patience hunting

[deerhunter1224]

I tend to have a problem with patience while hunting. It gets worse as the season draws to a close and I havent gotten a deer or dont ever see deer while out. Anyone else have this problem? If yes what do you do about it.

[Tikka 30-06]

I have that same problem. I tend to get discouraged if i am not seeing deer. But, I know that I need to be in the woods as much as possible because that is what I have waited all year for. If that doesn't work bring something to do onstand. Maybe bring along a few hunting magazines or anything to keep you busy, but still remember you are in the woods to hunt not read.

[bhensley]

I get the same way sometimes. A few hours and I got to do something. I usually get up and move to another spot or head in and come backout later if theres alot of time left in the day. I think alot with me is I getcramped upjust sitting in the same position so I'll get out of the tree and go to a ground blind or something.

[farmchick]

Got a good patience story for ya. My husband took his first buck when he was 16. He has continued to hunt since then. When he hit 35, he saw no deer within range of taking for 3 years. (We take pictures of all harvested deer) He also started bow only hunting at the same time, but he wanted the challenge. This year he finally took a doe during the first week. He also managed to take a P&Y in the 3rd week of rifle season. He had his moments of being disgusted during the 3 year stretch. Don't let it drive you crazy. I know it made my husband try all kinds of new tricks to get the deer to him, or him to the deer. (of coarse I would also have to tell you that he does get bored on those no activity days and takes a nap!)

[Icedragon]

If I get impatient alot of times I will just get out of my stand and walk around for a bit and then sneak back in, it helps alot.

[JagMagMan]

Take heart! I hunted for 3 or 4 years before I got my first deer! It was very trying, but I learned a lot! One very important thing that I learned, was that you've got to hunt were there are huntble number of deer!Once I started hunting land that had a fair number of deer, I started killing deer every season since! This year and last year, I have been hunting land that doesn't have that great of a deer population, high preditor, and poaching problems! The best cure for that is to find a better area! Good luck!

[tckim1969]

it used to drive me nuts that my dad could sit on a chair all day long, drink coffee... and relax while waiting for deer.... and of course he would always be the first to fill his tags...i have gotten better with age and maturity... but i also have developed better stalking and still hunting skills for those times when i just completely lose faith in a stand or set up. sometimes just getting down can make you realize that you had a great set up in the first place and that you need to get back up... or you may find a better set up... but the majority of times... TRUST your first instincts. I've dropped my bow down the stand on a string and had to raise it back up because a buck came out of the woods... just as i lost all faith!

[davidmor]

Lets talk about patience (or maybe a little bit of stupidity on my part! ). I started to go deer hunting with my dad when I was 13 years old, started actually really hunting myself when I was 16 and shot my first deer when I was..... drum roll please..... 37 years old. Now I didn't hunt every year and I moved to NY in that time which greatly increased my deer sitings but I went 21 years with no deer being shot by myself. What kept me going was the time spent with my dad in the woods, seeing him shoot a few deer during those years, and again, maybe a little hard-headedness on my part.

I have shot a lot of deer since that first one. I have learned a lot over the years and now that I have had several freezers full of venison, as well as my first wall hanger this year, I am convinced that I could go back to where I hunted all those years with no success and harvest a deer now.

I do get fidgety in a tree stand just about every time I go out though. I just can't sit still for more than 20 or 30 minutes at a time. I just have to stand up, stretch and move around a bit. I have always been one of those people who is always moving around in church! Too much un-burned energy I guess. When I get very bored, I get down and walk around a bit. It really does help a lot. Not only that, but I have snuck up on a couple of deer that ended up in my truck just by getting out of the stand and walking around. It has paid off for me.

[Jimmy S]

I hunt in areas with low deer numbers compared to other states/provinces. The numbers are about 10 deer per square mile, and maybe even less.

If I hunt for a full week, I will propbably only see deer 2-3 days out of 7 and that's hunting dark 'til dark and usually from a treestand. That's 11 1/2 -12 hours a day. We also hunt areas for "bucks only" when we can literally hunt acros the road in another zone that allows the taking of any deer for almost another full week.

I have learned over the years that patience is the key. I always expect to not only see a deer but also shoot one. That may seem like a normal expression from any deerhunter, but you can get discouraged when you don't see deer after a few days.

I have learned that what keeps patience at a high level is having a postitve attitude and expecting to see deer at any moment. That alone keeps me on stand for very long periods of time.

Since I don't have the luxury of seeing deer every day when in the woods, whenI (we) do see deer, it is special indeed. That's what keeps us going. The reward of dragging out a big buck with the help of family and friends is what it's all about and we'll do almost whatever it takes to make that happen.

Patience is paramount!

[NY Bowhunter]

I have learned that what keeps patience at a high level is having a postitve attitude and expecting to see deer at any moment. That alone keeps me on stand for very long periods of time.

Ding Ding! That's the secret. It becomes a mental game during the lulls. Pretend there are deer 100 yards away from you and closing at all times while you're on stand. Scan the woods a little harder. Actually hunt while you're sitting there instead of waiting to see a deer. Keeping a positive attitude goes a long ways. You become negative, you become fidgety and it all becomes counterproductive. It's a tough thing to do but that's why it's called hunting.

I've been through so many stretches of lulls in my life that it rarely phases me anymore. Sometimes during heavy pre rut when I'm not seeing deer when " i'm supposed to be" I get a little anxious and irritated. That's mostly due to the fact that I'm usually on stand from dark to dark for 2 weeks out of the year and it really drives you nuts if you don't see deer for 4 or 5 days. The thing is you just never know. It only takes a second for your whole season to take a tremendous turn for the better.

The other thing that helps me is continue to scout and hunt during the season. When you're walking in and out do a quick scout of your land. Check for sign. Analyze where they are bedding and where they may be traveling for food. Change things up a little bit. Find a new location on your land to revitalize your spirits. If I'm not seeing deer I still love trying to figure out why.

Best of luck to ya. STAY POSITIVE!!!!!!!!!