Help me get over my fear

[TAArrowood]

If you don't already, I'd suggest starting at church.. If you don't already, I'd suggest going.. There are always older men in churches who have grown kids and would love to pass on their knowledge/experiences to a young guy who's heart is in the right place.. They will be non gudgemental, appreciate that you want to learn and will openly share and probably offer to take you with them hunting.. Old guys love to pass it on.. Through their knowledge you'll learn what, who and how to ask the right questions.. The only stupid question is the one you don't ask.. Ignorance can easily become stupidity if you let it.. Confidence will come with experience.. Hunting isn't a switch that gets turned on, it's lived experiences...I've hunted since I was 8 years old in the mountains of E Tn, but learn something every time I go out (mostly about myself).. Learning to hunt is a journey.. That should be your first lesson to self.. Enjoy every experience and learn from it.. Real hunters learn everything they can about the animal they hunt, then learn how, by using the skills ans lessons they've learned to defeat the animal in his environment... I've passed on many, many really good bucks because it was important for me to observe big bucks to understand how they operate.. Find a good mentor (older hunter) and ask questions.. I bet he'll be more than happy to share what he knows and has learned with you.. Take his advice and see how it works for you.. This applies to many things in life not just hunting.. All the best and don't hesitate to ask, but think about what/why/how you're asking...All the best and good luck to you..

 

[EdP]

No one can be an expert on everything so we are all ignorant on some issues, often at some point in our lives on things we want to be good at. That has certainly been the case for me. No one in my family hunted. At age 69 I see that many young guys know so much more than me about deer hunting because they were taught early in life. A mentor is a tremendous advantage but don't let lack of one keep you from taking on the challenge.

It is intimidating to go into a shop to get started at something, and it is always in the back of your mind that you may get taken advantage of. There is no getting away from that even at my age, so you just have to make yourself do it. Hopefully some here can point you to a good shop in your area where you can have confidence you will get the help you need. They are going to need more specific information on your location to help you.

Keep in mind that ignorance is just a lack of information, not a lack of intellect. Have confidence in your ability to learn and go for it.

 

[Doc Holliday]

WV


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God's country:

As was said, I think you will find the staff at the local pro shop will be happy to give you advice if you go in there "hat in hand" as you came here, and tell them you are brand new to it and don't know what you don't know. If it seems like they are short handed or busy, ask them when a good time would be for you to come in and get setup. This is probably one of the better times of the year for you to go into a pure bow shop, minus the fact that some folks might be Xmas shopping. What you don't want to do it wait until next year 2 weeks before the opener of whitetail bow season. Then they probably wouldn't be as willing to spend alot of time with you.

 

[Dos Perros]

@Doc Holliday just dropped a lil nugget there. I used to go to my archery shop on Sunday's when the Royals were playing. It was usually pretty slow then and I didn't feel guilty taking up a tech's time for an hour or more, asking all the questions.

 

[Boarmaster]

First off be your own man. Remember forums are a composite of many hunters. You cant have everything they all have or do everything they all do.

Secondly you wont find very many hunters that haven't been through many different equipment changes.
Its a trial and error. We didnt have forums with good used equipment available for sale when I got started.

Finally, Bowhunting is very challenging. Equipment is much more complex than a rifle , ammo and scope.
You might consider rifle hunting while your figuring out bow hunting.

Your going make a lot of mistakes. It takes years to get the experience most of the hunters on here have.
You need to be willing to put in the years and seasons to get it. Basic info is available online these days but you cant get experience with a laptop or a credit card. Go hunting.

 

[twilliams212]

GhostBass25, I have had confidence issues similar to this in the past. Perhaps it was just time/aging, but I have since been able to get past a lot of that anxiety of feeling like others were watching and judging me because I was new to something or didn't know everything there was to know about something. Eventually I just realized that I was a much more likeable person if I was honest with others and true to myself. Be humble. I have found that the majority of people who do know a lot about archery specifically, are extremely kind and love the opportunity to share their knowledge with someone who is new to the sport and willing to admit it. If you think about it from their perspective, they have so much knowledge about something they are extremely passionate about, so giving them the opportunity to share that knowledge with somebody who is asking questions and openly admitting they are new to archery is the perfect candidate for them to mentor or at least offer some help to.

Sure, there will likely be others along the way who secretly or openly judge/mock you, but you clearly already are showing characteristics they do not have....integrity and humility. The more you ease yourself into those uncomfortable situations, the easier it will get and the more you will realize that other's opinions of you do not matter in the end.

