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Things you've learned (no gear allowed)

Be a good dad, husband, friend, brother, son...that stuff comes first.

Always and never are ideations that hunters should immediately toss in the trash.

Deer aren't smart in any sort of strategic or intellectual sense. Because hunting is tough for a litany of reasons, we tend to assign them smarts way beyond what they actually have. They respond to simple stimuli. They are prey animals, they are wired to survive. They don't see particularly well and their hearing isn't any better than ours. But you can't trick their nose. Don't overthink it though. I believe paranoia about spooking deer handicaps a lot of hunters to hunt in stupid places.

Related, deer snort in the woods a lot for a lot of different reasons. Your hunt isn't over by any means because you were winded and a deer snorted at you a few times.

In bowhunting, much of the conventional wisdom regarding shot distances and angles is garbage. Learn from experience, screw up a few times, learn anatomy by butchering your own deer, and develop your own criteria. Personally I tend to be a lot more aggressive with angles than conventional wisdom, but I am very conservative with distance.

Deer on alert jump the string...most of the time. Unalert deer don't...most of the time. I go to great lengths to shoot at unalert deer. Merping is a last resort.

Tracking advice....in the vast majority of circumstances, wait. If you don't have visual confirmation of a dead animal, wait at least an hour before even looking for the arrow. Any inclination or doubt whatsoever, wait. Wait a few times longer than you think you should, then wait some more.

Cyber scouting was great circa 2005. Everyone does it now. If a place looks great, it does to a lot of other people too. There simply is no replacement for eyes and boots on the ground.

For most of us this is a hobby. Remember to keep it fun and novel. Stay humble. Figure out what part of the whole hunting process is most enjoyable and personalize your experiences for max fun. Don't get caught up in external pressures.
 
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Don't be afraid to change plans, and dont limit yourself to being "just a sadle hunter" or just "some type of hunter". The one good shot I had this year I missed(literally). I walked past a ladder stand on my property with some great sign one morning(and had repetitively seen good sign there), right over to a preset about 130 yards away. Climbed up my preset bolts and hung in the guidos. about 8am a nice looking doe appeared...about 20 yrds from the LADDER STAND. I took a shot through the hardack's, wind, snow, with my open sites ML and pulled it, horrible trigger release. Missed. It was 108 yards when I walked it and ranged it. If I had been in the ladder stand it would have been a broadside shot at 20 yards. Easy as pie. But I didnt feel like "sitting in a ladder stand". Would have had meat in the freezer though.
 
Logging roads, two tracks, any access road are human hwys. Hunters will put miles really endless miles on these hwys. But will rarely get a few hundred yds off them and even less depending on terrain & cover. You can’t out walk the next guy if it’s a blazed trails so I gave that up yrs ago.
 
Cbigbear said:
Logging roads, two tracks, any access road are human hwys. Hunters will put miles really endless miles on these hwys. But will rarely get a few hundred yds off them and even less depending on terrain & cover. You can’t out walk the next guy if it’s a blazed trails so I gave that up yrs ago.
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I'm going to cheat at my own game here. Buy a pin-on compass and never walk the woods without it. And (cheat over)...

Pay attention to directions. Which way does your office chair face? Which way does your kitchen sink window face? How many miles is it to work? What constellations can you see during hunting season in your area? Down here it can be hard to find the dippers or the pole star, but Sirius, Orion, Taurus, and the Pleiades all travel from southeast to southwest during deer season. Also, did you know the sun actually rises in the southeast and sets in the southwest?

Use edges to navigate on "autopilot." Break a property down and identify sections where you can box yourself in and eliminate the fear of being lost. For example, one 800 or so acre piece of property I hunt is very thick and swampy with no interior roads. Hard to navigate, especially in the foggy dark. But I have the peace of mind knowing there's a highway to the north, well marked property line to the east, a lake to the south, and a river to the west. Worse case scenario (compass and gps die and I'm slap in the middle of the property) all I have to do is maintain a straight line and I'll hit one of those boundaries and onow exactly where I am and how to get back to the truck.

