ATHABASCA — Humans have been providing themselves with food, clothing and shelter by hunting for hundreds of thousands of years, and is only growing more and more popular, and while our early ancestors may not have had the luxury of training, modern day hunters certainly do, and if you're just starting out there is no better way to get acquainted with the activity.
To begin, there’s more to hunting than just picking up a gun or bow and heading out into the wilderness to bag a buck or a couple of geese — the investment of a Possession and Acquisition License (PAL) is key along with the proper training, equipment, and more.
“It's interesting that a large segment of the population that is new to hunting are people just looking for a good reliable source of organic meat,” said Brian Rudyk. “And the other side sector that really increasing as far as hunting goes is ladies. We're seeing more women becoming involved.”
Rudyk is an avid hunter himself and is also president of the Athabasca Fish and Game Association and provincial chair of the Alberta Fish and Game Association, as well as an instructor.
“The first thing you need to get to hunt in Alberta is you have to complete the Alberta Conservation Hunter Education program,” he said. “That's a requirement for everyone who hunts in Alberta unless you've hunted for a long time prior to the course being made mandatory, then you could be grandfathered in.”
The next step is getting the PAL which requires you to be at least 18 years old and complete the Canadian Firearm Safety Course.
“Just because you've completed the course doesn't necessarily mean they will give you a PAL because after you've completed the course and sent in your application with that information, you go through an automatic 30-day waiting period,” said Rudyk. "There's a cool down period and then they start the vetting process where there’s a criminal records check, and reference checks.”
Before you get to that point though, do some research, said Doubled Down Outdoors co-founder Ryan Tomuschat, who does a show by the same name on the Sportsman Channel which takes viewers from preparing to hunt right through to processing the animal.
“If you have access to go out with somebody that hunts already, then that's definitely a great resource to use especially if you're unsure about it,” said Tomuschat. “There's no better experience and there's no better way to know than to actually go out and do it with someone or help them or just watch them.”
Rudyk agrees, saying hunting is one of those activities where it's difficult to start from nothing on your own because there is so much to know and understand.
"Even from the legal standpoint of meeting the requirements of the law and then you get into all the other aspects of it like the how-tos and, and that sort of thing,” he said. "Having a mentor is definitely the best way to go. But for someone who is interested in getting into it and doesn't have that connection, joining a local fish and game club where you can make contacts and have people that you can go to for information and assistance is a benefit.”
Whether you go with someone or watch Tomuschat’s show, there’s tips to learn like how to cover your scent with smoke or a chemical or pine boughs and then there's the type of hunting to choose from.
“I'm more of a bow hunter,” said Tomuschat. “I enjoy the challenge plus the two-month head start on all the rifle hunters. The thing that I love most about bow hunting is the challenges that we get to have with animals as bow hunters.”
And now you’ve bagged a big game animal, so what do you do?
“I wouldn't recommend going in with zero knowledge because there's a lot of situations where you're going to want to know how to field dress the animal,” Tomuschat said. "If you're on a mountain alone, or with limited guys, and none of you know how to field dress this thing you're gonna have a heck of a time packing it out or finding someone to cheaply pack it out for you.”
And be respectful, Tomuschat added.
“It takes a handful of bad apples to wreck the name for every hunter around and that's unfortunate,” he said. “When you're hunting on someone else's land, give back as much as you can to the landowner as far as respect is concerned; never leave a mess behind and if they have rules like contacting them every day ... whatever it is, it's their land, it's their rules.”
Rudyk is happy to answer questions and guide people in the right direction. He can be contacted at [email protected] or 780-675-2579.
“There's a lot of good resources out there, but there's still nothing like having an experienced go-to person that can take you under their wing or help you out,” he said.
