Most Important Aspect

Was sitting on public land the other day and a thought crossed my mind and I want to get some insight from some fellow hunters. What is the most important aspect of hunting to you? I know that hunting and archery in general require many different ideas and strategies, but what is the one thing that gets you ready for heading into the woods or puts you into a position to get the animal you are after?

 

Optimism. Every hunt is a learning experience.

 

+1 on Optimism.

And I’m a shooter first.

I shoot a lot year round. Competitive shooting helps tremendously when the adrenaline kicks in during a hunt.

Rimfire silhouette is fun for rifle shooters. Any sporting clays game for shotgun, and I’m going to try to get into 3D matches now that I’ve picked up archery. Air rifle silhouette is a blast as well.

Always try and challenge yourself when you’re practicing shooting.

 

Hmm?.
Been bowhunting 40 + years and seems like my priorities change every few years.
When younger, it was to kill everything I could.
Than the stage to try to impress others.
Then it got to be getting meat stage.
Now I don't give a rip.
I hunt my ass off but don't really care what others think.
I now hunt for fun. Spent way too many years hunting miserable/ dangerous conditions for no other reason to impress others.
Those days are done.
I'll go now when I want and shoot what I want.
Getting back to the reason why WE should all hunt if that makes sense?

 

After 30 years of bowhunting/hunting, I crave the sunrise and sunsets and the quiet more than anything else. As a single father and school teacher, kids control my day so it's a great chance to get away from that.. My oldest boy (14) is bowhunting this year and my mission is to teach him how to scout and hunt.. I also enjoy scouting more than hunting. With that said I still want to take at least one deer with a bow every year. I'm not philosophical and I don't need to be profound, bowhunting is not that serious. Life can kick you in the balls and put things in perspective very quickly and I was one of those guys who put bowhunting at the forefront for many years as if it was the only thing that mattered...then life happened and it was a gut check, thankful for that now but at the time it was an internal struggle. Now, bowhunting is truly a joy and yes there are days when you work hard and get little return and they are frustrating, but at least I am bow hunting...

 

I love the peace and quiet, when I'm hunting nothing else goes through my mind, everything else just melts away. I also just plain enjoy watching nature do its thing.
These two things will always be there, but in a few more years it'll be taking my son and teaching him everything I can think of that I've learned.

 

This is the first year my oldest has bow hunted in his own stand with a legit bow. He's eat up with it..he's learning how to scout, he asks questions, he gets up at 4 am and gets home at 10 pm. he walks all day, he is learning the different types of acorns, looking at tracks, rubs, scrapes, learning abut natural borders and breaks in timber...he's getting a crash course on what took me many years to learn because my dad didn't bow hunt... but man is it exciting for me and him!!

 

I could be wrong, but I think the OP was more asking about specific skill, strategy or tactics rather than what motivates us as hunters.

 

I like a good challenge and bowhunting gives me that on a yearly basis. Nature and being out in it. The experiences I've had and the things I've witnessed. It's food for the soul and puts life into a perspective that suits me. One lazy afternoon sitting on the stand I had a bald eagle fly across the pasture at eye level and even in full camo he looked right at me, we made eye contact. Made me want to scream freedom and light a stick or two of dynamite. I think about moments like that every time I am heading out and look forward to what being in the field and nature is going to show me that day, it's keeps me going all year and look forward to the upcoming season and soon as the current season ends. I hope I never lose that, my Grandpa never did and my Dad still has it, its primal.

 

Motivation is key to strategy

 

The possibility of having a nice buck walk into shooting range when I hunt, that is why my hunting season is very condensed. I only hunt when I have the highest odds of success. I hate shooting does, it is like butchering chickens zero satisfaction. Seeing a small buck big deal. If I go sit and see nothing but does and small bucks I am a little pissed if it happens a couple times in a row.

 

yeh He was asking about strategies... I really don't have strategies anymore, I gave up on that a few years back because Im not intelligent enough to outsmart a mature buck on a consistent basis, so i became an opportunist. that's my strategy

 

Location and food. Have both have success.

 

While I appreciate all you put into that post; I think that could be boiled down into one word- drive.
If you think of "hunting" as an activity in which you partake rather than an ethos to philosophize about; I would definitely say drive is a trait, skill or maybe an ability that is a very important component in arriving to an answer to the OPs original question.

 

If we are talking strategy, scent control would be #1 for me. Doesn't matter how good your gear is if you cant stay out of their nose. Every stand I set, plot I plant or path to and from, wind and scent is the first consideration every time.

 

I think after reading the the previous posts I may have started to pontificate and took the philosophical route but would totally agree with you as well. That and the four cups of coffee and the yearning to be in the woods and not at the house writing contracts..

 

If you are talking tactics, finding deer is the most important. I mostly hunt public land. I can’t plant food plots, I have to be able to read terrain and find areas where deer are likely to be. I have young kids so both hunting and scouting time are limited. I have gotten good at breaking down maps and diving into areas where I am likely to find deer activity. After that, it is always scent control and playing the wind.


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Keep putting the odds in your favor on every hunt. The wind being the most important. Most every hunt Ive screwed up was because I got lazy with the wind and my entrance. Yesterday was a prime example.

 

Entry and exit route is just as important as wind direction once in the hunting spot. One of my favorite public land pieces is great with a west wind because I can walk the last 300 yards in a shallow creek bed, leaving no ground sent except for the 15 steps it takes to get to the tree. On the opener a couple of weeks ago, right a daybreak, I had a doe four yards from the tree I was in. Everything about the step; wind direction, entry route, worked perfectly, except my shot placement. Dang it, I am still mad at myself about that.

 

Recent deer sign. On public especially, you can do some long sits and not see anything. And having an idea of where they are coming from, so you can accurately hang a set based on wind.