• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

My challenge to you

redsquirrel said:
I challenge you to not buy a new piece of gear this season. More likely than not you have equipment that is better than you had even 5 years ago and more than good enough to help you kill whitetails.

In place of new gear purchases I propose you spend an extra XX number of days in the woods this post season scouting. This will bring you more success next fall than your next purchase.

*Replacement items like arrows, broadheads, strings, new boots for the ones that leak are permitted, etc.

Best of luck!
Click to expand...
Don’t know whether to love it or laugh. Love the idea but laughable nonetheless
 
MattMan81 said:
Okay. But answer this truthfully @redsquirrel

How much gear did you purchase last season? How much more scouting did you do?
Did you scout and locate the two 10pts you took off season???
Click to expand...
The only gear I purchased was a new bow (and I went with a bear off ebay) because 2 days before the season one of my limbs splintered, and a sladder to try out because I've been waiting to see it since it was announced. I've made a few gear purchases over the past few years to try new things out but I'm mostly using the same setup for 6-7 years now. More than anything I'm apt to pick up an extra of something that I already have and love when it pops up in the classifieds than to buy the "latest and greatest" at this point.

How much scouting did I do? - hard for me to put a number on it. In 2022 I tagged out with my bow on Nov 1st. Usually I start scouting for the next year as soon as I tag out, whenever that may be. I did a little bit of gun hunting but not much and spent more time scouting than hunting after that. I still enjoy gun hunting but bow hunting is my passion and I love scouting as much as hunting so many times I will skip gun hunting in the late season and scout instead. I would honestly guess between 15-20 days, some days as short as 2-3 hours, others as much as 6-8. I had the entire week of thanksgiving off and I spent most of those days scouting. This year I spent a lot of time in the late season duck hunting and was combining duck scouting with deer scouting so I have areas I have to go back and focus on more specifically for deer. But I would say at least a dozen trips out since I shot my last buck. I did a bunch of scouting in October also while I was tagged out waiting for my new tags to come in. I can't scout like I did before we had 2 kids but I can also say I can scout smarter now than I did then. Scouting for me has become more of a part of my lifestyle than something I have to do. The rush that I get when I find a spot that is clearly holding a nice buck is close to the one you get when you actually shoot one. But you get to daydream about that spot all year :).

I don't hunt specific bucks as in I know the specific buck that I am targeting usually. I hunt specific areas where I know nice bucks have told me there are living. My first 10 pointer with the bow this year I did locate where I shot him in the post season, or actually I think it was during a late season scouting session. I came back during a nasty rain storm about a week before I shot him to see if the area still looked good. It did, I picked which tree I would climb and my next hunt in was when he showed up. My second 10 pointer was on a piece of property that has a 4 day limited hunt where you're only allowed in a couple weeks before the start to scout. I had located and hunted once this area last year and once allowed in I did a one day speed scouting session through the couple previous spots I had found and to see if I could find any new ones. This was really the only spot that I had any real faith in so I decided that since it was the rut I was going to spend all of my time on this hunt at this spot. I hunted something like 9-3 the first day and saw a spike, and the second day saw a doe around 10 and had him show up between 11-12.
 
So I did this challenge 2 years ago. Partly too see if I could and partly because funds were limited with an addition to the family. When I came across something that I really wanted or would have bought without the challenge I put it on the list. Then as the year went on and especially during season I went back and modified and a lot of time completely removed items I thought I had needed earlier. I ended up with a list of things that I ultimately bought after the season was over. It actually didn't end up being much. I enjoyed it because I was still paying attention to gear and keeping up with new releases and reviews without impulse buying things.
 
Have a Mathews 33 inch Lift bow already ordered along with arrows, arrow rest a stabilizer a HAA sight . Bought 2 wiseeye cell cams and some more Spy High camera mounts. So I'm out.
 
redsquirrel said:
Lol. I used it once in the woods. I need to practice with it more in the offseason to see if I can get comfortable with it. It still may find a place in my system but I don’t see myself giving up my stepps. They’re too adaptable.
Click to expand...
I’d say sell it in the classifieds but now someone will retag this post everytime you list something :tearsofjoy:

Truthfully I’m kind of curious about the sladder myself but I am hard pressed to give up rope climbing.
 
redsquirrel said:
I challenge you to not buy a new piece of gear this season. More likely than not you have equipment that is better than you had even 5 years ago and more than good enough to help you kill whitetails.

In place of new gear purchases I propose you spend an extra XX number of days in the woods this post season scouting. This will bring you more success next fall than your next purchase.

*Replacement items like arrows, broadheads, strings, new boots for the ones that leak are permitted, etc.

Best of luck!
Click to expand...
Does it count it you buy it from someone else? Asking for a “friend” @DroptineKrazy
 
Weldabeast said:
New licences, thermacell refills, permethrin, and gas in the truck and I'm all set
Click to expand...
This sounds like my yearly expenditure list for hunting. Gas is my biggest expense. I normally budget $600 for gas from October 1st to January 31st. Any money left over just goes into more scouting trips.

My guess is 40 to 45 trips during season, 25 to 30 scouting trips during the off season and 20 to 25 days turkey hunting which are almost always turkey in the morning that morph into scouting trips after the hunt. So, taking the low numbers I am probably in the woods 85 days a year. Probably 300 miles of walking.
 
For everyone who is laughing or saying they bought something already so they're out, you're missing the point. The idea is if you get out and put more time in the woods it will do more for your success than that next gear purchase.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top