How to find a group to hunt with?

Google Maps. Hunting Club. There are about a half dozen within a hundred miles of DC. North American Rod and Gun club by Hagerstown MD seems cool.

Everyone that I used to hunt or fish with is dead.
They're not much fun anymore... .

Hmm, this info may or may not be helpful depending on whether you are a person of faith or not and may also be more applicable in more rural area's, couldn't say since I don't know how it is in big cities but I know the folks in my church and the surrounding churches are almost all hunters and are all very generous and love to fellowship with other members and hunting is a great way to build off of that.

Like I said, you may not be a person of faith in which case none of the above would apply and your area may also not have a high concentration of hunters.

Talk with your friends, neighbors, church members, co-workers, gun club members, ect. Good Luck

When you find out let me know.

I grew up going to the farm my dad grew up on (200 or so acres) and showed interest in wanting to hunt. Dad didn't want to do anything more than target shoot and take care of varments/inbred cats on the farm.

Fast forward to now and I have a FIL thats been an avid outdoorsman for 40yrs and I've reached out about deer hunting, with no real interest on his part. He still hunts alone though.

I'm not interested in "clubs", don't really want any part of that.

I do have a friend with 30 acres thats mentioned hunting many times, it just hasn't worked out yet.

I hunted my first and second deer seasons with others. My next 34 seasons I hunted alone. I hunted when I wanted, where I wanted as long as I wanted. No hassle. And I enjoyed every minute.

Perhaps checking a local/state firearms forum, checking with a state gunowners association.

When I read the OP post I thought I was reading about me. Especially the pheasant hunting on thanksgiving part. Identical story, except the part about the obese friend. Mine died early, before he could get that big. Marlboros, Diet Coke & Doritos every day for 30 years will do that. I was born & raised not far, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Dad had a barber shop and knew more people than anyone I’ve ever seen in my life. Me, not so much. Let me know what you find out. All dressed up and nowhere to go.

Local firearms boards.
Are you opposed to guided hunts? that can get you out there at least.

My local coffee shop is a hunters hangout a few weeks before season opens. Sometime you can find a few folks looking for someone to split the lease cost or fill in for guys who have dropped out at the last minute. Only problem will be listening to all the hunting stories from last year. Good luck.

theotherwaldo said:

Everyone that I used to hunt or fish with is dead.
They're not much fun anymore... .

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It does eliminate a coin toss for 1st shot.

Gun4Fun90 said:

Any advice where/how to find hunting groups in Maryland? (I live in Washington, DC)

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My advice would be to not wait to find a group. Unfortunately, it's getting tougher to find friends who are interested in that sort of thing, especially (I would imagine) in places like urban Maryland. On the flip side though, it's never been easier to get some solo education on how to do it.

Another thing you might consider would be to join Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and sign up for updates from the West Virginia and Capitol chapters (that'd be the closest to you. Maryland and Virginia don't have one). Attending some of the events and volunteering with them would be an excellent way to meet some folks.
https://www.backcountryhunters.org/west_virginia
https://www.backcountryhunters.org/capital

Near me, there are few "friendly" gun stores where guys come in to talk guns, politics, and whatever. Seems like a god place to start. Get to know some of the regulars first, maybe become one your self, and then begin your inquiry about hunting buddies...

I live in Washington State forty miles north of Seattle. Originally from Upstate New York. I hunted back in New York since I was 11.
I fly back for two weeks of small game hunting in October and then for a month of deer hunting. I generally hunt with my brother. Past couple of years I met a few New York guys on this forum that we get together and deer hunt with.
This year a friend and his other half from here in Washington State will be flying back with me for two weeks of deer hunting. We met on a local gun forum. We talk alot and go target shooting several times a year out here.
This trip I want to look at and possibly buy a small piece of property to build a hunting camp back there.
There is plenty of State game lands in New York region 7 to hunt on, plus this year me & my brother bought Pennsylvania hunting licenses so we can deer hunt down there as well.

New York and Pennsylvania non-resident hunting licenses are cheap compared to many other states. Just over $101.
Between the four of us we will have twenty-two deer tags for New York and for me & my brother we each have a buck tag and two doe tags for north-eastern Pennsylvania.
So all together twenty-eight deer tags for the four of us.
We will be giving deer away this year.
Not sure how things are for you but if you can get away for several days at a time your welcome to join in this year and get your hands wet up in New York or Pennsylvania.
Once I get a camp acquired things would be more comfortable and cheaper.
My frien and his other half are waiting on a call back to rent a cabin at a camp ground..
If that falls through they will probably get a room at motel 8 or another motel for this trip.
I generally shoot five deer a year, this year should be more then the past with Pennsylvania in the game now.

Last year we started trapping, will be doing more of it this year.

The proof is in the pudding and in a full freezer.

The truth as I have experienced it is that it is hard to find a hunting group. Especially if your not from the area since you were born. It helps to be a prominent business owner, a member at the fanciest gun club, a mason, and an outstanding member of a decent sized church. Owning a bunch of hunting land helps a lot too. So I hear, at least.

Im an outsider where I live. A northerner in the south to boot. It is very hard to earn trust from anyone who has ties to this area and as such no one is offering me membership into any hunting clique.

So, I did it myself. I had hunted a lot before so I had a good background. I tried the hunt club thing for around 5 years but I felt like putting money and time into something that could be pulled out from under you any year was not an anxiety I needed in my life. So I took to public land. Luckily again, there is a large military reservation nearby that allows hunting and it is not pressured nearly as much as typical WMAs. It is loaded with hogs too. A little hunting there over the years and a every WMA in SE GA and I decided I wanted something a bit more to myself the way I had hunted growing up. Plus, all the free time Corona gave everyone was clogging up the public land.

I looked at land prices and bought 30 acres soon after. That was 2 years ago now. It’s two hours away but the public land was an hour or more at the least. I never really wanted it this way but here I am, alone. The only person I hunt with is they owner of the neighboring property to mine. We let each other shoot does in the late season over the property lines. That is about the best I can get to a hunting group.

There are videos online that can walk you through every aspect of hunting if you need some help there. I even have looked at them recently to learn how to quarter a deer for packing out of a hunting area back to the car. Having a mentor is better but it just doesn’t to work out sometimes.

There is opportunity on public land. Many people spend their entire lives hunting WMAs and are happy and successful. There are big bucks on public land but they are few and far between so expectations have to be lowered a bit if that important to you. Knowing the rules is the hardest part of hunting public.