Hi Alex,
There are very few Supernova (perhaps 2-3) discovered each year that get bright enough to be viewed directly through amateur telescopes. The most recent bright Supernova 2012cg reached mag 12.2 in the galaxy NGC4424 in Virgo. This was around mid May so it may still be a visual object in larger telescopes. You will need a comparison chart that shows before and after to enable you to pick the Supernova, the link below may help.
http://www.rochesterastronomy.org/snimages/
Out of the 4 discoveries that I have made (and all by telescopic/ccd) only 1 has been bright enough to be seen visually in amateur scopes, indeed that honor goes to IIS member Astroron, a prolific observer of SN when they are bright enough. I missed out due to cloud before it faded beyond my visual limit.
Of the 34 discoveries by the BOSS team only 3 come to mind that became a visual target.
We regularly announce our discoveries in the science forum and from time to time other bright supernova discoveries are announced in the visual forum.
So what is it like to discover a supernova? well quite an adrenalin rush that gets you thinking about what happened to that star, the incredible unimaginable forces released and the often hundreds of millions of years that the light travelled across space to spill onto my ccd in my tinshed observatory. What was happening here on Earth at the time of the SN - one of my SN exploded some 260 million years ago, the light I captured began its journey when dinosaurs still ruled the Earth. And when you do (and you will, just be patient) get to observe a Supernova in your 'scope then I hope you have an adrenalin rush and ponder similar thoughts... after all its the reason you are here asking the question in the first place!