The drinking coffee while hunting thread got a friend and I talking about bowhunting. My friend is one of those guys that worries over every little thing. Won't eat or drink while hunting. Gets up super early in order to be in the stand an hour before daylight. Stays in his stand till way past dark so he don't spook anything, etc. Basically he does all the things that I spose you are supposed to do but he complains about all the work and usually gets himself burned out quite quickly. Now if he was just chasin some monster buck I would tell him to keep at it and maybe go even further with things but he is like me and just looking for whatever deer may cross his path. Myself on the other hand take a different approach to bowhunting. I sleep in a bit. (I never need a flashlight to come and go from my stand) I take coffee when it's cold. If I get cold I leave. I don't give much thought to scent control. If I don't feel up to getting up early I roll over and go back to sleep. Now I have only shot 1 deer so far this year but I have passed up enough opportunities to have limited out already. My point to this thread is maybe a bit of advice to some of you. Don't turn this hobby into work. ENJOY it. If your in your stand freezing your *** off and not having fun then go home. If you were up late drinking with your buddies then sleep in. If your tired of all the prep work involved then back off worrying. You may not be as successful using the laid back approach but if your not enjoying it you may as well be working.
I did that last year. I packed all sorts of crap and hiked 45-60 min into the woods. This year I hike 15 minutes and pack next to nothing. So far with better results and I'm not exhausted on Monday morning.
I think you gave some good advice. For me though it would be hard to take that advice since I do take my hunting seriously. The reason being is that the woods I hunt is extremely difficult to hunt with the pressure and lack of deer. The deer are there but they aren't the ones that are casual walking through the woods. Most the deer by me take a lot of precaution walking through. We have a lof of wolves by me which I don't think hurts nothing but the deer definitely know they're there. But I think one thing I'm not good at is not complaining. I accept the area I hunt in and realize it is a big challenge. So when I do get success in it I'll be just that much happier knowing I accomplished something. But I'll think what you said and try to have more fun with it.
The laid back approach isn't for everyone. I have another friend that hunts big bucks only and is VERY anal about things. Goes the extra mile all the time but he loves it. Going after the bruiser bucks takes a lot of work or a lot of luck. He enjoys the way he does it so more power to him. I just see a lot of guys get burned out quickly in the season and I choose to not be one of them.
i agree with you to an extent. You cant burn yourself out. I only bow hunting for 6 weeks, mostly only on saturdays and only a few days during the week, have to drive well over a hour. Then gun season starts, we run dogs so its not nearly as delicate as hunting with bow, dont wake up as early, dont worry about scent very much, and can even move around a bit. I hunt bow season hard to an extent. Try to be in the stand a little before sunrise, dress in the field and wash my clothes every week, play the wind best i can, and try to hunt in areas that have been low pressure (in a hunt club so there are over 50 people that have free reign over the land, close to 8,000 acres and i am rather new so still learning the area). I will hunt when its cold, i will hunt when its hot, was 90 opening day. If i get cold, or its miserably hot i go to the camper and take a nap. I will say im not a huge fan of morning hunts during bowhunting and will normally only hunt until 9 or so, sometimes longer, sometimes shorter. Afternoon hunts i will try and be in the woods between 1 and 2 and will hunt til dark. When gun season starts its a full day on the go. Thanksgivings and Christmas i will hunt every day except the Holidays. If i were to bow hunt all year i would be exhuasted come Jan. Even now i will be worn out by Jan and be looking forward to a couple week break, but would rather have hunting and be tired than the season go out really. I get to rest during the week now bow season is over, but the weekends will be long days. i agree you cant burn yourself out, but i am a firm believer in what Phil Robertson once said, Cant kill em if ya aint with em.
I understand the posters point of view, but many people have more enjoyment when they go "crazy" with every precaution. I'm somewhere in the middle I think and I enjoy it. Skoal and Mountain Dew is where I am liberal. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
I for one think this is great advice for some of us. We all have our own reasons to hunt and bring our own personalities to the sport. For me me this year was so much more frustrating than any other year in recent memory and several times I've had to step back and remember why I'm out here.
I hunt to hardcore to take this approach. I just love being in stand all settled in watching the sun rise when its 20 degrees out when most ppl are in their beds. I watch my scent and hunt the wind.
If you do that in Pa you WILL have to deal with other hunters messing up your hunt. That is more frustrating to me than not seeing deer so I still get back off the road. But I agree if it's not fun, you are doing something wrong and need to re-evaluate your hunting. It should be fun.
I appreciate your point of view, but no thanks. If I'm not physically and mentally exhausted when it's all said and done then I haven't given it everything I had. I have 10 months to be laid back, drink coffee and sleep in. I'll push myself every single day. It's what I live for and I wouldn't want it any other way. Approach each day like my last hunt ever.
