Some thoughts that may or may not help. Do you have any relatives that hunt? Even if they're in the next state, they can still be a resource for learning and maybe an annual hunting trip.
I realize a lot of people are reluctant to list the state they live in but in this type of topic, it can be very helpful. We have members who live in just about every state in our country and you can often get advice from somebody in your own state (such as what is a legal hunting rifle) that shortens your learning curve. Members who live in your own state can also tell you about public hunting opportunities, game specific to your state that you maybe never thought of and other things that might be useful.
As an example, in my state (CA), it is legal to hunt turkeys with airguns. Primarily this is because so many turkeys are in urban areas where firearms and even bows might not be allowed to hunt legally (or for safety reasons) but hunting itself is still legal. Something like that may help you in your state or not.
Hopefully some of this helps you move along that hunting learning curve we're all on to some degree or another.