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What did you learn this hunting season?

Jimdude said:
I just learned now, after 12 years, that I married the right woman. My wife encourages me to hunt as often as possible because she loves venison. And still, it looks like I’m eating tag soup 2 years in a row.
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Button bucks and spikes are delicious. Unless your season’s kaput, put one of them in the freezer and she’ll be stoked.
 
THill202 said:
I learned that it is not possible, for me, to compromise enough to satisfy my wife while also expecting any sort of consistent success.
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Please don't take this the wrong way, I am not a expert but some of you guys may have started your marriage off on the wrong foot.
I have been married for over 42 years to the same women.
When we were first married, my wife heard me peeing and when I came out of the bathroom, she asked me if I put the toilet seat down!

Do you know the correct answer?

The correct answer is NO. I never put the toilet seat up!
You have to let them know who is boss from day one!
 
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I learned after 23 years hunting the same place, that the timber company has destroyed where i hunt(cut down 50 % of the oaks that pull deer off the lakebed).
That the timber company does not care that you marked your stand, they will cut it all down,
And that 9 days before opening archery ..they will come in and cut some more and leave before archery starts .
Not going back after the turkey season.
 
I did everything right on the my clothing, stand placements, scent control, hours hunted but when the moment of truth happened I choked not once but twice at the same buck ( stuck him high shoulder and second shot 3 weeks later stuck him above the spine) Middle back. The shop said my axis was off must have bumped my bow. So besides the axis being off I have a tendency to not bend at the waist. This off season I’ll practice like crazy and will never just drop the bow arm. Other than this I was happy with sightings And the entire hunt season. Still stings every day. That was a good buck too!!! And I have a neoprene scope cover too.
 
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DelaWhere_Arrow said:
This is a POV I hadn’t considered but it makes a LOT of
THill202 said:
I learned that it is not possible, for me, to compromise enough to satisfy my wife while also expecting any sort of consistent success.
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There is no satisfaction....ever. The good news is it's quiet on the other side of the door
sense. Like, “duh” levels of making sense.
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A lot! 1st thing sticking out is to DRAW YOUR BOW!! I can hold my 60#s and 85% lo a long time…….I practice it a lot but it’s time for putting it in action!! Like a bunch of others round here, I’ve learned if you don’t make a move to kill the deer, you ain’t killing the deer!
Second is how much movement you can get away with if you’re watching them……actually quite a bit! And if you blow out deer on the way in, that just means they are close And you picked a good spot!
Third is that I am wasting my time if I can see 50 yards all the way around me. One side needs to be impenetrable at least…….that’s where they live on public lands.

Stay til dark! I got a young buck luckily as I was getting down Just after sunset. I actually put my arrow in my quiver, got out rappel rope , then I heard him! I actually got mad, renocked an arrow, put on my release and was ready to draw, knees against tree. I looked back and he was at 20, head down. Just then, another deer under my feet stomped off. I looked back and he was still there! I stood, turned and drew back. He had gon 10 yards away and facing directly away from me. I couldn’t find him in my sights, had to look away and get my bearings cause now he is 30ish…….and time was running out! Once my pin settled on him, is said mehh, then louder mehhh, he looking at me facing away, finally I yell at him and he turns broadside. The arrow just took off and drilled him. He ducked and turned but the arrow went in way back just behind ribs, but forwards right into the spine and he dropped! Thinking I need to hit him again, I nocked another and hit an X! Right through the heart and he just laid his head down! My shooting confidence also went way up as this was only my second bow deer!
 
Rutman said:
I learned I gotta stay the heck out of bottoms and hunt more off the side of ridges.. but I’ve known this for a long time. It’s a trap I fall into every year.


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I gave your post a HA Ha because I felt the opposite, I did not see much up high, LOL.
 
