New Hunter Advice If you would?

Hello! I am really looking to get into shooting and hunting larger game. I have some gun experience in shooting M16s, but little to no tracking/hunting experience. With hunting season fast creeping up...I was wondering what advice anyone has to offer me.





Here are some of my questions/desires:





1. If I want to hunt larger game like a bear (in Western PA and WV), what gun would you recommend?


2. Where are some really beautiful scenic areas to hunt in the same areas mentioned above? I like to think of where they hunted in the Deer Hunter...as its supposed to be in Western PA but something tells me they filmed elsewhere.


3. Can someone provide a link to properly gutting a deer, fox, or bear?





Any other advice for a newbie? Where to get the proper license and so on.New Hunter Advice If you would?
If your going to hunt bear, you also got to have you a good sized side arm to be used as a backup. If you jump a wild bear at short range with a scoped rifle, forget about trying to use the scope, takes too long to acquire the target, plus you never want to take your eyes off of it.


44 mag. would be one such gunNew Hunter Advice If you would?
All good answers as I begin typing. Also to fill in gaps, try http://www.oldhunterrumors.com/ , and scroll down a lot.
for an all purpose gun, it is hard to beat a bolt action rifle chambered in 30-06. It is much more powerful than an M-16, and with the right bullet, is even a decent gun for grizzly bear.





Plenty of power for elk, deer, and black bear.





as far as Western PA, I have no answers.





as far as 'gutting' animals, what you need to do is google 'field dressing a deer' and 'feild dressing a bear'





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKm42ql7N鈥?/a>
The first thing you need to do is take a hunter education course recognized by the state you are hunting in. Most states recognize Orange Cards from other states so that if you take the course in PA then WV would accept that. You don't mention which is your residence state, so be aware that out of state hunters pay premium for license and tags


As for license and tags, the state you hunt in will have that info on their F%26amp;G or what ever they call themselves web site.they will also have a list of Hunter Ed classes available.


For bear and deer you want something with a little clout--270,308,30-06 are the standards,but there are others. Bolt actions usually have best accuracy,ease of use and best cartridge selections.


As for areas--on your own for those--unless someone more local than me can help.The F%26amp;G folks usually have enough information to get you started,and they sometimes have lists where you can get mentoring from experienced hunters.


As for field dressing animals,there are spots on U Tube and others that have it. It isn't terribly hard to do,but you do need the right tools and a little knowledge.


the links below are good starts for cartridge selection,bullet information and the Montana hunter Ed stuff is pretty straight forward and easy to understand to give you a leg up.