When You Feel Unsure- Go. (A Newb’s Advice on Hunting New Species)

I finally went turkey hunting. I didn’t see a thing, and it was perfect. 

Allow me to explain.

One of the most significant developments within hunting during the 21st century is the advent of e-scouting. Remote scouting once required the knowledge for reading a paper topo map the size of the Air Jordan poster on the wall of your junior high bedroom, along with the vivid imagination to picture the trees, rivers and marshes listed on the map. With e-scouting, you can now easily see all of these features in full color within mapping apps on your cell phone. Although these resources are incredibly helpful for getting a general idea of the land you want to hunt, they cannot give you that first person feel that your brain will download the moment you step onto the property. Everything will seem much bigger. The features will oftentimes be much more outstanding when you are factoring where and how you want to hunt. Not only will this firsthand experience be eye opening, it will also make the second time you step onto the property significantly more efficient and productive. 

Photo by Lewis Meyers on Unsplash

This rule of first person surveillance applies to hunting a new game species as well. There is no means to fully understand what you are getting into until you are in it. Of course reading up on how to hunt a particular species, or watching videos of experts explaining their strategies and tactics is incredibly important- and should be done before you go hunting, but you just can’t know all about it, until you actually try it for yourself.

I wish I could report that I had done enough background research, and talked more with my friends who are much more seasoned turkey hunters, but that report will have to wait until next year. Despite this lack of discipline in my preparation, I did manage to achieve the most important aspect of hunting a new species- I went.

Although I only heard a few gobbles this season, I learned what to expect when planning for a turkey hunt and I already have a mental list of adjustments for next spring. Just as I shake my head and grin sheepishly when I think back to my first time deer hunting, I will probably recognize that same grin when it shows up with each recollection of my first turkey hunt. And just as the first deerless-deer hunting trip helped pave the way to my freezer filled with venison backstraps, steaks and stew meat, I’m confident my dining future contains a few fried turkey nuggets and some roasted turkey legs.

Maybe you are in the same boat as me with hunting turkeys, or perhaps you are considering taking up small game hunting, or deer hunting for the first time this fall. If that’s you, don’t let the roadblock of inexperience bar you from immersing yourself in the hunt. You will learn far more in those first hours (which will most likely yield no starry eyed, grip and grin profile pictures), than you would ever learn from skipping the season and just reading articles and watching videos about hunting for that species.