This post is exactly where I was ten years back. It is a tough sport to break into starting from scratch. Plenty of great advice above and i will share with you my experience. I grew up hunting with people who had solved all these problems for me...then suddenly it all stopped. I didnt hunt for probably 25+ years. I wanted to re engage with it but had no land and no dogs and an old gun.
I thought about it a few seasons and then i decided to move forward come what may. I picked English Springer Spaniels for the dogs and they have been great for us. Great size, smart, perfect for bird hunting in grass and cover. I took them to a specialized trainer and just admitted I knew nothing and we all started on the ground floor. It took a lot of evenings and weekends but it was a fun and rewarding process to get the dogs up to speed.
There was no hope we could buy up a bunch of land.. so a buddy took me to a private preserve and that was the best next step. Hunting public land after a few weeks into the season was not going to yield much and you dont want bored dogs and bored hunters. For a membership and approx $25 a pheasant and $15 for quail you get a great afternoon for a few hundred dollars. Dogs are happy, hunters are happy, and you clean up and head home. I highly recommend this as a way to get started. Sure its cheating a bit with planted birds but you and the dogs still have to find them and the goal is to have a fun afternoon.
Two last thoughts: enjoy the process. enjoy running your dogs, getting out daily for a walk , training your dogs etc. you do that daily and then hunt a few times a season.
Trust people to help. i have found that the seasoned hunters and people at the private preserves are really pretty happy to get new people going - i just admit i'm new and open to advice.
Getting the dogs heading into my 50's was the best thing i did. i hope you move forward and it works out for you.
these were not shot with Parkers but I intend to change that this year.
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