After 44 years of hunting I still have a fight with myself when to leave a stand for the day.
I'm sure as soon as I leave one will come by. Terrible decision. So I often stay all day even though I'm cold ,hurting and disgusted
depends....sometimes i got places to be and HAVE to go....if i dont i sit there like you...until i cant bear it any longer.....monday morning i had enough by 9am....only reason i made it past 8 was because i got busted somehow at 8...wind perfect...i was perfectly still....deer wasnt able to see me yet....but i heard it blow 3 times.....might have crossed my trail?...but i never seen it.....so i sat another hour....i HAD to warm up....i was shivering...but i hunted all day after i warmed up and had lunch for an hour.......the thought of the big one sneaking out when you leave makes me stay as long as i can....
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>>----Give 'em the shaft!--->
I had the wonderful experience of watching the buck I had scouted all summer and fall come up a gas line right to the entrance of my woodlot......but I was halfway down my ladder and the gun was laying on the ground.
I only got down because I had already downed two does that needed gutting, dragging etc. There are absolutely no words whatsoever to describe how I felt...then to physically watch him turn around and follow the gasline to the next woodlot, and hear a single blast from a shotgun...
I pushed him right to the lap of another hunter...a farm hand sitting on a white bucket... what luck.
Don't get me wrong I was happy I had gotten two does, but Im sure you can understand where I am coming from.
It depends upon the time of the year. If early archery, I'm out of the woods no later than 10:30 unless it's the rut. Normally during rifle/shotgun season, I sit for a few, then walk for a few. I enjoy the cold weather, but when it's subfreezing temps, enough is enough, that's when it's time to go. Between freezing and the excitement of a deer coming torwards me, I'm sure to miss .
I always stay in my tree until 10:30 or 11:00 and then go and eat for an hour. In the afternoon I always give myself enough time to get my treestand down and all packed up and through the woods before it get pitch dark.
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For God so Loved the World.....
It's funny I've killed more deer in that 10 am - 1 pm time slot then any other time! Opening day the morning is good after that the magic time is when everyone else is warming up and pushing deer! I stay put as long as I can! I love that mid-day rush hour!
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"DON'T TREAD ON ME"
www.NewJerseyHunter.com
if i am hunting with others we normally leave the woods around 11, go eat lunch and be back in the woods around one. if i am hunting alone, i go in by flashlight, spend the day, and come out by flashlight. i am a firm believer that deer move a lot during the middle of the day, that is why i stay put. i do cheat a little, have one of those tree umbrellas that i put on the ground in front of me as a blind, if it is cold, i take a small heater with me and tuck it in behind the umbrella, works just great. heck, sometimes i even wake up before dark.
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It is hard to kiss your lips at night, when they have chewed my rear all day.
Her heart was pure, but her teeth were stained.
Get Your Tongue Outta My Mouth 'Cause I'm Kissing You Goodbye