Seeing as this season will be a little a different than those in the past with regard to my hunting time, I was curious as to how many days everyone spends in the field and how long their seasons last. For those that have saw a reduction in their hunting time, what modifications, if any, did you make to your hunting?Obviously my sets are hung by now, and I'm confident in my setups, but with time not necessarily on my side, is it better to get more agressive with setups (repeated times in stand, hunting potentially questionable winds, etc), or simply hunt as usual and hope for the best? I plan to most likely get out about half to 3/4 of the PA season which is 6 weeks, so I will still get decent time afield, but just not as much as I would like.
I'll have my usual amount of time. Evenings are tough, i dont get home until 4:30-5pm but i'll hunt some. I have some close spots that i feel good about shooting a doe. I will be out every other Friday, every Saturday and i'll be taking the last two weeks of the season off. That could change though with the weather. Hunting smart will pay off in the end. Pushing your luck with bad winds, over hunting a stand, etc will eventually catch up to you and possibly ruin an area. That being said, if i'm running out of days to hunt. Theres no way i'm staying home because of a bad wind. I've got enough spots scouted out that i'll head to one that i'm not too concerned about ruining.
This year will be tough for me to get out as much as I'd like too. Whenever I could though I'd sit in a stand all day to try and maximize my time. Questionable winds are okay with me...but repeated stands has always made me nervous. If you hunt them too much you'll be chasin for most of your 6 weeks.
I suppose I should clarify my wording. By aggressive with regard to wind direction and stand repetitions, I wouldn't do it throwing caution out the window. All of my stands have IDEAL winds, but if time isn't on my side, if I have a less than ideal wind, still risking it, and hunting it, would essentially be the extent to my "aggression":D As for overhunting a stand, I certainly agree with the risks, but again, if time is of the essence, assuming you have a clean exit and entry, I see hunting the stand (assuming wind conditions aren't all wrong, more than normal to be an acceptable risk. Maybe I'm just in panic mode (I've known my time in stand this season would be less than years past since last season), now that the season opener is closing in. I'll start slow with my approach for sure, and I suppose I'll change things up if necessary as the season progresses.
My regular bow season opens the 1st Saturday in September and runs through the last Saturday in March. I usually get out at least once a week. After the regular season ends I can hunt using "Kill Permits" for does. So in actuality my season never really ends. It's tough hunting in the high 90's and 100 degree days though.
End of september through the beginning of February, I went out on 50 hunts last yerar, i hope to catch 70 this year.
This I know for sure - my season is cut short because I have shoulder surgery scheduled mid-November to fix two tears, I'd rather just let it go but she needs the knife. I think aggresively cautious is the name of the game here.
I've have exactly the oppesite. I filled two tags and stopped hunting with only one doe tag left. Seems weird not hunting nor does it feel right but... I've got another buck tag that will good in November for 2.5 weeks. The duck hunter invasion is starting next week so I am waiting closer to November to go hunting again for my last doe. That way I can be scouting for bucks while hunting does to prepared for the November season of filling that buck tag. The waterfoul hunter will have everything a mess in October so scouting for bucks doesn't pay now. By the end of October... the duck hunters will thin out and the bucks will start moving again with rut coming up. Hopefully it dries out so we can get back to harvest to make the time go faster. Come on November !!!! Tim
Matt, I was just having this conversation the other day. Not this year, but there is a year coming that I will have to pick my spots. Do you have that luxury? Meaning, you get to hunt two days a week but have the luxury to pick the days?
Not really...well yes, to an extent. My wife's work schedule is crazy, and as you might know, she works 13hrs most days. If I hunt every day, I will see her a grand total of about 3 or 4 hrs a week with the exception of every other sunday. I'm planning to take a break from hunting every single day of the season like I did the last two seasons, and hang out with her a few evenings a week. Once DST hits, I will most likely be out more nights since I will be back home a little earlier on her days off. Of course if the right wind hits later in the season for a perfect stand on one of those days she's off, I will be hunting, but especially early in the season, I would like to spend more than a couple of hours with her a week.
