I like Randy Newburg and meateater. If I were giving advise to a new hunter in general I would say hunt and spend time in the woods.
Own one rifle and own it. Shoot it as much as you can afford to. Stay in good physical condition and you will enjoy the effort even more. I feel I was fortunate to have a woods to hunt when I was a kid but when I took it up again as an adult I was fortunate to have a place and a long season. Maybe even more fortunate not to have too much information so I learned in the woods. Being older and fatter I do enjoy being an armchair hunter. But not as much as the real deal.
This is great advice right here.
Any time spent away from development even if not in your hunting area... is valuable. I like to take my kids backpacking and use my hunting equipment so I’m familiar with it. Also practicing the art of being fully present in the moment just sitting and watching with a clear mind and focus, devices put away, watching wild animals is huge. I like to go birdwatching with my kids because it gives me time to practice this (and teach them).
That brings me to another point. I don’t know how old you are, but if you’re going to be successful in the field only use devices when you have to. I’m a huge fan of OnXMaps and use it a lot, but I also go out of my way to put my device away and observe landmarks and where I am which is more important than data Lite images. When sitting I keep it stashed too, because I can’t count the number of times I’ve caught the slightest, briefest glimpse of an animal that I coulda missed completely if I’d have even glanced down at a text. The other thing related to this is be sure to leave the GPS (smart phone) put away and learn to use a map & compass which should always be on you when afield. Reliance on batteries can get you in trouble quickly!
Best of luck you’ve found a wealth of knowledge here I’ve learned a ton from these guys here.
