Hours per Deer. How much hunting per kill?
 

Sitting in a tree that I had climbed yesterday, with a mild fever and a little stomach distress, I started pondering what it is about hunting that obcesses me. I did some scouting, and planning before Bow season started. I Got lucky and tood a Doe the 3rd day of Bow season. At that point, I would have to say that my time investment wasn't high. But I have continued to hunt the whole year and had only one other shot at a deer (I missed with my rifle three days ago). So if I figure it, with just Hunting time I may have spent 100 hours in the woods this year. Not too bad . But if I counted the scouting and added iin the 5 prior years of hunting where all I killed was time it's easily up over 500. I used to take week long trips to a cabin ( and still never managed to take a deer).

So how many hours have you invested per deer this year?

RE: Hours per Deer. How much hunting per kill?
 

This year I sat in a portable tree stand about a total of twenty hours before getting a nice doe, missed a doe earlier in the week with my 44 magnum peep sights, put on my scope, sighted it in, then got my doe two days later. I love sitting in the woods, one day I sat there until there was about 2 or 3 inches of snow on me.

-Camp_13

RE: Hours per Deer. How much hunting per kill?
 

I refuse to answer that question for fear of embarassing myself with number of hours per deer counting scouting and hunting!!!! LOL I say this I have not been skunked in years, but I will also say that I have earned every deer I have taken.

If you have been hunting for 5 years and did not have a mentor, 500 hours all total is not to bad to get your first, I had two men who had thousands of hours of huntng under their belts that taught me how to deer hunt, I got my first deer the first year I hunted, but it was thier experience that sett me up on geeting my first.

Remember the more hours you put in the more deer you will get, and the longer you hunt the fewer hours you will have between kills.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club

RE: Hours per Deer. How much hunting per kill?
 

whoa interesting question
hmmmmm
okay let me see here
i would say well over 100 hours for bow with nothing, rifle i put in about 2 hours and got a 5 point, then about another 40 hours with rifle with nothing.
Now onto muzzleloader....who knows :-)

Jennings Buckmaster Bow
.50 Cal Thompson Center Renegade

RE: Hours per Deer. How much hunting per kill?
 

As my old mining friends would say "A SH!+LOAD"
but I never looked at it that way. I've managed to take 6 so far this year, with 4 days left. You can bet tomorrow am I will be trying to add to that total. In 35 yrs I can't tell you how many deer I've killed. I would guess at least 200. Sounds like a lot. But there is a lot of time put in there. Some years I have killed a bunch. some years none. Some days I killed one within 15 mins. a lot of days not even seeing anything. I do find it easier as I get older. Put your time in and it will come.

Good Luck. Capt Brad.

RE: Hours per Deer. How much hunting per kill?
 

Tazman. I put in most of that time with no mentor. My first wife's father and brother both hunted. I was allowed access to some family land, but they offered to take me along and they didn't offer much to me in advice. I picked the brain of everyone I could, read everything I could and just worked at it. I am not a great hunter by any stretch. 6 years of hunting and 1 deer. I look forward to when my sons are old enough to go hunting with me. Just the time spent driving to and from the hunt or skinning and butchering the game. I love it more and more every time I go.

David

RE: Hours per Deer. How much hunting per kill?
 

this year was kinda sick for me...i grouse hunted the area we hunted last year...decided that it was still the ultimate stand gave it a name(the last stand...like custards last stand lol..dad named it lol) and built up some extra brush around the old dead tree pile..took 20 mins max..first day rolls around...first light dad let one walk because he had to make sure it wasnt a buck with less than 3 pts...about 20 mins later my dad drops his doe(button buck with barely bumps.. and a big fat body)..while hes gutting it i was standing there and a few deer ran by..i shoot and drop one..a big cow doe..thats at 8am..sit back down and at 925am i take a 6pt buck...i was in the woods by 530am that morning and tagged out by 930.. so 4 hours i took 2 deer and dad took 1...and about an hour and a half isnt legal shooting time....i must say i like the last stand very much! thats like an hour a deer for us id say..but beleive me it rarely goes that way...thats how it fell this year..then the first saturday in the last stand we were in the woods at the same time and dad dropped his second doe at 8am i think it was...it took us a while to find that spot in previous season and finding the exact log jam to hide in...but this year it all came together perfect and made for a rather exciting day for us..

RE: Hours per Deer. How much hunting per kill?
 

