Agreed, it is NEVER too late to start hunting. I, like you, always had a desire to hunt, but never knew anyone to take me under their wing to show me how. Three years ago, at the age of 30, I decided that I was just going to do it, and started plugging away at that keyboard, looking for all the info I could find. Going into what I consider to be my third season of real hunting, the biggest regret I have is that I did not start much sooner in life. I literally feel like I wasted many years of my life by not hunting and fishing (just started fishing last year!). Take the initiative you have now to find out about hunting and run with it! In other words, don’t just “look into” how to start hunting, etc. Get your butt in gear and get a plan that will get you in the woods by opening day and follow it. You won’t regret it, I promise.
As Scott said, take that hunter’s safety course. Look up your course options and sign up for one ASAP! They fill up fast in my area. I disagree that it will teach you “everything” you need to know, but it is a very good start, a smart start, and probably required by law. It is also excellent advice to find some sort of a mentor that can help you with expectations (i.e. give you the low down on what hunting really is…it ain’t Elmer Fudd walking through the woods calling for the wascally wabbit), and talk you through field dressing your first deer. You can certainly learn how to field dress through reading and watching videos (and you should…over and over again), but when it comes down to it and you are standing over your first dead deer, it helps to have someone talk you through it. It would be awesome if you could meet someone on this board that would be willing to take you under their wing.
As far as a guilty conscious goes…do you eat meat? If you do, do a little research on how commercial cattle, poultry, etc. are treated, and that should cure your conscious quickly with regard to taking a deer that got to live its whole life as nature intended and met its demise quickly and humanely by a well-placed shot out of the smoking end of your firearm of choice. When I killed my first deer, I did not feel guilty. What I felt was an awesome sense of sobriety and appreciation for the life that was just given. Mix that with a feeling of excitement and the adrenaline that courses through your veins as soon as you see that deer, and it’s just an indescribable feeling. That sense of sobriety and appreciation should not occur only on the first deer, but every deer you take. If you start to lose that, it’s time to take a step back and ask yourself why.
One of the most satisfying things for me is when we dine on that fine animal, because I know that from the kill to the table, that deer has been with me the entire time, and is a product of my hand. A lot of hunters kill, field dress and just dump the carcass off at the butcher. If that works for them, that’s fine. But, for me, I need to do it all for every deer I kill. Clean it, skin it, quarter it, butcher it, package it. That is all a part of the experience for me (not just the kill!), and makes it that much more satisfying.
What is your hunting budget…the MAX you want to spend on all hunting gear this season (including gun and ammo)? When do your seasons start, and what firearms are permitted? Do you know where you’ll hunt and what the deer population is like there? Do you have a way to regularly practice your marksmanship skills?
I don’t say this to intimidate you, but if you want to get in the woods this season, you have got your work cut out for you, so get on it! Ask all the questions you want here…you’ll find plenty of help!