Nothing will train you to navigate big woods like run'n'gun squirrel hunting. You're following a bark or whine across whatever gets in your way. Creeks, swamps, briars, palmettos, you follow the barking all morning, bouncing from tree to tree. Then you have to get back to the truck. Get good at that, and navigating to your deer stand becomes a cake-walk

Always look "across the property line" when you're analyzing an area. It's easy to only consider what you can access, and overlook the fact that there's a highly managed hunting club next door to your public land, or a huge corn field a mile away, or a 300 acre stand of young pines that all the deer in the county are bedded in.
 
Water - apparently water is taboo in most places. In the Deep South water is a huge draw, everyone owns a boat & most own a couple. It’s easier to motor, paddle, or push than it is to walk so water being a barrier is out. Also everyone owns hip boots or waders. You can find the occasional too shallow to navigate creek or slough with steep high banks that limits access, but in general water isn’t a limiting factor it’s a plus here.

Now with it being mostly flat steep ridge(s) without access rds are a limiting factor.

Areas with designed parking are also great. While walking logging rds is a favorite pass time, walking gravel or blacktop with traffic isn’t. The walks don’t have to be long either.
 
1. I'd rather be turkey hunting.

2. Don't move every time you hear something behind you. If you listen long enough you will be able to tell what it is.

3. If you are hunting afternoon/evening, DON'T get down until it is officially over which in my woods is 30 minutes after official sunset.
 
BTaylor said:
Marry a woman that would rather save money than spend it and demands that the man of the house keep the freezer full of wild game.
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I’m 1 for 2 on that. My wife the other day. “So are you going to only eat venison for the rest of your life as a beef substitute or what?”
 
Being my first married year of hunting, I learned a few things. Most of them were about myself. This conversation happened a few times. Y'all are welcome to use it in your relationships.
Wife: You going tomorrow.
Me: Yes.
Wife: You can stay all day/go if <insert condition>.
Me: I don't negotiate with terrorists.
 
iamcorey said:
Being my first married year of hunting, I learned a few things. Most of them were about myself. This conversation happened a few times. Y'all are welcome to use it in your relationships.
Wife: You going tomorrow.
Me: Yes.
Wife: You can stay all day/go if <insert condition>.
Me: I don't negotiate with terrorists.
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HA!

In all honesty, I was also reminded of how important time in the woods is to me mentally. I didnt get out much, probably half as much as the year before, but Even just a few hours in the woods clears my mind for the whole day. BUT, I also learned that where I"m at in my life hunting is a privilege, not a right or priority. Having a 4 year old and a 1 year old turns your world upside down--but not in a bad way. There were many days that I knew my wife was up all night with the baby and I was halfway out the door in full camo at 5am, and the baby was screaming and I turned around and sat in the rocking chair with him instead and let my wife sleep a few more hours...

So I learned to enjoy the time I did have in the woods the absolute best I could, and to be patient and know that there will be more time to be had in the future, hopwfully with one or both of my sons at my side.
 
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iamcorey said:
Being my first married year of hunting, I learned a few things. Most of them were about myself. This conversation happened a few times. Y'all are welcome to use it in your relationships.
Wife: You going tomorrow.
Me: Yes.
Wife: You can stay all day/go if <insert condition>.
Me: I don't negotiate with terrorists.
Click to expand...

First year married hunting here as well. I took off a couple weekends early season instead of going hunting first to show her that she is a priority to me. I took off work for 2 weeks to spend Christmas in Oregon with her folks to show her she is a priority me. Unfortunately, that went completely unnoticed. It took a couple of rough arguments to hash it out. I can’t hunt Sunday’s here anyway so I told her that Sunday are hers after church, that gives me Saturday and possibly Friday afternoon to hunt. I truly believe resentment can kill marriages. We got into it a few times and I explained to her that if she makes me feel guilty for hunting I won’t go and I’ll resent her for that. She felt resentment towards me wether I was hunting or not because she felt that when I was with her she “knew” I really would rather be hunting. It finally came down to her understanding that hunting is something that I enjoy both for pleasure and relief and that it’s unfair her to fair to resent me for enjoying my past time, especially when I was making time for her. She also had to get over HER mindset that if I’m with her I’d rather be somewhere else. I’m not a beat around the bush person and she is definitely a beat a around the bush person. Basically, if I’m not hunting and I’m spending time with her it’s because I want to. It’s me consciously making her a priority. She finally accepted this towards the latter part of season and was actually encouraging me to hunt. She even told me to get up and go a few mornings or I’d regret being lazy in bed. I have a great wife and I know she just wants to spend time with me, but my goodness is she ever the most hard-headed, tender-hearted person.

