deer. More trees, fewer residents per acre.
When I started deer hunting again, I bought a Marlin 336 in 30-30. A Repeater that doesn't seem to scare people, even though it looks like the deadly Red Rider BB gun.
I see some shotguns out there designed for deer hunting. Short rifled barrels and mounts for scopes. Change the barrel and you can use the gun for bird or bunnies . Either way, it makes a good self defense weapon.

Re: Learning to hunt in SoCal?

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borneo1910 wrote: Fri Jan 01, 2021 12:41 am
DispositionMatrix wrote: Thu Dec 31, 2020 9:43 pm
borneo1910 wrote: Thu Dec 31, 2020 7:50 pm an AR-15 currently, but I'm aware that's probably not the firearm for hunting.
Legal restrictions aside, it depends on the game you intend to hunt and, of course, the round for which the rifle is chambered, given there are several non-5.56x45/.223 variants of the AR-15, i.e, 6.5 Grendel, 6.8 SPC, .300 Blackout, etc. The NATO round will take down a deer at 100 yards, but the Gendel sheds much less energy over distances beyond that. Most of the non-5.56mm cartridges popular for the AR-15 platform are best suited for <200 yards when used for deer, but the .30 Remington allegedly gets you to ~400. I have not tried the latter.
ah copy. this is great info. My AR is chambered for 5.56.

what are "normal" target distances when hunting deer, boar, etc? My assumption is typical >100 yrds? I was just looking at a howa M1500 in 6.5 Creedmoor.

Thanks,
I just got a Howa1500 hunter this year in 6.5 creedmoor, stainless barrel, maple stock. Amazing gun.

“Normal” is entirely dependent on what you hunt and where you hunt it. In Montana you could either be going for deer in timber pines, so at most you would get a shot on at 50-75 yards, or on the eastern side of the state you could be going for elk or antelope or deer at 300-400 yards.

Context is everything, but I settled into the 6.5 creedmoor both because it packs enough of a punch in brush and shoots super flat at longer distances, so it is very versatile.

So state and local restrictions aside, hunting environment is pretty important, as well as intended game.

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