Been meaning to post this for a few weeks.
New guy here, from Anne Arundel County, MD. (Won't get much more specific on that front---as the father of a 13-year-old kid who spends as much of his time online as possible, I need to practice what I preach re: being smart with one's privacy on the web.)
I grew up in the Midwest with a dad who took me fishing on Lake Erie and who taught me how to handle guns and shoot well (boy, did he ever love his guns!) but he wasn't a hunter at all. For years I was getting educated and living in big cities and didn't get outdoors at all. Then, in my 30s, I had several outdoors experiences that (re)kindled a deep love of nature--I got into learning about wildlife and got back into fishing big-time.
But I'm not gonna lie: for the first 40-odd years of my life, I just didn't get hunting. I assumed, based on pop culture stereotyping, that all hunters were morons who loved killing things, and that I'd have nothing at all in common with them--in terms of values, politics, etc. I hate that I lost many of what could have been my prime hunting years to this arrogant, uninformed, and deeply hypocritical view (I'm a huge meat eater, after all--always have been). No one here needs me to explain the truth: you all are the truth--it just took me a long time to learn it. I've found the community of hunters I've met over the past year or two to be extremely welcoming and gracious, and more generous than I deserve with their hard-earned wisdom. I wish more people would open their eyes, not only about where the food they eat comes from, but also to the need to turn off the divisive tv news shows and get out there and actually meet people who might have different backgrounds but are ultimately 'just folks'---you might even learn a thing or two from them.
Anyway, last year was my first season---it was humbling and very educational. I think it was Neil DeGrasse Tyson who said that as our knowledge grows so does the perimeter of our ignorance--something like that---and it's true. The more I learn, the more I realize I still don't know, about deer and turkey themselves, about wind, and reading topography, about scent control, about clothing, about stands, about ballistics, etc, etc. And I definitely am still trying to get a hang of where to hunt, but am slowly getting a feel for it all. And the people I've met along the way have kept me from getting discouraged.
Last December, thanks to the help of one such person, I was able to successfully harvest a deer with my 350 Legend---Maryland is a straight-wall state. (We just finished that venison a couple months ago, and are hankering for more.) I also spent many hours in the woods (private) with a crossbow, but never got a shot opportunity. (I'm pretty sure the deer were watching me from a distance, laughing about the 'F-ing New Guy!') This year I've got a few opportunities at local whitetails but haven't had success yet---it's still early. Am also going to be on a mentored hunt for Sika on the Eastern Shore (stoked!). I learned a lot on a mentored turkey hunt last spring but didn't end up seeing any.
What else? Happily married to a wife that's been super-supportive of this crazy time-consuming and potentially expensive hobby, and, as mentioned, have a 13-year-old son. (He doesn't yet have any interest in hunting, but I'm going to work on it.) I work for the U.S. military, though I'm a civilian. Love wildlife photography, food, all kinds of music (pretty much anything between Mozart and the Grateful Dead and I'll listen to it), and astronomy.
In the safe: a Ravin R-10, a Winchester XPR 350L, a Franchi Affinity 3 20g, and (a new-ish toy for an elk hunt someday, perhaps) a Tikka T3x in 300wm. Plus, you know, the "you just entered the wrong house and should leave right now" stuff.
tldr: thanks for having me! I tend to read more than post (no sense in asking a question that's already been answered 50 times), but I'm sure I'll be annoying you with newbie questions from time to time.
New guy here, from Anne Arundel County, MD. (Won't get much more specific on that front---as the father of a 13-year-old kid who spends as much of his time online as possible, I need to practice what I preach re: being smart with one's privacy on the web.)
I grew up in the Midwest with a dad who took me fishing on Lake Erie and who taught me how to handle guns and shoot well (boy, did he ever love his guns!) but he wasn't a hunter at all. For years I was getting educated and living in big cities and didn't get outdoors at all. Then, in my 30s, I had several outdoors experiences that (re)kindled a deep love of nature--I got into learning about wildlife and got back into fishing big-time.
But I'm not gonna lie: for the first 40-odd years of my life, I just didn't get hunting. I assumed, based on pop culture stereotyping, that all hunters were morons who loved killing things, and that I'd have nothing at all in common with them--in terms of values, politics, etc. I hate that I lost many of what could have been my prime hunting years to this arrogant, uninformed, and deeply hypocritical view (I'm a huge meat eater, after all--always have been). No one here needs me to explain the truth: you all are the truth--it just took me a long time to learn it. I've found the community of hunters I've met over the past year or two to be extremely welcoming and gracious, and more generous than I deserve with their hard-earned wisdom. I wish more people would open their eyes, not only about where the food they eat comes from, but also to the need to turn off the divisive tv news shows and get out there and actually meet people who might have different backgrounds but are ultimately 'just folks'---you might even learn a thing or two from them.
Anyway, last year was my first season---it was humbling and very educational. I think it was Neil DeGrasse Tyson who said that as our knowledge grows so does the perimeter of our ignorance--something like that---and it's true. The more I learn, the more I realize I still don't know, about deer and turkey themselves, about wind, and reading topography, about scent control, about clothing, about stands, about ballistics, etc, etc. And I definitely am still trying to get a hang of where to hunt, but am slowly getting a feel for it all. And the people I've met along the way have kept me from getting discouraged.
Last December, thanks to the help of one such person, I was able to successfully harvest a deer with my 350 Legend---Maryland is a straight-wall state. (We just finished that venison a couple months ago, and are hankering for more.) I also spent many hours in the woods (private) with a crossbow, but never got a shot opportunity. (I'm pretty sure the deer were watching me from a distance, laughing about the 'F-ing New Guy!') This year I've got a few opportunities at local whitetails but haven't had success yet---it's still early. Am also going to be on a mentored hunt for Sika on the Eastern Shore (stoked!). I learned a lot on a mentored turkey hunt last spring but didn't end up seeing any.
What else? Happily married to a wife that's been super-supportive of this crazy time-consuming and potentially expensive hobby, and, as mentioned, have a 13-year-old son. (He doesn't yet have any interest in hunting, but I'm going to work on it.) I work for the U.S. military, though I'm a civilian. Love wildlife photography, food, all kinds of music (pretty much anything between Mozart and the Grateful Dead and I'll listen to it), and astronomy.
In the safe: a Ravin R-10, a Winchester XPR 350L, a Franchi Affinity 3 20g, and (a new-ish toy for an elk hunt someday, perhaps) a Tikka T3x in 300wm. Plus, you know, the "you just entered the wrong house and should leave right now" stuff.
tldr: thanks for having me! I tend to read more than post (no sense in asking a question that's already been answered 50 times), but I'm sure I'll be annoying you with newbie questions from time to time.
