Thanks for all of the great input so far. Besides you tube, can anyone recommend any good books?

Not quite free -- you need the $48 Annual Public Hunting permit that you buy along with your TX hunting license. But yeah, hunting for squirrels and rabbits with the .22 is a great way to start.

Welcome! I am also a "late onset adult hunter", and have learned a ton from this forum. Hands down the friendliest most helpful one I've found (except maybe the duck guys, they seem kinda cranky ), on any subject. Ask these guys anything and they will give good advice.

Tracking and the art of seeing. By Paul Rezendes

If you really want to catch the hunting bug, start listening to the Meateater podcast, with Steven Rinella. It's a bit more Northern and Western centric in terms of hunting styles, compared to what's typically found here in Texas, but those guys can really talk hunting. They WILL throw around terms you won't understand, but just google the word, and you'll learn a lot. Look around your social circle, and try to find somebody you already know who's into hunting, and ask for help to get started. I second the advice to go on a guided axis hunt, for several reasons:

1. Axis taste great. There's a reason they're one of the most common exotics
2. A guided hunt is kinda like hunting with training wheels. You're gonna be spending quite a bit of time with a very experienced hunter, who's playing a role similar to a golf caddy, with constant help and advice in your ear. Even if you only go once, it's an experience where you can soak up a lot of hands-on knowledge.

Hogs and rams are the least expensive guided hunts, together with whitetail doe, when in season. Book a few inexpensive hunts with some of the well regarded forum outfitters. You will come up to speed quickly enough.

I am in the same boat! Late bloomer to the hunting thing. I have been doing a lot of research on places to hunt on public land and have found a couple of places that seem to fit what I am looking for (Rabbits, Squirrel, and Hogs) I will probably start off with rabbits and squirrels and use that time as practice and familiarization of the area to be able to track and stalk other game. It will also hone my shooting skills due to the real word experience that you cant get from an indoor range. Also I don't make a ton of money and can't afford a guided hunt so I will have to get out and get my boots dirty! Good luck and I hope you do well!

You said you are in Spring......the Sam Houston National forest is just up the road from you. Since it's getting on into Summer, I would suggest finding some days that you can get out there very early in the morning.......like right at dawn, if you can, and just walk silently through the woods for a while. Or find a spot and sit still for about four hours and watch. Get there at dawn, sit quietly, and watch the forest wake up. Just like Bigfoot said, there's no substitute for time in the field. You can go a couple of hours before dark and just sit and watch, but the heat will soon drive you away.

In the woods, practice sitting perfectly still. Practice walking very slow and silent and observe the forest....what is there for them to eat? Do you see any tracks? Any scrapes on the sides of trees? Any droppings? What kind? Fresh droppings or old?

All these things tell you about the animals. Plus you get to enjoy all the other wildlife......birds, butterflies, insects, mushrooms. There's always something interesting in the woods.

This will also introduce you to chiggers. You need to learn first hand about chiggers.

That right there is a testament to all new hunters and the foundation of a an exceptional hunter. You're smart, rarely does a new hunter "get it" and put the effort into mastering fieldcraft. Then you put it into practice, not an easy task for any man, especially at 48yo.

Congratulations!!!!



can and suto a man who

I hate the darn things! any remedy to keep them off?

Easy fix.

Find a spot that's infested with chiggers. Lay down on the ground in a lightweight pair of baggy shorts or swimming trunks for at least 15 minutes. Then roll over on your belly and do the front side for another 15 minutes.

The experience is like a vaccine for chiggers.

The good news for our newbie outdoorsman is that by the time hunting season starts, it's usually cold enough that the chiggers are gone for the year. So hunting season is usually a blessed time of no chiggers.

That said, chiggers are the vilest, most evil creatures known to man. I have not learned to avoid them completely, but I have learned a few tips:
--they hatch in the spring when the high temperatures hit about 83 degrees. Until then, you're usually safe.
--They usually climb on skin until they hit a restriction, such as shoe tops, underwear line, back of your knees.
--The insect repellant works much better directly on your skin rather than just on top of your clothes and boots.
--They are usually in high grass and brush. So keeping the weeds down helps a lot.

So yes, I take off my shoes, socks, and pants, spray insect repellant around my ankles, back of knees, and underwear line. I virtually coat myself in the stuff. Then I get dressed and put another coat on top of my clothes. Just spraying the top of your clothes will not do much good.

