need guidance
 

Have a few questions for all you avid hunters out there. I'm originally from San Diego, CA and never grew up around hunting. Since then I've moved to PA and it's all around me and feeling that urge to go out in the woods and get me a deer. So can anyone direct me to some good books/videos, mostly geared towards the field cleaning/gutting and maybe the butchering of deer, possibly small game also? Was also in the Marines for a few years so already done the firearms training, I know hunting animals is a bit different then humans lol but a book or video with good tips could help a lot also. Already watch a lot of hunting shows but they never seem to cover the more undesireable aspects of hunting, gutting/cleaning and all that. Any help/direction would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Cant help you Mr. Just get some Huntin Magazine or Read Threads on here. I've learned alot over the past years on this site.

As for the gutting, that's a hard one to learn on your own unless you have a step-by-step video. One source I can recommend by learning through video is YouTube. I used the search phrase of "deer gutting". As you will see, several options showed up in the results. One that looked good by the title and star rating is below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIqlb5_8qog

Good source for videos is eBay as you can get them new and used. Pick one that interests you and watch.

You ask a lot of questions in post. Too many in fact. It's often best to ask 1 to 3 questions in a single post to get the best results. I prefer 1-2 to keep the subject focused.

Good luck,

iSnipe

I reccomend a visit to the Northeast Forum, you should have no difficulty finding someone there who would be willing to mentor you. Hunting deer differs from "hunting" humans only that deer are a lot more wary, and vastly more aware of their surroundings, other than that the skill set is similar.

Nothing is better than learning to hunt from those around you and just going out in the woods. There are many vidoes and dvds out there to show you the basics of deerhunting such as scouting, scent control, and learning good stand locations. Some other good videos I really like are the Primos videos on game calling and Bowhunting Pressured Whitetails.

Bowhunting Pressured Whitetails was made by John Eberhart. Very good dvd to learn from, I watch them over and over and still pick up small things and ideas everytime.

that youtube video was great thanks a ton, still have a lot of research to do but just planning on scouting out areas and hitting up some targets till the 2010 rifle season, gotta soak up as much knowledge as I can before then, these forums are pretty awesome gonna have to bug some of the old school locals in my area also. If anyone in the wilkes Barre, PA area wants to show someone the ropes please feel free to hit me up lol

Seems to me there's still a lot of season left and you plan on not hunting this year? Is there a reason for that? Just curious.

Hunting gear and all the goodies that go along with it can get expensive; but it doesn't have to be because one can get by with the simplest of amenities. The simplest I know is a gun, shells, clothes and orange colored if necessary, a hunting license and a place to hunt. Now I could easily think of 3 dozen other things you should get, but we're talking the absolute bare minimum, so not having all the gear is a not a good reason for being out there!

iSnipe

I just don't wanna be "that guy" who goes out there and steps into someones favorite spot or that just wounds a deer or destroy's the meat by an improper field dressing. Also other then the 3 rounds I've put through my mother-in-laws 300min mag I really only know the M16, so until I get my own rifle either this month or from my wife for christmas and learn all the in's and out's break down, cleaning etc. I wouldn't be comfortable relying on it in the woods. I just can't jump into it without getting as much knowledge as I can first. After this hunting season I plan on spending a lot of time in the woods, reading forums, books, magazines, shows and talking to shops and hunters. Just refuse to be "that guy"

Not many people show that kind of respect and make a decision like that. Sounds like the wifes family is into hunting. If you dont feel comfortable doing the hunting yourself, maybe you could go and sit in on a hunt with one of them??

i'd find someone to hunt with nearby,remember when you watch hunting shows that most are just there to sell a product . they don't always show the best way to hunt.