I know it's easier said than done but you really need to find a different place to hunt deer based on what you just posted.
I hunt to be in Gods woods. I love being close to him and pray while I am in the stand. I sit and think about what I am grateful for. I get close to God in the stand and it is the best feeling in the world. I do get on the phone to check on my wife and this forum to see what is going on. That is about it for keeping my self busy in the tree stand. -
Sit all day on your property! if the other 29 guys only sit morning and night they will be kicking deer up throughout the day. The deer are there, they're just smart and in cover.
I am only 14, I can't lease my own property and all the landowners I've asked won't let me hunt on their properties for no reason, I even offer most of them to help them with their farm etc. My main problem with the Hunting Clubs is that my dad knows nothing about hunting, and if I tell him what he is doing wrong he is mad at me. There are some great hunting clubs around our town but most of them are about 1 hour away or so and my dad wants a place he can hunt every day after work. Another problem is that my dad wants a hunting club that is also fairly inexpensive... But the thing he doesn't understand is that when you pay about $500 more and drive about an hour or more that it is going to be worth it. For example in our club you pay $1000 and drive about 20 minutes and see about 3 deer all year if you are extra lucky, the club that I want to join costs $1500 and you drive an hour, I talked to the hunting club president and he said the average hunter sees about 30-40 deer away and most of them kill a big buck each year. So I don't know who is right me or my dad
If you do the math at 6,000 acres and 30 hunters that's still 200 acres per person... going deeper than anybody, if possible, might increase deer sightings. If the hogs are a problem, the guy is doing you a favor. If that guy runs hogs everyday I wouldn't think that the deer would just leave completely, they might get used to it.
I've thought about hunting deeper in the woods but when you look at the terrain of our area theres just no way the deer live/move/are there, it's just a bunch of cliffs and huge hills that not even a squirrel can cross. Most of y'all are used to fairly flat land, but our club is just HORRIBLE!!! I'd love to show that place to all of you, then you would really see how horrible the habitat is.
A lot of farmers don't like hiring young help just due to possible injuries while working. As for your dad, your not alone! I just simply hunt the way I want to hunt and show my dad that I know what i'm doing when i'm dragging a deer out and he isn't! I have never paid for a lease, just put my time in over the years.
Hunting the way I want to would be my dream. But my dad is always worried about me getting attack by something or shooting myself somehow (with a bow???). I often ask if my dad can drive me to our club so I can do a little bit of scouting, his answer is always "you don't need to scout" theres about 50 fields that you can hunt on. He is right about hunting those fields, but what he hasn't gotten yet is that hunting those fields is a waste of time since you never see anything on them. I am turnning 16 in about 1 and a half year, then I can hunt whenever and wherever I want. I am not trying to be a little cocky 14 year old, I am just frustrated about the way I HAVE to hunt.
Use the time now to put in the hours with your dad and learn from his and your mistakes, once you're 16 you will be able to zero in on those deer and harvest one. Good Luck
There is no right or wrong to it. And, it's your Dad's money, so there's that. When I am in a tree, I am hunting. Sleeping and game playing will do nothing to improve your ratio of deer sightings to hours "hunted". Kudos for hunting at all. No way I would do it under those conditions. It would be a waste of time in my opinion. Too many hours spent doing something with little to no chance of success.
Well on our land up north you can't get cell service unless your 40ft up a tree on the tallest ridge. But when I'm up north I sit all day everyday! I'm just hunting. I'm looking for deer enjoying gods creations! This year I'll be in the stand with a camera so I guess you could say that's something to pass the time. But my farm by my house I tend to cruise the forums or checking corn/soybean prices but most of the time I'm lookin for deer watching squirrels focusing in the hunt! Clearing the mind! Sent from my arrow using Mathews!
I do all-day sits every day during the Rut. I keep occupied simply by knowing that a buck can come by at ANY TIME! This thinking keeps me on alert even when nothing's going on around me at a given time. I wouldn't allow anything (phones, books, ect..) to take my attention from killing a buck. You put that kind of time in, you don't want to screw up an opportunity because you were texting, or whatever. I take my hunting seriously.
I agree. Anytime I wanna stand and adjust it seemed a deer was sneaking in. I'm very glad I wasn't distracted or I probably would not have heard them Bowtech invasion CX maxima 350 React 5 Reaper 2 inch
I say do whatever it takes to stay on stand. Lots of good bucks have been killed after 11:00, when most people get out the woods to eat. Just check the record books. If playing on your phone for 15 helps you stay an hour longer. Than that's an advantage over getting down. Especially since you're dependent on your father to hunt. Hang in there, it always pays off even if you don't kill anything, you still can learn from the experience. Make a journal of every hunt. Weather, wind , temp, deer sighted or not sighted and direction of travel from where to where. Take it all in, for some aren't as fortunate.
I also forgot, I contribute to the "live from the stand" thread!!!! some great action on that thread every season, most memorable was Finny's (last one out)quest last fall right before he left for Paris Island!!!
About 1 I come down, walk 75 yards back to the house, get a bite to eat, hang out with the ole lady and kiddos for a few, then back up the stand by about 3:30.
I'll typically play games on my phone or get on twitter/facebook. This really kills a battery to its nice to have a portable charger with me too.