Had a real fast year I guess you could say,, shot a doe with my bow on the second afternoon I hunted,, so total archery 7 hours. Gun hunt in another area, sat for 4 hours on the openner went in for lunch. Came back out an hour later and took my pick of 3 bucks standing in the pasture I had been watching. So for me total of 12 hours 1 bow kill, 1 gun kill.

Put in about 120 hours of scouting though!!

RE: Hours per Deer. How much hunting per kill?
 

I wish I knew how to edit my previous post. I meant to say that they didn't offer me any help. Except to say that they didn't approve of my choice of weapon.

David

RE: Hours per Deer. How much hunting per kill?
 

hunting is kinda like golf... You can play 18 holes of golf, lose 3 balls off the tees, 3 balls on water hazzards, 3 balls that hooked so bad that you prefered not to walk 2 fairways over to hit it back into play, 3-putt 17 holes, but on the 18th tee, you wacked a 300 yard drive down the middle, get lucky and make par on it, and suddenly you forget about the other 103 shots, and only remember about the one drive!

I can sit on a stand for hours on end, but the glimpse of a deer suddenly makes the prior hours count.... a deer within shooting range, but without an actual shot counts for about 1 month's worth of hunting, a missed shot on a buck can stay on your mind a whole year (I had dreams about the one I misssed last year until I got my deer this past november)....

It's kinda like the Visa commercial: Hunting: Priceless!

RE: Hours per Deer. How much hunting per kill?
 

If I simply wanted to kill a legal deer my season would never last a full hour.Since I am fussy about the deer I shoot I probably average a week per deer killed.

RE: Hours per Deer. How much hunting per kill?
 

Its like stubblejumper said Its not a matter of just killing a deer because thats easy, its finding one that meets your standard. That has been as short as ten minutes and other tmes it might take the whole season .

RE: Hours per Deer. How much hunting per kill?
 

Lets see here. 7 days in a week, 24hrs in a day x .88343 x pie(apple if you have it,woops wrong pie)devided by the sum of the square over 9,carry the 6 and lets see....yes, a whole s-it load.<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle> but you know since I dont think about time while Im out there I just really dont care. To me it is nothing but pure injoyment.
Rick

Lifes not about knowing the answers, its about asking the questions.

RE: Hours per Deer. How much hunting per kill?
 

If I spent that much extra time on my job, I'd probably be on the cover of Newsweek magazine. Anyway, It's a hobby, just like people who golf or watch football on TV. I like to do it.

RE: Hours per Deer. How much hunting per kill?
 

Anywhere from a couple hours to nine days. 1996 = 1 1/2 hours. 1997 4 hours. 1998 2nd day. 1999 did'nt get one. 2000 4 hours. 2001 3 hours. 2002 9 days. :)<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

It aint Braggin if you back it up...

RE: Hours per Deer. How much hunting per kill?
 

This year I probably spent 45-60 hours in the field & ended up shooting the wrong buck.. last year I killed out in the first 2 1/2 hours my first day out & 15-25 hours the year before. Total hours hunting?? LOTS!! I spend more time scouting & watching than hunting.

RE: Hours per Deer. How much hunting per kill?
 

6 deer 01 season;(1 Buck,5 Doe)5hrs+- per deer.Passed on twice that many - Good year!

1 deer 02 season;so far minimum 10hrs+-.1 Doe kill,1 Doe wounded lost in marsh,passed on 1 button + 1 small Buck.2 seasons coming up in Jan.

02 so far - Lousy season,summer drought,wet fall drowned out woods,fields,food plots - worst season in years,for me anyway.

Great season for ducks,geese!

It ain't over yet!!

RE: Hours per Deer. How much hunting per kill?
 

Overall for the last 5 years or so that I restarted hunting after a 20 year lay off I take 2-4 deer a year and hunt 150 to 200 hours. scouting since I live on the property is hard to put a number on but when i go into the woods just to scout probably another 50 hours per season. Last year I took a spike on opening day and diddent see another deer for six weeks ( 100 houirs or so in my tree) As my wife puts it to those who call, Phils in his tree!! One shot one kill Striper Phil

Edited by - striper phil on 01/02/2003 05:32:07

RE: Hours per Deer. How much hunting per kill?
 

Ditto stubblejumper and halcon. I have a personal standard (to each his own). Passed up 28 bucks and many does...103 in 141 tree stand hours, (This does not reflect scouting and stand preparation.) (I keep a log) before I took a nice 9'r. Just being in my tree is almost as good as harvesting. (almost)

PS This is just bow, Gun I lower my standards and it's easy. (any buck then)

&quot;Semper Fi&quot;

Edited by - basserman on 01/02/2003 06:59:05