Hunting, where to start for the complete noob

[Urufu_Shinjiro]

So my archery is getting better I'm starting to contemplate getting out there after some game but I have no idea where to start. I've never been hunting before, wasn't raised into it like a lot of folks. I don't know any hunters well enough to ask to tag along either. I'm no stranger to the outdoors as I go camping many times a year both at historical reenactments as well as in the woods for fun, but as far as hunting goes I might as well be the city slicker desk nerd I appear to be to strangers, lol. I'm in north Florida and was thinking of spring turkey or deer later this year in the fall. So where would a complete noob with no mentor and no budget even start to learn, and I don't even mean like tips and tricks on successfully getting game, but the how/where of even just getting out there to begin with.

[paulsemp]

I'm 36 years old and this was my first year out also. I was fortunate enough to be able to tag along with my buddy Greg who helped me out a lot but I would recommend taking a local hunter safety course. They go over a lot of laws and are also talking about hunting the whole time I'm sure that would help start fill some your questions. It may also be the law for your state that you would have to take that course

[Badly Bent]

Study the game laws, equipment restrictions for bow draw weight, broadhead size requirements, season dates, etc. Research public hunting areas available to you and if able get out there when you can before the season and get the lay of the land. Then maybe try and locate areas your game uses. Watch a lot of hunting videos, some will contain useful info and some will be less than helpful. Quite a bit can be learned from others but also may not apply to the area or game in the area you hunt. Knowing your prey and hunting area will be most important to getting close enough to actually get a shot. Knowing when to draw and shoot will help as well but this knowledge often comes at the expense of getting busted by a deer or turkey a few times.
Best advice I can give is to just get out there, if you enjoy the outdoors you'll learn more every time your out there and eventually all the pieces will come together and you'll be dining on wild game with a big smile on your face.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Exactly what Greg said. Learn, learn, learn. Even when no seasons are open, I still take alot of walks in the woods and swamps around here.

[jayman448]

And know what the heck to do with the carcass once you got it xD. What are you wanting to hunt for?

[bluegill68]

http://myfwc.com/hunting/
This is an excellent place to start.

[lebhuntfish]

Thats some great advice from all. Call your local wild life management officer and ask if there is any seminars for beginners. Also serves if there is a mentor program that you can sign up for. Here in Missouri we have such a program, pretty much like a big brother program were everyone is eligible no matter their age. You can "team" up with a qualified experienced hunter or fishermen that will take you out and show you the ropes.
Patrick

[mullet]

Try Osceola National Forest, west of J-Ville on I-10 just north of Lake City.

Also, wait till Deer season is over and the Dog Hunters are out of the woods and go squirrel hunting, a real good way to learn the woods you are hunting in and the game habits.

Also, depending on how old you are, a Hunter's Safety Course is required in Florida to get a license.

[Urufu_Shinjiro]

Thanks guys, all good info and gives me a direction, thanks. I sure hope there is a sort of mentor program here, that would be great, though as a 37yr old man I may need to build up some courage to basically ask someone "will you be my daddy and take me hunting" lol!

[Pappy]

Like has been said , just get all the proper license/make sure you are in a area you are supposed to be ,take your bow and go after what every you have decided to hunt, you will make a lot of mistakes as we all have and still do but over time you will learn. Study the game you are after/what they eat/when there breeding season is / what kind of cover they like to hide in/there sense of smell /hearing and sight / which they use the most and try and put that to you advantage. example : turkey can see you blink at 50 yards and hearing is supper but can't smell s#!+ so use that/Deer smell good and hearing is very good but don't see that well except for movement so you have to think about wind direction and where you think they are or will come from. It's all a learning process and will take time mentor or not. I mostly learned on my own, none of immediate family hunted but I had the urge to hunt so I just got out there and did it. Good luck, successful or not at taking some game right off it is a great adventure just to be out there after something other than stumps. Also keep in mind you are picking the hardest hunting there is when you picked a self bow. Congrats on that. 
 Pappy

[Urufu_Shinjiro]

Thanks, definitely have no interest in gun hunting or wheelie bow, though all has it's challenges I wouldn't feel I had accomplished too much if I just pulled a trigger. Hell even in my traditional archery I chose the hard path shooting asian style bow with thumb ring, lol.

[Eric Krewson]

You can start with just bow but you will be bypassing the lessons most of us learned as kids hunting small game with BB guns or 22s.

Get a modern air rifle or 22 and go after some squirrels. Stalking, stealth, game processing and cooking need to be learned and you will never get a squirrel as a non hunter with a bow.

I have used squirrel hunting as a deer scouting tool for years, same for turkey hunting. I study tracks and trails, look for bedding areas, imagine ambush points and translate the knowledge in my deer season.

[Urufu_Shinjiro]

Unfortunately squirrel is off the menu, the wife used to raise abandoned baby squirrels and release them. She's not squeamish about anything else (cooks a mean venison chili) but squirrel, a.k.a. Critters, is a no no, lol. But I get the point, even if I'm just out there after stumps, being out there and paying attention is key. 

[mullet]

Camp for the weekend, eat it and don't say anything.

[Eric Krewson]

My late wife wasn't a wild game cook and only cooked chili, spaghetti and minute steak from the deer I brought home.

When it came do ducks, doves, squirrels, rabbits and fish I was the cook. She seldom ate what I cooked even though I really know my way around a kitchen. She didn't like the idea of eating little critters.

No reason you can't kill, cook and consume the game you kill on your own, I have been doing the same for the last 50 years.