Well, today was hard, but a good lesson. well, a good handful of lessons. this is my first hunting season, and I've only been able to get out a few times so far, each one is quite the learning experience, but I'm definitely learning lessons the hard way. here's the mistakes/lessons:
1. My boots. probably the worst decision today. I haven't bought a good pair of hunting boots yet, so tried to use my old EMS boots instead of sneakers like I've used in the past - big mistake. They don't fit exactly right so I gave myself a nickel sized blister on the back of my heel hoofing it all over the place today (I hiked about 4 miles round trip). Also, they are HEAVY. it was not the right choice of footwear and I threw them in a clothing donation bin on the way home ( I haven't been an EMT in over a decade so don't think I'll miss them). Don't use a long hike to test out "new" footwear, particularly if you chose some thinner socks to make them "fit better". It doesn't work.
2. Water. I didn't bring enough. I sweated my arse off (more on this later) on the way in so had finished my 24 oz water bottle before i got the platform in the tree. I'm still pretty dehydrated and cramping, won't make that mistake again. thankfully i did bring my lifestraw, so drank a bit from one of the streams i crossed (clear, flowing, smelled sweet, and nothing dead upsteam as far as I could tell). I also didn't eat enough in the morning before going out so generally felt like crap by the time i got set up.
3. Pack. I've been using an old kelty backpack I bought about 20 years ago. it is NOT good for packing sticks and a platform out this far. need a pack with a frame. 100%.
4. Location. this one was a mixed bag, I've never been to the place I went today, but feel like I did a decent job of E-scouting beforehand. the location I chose to hunt was far from parking, as I've heard this place gets some decent pressure and there was 4 other cars in the lot I parked in. when I eventually got to the location I selected, there was a stand in a tree and a green plastic chair on the ground within 100 yards, and tons of bedding and sign around, heck I even saw a balloon lol so I'll definitely try to head back there again- remembered the "pattern the deer AND the hunters" and figured if they're leaving stands there it's likely a decent area. Though it also means it likely gets pressure, so i don't know. I saw 1 out of 3 deer here. I did a bunch of scouting around, found some locations with more oaks than others, so feel like I am starting to learn that one corner of this large area. One of the deal-breakers was lack of cell service at this location. I didn't know this in advance. In the future I'll be comfortable doing that but I still feel a little too new at all this to be solo with no way to call for help (i drew an X on a map and left it with my wife, but still... ultimately because of this I decided to take my setup down and head back to the car early. I bumped a doe on the way in and two on the way out, so felt good about location selection. I don't know how you guys hike in to these locations in the dark... that's going to take some practicing too, I waited until after first light so realize this negatively impacted my chances potentially too
5. Gear. I now understand the allure of one sticking and the like, as well as high end sticks. the 3 hawk heliums I was carrying got pretty heavy by the end of the day. I'm also debating trying to trade my predator XL platform for a smaller one. not until I test it with a new pack though. it was a good real world test of everything and definitely exposed deficiencies. I do NOT like these straps and am now even more so looking forward to my amsteel roll getting here. I was also wearing some cotton today, because temps were in the 60s. after sweating through them I was glad to be cooled by the wind today but any colder and it would have been a problem ( I sweat a lot so likely still would have in the 40's or lower). I also should have taken a later off earlier on the way in. by the time I did it was way too late and I was soaked.
6. Practice. I thought I was ready, but wasn't fully comfortable in the tree. need to practice more. and then practice some more. I never felt unsafe, or made any mistakes, but definitely was a bit unsure at times going up the sticks and transitioning from lineman to tether etc. I also forgot my prussik tender for my LB so that made things very much more difficult. realized after I left I could have cut a few feet off of my pull rope and made one, hindsight is 20/20. this is the second half of the packing it in early decision I referenced earlier re: cell signal.
7. Expectations. I got myself pretty amped up about trying to have a venison thanksgiving this year and this was my last chance. I should have been a bit more realistic with my expectations, and have been feeling quite humbled by the way today wound up.
If you're still reading, thank you! I'd appreciate any advice or feedback you can offer, and I've got a thick skin if you want to give me some crap about any of these errors. Hopefully there's someone out there that may benefit from hearing about my mistakes as well. Ultimately, it was a good day, because I learned a lot. I feel like I'm a MUCH better hunter than yesterday, though that was a pretty low bar to jump. progress is progress though. One'll catch an arrow in the riblets at some point...