Right, so to answer your question, I would be letting the weather, more importantly the wind be my guide. PS, it's cool that you recognize what needs to be done now and not after it's a problem. Peace my friend.
All you can do is what you can do..... Hunt whenever you can, even if it's for a short 2.5 hr evening sit - or whatever.... If your time is more of a 'total' limitation (from a a season total standpoint) then focus your time off on when you think your chances are the best... In the past when I didn't have kids, there were times I did at least some hunting for 30+ days straight - but no way I can do that anymore... I hunt when I can, sneak in some afternoon hunts, take off a few mornings, hunt the weekends when I can - but focus most of my 'vacation' effort on the second week of Nov - 9 straight days of hunting - about the best I can do...
My work only allows me to hunt 3 days out of 14 on a regular basis. I take some vacation time in Oct and Nov to get some more time in the woods. My season runs Sept 11 through Jan 1.
I suppose I'll just see how it goes. The confidence just isn't as high entering a season with somewhat limited time as it was the previous two seasons I hunted pretty much every evening. Should be interesting.
I am in a situation where my hunting time is pretty limited, last year as well as this year. My advice to you, is get very aggressive with your setups, but be overly cautious with your wind direction and entry and exit routes. Hunt on the days with bad weather and fronts, get right up on their bedrooms. Be attentive while on stand and make the shot count when it arrives. The tactic worked out great last year and has put me within 25 yardsone day and 15 yards another of an 8 point so close to being a shooter I am still sweating over the decision to pass the shot, as well as 10 other bucks and two does. My season opened Saturday. Hunting less but more productive IMO is more important that just being out there every day. When you hunts are limited you can put more thought into your setups and make sure every hunt counts. I would rather have one good hunt than 3 "just being out there" hunts. There is a big difference between just being out there and making every hunt count. Have a plan and purpose for every hunt and your results will speak for it's self.
Definitely agree with you, Scott, and my hunts are usually not simply sits, but spots with expectations given the time of year and conditions. With that being said, bucks are another story on my particular property, and my journals over the past two years show that. Scouting over the past few winters, I have never been able to locate a solid buck bedding area ON the property. I can guess at a few locations that border our ground, but even then, how far from the line that bedding location might be is unknown since I'm not about to trespass to find the beds. Our property is mostly a "middle" ground between bedding and food (we have plenty of it), plus the seclusion of the food sources has often allowed a decent amount of shooting time movement, but even still, the first two or three weeks are iffy for shooter bucks. Last year, the day I shot my buck, I was three weeks into the season, and that buck was the first shooter that I had encountered on the property. While if that hadn't happened, I would have still had three weeks of season left after that, I really would like to be in a situation like yours where I could put myself in place to get a shot off on a good buck in the first two weeks, but history has shown that to be difficult on this property. Time is usually my best strategy, which is why I'm concerned. With that being said, there are a few likely spots I could take the climber in to hunt these "fringe" areas given the right wind.
I feel weird this year....Season lasts first saturday in September through the third weekend in January, and I was done hunting after 3.5 hrs this year. I am not a doe hunter, at all..... but with no out of state tags and my only in state buck tag filled, I am for sure doe hunting this year just to get back out there some.
I hunt numerous properties. This is how I attempt to put myself in the right place for the conditions. Most of the spots I hunt probably average only 15 acres of timber (as little as 2 acres, as much as 40 acres) per tract (50-100 acres of field to go with the timber on average), None of the places I hunt offer a spot for all conditions so I move from property to property attempting to be in the right spot for that hunt. Basically I hunt "spots", not properties because many of the properties I hunt may only have one setup I am confident in spending my time in and conditions to hunt that spot may only happen a couple times per season, if at all. In fact I have the right conditions to hunt this one spot today that I have never hunted, but have wanted to for a couple years. It is an early season overcast, rainy day WSW wind type of setup. That's just what today is
