WantBuck

I have not had much luck yet this year so I plan on hunting a full day tommorw.I have some questions about this because this is going to be my first attempt to hunt all day.
How do I prepare,what kind of foods should I bring,how do I keep myself motivated to stay all day,etc...?Seems like I have a million more questions to ask but i'm drawing a blank right.Just give me your tips and suggestions if you don't mind sharing.
Thanks,
JE

BowHuntingFool

Don't eat too much![:-]

FL/GA Hunter

Dried fruit and granola bars will keep your hunger satiated, along with plenty of water. Then I just pack a sandwich. Something you might want to do is unwrap the granola bars and put them in a plastic baggy (no sound while on the stand). A roll of toilet paper is a must.

Now, on how to do it - my method is different from somebody like my dad. I'm the most patient stand-sitter you'll ever see, so I can just get into a stand and stay there, period. What my dad does, though, since he's a little more antsy, is have three or four stands picked out with definite routes between them. Get in stand A, sit it from daybreak to.. say 9 or 10, then get down, stretch your legs, and walk to stand B. Sit that till mid-afternoon, then move to stand C for the evening. Having a walk to look forward to helps, rather than thinking 'man, it's 11:30, and I've got like 6 more hours to sit.'

Another way to do it is to bring, say, 5 or 6 things to do or look at... like a particular snack, a magazine article, the sports section, or going to the cell phone in the truck to say hi to somebody. Then you have a schedule, which helps you look forward to the next part of your day.

Good luck!

Firehawk7309

I personally try to stay in the stand as long as humanly possible. I take some trail mix or something to snack on, maybe a sandwich. I also bring something to drink in small plastic bottles. I agree with FL/GA, find something to pass the time in the stand if possible. Too often, I've had the "bug" to get down, for one reason or another, and that's when I spook deer. It also helps that I know the approximate time deer should be heading through my area. This keeps me focused and interested in staying put.

WantBuck

Well I went today and I as I stated above I have'nt had much luck.I still have'nt killed my first deer and their she was......a nice doe.I'd say she was about 25 yards away.I sighted her in and was ready to pull the trigger,pulled it and all I heard was tick!!!!!They were gone.It took me a minute to gather my thoughts because there she was,I was pumped,pulled the trigger and tick.My emotions were going nuts.Well after I was calmed and thinking straight I thought for some reason I may have not had one in the chamber.Pulled the pump back and their it was.I went and shot a few rounds to make sure it was'nt my gun,shot fine.I guess I got a bad slug.I've shot this gun with these slugs several times,had no problem till I sighted in on a deer.

Man this sucks
JE

BowHuntingFool

Ouch!!!!!!

Firehawk7309

Sometimes your the windshield, sometimes your the bug. Try not to get frustrated (as hard as that can be). You obviously did something right because you had an opportunity to get a deer in your sights. Keep working at it, it will happen. It's called hunting because it ain't easy. Good luck.