Hello and good morning everyone! I hope everyone is having a solid new years start! Im located in California around Mendocino county.
I’m looking for solid advice and a detailed step by step on how to perform harvest reports, knowing where to take the skull/tag to CDFW and how to find a solid partner who is an avid hunter. This is my first ever hunting trip I’m planning, I’ll be hunting early November for black bear. I’m also looking for advice on how to field dress and preserve the pelt for a rug (feet, paws, head included) .
Would someone be able to help me understand the process so I don’t make rookie mistakes! Thank you !!!
This is just going to be my personal experience and it may be helpful but most likely not. The hunting community is kind of weird, when I moved from AZ to OR I had to forget everything I knew about hunting and I struggled for years, nobody wanted to take me under their wing and why would they, I would be a competitor for limited resources. I would get vague information on where to hunt and what to look for, but it was a struggle for me when it came to deer and elk hunting. It was only after I took up archery that old time hunters in OR began sharing their secrets, there are far fewer people doing archery hunting compared to rifle and the hunting seasons take place at a different time so I was no longer seen as a competitor as a bow hunter but someone who was fresh into it who needed to be lifted up to stay in it to keep the art alive. So my advice is if you want older hunters to invest in you, invest in archery. Everything you learn from a bow hunter will apply to rifle hunting.