TLDR: Do not neglect love ones to go hunting. Take care of your woman/business and leave no excuse for them to dissuade you not to go.
 
gcr0003 said:
First year married hunting here as well. I took off a couple weekends early season instead of going hunting first to show her that she is a priority to me. I took off work for 2 weeks to spend Christmas in Oregon with her folks to show her she is a priority me. Unfortunately, that went completely unnoticed. It took a couple of rough arguments to hash it out. I can’t hunt Sunday’s here anyway so I told her that Sunday are hers after church, that gives me Saturday and possibly Friday afternoon to hunt. I truly believe resentment can kill marriages. We got into it a few times and I explained to her that if she makes me feel guilty for hunting I won’t go and I’ll resent her for that. She felt resentment towards me wether I was hunting or not because she felt that when I was with her she “knew” I really would rather be hunting. It finally came down to her understanding that hunting is something that I enjoy both for pleasure and relief and that it’s unfair her to fair to resent me for enjoying my past time, especially when I was making time for her. She also had to get over HER mindset that if I’m with her I’d rather be somewhere else. I’m not a beat around the bush person and she is definitely a beat a around the bush person. Basically, if I’m not hunting and I’m spending time with her it’s because I want to. It’s me consciously making her a priority. She finally accepted this towards the latter part of season and was actually encouraging me to hunt. She even told me to get up and go a few mornings or I’d regret being lazy in bed. I have a great wife and I know she just wants to spend time with me, but my goodness is she ever the most hard-headed, tender-hearted person.

TLDR: Do not neglect love ones to go hunting. Take care of your woman/business and leave no excuse for them to dissuade you not to go.
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You will have to "re-train" her next hunting season....trust me I've been married 30 years. ;-)
 
gcr0003 said:
First year married hunting here as well. I took off a couple weekends early season instead of going hunting first to show her that she is a priority to me. I took off work for 2 weeks to spend Christmas in Oregon with her folks to show her she is a priority me. Unfortunately, that went completely unnoticed. It took a couple of rough arguments to hash it out. I can’t hunt Sunday’s here anyway so I told her that Sunday are hers after church, that gives me Saturday and possibly Friday afternoon to hunt. I truly believe resentment can kill marriages. We got into it a few times and I explained to her that if she makes me feel guilty for hunting I won’t go and I’ll resent her for that. She felt resentment towards me wether I was hunting or not because she felt that when I was with her she “knew” I really would rather be hunting. It finally came down to her understanding that hunting is something that I enjoy both for pleasure and relief and that it’s unfair her to fair to resent me for enjoying my past time, especially when I was making time for her. She also had to get over HER mindset that if I’m with her I’d rather be somewhere else. I’m not a beat around the bush person and she is definitely a beat a around the bush person. Basically, if I’m not hunting and I’m spending time with her it’s because I want to. It’s me consciously making her a priority. She finally accepted this towards the latter part of season and was actually encouraging me to hunt. She even told me to get up and go a few mornings or I’d regret being lazy in bed. I have a great wife and I know she just wants to spend time with me, but my goodness is she ever the most hard-headed, tender-hearted person.

TLDR: Do not neglect love ones to go hunting. Take care of your woman/business and leave no excuse for them to dissuade you not to go.
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LOL, I’m 30 years into marriage and my wife hunts and fishes with me! Trust me, it’s too expensive this way! Double everything! I’m glad you got it worked out!!!’
 
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