I was talking to my 21 year old nephew the other day (big time hunter) and he was asking me if he should spend serious money on a pair of good hunting boots vs the cheap ones he has. I told him he should do it because when I finally took the plunge on a good pair of boots 7 years ago it was well worth it. This got me thinking, what would you tell your younger self to do much sooner than you did in real life (buy good clothing, cut trails to your stand, etc.)? And to be fair, I am being selfish to see if there are good ideas I haven't thought of. Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
Knowing my younger self, younger self would have said "okay" and gone and done what the hell ever he wanted to anyway.
Seeing as how this is in the hunting section and not water cooler I'm assuming you are desiring hunting related answers: -Pay attention to the arrow build portion of bowhunting more. -Pay attention the entrance/exit routes to and from stands almost more than you do the wind once on stand. -Pay attention to the wind directions. -Log and save somehow the mature buck movements seen or captured on camera. Gear wise....eh.... -With your style of hunting the treelounge is a waste of money. Nice but waste of money. -Get good leather/breathable boots and you will finally be able to hunt cold weather without freezing sweat drenched feet. -Merino wool is your friend.
tynmiller you are right. to answer the question, I don't think I would change anything. it was all part of learning how.. and I was just having a little fun
My #1 answer if considering a Water Cooler answer! Hunting...not much. Perhaps get into tree stand hunting whitetails much sooner (I started a whopping 3 years ago), and try out black powder shooting much sooner than I did (I love it and would've been able to enjoy it for longer, finally tried one about 7 years ago, love it as much as archery). Archery elk hunting: Started this at about 19. Learn to trust the use of calls much sooner than I did. I sure wish I could go back to the first area I started hunting, when it had as many elk as it did back then, knowing what I know now. The population has been decimated by wolves, plus it is mostly straight up and straight down. Much better for 20's Mod-it ha ha. Whitetail hunting: I was a rifle hunter for them clear into my 30's, 100% still hunting. I'd tell my younger self to slow the heck down and glass everything to the point of ridiculous.
-Don't get discouraged when you don't see deer. -Don't over-think the process, keep it simple with hunting the wind and good conditions. -Invest in a couple quality trail cams and keep track of historical data from them, run them year round especially during season. -Every part of the country is different, one person's advice won't necessarily work for your area.
The 2 biggest for me would not be gear, but just general knowledge of terrain based on wind and thermals. If I had learned more 15 years earlier, I would have been better off. And 2nd would be to hunt more in my early 20s and not chase women. Spent way to much time and money going to bars in my younger years. Although fun, waist of time. But for gear if I had to pick something, it would be high end outerwear. I love my sitka gear. I wear half the clothes I use to. Next would be a mobile setup. For example my saddle and sticks. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Gear-related advice to young me: - Buy better binoculars - Spend the money on quality gear to keep you warm and dry - Abandon rubber boots and get a good pair of 400-800 gram insulated hunting boots - Wear a damn safety harness, you moron! Hunting-related advice to young me, and me right now: - Worry more about scouting and becoming a better hunter and less about the gear you're taking into the woods with you. - Become a more proficient archer. This one piece of advice right here would probably have doubled the amount of deer on my walls.
Very true Justin I was a grown man thinking I have life insurance I have disability insurance I am bullet proof. When I went to platform stands I bought a harness, so easy to self insure when you climb up no excuse to not do it.
Take that extra second or 2 to make sure your peep is aligned with your site ring, pin is where you want it.
