What should I hunt? How should I start?
I'm getting back into hunting after hunting a little bit when I was a kid. I am trying to decide how to go about it. I'll describe what I am looking for and maybe someone can point me in the right direction. First guns. I have inherited a 22 cal, a 30-06 and a 12 gauge shotgun, and a good hunting airgun. Perfectly willing to buy another gun (looking at 6.5 Creedmoor). To me, hunting is about walking and stalking not sitting and waiting. Just what my Dad did, and I like to hike, move and see country. I want something akin to a wilderness experience. Want to get away from people and spend some time alone in the wild. Want to be in beautiful surroundings, probably Western US. I like mountains and also the desert country. Willing to backpack and sleep in a tent if need be. Deer sized game seems like something of interest, so whitetails, mule deer, antelope seem like attractive game. Elk probably too big and I gather you just don't go Elk hunting cluelessly or easily. But from what I hear, Elk country seems to be the ideal terrain I'm looking for. Just starting to learn about the tag system. Seems complicated. Not interested in trophies or pictures. Just want to (re)-experience hunting. Don't want to shoot anything that is too easy. Want to eat what I kill. I live in Massachusetts but can travel anywhere in the US. Not looking to spend crazy money (as in several thousand per hunt). Some obvious places to start, I guess, would be local whitetails since I can find them within driving distance and it seems they are plentiful. Perhaps turkey with either shotgun or airgun. Gotta wait another month or so to actually get license to use firearms. A Mass thing. Hope I don't miss this season. Also thinking of small game just to get the hang of hunting; i.e. squirrel, rabbit, hare etc. Not sure If I'd enjoy bird hunting but maybe. Eventually want to teach the kids after I get up to speed. Thanks in advance.