I am at the hunting stage where I am looking to kill 8 pointers or better, 3.5 year olds or bust. I have the spent the last 5 years out of the 15 years I have hunted, slowly increasing my knowledge of hunting to the point where I expect to be on decent deer each year for my personal goals, which has been 6-8 pointers. I am seeing more things in the woods and relating the evidence to seeing more deer, and bigger bucks. It has been a slow process but I think it has been slowly paying off.

I have been working very hard this off-season on my scouting, and have already found at least 3 new spots with a great deal of potential, based on the buck sign, and the sheer distance these places are from where I believe most people would quit walking into the woods to hunt.

Scent control for me needs to improve. I have always been good, but the last couple of seasons I have slouched a little in terms of wearing my hunting clothes in my truck on the way to the hunt. I never walk in restaurants or anything with my hunting clothes on, but just sit in my truck. I KNOW that is not good but when I am tired, I get sloppy as we all do I guess. I am going back to changing into my hunting clothes when I get to my hunting spot.

I will not invade prime bedding areas until the right time...NOT even once. This is something I have done over the last 4 years and it has paid off in 3 good bucks for me and my personal goals. I will even take it one step farther this year in that I will kind of get a game plan for all my hunting spots, based on the time of the season in relation to the rut, and hunt systematically with some flexibility based on the current buck sign.

I will do things others wont to get deer. I have begun using my kayak to scout remote parts of the lakes I hunt around....I will use a tree saddle this year to slip in and hang quietly in the mornings to try and take some lower pressured bucks.....

Enough of my ideas, I have alot to learn...........

shadow