Rookie Hunting
Welcome to my first ever blog! I’m Jaylyn, I’m 27 years old, born and raised in central PA. I am a certified pre k - 4 teacher, an online wellness coach and business mentor.
I have always felt passionate and drawn to all things outdoors including camping, hiking, hunting, traveling, fishing, etc. I didn’t necessarily grow up around it and starting something new with no one to guide you, help you, motivate you, or get you out there is tough. I never took the initiative in my own life to go after what made me happy. So here I am, vowing to always take initiative to do the things that make me happy in life!
My hunting background: I grew up loving to “go in the woods” with my brother and dad. I never was taught about what we were really doing, why, what to look for, etc. We would walk, look for sign the (best we could) and go home. Again, I didn’t get it. I just tagged along, went through the motions and went home. Come hunting season, we would get up early, go sit in one spot, and go home. I wasn’t learning how to hunt or learning about the animal we were hunting.
This was an every Saturday kinda thing for a while, until volleyball, friends, and other things were more important to me than going hunting. So, I stopped going. I still loved it and was excited any time I was asked to go, but it was always more of a “walk in the woods”. I still would go and love the time I got to do those things. I played volleyball all through high school and college. I also worked multiple part time jobs on weekends which meant I went years without hunting. I graduated college and my family got a hunting cabin about 2 hours from home and I loved there. Any chance I could, I went with my dad to work at the camp, take care of the camp, and learn the area.
I never got to be there for a hunting season, or even get to fish. I went for walks with my dog, went for a walk to get my dads tree stand after season, or just to spend a weekend there to get away.
It wasn’t until I met my current boyfriend in the summer of 2021 that I quickly began to learn a lot. I met him in June when all he did was spend his time scouting, checking trail cams and doing all of the things. Fast forward to fall of 2022 I finally had my first whitetail season. I had no luck during archery, using a cross bow. I missed once so I at least got the feeling of shooting at a deer for the first time. It wasn’t until December I was able to harvest my first doe during rifle season. Right before season started I did get to go pheasant hunting to which was fun and a learning experience! Fun fact: I LOVE BIRD HUNTING even though I don’t really have the experience. It’s weird to say I know but I love it haha.
2023 Spring will be my first turkey season and I couldn’t be more excited!! Looking forward to creating more blog posts and sharing the life of a rookie hunter but that’s a quick overview of where I got to where I am. If there’s any advice I can give to any other rookie, or anyone starting something new in general it would be…… accept that you will fail and it will be uncomfortable. Once you do that, allow yourself to feel uncomfortable but don’t let yourself play small. I was very timid for a long time because I felt so awkward and didn’t like failing. It’s the only way to learn is to try!
