George Konetes was looking for a hobby and tradition he could pass down to his kids, as well as a reason to go outside.
“I never hunted, but I’d hear people talk about it and it was like this mystical thing I could never get close to,” said Konetes, 35, of Delmont.
Konetes did not grow up in a hunting family, but found himself drawn to the idea.
“I thought that if I got started now, by the time the kids are old enough, I’ll have it figured out,” he said.
That was about six years ago.
“I found out it was way more difficult than I thought,” Konetes said.
Along the way he also found an avenue to help others in his situation, creating the New Hunters Guide podcast and discussing his burgeoning experience hunting crows, deer, turkey and soon, ducks.
“I started the podcast I wish I would’ve had when I started hunting,” he said. “There were a lot of great podcasts out there, but none of them were starting at ‘level zero,’ which was what I needed.”
Below a recent episode:
Konetes’ podcasts explore various aspects of the hunting experience, from the logistics of hunter safety and licensing to the tactics of hunting different types of game.
“This past fall I really wanted to get some episodes out there about duck hunting,” he said. “I met a duck hunter through the podcast, and had him on a couple episodes to talk about it. He sort of became my digital mentor from 1,000 miles away.”
Konetes also recently launched a YouTube channel to augment the podcasts.
“I’m able to show people things in a way you can’t with the podcast – how do you camouflage a blind, how do you field-dress a deer, what type of sign are you looking for in the forest?”
With 135 episodes as of late February, the New Hunters Guide has come a long way since its inception.
“I originally thought I’ll just do this for a year, but as I keep going, I continue learning and getting excited about things,” he said. “So as people who are listening start to grow and develop, I want the podcast to grow and develop with them.”
The New Hunters Guide is available via most major podcast hosts, and at NewHuntersGuide.com.