I learned to never get lazy with my shooting regimen. I was consistent all summer/fall until I shot my 3rd buck of the season in early November. I relaxed after that and barely shot. Blew my opportunity on the biggest buck I’ve had in bow range all season last week when I gave him a haircut on his back at 37 yards. Need to stay on top of my mental game when shooting on a live animal. I’ve killed 13 bucks since my last miss but it still stings and makes me feel incompetent
 
bfriendly said:
A lot! 1st thing sticking out is to DRAW YOUR BOW!! I can hold my 60#s and 85% lo a long time…….I practice it a lot but it’s time for putting it in action!! Like a bunch of others round here, I’ve learned if you don’t make a move to kill the deer, you ain’t killing the deer!
Second is how much movement you can get away with if you’re watching them……actually quite a bit! And if you blow out deer on the way in, that just means they are close And you picked a good spot!
Third is that I am wasting my time if I can see 50 yards all the way around me. One side needs to be impenetrable at least…….that’s where they live on public lands.

Stay til dark! I got a young buck luckily as I was getting down Just after sunset. I actually put my arrow in my quiver, got out rappel rope , then I heard him! I actually got mad, renocked an arrow, put on my release and was ready to draw, knees against tree. I looked back and he was at 20, head down. Just then, another deer under my feet stomped off. I looked back and he was still there! I stood, turned and drew back. He had gon 10 yards away and facing directly away from me. I couldn’t find him in my sights, had to look away and get my bearings cause now he is 30ish…….and time was running out! Once my pin settled on him, is said mehh, then louder mehhh, he looking at me facing away, finally I yell at him and he turns broadside. The arrow just took off and drilled him. He ducked and turned but the arrow went in way back just behind ribs, but forwards right into the spine and he dropped! Thinking I need to hit him again, I nocked another and hit an X! Right through the heart and he just laid his head down! My shooting confidence also went way up as this was only my second bow deer!
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Dude I thought this was spot on. Pretty much every word has paralleled my experience (admittedly limited) and expectations even. Also, I draw 60# at 80% and I just upped it from 53ish this past summer. The difference at first was surprising and I even got a little shoulder fatigue but I kept shooting a few arrows a day and still at least one arrow every day or two. It’s critical. I can draw my bow easily now and my arrow performance/shooting/awareness has benefited from my small amount of discipline.
 
I learned a few things.

1.) I have been working on a small piece of family land, converting it back to native habitat. I learned that there is a break-over point where the habitat just sort of switches from not holding deer to holding them. 5 years of habitat work, and the deer numbers this specific season exploded compared to the last 5. Before this season, it felt like I was doing all the work for nothing. After this season, I can REALLY tell it is improving.

2.) Cameras only see what is in front of them. Directly in front of them (20+\- yards). If you don’t happen to have it in JUST the right spot, you will have no clue what is around. Don’t trust just cameras. Observation sits are worth their weight in Gold. Case in point, I had a feeder on my family place, and the 2 cell cameras I had on the place (one of them on the feeder) had zero deer for a week and a half. I decided to hunt it anyways, and come to find out… does were hitting the food plot it was in and not coming to the corn. 15 yards from getting pictures. And bucks were coming about 120 yards downwind and scent/visually checking for does through a gap in the cover on the creek the food plot is against. Which put one at a 70 yard rifle shot. Camera never saw him, but there was a pretty decent trail in the native grass when I walked up on his body.

3.) Using a rifle this season after bowhunting for so long almost feels like cheating. I used the same archery tactics from my last 10 years of hunting, and just doubled the distances of my setups for the rifle. I had deer everywhere, and could have shot more does and bucks this year than I have ever had a chance at.


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  • Sometimes a turkey call is the best deer call
  • Even when you practice drawing like @bfriendly said, you still have to have good purchase with your feet and good body angle when drawing from the saddle or that string will never find your anchor cuz you won’t be able to fully draw
 
Get out hunting more than 5 times in a year....
Don't miss the city hunt competency test date by 1 day or you won't be able to get out as often near your house...
also I learned I need to start ground hunting to make things simpler to pick up and leave at a moments notice...I'm gonna go buy a pacseat now.....
 
GeoFish said:
Please don't take this the wrong way, I am not a expert but some of you guys may have started your marriage off on the wrong foot.
I have been married for over 42 years to the same women.
When we were first married, my wife heard me peeing and when I came out of the bathroom, she asked me if I put the toilet seat down!

Do you know the correct answer?

The correct answer is NO. I never put the toilet seat up!
You have to let them know who is boss from day one!
Click to expand...
In my house I make my wife put the toilet seat up after she uses it!!!:cool:
 
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