 

[CRJR45]

Help me get over my fear of being ignorant.​

Funny , when I was young I had the same fear , fear of making a fool of myself . So I would not ask the questions forming in my mind and never found the answers I was looking for , or found them much later in life .
Everyone is telling you how to learn to hunt , I'm going to say just accept the fact that everyone in life is at a different level of ignorance and yours is nothing to fear .
The fact that you can express the fear , or acknowledge it , shows me you are way ahead of most . Embrace your ignorance , not just about hunting but in all things .
Some people think they know everything and never try to learn , isolating themselves and not growing , emotionally or mentally .
Be a sponge and soak up all knowledge you can . When starting out learning something new I always tell those around me -"I'd rather be told I'm doing something stupid once than not be told and do it repeatedly ".
It's up to you as far as who you turn out to be , just like how you learned to be good at video games , it's mostly trial and error . Learn from the mistakes , them let em go .

Lastly , I know I'm not the most eloquent poster on here , but I think it would be much worse to stay ignorant .
You're an empty vessel waiting to be filled up , choose what you fill it with wisely .

 

[hunt1up]

I know the OPs post is speaking to some larger life discussion, but as for the hunting:

Bow hunting gets put on some sort of pedestal as being this mystical endeavor that takes years to master. It's not complicated, I promise. Bowtech, PSE, Bear and others make ready-to-hunt package bows that work just fine. Will they have the best sights? No. Best rest? No. But these bows will comfortably and accurately kill deer all day long. I'd buy a bow like that and party. Getting "fitted" is nothing more than some dude measuring your arm length. You can see how do to that on Youtube. Odds are you're a 27-29" draw length, set the bow at 60 pounds, and go shooting. Bows like that are almost all adjustable with an allen wrench and without a bow press these days. You can "fit" yourself for that matter. Don't get caught up in all the latest and greatest you see on the internet. Entry level equipment is better than anything that existed 15-20 years ago and the bow shop expertise is worth less than ever.

As for the hunting part, camo up and go put a cheap ladder stand (with a safety harness) up 10-20 yards off a trail where it appears deer are travelling. You can watch videos on stand placement, wind, etc. It's not complicated. Hunt that stand and just observe. The rest will come to you quickly. Soon you'll see travelling a little different trail so you'll move or add a stand. Maybe deer will smell you so you'll hunt that spot with different wind. You'll mess up a bunch and that's ok!

 

[Szwampdonkey]

Pick a date that you’re going to walk into an archery pro shop, write it down, put it on your calendar, then hold yourself to it and just go. Writing it down will make it much harder for you to make excuses when the day comes.

Now, when you walk in go right up to the guy at the counter and tell him basically what you told us here. That you’re 100% ignorant of bowhunting but you want to start. If the guy is worth a lick he should go right to work on getting you set up with a bow and hitting the target that day. You’ll walk out feeling good about yourself, trust me.

From there, it’s up to you knowing it will take awhile to become proficient and learn. Just head out, hunt, and the deer will slowly educate you on how to be successful.

Sad story about those video games. So many kids are allowed to go down that route and waste their youth nowadays.. At least you’re motivated to pick up hobbies now at 24.

Best of luck man and welcome to the bowhunting club.

 

[Gingerman]

I like your post and attitude. The bow thing ain't cheap by any means either. Not hard at all to have 2500 wrapped up in equipment. Then there is the technique building/practice to be consistently accurate. Drawing and shooting a bow in the backyard is way different than in a stand with a buck strolling towards you.

If you wanted to ease into hunting, accelerate your progress, and get to killing deer quick, and lots cheaper you could get a decent crossbow. Just a thought(s) It's way easier, purists will say your not a real hunter, but screw them and that mentality. Crossbow will allow you to focus on all the other aspects of hunting. I like the Excaliber recurves. Only 1 string to manage and no cams to deal with.

 

[nettereo16]

Go into a shop and ask to be fitted. Most shops are very welcoming of new shooters and won’t pass any judgement. If they are condescending to you, walk out and don’t give them your $.

Don’t worry too much about it. We all start somewhere and most of us enjoy sharing our knowledge and understand that it can be intimidating to learn all of this

 

[hereinaz]

It’s about the adventure, so make it one. There is no failure or mistake on an adventure.

I came to hunting later, and have had to work at it by myself a lot. A few have helped, but I have no serious mentor.

Doing anything like that used to make my stomach churn. I learned to ask myself as a kid, every time I felt it.

