Hey everybody,

I have always wanted to hunt and my wife has always been an animal lover. A natural dilemma. Luckily for me, she just gave me the go-ahead to hunt birds! WOO! Anyway, I live in Reno, Nevada and I would like to hunt upland game and do not have a dog. I figured I better start off with quail since chukar and pheasant are too smart really to be hunted without a dog. So I have my hunters' safety course scheduled for September, but following that I'm not sure where to go or what to do. I know I need a stamp and all of that for the birds, but I can't seem to find any more definitive information. I have no "sensei," my family and friends never got into hunting, and I cant find any good information for my state. Not even from the department of wildlife. I have a ton of questions and don't know where to start.

I'm looking for the cheapest animal (bird) to hunt. Is quail a good animal to start with?
What all do I need to bring besides a bird bag, my shotgun, ammo, license, and first aid kit?
How do I know where to go? Where the birds are?
How long do the birds keep before I need to dress and store (chill) the meat?
Are there any resources that I have skipped over for my state? NDOW sucks.
Is it unusual to be able to hunt upland game with a weapon using a magazine that carries over three rounds? I have a 12 rounder that I think would be nice to use.

Any other useful information anyone might have for a first-time self-taught bird killer would be greatly appreciated. Like I said, I don't have anybody to teach me. I'm not going to hire a guide either. four quail aren't worth $900 a day to me.

Thanks!

I understand.  I started hunting four years ago, completely on my own.  

Read all of the regs.  It is probably illegal to hunt, any of the birds you might hunt, with a weapon capable of holding more than three rounds.

Easiest bird to start with, IME/IMHO, is dove.  Although, I don't know what the dove hunting scene is like in Nevada, so take that with a grain of salt.

When you go to your hunter's ed class, talk to the teacher and the parents of the other students (you'll probably be the oldest student in class ), and tell them what you told us.  They'll definitely give you some pointers, and some may offer you an invite.

Don't limit yourself to birds.  Hunt want you want to hunt.  Your wife will likely forgive you once you cook up and feed her whatever it is you bring home.  

ETA: You'll need a knife, and the fortitude to snap the neck of anything you don't immediately kill with a shotgun blast.  Don't be a pussy about it.  You owe it to the animal to kill it quick.  You're not out there to torture the animal.

You'll probably have most of your questions answered in the hunter safety class. Don't be afraid to ask questions, everybody learns from them, and instructors (I used to be one) encourage this.

As for the magazine limits, Fed regulations limit shotguns to 3 shots for migratory birds. Any other magazine limits are State regs. Some States have them for upland birds, some don't. I'm in WI, there's no State limit on mag capacity for any hunting, except state regs that mirror the fed migratory bird limits. If you hunt Doves, they are a migratory bird, and fed regs limit you to 3 shots.

Yeah, hunter safety class in your hunting region is best start.

This is also a good excuse to hit the local library and skim a couple of introductory books on hunting.  They will often be 30 years out of date, but their enthusiasm is real catchy and motivating.

Good Luck with this.

Your local gunstore will have some clue about the local hunting situation.  Talk to them.  Your local public lands management agency will also have something positive to contribute about the local hunting scene, and where hunting is permitted.

Start out easy with small game/upland birds, and go from there.

See if there is a local chapter of Quail Unlimited. When I tried chasing quail in So. Cal the local QU chapter had maps of all the guzzlers (water tanks for wildlife) in the general area that they provided to members.

Eventually I came to the conclusion that quail and snipe are closely related (I don't mean Wilsons Snipe, I mean the snipe we used to take noobs out looking for around midnight up at the lake  )

Find your Home Town Forum and ask there.  I am sure someone will offer to help or bring you along.  

MAHA

ETA: Nevada HTF

If you're on Facebook, check for a local hunting group. I started late-ish(different times for different species) also, but was fortunate enough to have friends bring me into the fold. Be prepared for hazing so horrendous that it'll make you think twice. Hunters are hard on new folks, especially if you're an adult starting out. Be leery of info they give you and research it out first. I'm assuming you are hunting public lands and that can be damn all out warfare during hunting season. The best thing to do is find someone to help you along. It's a great sport, but it is something that is best learned over time from someone who knows already.






 

Depending on the season dates and the area snake proof boots and gaiters might be a good idea in your area.

If you have good legs and like to walk uphill chukars can be hunted w/o a dog. You generally aren't going to get a point on wild chukars in the hills.

I fairly new to Reno and have a year old pointer I'm looking to work on some birds.  If you have patience to deal with my pup busting a few coveys and want to waste some time trying to find birds IM me.