Mistake: passed on a really nice buck in November I should have hammered. Corrective action: stop giving a s&w; about what someone else thinks he might be next year.
I stand the entire time I'm in the stand. I'm noticing a lot of you sit till you see the deer? Anyway, not hunting as much as I usually do and not hanging more stands. Sent from my XT830C
You stand the WHOLE time? They put a seat on there for a reason. Lol I wouldn't think about doing that.
Yeah...lol. Its not really that bad. After back surgery a few years ago, it hurts if I sit for very long in the stand. Sent from my XT830C
New property: Wind was perfect for the stand I hunted today, but in a rush to get in I took a shortcut and blew a whole mess of does up. My plan to fix it is to ask the farmer for access from the backside of the lease and work on patience.
Hit my goal to get 1st buck, but almost blew it by rushing shot and nicking his shoulder. Luckily was able to call him in again and second shot was on the money. Just need to be patient, let the good shot present itself, and not fall victim to buck fever Had a lot of fun this year. Already excited about what next year will bring.
I've learned stand for 90% of the time I'm in my stand this year. Not that bad once you figure it out.
Wait and see what the buck is going to do first instead of calling to him. Seen a buck cruising and gave him a grunt well when he came in he was looking for what made it and didnt see anything so turned away 2 steps before he came into my opening. Looking back there is a good chance he would of came cruising by me without reaching out to him. Not to over look my other properties during the rut, and need to listen to my gut more cause cameras have proven it was right a few times this year
Didn't move one of my stands soon enough even though I know I should have many, many times. Still connected on a doe but could have been done a lot sooner than the end of December.
My big mistake was proper stand placement with cover. I picked good sized trees but neglected sun movement and cover.
I blew the shot due to an equipment failure. That's already been corrected. Other than that, every buck that I had pics of I had within bow range. It just never came together. Mainly due to the constant swirling winds off of the river.
I went to hunt a spot where a buddy had an encounter with a buck. When he described the buck I knew it was a tall ten that I had on camera. I hunted that spot the next weekend when the wind was right. It was about 450pm and I saw the buck that we knew was there with his 6 point buddy. They were moving at a brisk walk so I didn't have much time to take a real good look at him but confirmed that he was a ten. I stopped him and shot, placing the arrow right behind his shoulder as he was quartering away. When we went back out to track, it was a short track but as I approached the buck I realized that it was the wrong buck. This one was a 2 1/2 year old that would have been awesome next year. I really hated that it took away from the excitement cause I screwed up. Next year I cant assume I know what deer it is. I need to confirm it.
My mistake was being complacent in my stand location. I've had such great success seeing lots of deer 4 years in a row and killing 2 from it, so I opted to keep hunting from the same spot. Since there's 3 of us hunting on 9 acres, stand location options are limited but an adjustment of even 20 yards would have changed this season completely. Every few years deer seem to change their path and this year they happened to change slightly on my property. Next year, rather than hoping they walk by me, I am going to get closer to them. Although I saw deer on my property and on camera all off-season, I didn't find their new specific paths and therefore they were always barely out of range/shooting lane. Next year I am going to move my stand and get another for another spot.
Exactly mine too. But mostly do to not scouting enough. I'm always afraid to do anything to disturb an area, even if its walking thru before the season starts. I found the deer highway and hung a stand in one of the only trees big enough, but had no cover and i was siloutted big time. All this to avoid cutting shooting lanes. This will be done this spring, as I had the opportunity to hunt specific deer for the first time. I'm really excited for next season.
First mistake was drawing on a young buck for practice and spooking a larger buck. Still in bachelor groups. Doh! Second mistake was allowing the excitement to get to me and not focus on "the spot" with follow through. While I got the deer, it was a poor shot and one that I hate making. I filmed my hunt and when I reviewed the footage it made me cringe. After that I made a great shot on another deer, but that first initial day in the woods with the deer right at 20yds get's your blood pumping and can mess with our focus . [video=youtube_share;rhRAxvSJy4I]http://youtu.be/rhRAxvSJy4I[/video]
I wouldn't really say mistakes - just learned some new things. First was I was drawn back on a doe and had a buck come in behind me (A little four point) - I turned my head to look at the buck (and tried to place points that weren't there) while the doe I was waiting to step out, stepped into my opening and stopped. I turned back to her the buck grunted and off she went. I should have quick glanced - saw the buck wasn't legal and just shoot the doe. Lesson learned. Also had a field of BIG bucks behind me one night - right at dark. I could see shadows. They were biggest I've seen, though roughly 100 yards out. I waited til they went down the field some and tried to sneak out. I have a roadway to a radio tower to walk, so I started my walk and two of the bucks trotted across the roadway in front of me into the woods. They didn't run like spooked, but trotted on alert. I should have waited longer - but being alone and having a bear on camera just freaked me out at the idea (add in a fear of dark woods)...Again, lesson learned. I never seen them again - but my husband shot one of them on the back of the property.