This will help a lot. Once you are bit, there's really not much you can do except cuss the little buggers. They actually dissolve a portion of your skin. They've done their damage and are gone within 3-4 hours, so by the time you get home it's usually no good to do anything.
They are evil creatures.

After all of that, I climb through any brush and brambles, weeds, stickers, whatever. I go everywhere in the woods. Never been snake bit, and the chiggers are really minimal when I do all that.

Thank you for the compliment aerengis. Being a fishing guide and knowing what it takes to master the bay system and fishing is basically why I know that "time in the field/on the water" is everything. I tell this to all rookie fishermen or people that go with me to learn the bays or how to fish. Very much the same concept for hunting also. Being a professional fishermen has given me an advantage on how to train myself to hunt and learn

DOnt get me started on chiggers. I just learned that valuable lesson about 3 weeks ago. What a nightmare these things are I have scratched my arms apart!!!

I have them on both arms and a few other places.

This is excellent advice. It wasnt until my second year that I was walking around the SAM and stumbled on to about 30 deer one day. That was how I found the area that I have mastered now and I hunt and see deer 3 out of 4 hunting trips. It also happened to be one of the areas where I hunt hogs. Not this year though but I never really went hog hunting this year in the SAM. I was run out of my best spot by drug runners over by Cleveland. A guy was driving the roads for probably some guys planting weed over in that area. I was getting ready to go hunt and pulled up to me and gave me some BS story on how he was looking for his dog but he gave me some stern warnings about how I need to stay away because there are some bad dudes around there doing illegal stuff. He wasnt looking for his dog!

Thanks for the good tips guys. I plan on spending some time out in the forest this summer. I am very allergic to mosquitoes, so I will probably hate the chiggers too. Try allerfex from Costco to stop the itch. Works for me.

I would recommend startout hunting Dove. Inexpensive and fun.

And humbling. It will make you wish you hit the clays more in the off season.

im 62 and said i would neever pay to hunt.when i was in my 50's..ive always hunted private lands..either government or people i knew..but i swore i would never pay to hunt a deer..WRONG..i ansewered an ad in 2001 about a month before 9/11 and it hasnt been the same since..met some quality guys.that ive been friends with for about 15 years..im haveing the most fun hunting ive ever had..so what did i learn..your never too old to learn..i hunt with some younger guy..that really know their stuff..so just keep your ears open have an open mind..ask questions..i know i thought i knew alot..but have learned to swallow that pride and those young whippersnappers have alot to say...the internet can teach alot..save your money on tthe hunting magazines..most of those are written by eastern and nothern hunters..not texas..big difference..youtube youtb youtube has alot of valuable info..partner up with a lease that has some quality group of guys..not all are the same..but remember to ask questions..good luck and welcome to THF..

ta HF...
lots of good info in this thread... toughest part, as pappy say's: tis learning ta seperate the from the rest of the crap ... short time i've been on here have seen several threads go on lock down ... differances of opinion...
they got a bunker & an ignorance list , i made the
ladder...
not sure how deep your pockets run... ya ever play craps , motto here is gotta pay ta play ... Stay safe, its a jungle on here... i got cheap posts...

I'd like to help too most especially to let you know what works without fluff.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Wdwjlu9mY (Learn this video)

http://gerbergear.com/gator/ (A good all round knife)

https://www.amazon.com/Buck-499BKG1-PakL...ds=buck+paklite (The best guthook)

http://www.realguns.com/articles/733.htm (7mm mag, 308, 270, or 30-06)

https://www.leupold.com/hunting-shooting/scopes/vx-3-riflescopes/vx-3-2-5-8x36mm/ (All you need)

https://www.remington.com/shotguns/pump-action/model-870/model-870-express-deer

(Some will disagree with this shotgun but buddy it works for everything if you make it so)

Goodluck to ya.

I will give you my two cents for what it's worth. Don't overthink or over analyze it. Either try some public land hunting or do a canned day hunt type thing; before that I would recommend hunting some with a friend that you may work with or know that is a hunter. Offer to help them do some pre-season work like fixing up blinds, feeders, etc. Learn the basic ropes from them then just go for it, learn as you go. Always practice safe gun practices and enjoy the experience!

Carter Country is your friend, on Treshweig. First thing to do is take a hunter safety course.

The guide books Steve Rinella has published are amazing. They cover all aspects of hunt, selecting your gear, and processing. Both small game and large game can be purchased from Amazon for under 35.00. It's a great start for the rookie or a tune up for the veterans. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/081299406...amp;ref=plSrch#