Over the years, or even over the course of one season if it was your first, how has your attitude towards hunting and the game you pursue changed if at all?
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"We cannot expect the Americans to jump from capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving Americans small doses of socialism until they suddenly awake to find they have Communism" - Nikita Krushchev 1959
I'm more experienced now...Learn to wait on a shot and not rush things....In the past I would shoot anything, now I do wait to see what else comes along....The biggest thing I do now compared to then is .....I spend way too much on hunting! It's a habit a can't quit!
I'm more content to watch deer now than shoot deer. I used to shoot every deer that gave me a good opportunity. Now I'm more selective. Most of my time hunting in the next few years will be with my sons, so it's going to be more about them getting opportunities than me.
When i was younger (12-16) i would just go out into the woods and sit in a "good Sot"....needless to say i never killed a deer.Then i got my bow and starting putting effort and time into my scouting, since then, 4 deer in 2 years. Now this year i will have the most time available to mebecause i work part time in the evenings, which gives me every morning to hunt.
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Poster of the GREATEST photo in HNI history, 12/09/09
"My god Siman...............you just made me sick"
My hunting has become a lot more frustrating![:@] In all seriousness, every time i think i have something figured out in the whitetail woods, they come along ( more often its the dont come along) and show me that i dont know a single thing. When i first started hunting, it was simple, granted i had no clue what i was doing, but i would walk out in the woods, get in a tree near a trail and wait. Now its all about, whats the wind direction, where are they bedding, what are they eating? It goes on and on and i love playing the game every chance i get!
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"Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure."
I've stopped taking for granted I can do whatever I want in my woods. They're not as stupid as I thought they might be....and I'm not as good as I thought I was.
I don't think I respect their abilites to elude me as much as I recognize my constant battle to hunt within my means/abilites.
Also....it took a while for me to find them. Now that I know where they are....I'm more efficient.
I'm more content just watching deer, as opposed to having to kill something, than in years past. Years ago,I found it tough to sit ALL DAY, now it's no big deal! I'm also much more willing to let lesserbuck walk, and wait for a better one. I guess this ties in with my first statement.
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'07 Hoyt Vectrix XL 50-60# / maxed at 63# 30"
HHA OL-5000 single pin
Wisker Biscuit
KWIKEE KWIVER / XX75-2314 arrows
S-Coil stabilizer / Loop & Kisser / Fletcher Peep
TRU FIRE / Hurricane Release
Muzzy 3 blade 100gr
A lot has changed, but a lot has merely "evolved".
Old school scouting
Ride around all summer long looking for deer in the fields before dark. Walk around once or twice a week as the season approached watching fields that you couldn"t see from the road. Maybe take a cruise or 2 thru the woods checking the mast crop.
2 weeks before the season take an in-depth scouting mission looking for rubs/scrapes near places I intended to hunt.
Today"s scouting
Use turkey season to see/confirm where all of last seasons rub lines were. Note climbable trees.
Ride around a few times in august/September. Check crops, spotlight for "shooters" inventory
Stay out of woods completely.
Continue scouting as season progresses. Use bad weather rainy windy days to scout intrusive areas.
Old school hunting
Wash outer layer clothes in baking soda & hang out to dry. Wear rubber boots. Pay no other attention to scent, wear hunting clothes all season without washing.
Hunt 95% of the time from 1-2 trees. Hunt every day after school/work and Saturdays.
Shoot any buck that gives me a shot. Max range 20 yds. Had a 10 yd & a 20 yd pin
Shoot ay doe that I have a tag for
Any deer was a target from any stand, hunted "best" location all season.
Stand locations picked by tradition, current sign, heavy deer trails & mast (cherries & oaks)
Wind was only something that made my tree sway.
Today"s hunting
Huge scent precautions, stopping short of carbon clothes, but utilizing silver lined, & sprays etc.
Hunt generally no more than 3-4 times from one tree over the course of a season.
Hunt Saturdays, (&Sundays in Ohio), & try to make it out one maybe 2 days after work (job restricts that)
Stand locations chosen by tradition, terrain, current sign, wind direction & acorn production
Does targeted early season, and generally on the outskirts
Shoot only bucks of a certain size/age
Some stands "saved" until the time is right.
Wind direction duly noted
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Just a regular guy who likes to hunt
how has your hunting changed???
