You think sometimes hunters can be too "textbook" so to speak? Everything you "should" do. Wind (although tough to ignore that), location, funnels, phases of the rut, topos, aerials, trail cam pics, overhunting a stand, scent, entry/exits, moon phases, rubs, scrapes, etc etc etc....... Then as the season gets long and the buck tag still in the back pocket it's almost like it gets more overthunk. You dont' want to make a single mistake and waste a hunt. Pressure starts mounting and you become even deeper analyzing everything. I understand it does have it's place and you can't just throw caution to the wind (or can you?). Yes we should gather all the knowledge we can and use it to decide how to hunt, but to a degree I think. What about a hunters instinct? To me that is as powerfull as any tool out there. How about that feeling of where you think your best chance is of connecting rather that what you "should" do. Dont' let the textbooks dictate everything. Get that feeling and sit somewhere where you really feel it happening. You'll enjoy the sit more and have more confidence feeling like it's going to happen. You won't be as disappointed if it doesn't as if you were somewhere you "should" have been and it didn't. Be the buck Danny....nananannanna. Where would you be if you were him and hunt there. After all we are HUNTERS! My buck this year (and others) for example. I did have a good wind I'll concede that. But I didn't overthink it that much. I had a good feeling of where he was and felt like I knew where he wanted to go..... so I went there. Done deal.
I'm an over-thinker. I second guess a lot. There's a lot of places I SHOULD see deer and have a chance at one, but when it doesn't happen, I go into panic mode. For instance, the stand I keep mentioning in my posts is one of the few stands I have where I almost know with certainty that I will see deer, and even where they will enter. It's almost perfect. The past two or three days, however, it's not producing like it should. That's when the second guessing comes in. I've said it before. I'm not a good hunter. Guys on here putting down public land bucks year in and year out are good hunters. I have to really work at it, and even then it's often like I'm grasping. Not sure I have a hunter's instinct
Good post and perfect timing for me. I am moving in tomorrow to a spot where I think a buck is going to be the first couple of hours of sunlight. Then I am moving around 11am if he does not show to a place where I think a lot of deer will be moving through based on the topography. I am not thinking about it anymore, I am just moving in and getting it done over the next week or so. Yesterday was a fantastic weather day in the woods, yet I only saw two lone does all day, nothing else. I walked a clean mile back in the woods to get some peace and quiet yet the deer did not cooperate. Time to kill.
Good post NY. I used to over think EVERYTHING. It got to a point where I was afraid to scout an area because I was worried I'd bump a deer or leave scent in the area. Hell I didn't even hang camera's because of it. It got to a point where it wasn't fun anymore. So, starting last year, I just hunt. Sure, I play the wind as much as I can and do all of my scent proofing rituals, but I went back to basics so to speak. I started remembering back to my early days of bowhunting, when I sat on the ground a lot and how many bucks I saw and all of those really cool "firsts" I experienced. It was a ton of fun. I don't think too hard about where to sit, where the buck might be or go, especially during the rut. I know where there are lots of does and I know that if I get in there and hunt hard, sooner or later the bucks will be there too.
Good post and I seem to think you are talking about me. I've always tried to obey the wind when I could but would say screw it if it wasn't right. This year, I'm really wind conscious and won't hunt a stand if the wind is bad. Almost seems like I was seeing more deer when I halfway cared. I know that can't be right but it is frustrating knowing that I'm doing the right thing and not getting rewarded for it.
No... nobody in particular really. Actually if anything a buddy of mine got me thinking about it. I asked him where he was going and it turned into a half hour dialouge. Hell he named about 22 stands and gave the pros and cons of them. I got dizzy and said well I'm going to the brook stand and try to kill something........... later.
Maybe if I would think a little more, I would not end up in my wet boxers on the bank of a river I have fallen into the "over thinking" trap myself many times, I have out thought my way out more deer than I ever thought I would.
The only thing I've thought about this year was the overall lack of buck sign on the property I hunt (there's literally next to nothing), and the fact that there's no trees that are good for a west wind, which happens to be the prevailing wind. Gotta stay mobile.
Go get em, Brett! And all that will be on my mind Saturday as well ... loose the arrow and trust it's path
Heading into two of my better spots. I haven't hunted them all year due to terrible winds and the areas being closed. Well, the wind is right and the spot is open so.....KILL. Will be up at 0430 and hitting the road shortly thereafter.
