Saw that rape and turnips are gold to deer once it freezes. Have heard it and read it, but got to experience it. Learned that it doesn't bother me to not shoot a whitetail buck in a season and eat a tag. Got to try new recipes out for venison sausages. Went elk hunting for the 2nd time and learned to leave the calls at home. Still much to learn in regards to elk. Completely different than whitetail hunting. Learned how big elk are and know much more about taking care of the animal after they are down. Learned that you always need more water and food than you think. Fresh socks are always nice too.
No matter how much time and effort you put into pattering a deer and breaking it down, its still a wild animal and nothing is guaranteed
Don't get up at the butt crack of dawn, rush your daughter to the babysitters, drive clear out to your hunting spot, open up your backpack to realize you forgot your bow release at home, and then in a fit of rage back over a miniature culvert that gives you a flat tire a mile down the road. Yea, don't do that.
This is a biggie I see a lot of people take too long to learn. I shoot the VERY first good shot I have. I've seen Bill Winke talk about it both on his tv shows and in print as well.
And I'll contribute to the thread as well in hopes it helps someone else... though I didn't learn it last season; on the contrary, it was many moons ago. Never walk in further than you plan on hunting.... I'm talking when you're running and gunning from a mobile perspective with your climber on your back. Don't walk up thinking you're going to hang up in a certain spot, then not like the area, and walk BACK the direction you came from about 35-50 yards because you remembered there was a great tree back there. Lesson learned the hard way
Similar to Greg's response above, whenever possible I make sure my final approach to the stand (50-80 yards or so) is from directly downwind or directly downwind of where I plan on the wind being when I anticipate deer will move. It didn't get me this year because I started doing this beginning of the season.........the encounter captured in the video below confirmed this for me. You can just see his whole body language change to pins/needles once he walks through where I came in. Because I walked in from direct downwind, if I wanted to shoot him luckily he would have had an arrow in him well before that happened........but it would have been much easier for me to walk in from the direction he came. He would have never made it this far if I would have done the final stand approach on the easiest most direct path for me. I'll always do this in situations where possible moving forward and this encounter validated it for me. [video]https://youtu.be/OMIfGQQWDyc[/video]
That hard work, countless hours in stand, pre-season scouting, and providing everything that deer need doesn't always lead to success.
Two Things....1) The last 10 days of October are KILLER!! The biggest buck I am after, moved the most during daylight, during these 10 days! 2) Start my Mock Scrape a 2 days before the Opening of Bow Season.
Don't do the same thing over and over and expect different results....that's the definition of insanity. I had a buck come within 10 yards of me twice while hunting from a natural ground blind and he spotted me both times before I drew. Luckily I went to a different spot the next time but the buck was too far away to get a good shot. Don't second guess the spot you. Chose to hunt and rustle around looking to move a few yards away. I got busted by a deer in a food plot doing this just as first shooting hours began. The deer would have walked right up to me if I would have stayed put another minute or so. I still had loads of fun after all the hours in the woods. I have never been in such good shape and so relaxed. I can't wait for next season!
Be patient and prepared to take a second shot. Shot a doe and had two bucks come out to see what all the commotion was about but had my quiver at my feet and several deer looking up from time to time. Could not get my quiver without being spotted so waited on them to leave then went and got my doe. It is legal here to take a buck and a doe in the same day. Always take mosquito repellent. Got busted smashing a mosquito. Public land deer are sneaky and spooky. Take the shot. I passed up on so many deer this season waiting on the perfect shot. I had plenty of great shots I should have taken. Don't over hunt the same stand.
Got the fact reinforced, that no matter how fast your bow is, a deer can duck at 20 yards enough to cause a miss or high shot.
Awesome guys keep it coming! I learned that scouting is kind of an all in deal, you can't expect to get the fullest results with half the work done. I put to much time into doing things that didn't matter much and come fall I was stuck second guessing all my decisions, now that I have some experience under my belt I can better focus my efforts and hopefully figure out where the deer will be come October.
I learned that even though I am a confident bow hunter that you shouldn't be thinking about how you're going to pose your buck on the wall before you shoot and kill it. Needless to say I missed. Also I learned to pass on more does this year. I had plenty of opportunities but both of my bucks I shot this year were pursuing does that just a couple years ago I would've shot the does without waiting to see what was behind
Sit down and shut up. Sit back and enjoy the unpredictable rut and just go with the flow instead of overdoing the calls and rattling.
1. Don't over hunt 1 area. I got caught up on one stand knowing I was pushing deer while I was going to the stand in the a.m... More I hunted that area the less deer I seen. 2. Don't wear your hunting clothes inside unless you plan to descent your clothes again.. Something I knew, but got busted by a great buck by not learning from my past experiences. 3. It's not over till it's over. It doest pay to leave your stand 30 min. Before it gets dark. Just when you think the day is over the deer will more than likely show up... Be patient.
1) When hunting in a rural area, don't over look the "backyard buck" during daylight hours. They are more comfortable hugging the backside of properties where they know what to expect, than deep in the woods where the slightest noise will spook them. 2) Don't rely on one or two spots to hunt, especially if you have a decent amount of time off of work. 3) Don't pull your cameras too early in the season, and don't be afraid to move them over fresh rubs and scrapes that change every time you go in the woods.
Very good stuff! Being silent and entry exit stealth I believe is the biggest thing hunters get wrong, and the biggest way to improve! Get past a deer's ears! Here is a video with some good advice on this subject, also others on this site.. Tactic of top-level hunters revealed: Sound Concealment Rule #4 - YouTube
Learned a lot here.. the biggest thing is actually asking the question you did and taking time to reflect on the season. What was good, what wasn't, and how can I improve for next year given what i've learned. Can't just keep doing the same things and expect different results. Here are some good tips on just this, and what to do in the offseason to make next a good one! Deer hunting: Make next season great-now! - YouTube
I learned that I need to be more patient when it comes to tracking hit deer!! I shot a really nice big 8 point in November, 10 minutes a big doe gave me a shot so I drilled her, She expired in seconds not 30 yards from my stand. I waited at least an hour to get down and drag the doe to my truck, gutted her, the whole 9 yards!! So now I go after the 8 point about an hour an a half after the initail shot. Blood trail a blind man or woman could follow. To make a long story short, jumped him twice, never found him! I learned a lesson that day! Wait wait wait! It will NEVER happen again..