And I wouldn't want you to hunt any other way. I used to fly RC airplane combat. I loved it. Used to travel and compete all over the place. I ended up getting to the point where I had to spend about every night building planes just to get ready for the next meet. (Go to a meet, bust up 3-4 planes,,, go home and build for 2 weeks,,, go to another meet,,, bust em up, on and on... It became work) I got burned out. I don't fly anymore. Someday I'll fly combat again but I am pretty sure I'll just screw around at my home field with a couple of buddies.
This year I haven't harvested anything... Had several good chances but passed (no Buck in bow range though) all Does. this season was/is bout getting my 7yr old Son out and about with me.. Put him in the stand for the 1st time this Sept and there on, and lately everytime I go out. Teaching him what I was taught over the years as a child. There have been several times where we spooked a deer or so cause of noise, there were times we only sat out there 2hrs or so. I actually just try to put us in good spots where we see deer tracks, deer poop, and bedding areas etc....hoping it pays off for him and his future in Hunting. But through it all I still take practicing serious... I still practice in my backyard 3-4 days a week but I enjoy that. I do think we worry way more bout things then we should.... It is a hobby and a blessing. <+>< Ps 46: 1 ><+>
Everyone is different, but for me AIM is right. I used to fish 6-7 days a week, but after 30 years of that I got totally burnt out and didn't fish for almost 10 years. Similar thing with hunting, I'd be in a stand absolutely every second I could, 3-4 hundred hours a season, and started to burn out. Now I pick my spots and hunt around 100 hours a season, but am enjoying it more. Everything in moderation!
Bow hunting is not for the faint of heart. I spend tons of money and time prepping each year to go at it so casually. I guess if I didn't like a challenge then I would sale my archery equipment and only gun hunt. It takes a lot of effort and some luck to give a boss buck a dirt nap.
For me, it has to be enjoyable, or what's the point? I love being in the woods. My son and I traipse around our property all year long because we just enjoy being out there among nature. I am an early riser anyway (usually about 4:30 a.m., deer season or not) so getting up and at 'em for morning hunts is a non issue for me. I actually prefer morning hunts. There is something magical about being in the woods at sunrise, at least for me. If I tag out, I will still be in a stand at times, shooting video of deer and turkeys. After bow season is over, we have much to do prepping new stand set ideas, and clearing existing stand sites for next years season. I run my trail cameras year 'round, because I enjoy the hell out of my cameras. We also plan to get after some 'yotes later in the winter. It all starts again next August with hunting a few squirrels, and getting things ready to go for archery deer season. Doing things right can be a lot of work, but if you truly enjoy it, it's not really work, it's enjoyment. Hunt however you need to make things enjoyable. Don't make a job out of it..........I have one of those, and I don't need nor want another. The one I have gets in the way of hunting enough the way it is!
Good post. This stuff is supposed to be fun. Tomorrow morning when I am getting up at 3am, driving an hour and half to my hunting spot, not spraying down with any scent eliminator sprays, and wearing clothes washed in regular detergent, I will be having a blast the entire time.
Melissa Bachman ... No.. WAIT! ..?!:!+?+*% alright..I like the thought of having a relaxed approach to the hunt but admit that for 365 days it is BUCK FEVER so no slip pin on getting outta the rack in the AM and for the short few weeks brother I try to pull together everything I have learned toward a successful hunt. Getting more meticulous every year...now where was I...
Hey feel free to push all those deer to my stand when you are walking in after shooting light. Personally nothing is better THAN being in the stand settled at least 30 minutes before any of the birds start chirping, and then hearing and seeing the woods wake up from its slumber.... I agree that its all about getting enjoyment out of it, but if you take a half-sassed approach to it, your results will show.
For me, the work is part of the fun. Sure, sometimes the grind isn't fun. Getting up early, packing in all the camera gear plus all the hunting gear. BUT, all the just melts away when all your hard work pays off. I was having the worst season of my hunting life this year, and in 2 minutes it turned into the best! If I had let my emotions get to me, I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten up Friday morning and headed into the stand. I pushed myself, and I was rewarded with the biggest buck I've ever shot. Now I'm having a blast
Yeah I'm fine with people hunting how they want...but me I want to do my best and everything I can to consistently have chances at bucks of a bigger than yearling caliber....sadly that means work. Anyone can go hunt and shoot something, shoot even get a big one every now and then, but I want to be consistent and live with the fact that takes extra effort and then some where I hunt. I've always said be the hunter you want to be, but just don't act like you're the hunter you aren't. Example: Some guy walks out opener of gun, sits 30 minutes and shoots a 120incher that happens to be upwind of him not smelling his jeans, flannel smoke soaked jacket and his freshly lit cigarette....he has no right to brag about his masterful hunting, brag about the deer sure but not his hunting prowess.