1. My boots. probably the worst decision today. I haven't bought a good pair of hunting boots yet, so tried to use my old EMS boots instead of sneakers like I've used in the past - big mistake. They don't fit exactly right so I gave myself a nickel sized blister on the back of my heel hoofing it all over the place today (I hiked about 4 miles round trip). Also, they are HEAVY. it was not the right choice of footwear and I threw them in a clothing donation bin on the way home ( I haven't been an EMT in over a decade so don't think I'll miss them). Don't use a long hike to test out "new" footwear, particularly if you chose some thinner socks to make them "fit better". It doesn't work.
2. Water. I didn't bring enough. I sweated my arse off (more on this later) on the way in so had finished my 24 oz water bottle before i got the platform in the tree. I'm still pretty dehydrated and cramping, won't make that mistake again. thankfully i did bring my lifestraw, so drank a bit from one of the streams i crossed (clear, flowing, smelled sweet, and nothing dead upsteam as far as I could tell). I also didn't eat enough in the morning before going out so generally felt like crap by the time i got set up.
3. Pack. I've been using an old kelty backpack I bought about 20 years ago. it is NOT good for packing sticks and a platform out this far. need a pack with a frame. 100%.
4. Location. this one was a mixed bag, I've never been to the place I went today, but feel like I did a decent job of E-scouting beforehand. the location I chose to hunt was far from parking, as I've heard this place gets some decent pressure and there was 4 other cars in the lot I parked in. when I eventually got to the location I selected, there was a stand in a tree and a green plastic chair on the ground within 100 yards, and tons of bedding and sign around, heck I even saw a balloon lol so I'll definitely try to head back there again- remembered the "pattern the deer AND the hunters" and figured if they're leaving stands there it's likely a decent area. Though it also means it likely gets pressure, so i don't know. I saw 1 out of 3 deer here. I did a bunch of scouting around, found some locations with more oaks than others, so feel like I am starting to learn that one corner of this large area. One of the deal-breakers was lack of cell service at this location. I didn't know this in advance. In the future I'll be comfortable doing that but I still feel a little too new at all this to be solo with no way to call for help (i drew an X on a map and left it with my wife, but still... ultimately because of this I decided to take my setup down and head back to the car early. I bumped a doe on the way in and two on the way out, so felt good about location selection. I don't know how you guys hike in to these locations in the dark... that's going to take some practicing too, I waited until after first light so realize this negatively impacted my chances potentially too
5. Gear. I now understand the allure of one sticking and the like, as well as high end sticks. the 3 hawk heliums I was carrying got pretty heavy by the end of the day. I'm also debating trying to trade my predator XL platform for a smaller one. not until I test it with a new pack though. it was a good real world test of everything and definitely exposed deficiencies. I do NOT like these straps and am now even more so looking forward to my amsteel roll getting here. I was also wearing some cotton today, because temps were in the 60s. after sweating through them I was glad to be cooled by the wind today but any colder and it would have been a problem ( I sweat a lot so likely still would have in the 40's or lower). I also should have taken a later off earlier on the way in. by the time I did it was way too late and I was soaked.
6. Practice. I thought I was ready, but wasn't fully comfortable in the tree. need to practice more. and then practice some more. I never felt unsafe, or made any mistakes, but definitely was a bit unsure at times going up the sticks and transitioning from lineman to tether etc. I also forgot my prussik tender for my LB so that made things very much more difficult. realized after I left I could have cut a few feet off of my pull rope and made one, hindsight is 20/20. this is the second half of the packing it in early decision I referenced earlier re: cell signal.
7. Expectations. I got myself pretty amped up about trying to have a venison thanksgiving this year and this was my last chance. I should have been a bit more realistic with my expectations, and have been feeling quite humbled by the way today wound up.
If you're still reading, thank you! I'd appreciate any advice or feedback you can offer, and I've got a thick skin if you want to give me some crap about any of these errors. Hopefully there's someone out there that may benefit from hearing about my mistakes as well. Ultimately, it was a good day, because I learned a lot. I feel like I'm a MUCH better hunter than yesterday, though that was a pretty low bar to jump. progress is progress though. One'll catch an arrow in the riblets at some point...
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