In search of hunting wisdom
 

I am interested in finding resources to help me learn to hunt. I am 39 years old and I've wanted to learn the sport of hunting for a very long time. I plan on taking the hunting license course here in Ohio, but after watching several episodes of The Wild Within, I now want to hunt even more. Can anyone offer any help or advice? Thanks in advance.

The hunter ed course is a great start. Read everything you can, and pay little attention to the TV shows. This site is a great place as it's mostly real guys talking about real world stuff, not just the magazine stories. There's tons of stuff to learn, and don't expect to learn it all in one year, or even 20.
Good luck, hope to see ya around here.
-Jake

Hey Dan welcome!
 

How much time have you spent in the field?

So far zero. There has to be survival courses or hunter education other than the 18 HR gun class here in ohio

Well thats a start..and some Places or Hunting Clubs have more advanced classes for Hunting and Survival,You just have to find one that doe's?When watching the Hunting Shows You have to take it with a grain of salt,it doesn't always happen that easily as they show it and some times You may be up in a stand or down in a ground blind for hours without even seeing a Deer,rattling doesn't always work and grunting to stop a Deer may very well cause it to take off running instead.

Good Shooting and lots of practice with Your Rifle is the best thing to learn,shot placement is everything when ethically harvesting/killing a Deer.Know Your Equipment and its limitations as well as Yours too,patients and scent-control wil help You get closer to the Deer and help in getting a Nice Doe or Buck.

Let me back up and say that it was just inspiring to an interest in harvesting my own food. I completely get that TV is TV.

Ok, so everyone keeps talking about clubs and classes. I've been all over Google and can't find any classes locally. Can anyone offer where these classes might be?

Lastly, I obviously want to outfit correctly. I would assume i would following hunting seasons, so proper gear during Oct-Feb. Any sites to help me decide what i need?

sites like this are a great start. Also as someone else said, read everything you can find, im constantly buying hunting books, and i subscribe to about 5 different hunting magazines. Unless you can afford to pay for the best guides out there to take you hunting, then reading what the best hunters (who are kind enough to write a book on the subject) have to say about it, is the next best thing.
When it comes to gear, everybody has their favorite (usually what they happen to own) and thinks the rest is crap lol. I buy different pieces of gear from different makers until i find my favorite......watch for closeouts like at dicks sporting goods in early jan after hunting season and you can get steals on all kinds of gear to try out. Also, get on sportsmansguide.com's mailing list, they have closeouts all the time, love that place. Good luck to you amd enjoy

Nothing beats learning firsthand or from others. I don't know what specific game your interested in hunting, but pheasant hunting is a good start. You can find a nearby game farm/ outfitter and they can help you out with guides/dogs etc. Overtime, you would be amazed how your hunt opportunities expand with personal contacts, and reciprocating hunt opportunities to others. If you have a hunt club membership or hunting property, you'll find plenty of hunters willing to hunt/ teach you.