“What’s it gonna matter in a week if this guy/gal is a jerk? None. What’s it gonna matter in 20 years if he/she is awesome? Everything could be different…”

 

[robby denning]

And im wanting to get into bow hunting and the thought of going to the pro shop to get fitted for one makes my stomach turn. And it shouldn’t, but it makes me feel like less of a man that I don’t know all these things and don’t have experience. I know it’s stupid but I can’t help but to feel that way. I just want to be a person that I’m, and my one day family will be proud of. And there’s a lot to learn in this life that I wanna show my kids one day.


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I've been bowhunting off and on for 40+ years and still use a pro-shop. There are some old articles in our archives from @Jared Bloomgren on setting up your own bow. You're a smart guy with initiative to DIY, you'll do great with some guidance

and welcome to Rokslide

 

[Customweld]

Lots of good advice in here. I'll add once you find a pro shop, ask them if there are any active archery leagues. Lots of guys shoot in indoor winter leagues. It's a great place to build friendships, learn and keep your skills sharpened. Is there a Bowhunters Association close to you? That's another good place to look.
As mentioned above, none of us knows everything about hunting. I would almost guarantee that each of us learns something new on every trip we take into the deer and elk woods.

 

[Glendon Mullins]

Don't worry about "being ignorant" I had to have a buddy of mine show me how to tune/use a bow when i was like 30. No shame in it, I to am from WV and I had only really rifle and muzzleloader hunted all my life, because the only time my dad could get for vacation was the "miner's" vacation. The week of thanksgiving. So he didn't bowhunt, so therefore I didn't have anyone to show me how to shoot a bow.

Sure I had a bow and had messed around with it, but i had no clue about peep sights, knock alignment and all that stuff. So one evening we made plans and he came over to my house and showed me all about that, had me shooting great in no time.

I recently have more or less taught my brother in law the ins and outs of hunting and his in his mid thirties, he is originally from new jersey and had never hunted in his life. Literally never had owned a gun or bow or anything. First time i took him hunting he was wearing canvas tennis shoes.

Your never to old to start and learn, regardless of what you know now, and most people who hunt are good guys that would actually enjoy teaching someone their ways i bet!

 

[Beendare]

Ghost, it all starts with self discipline. You make a plan and then make it happen. I started as you- my parents were no help, I got in with a bunch of pot smoking/ going nowhere types and realized that I- ME- was the only one who was going to get me out of it.

David Goggins has some free youtube stuff and books on the subject as he came from a similar background.

Its not easy, start small building on little successes. Force yourself to have a positive outlook. Out work everyone else….thats all you have at this point….and as you move forward work smarter.

Make a plan. There are guys in the trades making $200k a year….

It has to be you….and 90% of it is mental.

 

[hereinaz]

Ghost, it all starts with self discipline. You make a plan and then make it happen. I started as you- my parents were no help, I got in with a bunch of pot smoking/ going nowhere types and realized that I- ME- was the only one who was going to get me out of it.

David Goggins has some free youtube stuff and books on the subject as he came from a similar background.

Its not easy, start small building on little successes. Force yourself to have a positive outlook. Out work everyone else….thats all you have at this point….and as you move forward work smarter.

Make a plan. There are guys in the trades making $200k a year….

It has to be you….and 90% of it is mental.

David “Who’s gonna carry the boats?” Goggins!!!!

That dude don’t care about no excuses. His audio book is pretty cool. You can get his story in the podcasts he has done.

 

[ripcurlksm]

id offer you my mindset as an experienced backpacker/shooter but new to hunting:

measure your starting successes only by making it out into the wild and back home safely. enjoy being outside, seeing game is a big win, taking game the ultimate goal

 

[Hunt eat repeat]

Remember these employees in the bowshop didn't know anything about bows at one point either. What's your location and the slide can direct you to a good bow shop. Embrace the learning of it all...

And some of them still don’t know anything

 

[Hunt eat repeat]

I have felt the exact same way and sometimes still do going into pro shops or any specialty store at that matter. Something I have learned is don’t fake it but embrace it. “I’d like to bow hunt but I don’t know ANYTHING” any decent shop will be excited to get a new person into the sport.

I would recommend starting with some small game hunting. You live in a good place for it. Equipment is important but it’s also important to learn how to just be in the woods. If that makes sense. Luckily you live in an age where information is everywhere and mostly free. I thought myself to trap 20 years ago. Found one book on trapping at the library. That’s it. Now it’s all on YouTube.