Hey everyone, found this place while doing some searching on hunting and looks like the best place to settle in and get comfortable. I'm an avid fisherman/hiker/average outdoorsman that has never hunted a day in his life. I have several friends that are huge hunters, and after much debate I decided that I really want to give it the ole college try. I will be bow hunting, and going to start getting ready for next season.

I do not have the $$$ not the time to get started this late in the season. I plan on picking a bow at the beginning of the year and start practice shooting. A neighbor in my area has a target area setup in his backyard, and told me I can have access to it. So first and foremost I wanted to introduce myself, but I would also like any tips, ideas, etc to look into or watch for. Also, if you have any equipment suggestions as a bow, clothing, scents, anything that I might need in this journey.

I appreciate the help, and hope to become an active member of this community

If your looking for a good cheap bow then try out the PSE Stinger. It is $299 and a really good bow. If you can get most of your stuff from Wal-Mart except maybe the sights. They have the same stuff as pro shops pretty much just at a cheaper price.

A number of manufactures offer "packages" that are ready to shoot right out of the box.



Might be worth looking into as a "starter" set-up.

eastmans bow hunting journal would be a good investment.
It helps with the off season, makes ya a better hunter and drives you crazy for the next opening day.

You posted some generalities in your thread. I recommend if you want help, is to start threads only asking about 1 to 3 questions tops, then that way people are more apt to help. If I see "...I would also like any tips, ideas, etc to look into or watch for. Also, if you have any equipment suggestions as a bow, clothing, scents, anything that I might need in this journey., then I look at that and think "WHERE DO I START??!!"

So my first tip is ask individual questions or keep it down to no more than 3 in a single post to get the best help.

And archery, the killing aspect of what we do, is not the hardest part of hunting. It's not even about being accurate. It's about being able to perform in the heat of the moment, to be able to pull off a shot while your adrenaline is flowing, your hair standing on end and you're wondering if the deer is going to hear your heart pumping! Yes, it's important to be accurate in archery, but as a rookie, most people will be accurate enough to kill a deer at 20 yards within 10 days of starting. It's being able to hit what you are aiming at while under pressure.

A big tip I'll give you on shooting your bow when you get it... to never ever just let an arrow fly. NEVER just shoot an arrow "for the fun of it". If you are going to take an arrow, place it on your string and rest, you might as well try as good as you can to hit what you are aiming at... every time.

Read up all you can in the past threads and keep an open mind. Even if you think you have a good grasp on a concept or technique, asking questions may also just give you another tip you didn't know. So keep asking questions!

Good luck,

iSnipe

Thanks for the advise guys, and isnipe I understand how a forum works overall, but at this point I do not have any specific questions, this was meant to be a general introduction thread for this site. Also, read thru quite a bit last night, and found some good info. Thanks for everything so far

Welcome to the board. What part of the country do you intend to hunt in?

I am fairly new to hunting as well, and have been teaching myself. I've hunted with a shotgun before, but never harvested anything. I picked up a PSE from Hunter's Friend a few months ago and have been very happy with the set up. YouTube has been a good resource as well. Best of luck.

Starting out, you can gather much knowledge from your hunter friends plus enjoy the camraderie. You will soon learn much from them about equipment, hunting strategies, and hunting areas.

Most hunters have greatly benefitted from having a mentor in the early stages of their hunting career.

I come from a long line of lazy indoorsman. All my friends are anglers and not hunters, and I've had heck of a time finding a mentor so self-teaching has been about my best bet. I just joined DU and plan on volunteering with some conservation projects to network with waterfowlers for next season.