Trying to figure out how to do my first hunt
 

I am 28 years old and have never hunted grew up in a family that does not hunt. None of my friends hunt i looked up prices for rifle hunting lodges and it is like a grand. Is it worth paying that much or is there anyother ideas out there. I would like to go hunting next year this year i am working on my shooting and technique (spelling?), figureing out the process for after the hunt. Thanks for your input i am a completly hunting stupid so any advice would be great. I have been reading magazines and watching hunting shows.

No worries.

I was in your situation and actually took up hunting very late. If you grow up in a city, in a non-hunting family, your opportunities are very limited (mine were). It really is a sport where it helps a lot to have someone introduce you to it. In my case it was my father-in-law.

You can get all your questions answered, but things are a lot easier if you have a friend you can tag along with. You'll make one pretty quickly as you get into the sport. I have several new friends now since taking it up.

Is your intent to hunt with a rifle, bow, or shotgun (slugs)?

Rifle for next year and then rifle and bow the next season. I got into wanting to hunt while i was Stationed in Nevada it is a very outdoorsman state did my hunter safety course then it seemed i was injured for the first season and i left unexpectidley prior to this season starting. Back there i had friend that were avid hunters.

What state do you intend to hunt for next season? The advice you get will vary somewhat according to the region, climate, and topography. Maryland, I take it?

Yeah maryland Frederick county

I don't know how to advise you on finding land, but I assume there are public land opportunities there. Here is my general advice for whitetail bucks, and I have no doubt there are people better than me on here who will chime in:

1. Find what they eating, which is where they will be overnight generally.
2. Find where they are bedding (usually thickest part of woods), which is where they head early in the morning. Deer, especially in high pressure/population areas, tend to stay down by day in bedding.
3. Use google earth and then on-foot scouting to find ambush points between food and bedding sources.
4. The ideal ambush point is a funnel. There are many examples, but basically it is a narrow piece of land that provides cover for them traveling to and from bedding/food. Because it is narrow, it "funnels" them through a restricted area where you know they'll be and can intercept them. A classic example would be a narrow strip of trees running through fields and connecting two sections of thicker forest. There are endless examples, but funnels simply help narrow your choices for ambush points. Deer take the path of least resistance that still provides them cover...
5. Don't feel like you have to have a tree stand. I think natural ground blinds are very effective too. I prefer them and they are cheap.
6. Deer use vision and hearing obviously to look out for predators, but smell is probably the most important factor. Use scent-free detergents, etc and scent free soaps on yourself to reduce your scents as much as possible. Beyond that, play the wind. You never want the wind to your back because essentially it is blowing your scent in the direction you are hoping deer will come from.
7. Don't overhunt spots, as deer will figure you out and avoid that area.
8. Be patient, and arrive earlier in the morning than you think you need to so you are position as they return from feeding.

Anyone else?

One of the first things you might want to consider is where you plan to hunt before choosing a weapon. You may already know this but I thought that I'd throw it out there. Hunting with a rifle you'll need to be able to have some open areas or at least some good long shooting lanes. If your in brush I'd suggest a shot gun. With bow hunting you'll definetly have to have good shooting lanes. There's alot more to bow hunting so I'd suggest going to a good pro shop and let them set you up. It's a great sport and I'm sure you'll find a couple of friends to show you the ropes. Oh and don't exspect it to happen like it does on the TV shows lol. Good luck to you and be safe.

Join
 

Join a hunt club. They usually purchase land/hunting leases.

I belonged to The P/G/County Rod & Gun Club. They had hunt leases in Port Tobacco and a few other places.

Worth the investment in my opinion.

It will change as you evolve,but maybe during the off season research could turn up public and private lands for next year. Having time to learn the "field"and what animals are there could lead to a home court advantage. Game movement and location likely to change before open season rolls around but scouting beforehand will update you. Having multiple spots will help for unexpected hunting pressure or crowding from other hunters. Small game hunting a good way to know whats going on in an area regarding food sources and learning nooks and crannies. Access routes ect.
Be safe and have fun!.

I am with Monoped. Learn the area. I was talking to a younger guy in West Virginia this year and it was my last day hunting there. I told him a good area that year and he said he does not leave the main trails. He was afraid he would get lost. I don't advise getting lost, but that guy will never get a deer there. I see a lot of that on state land in Pa. I used to hunt Maryland for years and saw it there to. Learn to get around with a compass (I don't trust those new fangled things) and the hunting will get a lot better for you.

Lots of good spot-on advice already.

As for developing shooting skills, if you can find an outdoor shooting club to join or can locate a a safe and legal spot to shoot 100 yards or so, target shooting with a 22 LR bolt action at 25-50 yards is about as good a practicing as you can do in preparation for shooting a centerfire "deer rifle". Even if Maryuland is shotgun only, takes the same skills as mastering centerfire.

You can learn a lot about managing trigger, hitting "small" and consistently shooting small groups. Right now 22 LR ammo is cheap and readily available. You can buy a good single shot or bolt 22 LR for under $200 or so. Once you feel good about shooting the 22 LR, move up to whatever you decide to use for deer hunting. And practice with that as much as you can afford.

The typical "deer rifle" cartridges range from 243 Win. upwards to 300 Win. Mag., with a few of the bigger bore stuff such as 45.70 Gov. Thse are lethal out to hundreds of yards. If you are restricted to shotgunning only, a rifled barrel and sabot ammo can kill deer cleanly out to 200 yards or so as long as you can manage the arc.

As far a "hunting lodge" and typical costs ... can't help you there. Not sure what amount of public access land Maryland has or how hard it is hunted, or how open land owners are to giving permission. Down this way public access for deer hunting is weak and heavily hunted, and getting permission is almost impossible these days. However, most land owners in Alabama remain open to leasing hunting rights. I am in a group of 15 guys that lease 3150 acres and operate as a "hunting club". Something like that might be the route to go.

Thanks everyone for the advice it is great i am taking it all in

Can't beat that offer from RR. Take him up on that great offer and you'll also learn a lot from a season veteran!

X2 on the Ridge Runner offer.

Welcome to the fold. I am retired AF from Al and started much like you. I'd contact your local state Game & Fish Agency and seek their advice on what public lands & laws apply. A Hunting Club is a good idea-local Bait shops, Outdoors retailer employees, gun shops are good sources. I agree the "Outfitters" are too expensive and learned on my own thru personal contacts. A Gun Club is another source of personal contacts-you'll need a place to shoot your guns. Feel free to PM me, I'm an old NCO who helped lots of my young troops go hunting in AL.

Excellent advice here. Start asking around. Maryland's DNR website looks to have public land listed. That would be the first place to check. Ask around. You'd be surprised how many people will give you ideas, or get you hooked up.

If there's any way you can build up relationships with people who own land or have access, that's always good.

Edit: Write some chamber of commerces asking about this.

Another thing I've learned is that something like squirrel hunting is often easier to get permission to do rather than something like deer. Squirrels can get you on a piece of land, and not only can you hunt, but good squirrel ground is also good deer ground. You get a chance to size up the potential, and once people know you better, you can ask about deer.