Mistakes I've made along the way
12-10-2008, 05:42 PM
#11
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Burke, VA (raised in MD)
Posts: 1,096
RE: Mistakes I've made along the way
Buy the best pair of bino's you can afford + a good carry harness for them.
Start wearing them to the stand.After a few sits, you feel naked without them.
It is like a magic device that can transport you closer to what you want to see. If you're evaluating antlers they're essential. You can look at your arrow or blood trail after making a shot. Their uses are endless.
Start wearing them to the stand.After a few sits, you feel naked without them.
It is like a magic device that can transport you closer to what you want to see. If you're evaluating antlers they're essential. You can look at your arrow or blood trail after making a shot. Their uses are endless.
12-10-2008, 06:34 PM
#16
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Central PA
Posts: 2,299
RE: Mistakes I've made along the way
I have a couple of things I've learned (the hard way) along the way.
Not staying in stand late enough. Even though you might not be able to see through your peep, chances are, you can still see some when looking around. Stay in that stand until its good and dark before getting down. Big bucks love that last 15 minutes of daylight, regardless of the time of year. I bet we'd all be surprised at what we might be spooking when we can barely see and are getting down out of a stand.
Not striking when the iron's hot. I have passed on sitting in a particular stand, especially during the rut, because the wind wasn't just right. Even though the day before, out of the same stand, I had to beat deer off with a stick to get down. What I have come to realize is that during the rut, trails are great, but how many bucks chasing a doe usually stay on a trail? They'll end up behind you, to your left, right, or in front of you. Playing the wind IMO, can be thrown out the windowa lot of the time once they're chasing.
Not staying in stand late enough. Even though you might not be able to see through your peep, chances are, you can still see some when looking around. Stay in that stand until its good and dark before getting down. Big bucks love that last 15 minutes of daylight, regardless of the time of year. I bet we'd all be surprised at what we might be spooking when we can barely see and are getting down out of a stand.
Not striking when the iron's hot. I have passed on sitting in a particular stand, especially during the rut, because the wind wasn't just right. Even though the day before, out of the same stand, I had to beat deer off with a stick to get down. What I have come to realize is that during the rut, trails are great, but how many bucks chasing a doe usually stay on a trail? They'll end up behind you, to your left, right, or in front of you. Playing the wind IMO, can be thrown out the windowa lot of the time once they're chasing.
12-10-2008, 07:26 PM
#17
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location:
Posts: 11,472
RE: Mistakes I've made along the way
I would just like to remind everyone to take their arrows with them when they go hunting. Probably the biggest mistake one could make while going bowhunting.
I was outside practicing shooting before an afternoon hunt one day. I took my quiver off and layed it on the ground. I was out there flinging arrows and I got a phone call. I layed my bow on the front porch and went inside to answer the call. One thing led to another and I'm on the phone for a lot longer than I wanted to be.I finally get off the phone and now I'm in a hurry to get to the woods. Throw my camo on, grab my bow from the front porch, jump in my truck and off I go.
I get to my land and decide I still have time to make it to "the far stand". So I get out of the truck, spray down, grab my bow and haul my butt deep into the woods. I finally make it out to my stand and get settled in. Things are feeling good. Nice cool calm night and you just feel the woods are alive. I go to nock an arrow and............................ I don't have any [8D]. I left my quiver laying on the ground with my hunting arrows where I was practicing. After calling myself every name in the book I contemplated whether or not I really wanted to sit there with no arrows. The thought of what could happen gave me the heebie geebies. However I prepared myself for the fact that a 150" 12 pointer could stand broadside from me at 18 yards and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it. I was allright with that so I stuck it out and sat there. Tough choice I gotta tell ya. Well fortunately nothing like that happened.
So...... moral of the story.......mistakes I've learned along the way? Always remember to bring along your arrows.
I was outside practicing shooting before an afternoon hunt one day. I took my quiver off and layed it on the ground. I was out there flinging arrows and I got a phone call. I layed my bow on the front porch and went inside to answer the call. One thing led to another and I'm on the phone for a lot longer than I wanted to be.I finally get off the phone and now I'm in a hurry to get to the woods. Throw my camo on, grab my bow from the front porch, jump in my truck and off I go.
I get to my land and decide I still have time to make it to "the far stand". So I get out of the truck, spray down, grab my bow and haul my butt deep into the woods. I finally make it out to my stand and get settled in. Things are feeling good. Nice cool calm night and you just feel the woods are alive. I go to nock an arrow and............................ I don't have any [8D]. I left my quiver laying on the ground with my hunting arrows where I was practicing. After calling myself every name in the book I contemplated whether or not I really wanted to sit there with no arrows. The thought of what could happen gave me the heebie geebies. However I prepared myself for the fact that a 150" 12 pointer could stand broadside from me at 18 yards and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it. I was allright with that so I stuck it out and sat there. Tough choice I gotta tell ya. Well fortunately nothing like that happened.
So...... moral of the story.......mistakes I've learned along the way? Always remember to bring along your arrows.
12-10-2008, 07:29 PM
#18
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Millboro, Va
Posts: 1,134
RE: Mistakes I've made along the way
Trying to be too low impact. Im pretty picky when it comes to doing anything and everything possible to not put added pressure on the deer. But this led to some frustrating early season hunts because I just relied on what worked last season, when we had an awesome early season. A couple early season scouting trips would have put me in better position but I was too stuck on being as low impact as possible. Take a deep breath, remember you're out there having fun and enjoyin nature and just walk through the woods and see what you can find.
12-10-2008, 09:02 PM
#20
Banned
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: IOWA/25' UP
Posts: 7,145
RE: Mistakes I've made along the way
Awesome post and I have done all of theabove when I didn't know better too..and when I did know better, but still did it. 
1.Dressing too warm on the way to my stand location not bringing clothesto avoidgettin sweaty and cold..a big no no. Not dressing appropriately and then being too cold to handle the hunt
2. Only hunting early am andlate pm and not hunting mid day during the prerut peack rut and post rut. The best times to be on stand I have discovered is a lot of times mid day or mid am.
3. Not improvising and makinga known good location work because of not using my imagination and makin it work.
4. Dumbest mistake I ever used to make was thinking I could just spray myself down with some scent spray and get away with the wind not in my favor perfectly. You can't fool a whitetails nose. I don't use any cover sprays or lure scents anymore.
5. Poor stand selection location and not being able to read how deer are going to move through a given area
1.Dressing too warm on the way to my stand location not bringing clothesto avoidgettin sweaty and cold..a big no no. Not dressing appropriately and then being too cold to handle the hunt
2. Only hunting early am andlate pm and not hunting mid day during the prerut peack rut and post rut. The best times to be on stand I have discovered is a lot of times mid day or mid am.
3. Not improvising and makinga known good location work because of not using my imagination and makin it work.
4. Dumbest mistake I ever used to make was thinking I could just spray myself down with some scent spray and get away with the wind not in my favor perfectly. You can't fool a whitetails nose. I don't use any cover sprays or lure scents anymore.
5. Poor stand selection location and not being able to read how deer are going to move through a given area