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Off season- Just curious what do most of you do between Deer seasons??

kyler1945 said:
Annoy everyone here.

Make a baby.

Fish.

Eat deer meat.

Work mostly.
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Making babies, I like that. I’m clipped, but I‘m an overachiever so I like to try as much as possible anyway. Lol. Other than that, I need to work out, avoid buying gear I really don’t need, and put in the legwork to support at least one out of state hunt.
 
LtMoe66 said:
I’m a 365 a day always thinking of deer hunter. I’m either scouting, planning, fiddling with equipment, talking about it, trying to improve anything I can( whether that be equipment or approach). If I’m not doing that then I’m probably Bowfishing or just fishing. Even then I’ll stop and check the shore for sign, tracks, trails, crossings, etc.. I also like to try different things with my equipment like organization on my pack for more efficient/quicker/ and quieter hunts. Just curious what others do and if I’m just too obsessed!! Lol! :tonguewink:
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Start scouting.
 
LtMoe66 said:
I’m a 365 a day always thinking of deer hunter. I’m either scouting, planning, fiddling with equipment, talking about it, trying to improve anything I can( whether that be equipment or approach). If I’m not doing that then I’m probably Bowfishing or just fishing. Even then I’ll stop and check the shore for sign, tracks, trails, crossings, etc.. I also like to try different things with my equipment like organization on my pack for more efficient/quicker/ and quieter hunts. Just curious what others do and if I’m just too obsessed!! Lol! :tonguewink:
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I used to be deer 24/7/365. Until I started elk hunting. And now that’s mostly what I think about, except a few breaks for deer hunting (spring scouting, summer planting, and fall hunting.). Otherwise still elk hunting focused, has made me a much better deer hunter. Right now it’s “application season” for western hunting tags, so that’s my focus this time of the year.
 
I manage our home 80 acres all year round, so I’m constantly doing hunting-related activities. Food plots, scrub maintenance, stand site prep, cameras, bush hogging and mowing, and LOTS of looking through ‘noccers at deer, turkeys, and coyotes. I absolutely love watching fawns, probably just as much as I enjoy watching velvet bucks. And we have a couple of Canada geese that nest on the banks of our pond for several weeks in the spring, as well as a great blue heron who stalks the banks of the same pond almost daily. I also try to get all my arrow builds done during off-season.
As far as stuff unrelated to hunting, I finally built some raised garden beds out of old pallets and scrap lumber last year. I found the practice of starting seeds and tending plants to be a really great substitute for ambush-style hunting, and as a life-long martial artist, it’s quite satisfying to live as a “Warrior in a Garden” for 6 months before deer season. I noticed my threshold for patience skyrocketed this season, I’m sure as a result of gardening, and it was much easier for me to sit in the saddle for hours doing and seeing nothing than it ever had been before. The results show, as this was my first multiple-kill season in 10 years of bowhunting.
This year, I plan to grab some tackle and hit the aqua in my kayak as a fledgling angler.
 
surf. all year. I’d probably be a decent deer hunter if I didn’t take a surf trip a year and live close to the ocean. Snowboarding, running, hiking, flinging arrows, working out that’s about it.
taking up the recurve is making me get serious about this hunting thing
 

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Well this year is looking different than years past for me. I'll be working and trying to be the best dad I can be. Hoping to get back in to some old hobbies that have somewhat fallen off, fishing, woodworking, and home brewing are my top 3.
 
I just like being in the woods in the winter. If I'm not scouting I'm just hiking for no real purpose at all and sometimes one becomes the other.

Used to do quite a bit of small game hunting, but the rabbit population in my honey hole took a real dive and I haven't really found a replacement area. Used to really really enjoy late-season grouse hunting, but the state shut that down a few years back, never to return most likely. That was a real whizzer, they'd apparently prefer the grey Poupon grouse crowd has access to the young birds while they're still easy in the fall and us deer hunters are hanging in the trees. The state of small game hunting is a pretty sad affair these days. I hear about the good old days when my dad was a kid, but man even 10 years ago was much better than it is now. Squirrels and stocked chinese chickens is about the only games in town these days.

This winter I've been dabbling with trapping a bit. Scratches an itch that nothing else really has since small game is really in the crapper, once deer season ends, really enjoying it. Caught my first beaver this weekend!

Once greenup comes I dabble with turkeys a bit but never really caught that bug, I just don't find them all that enjoyable to hunt. So much pressure here on public land I find it stressful more than anything.

Then walleye season. I pretty much stay out of the woods entirely June-August. Also play baseball in the summer but thinking about hanging up the cleats, I'm losing the fire. Maybe get back into golf.

Then it's deer season again and we do it all again!
 
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Small game, predator, turkey and fish. I'll do some pre season scouting when I'm doing those other activities.
 
My life revolves around my kids sports and those never end. We also have a 11 month old daughter and another on the way in August so my time in the woods is coming to a screeching halt lol. Spring turkey is out of the question for me this year. I will get out on the ice a few times this winter for some fishing and I was able to negotiate a week away for a fall black bear hunt this year. A trip to get snipped is planned for this year lol
 
Going to primarily focus on getting permissions on spots within an hour or so from the house. I know it’s popular but public land hasn’t been a great experience for me. I’d much rather have a couple of private spots to hit up. I will still do some public scouting just in case I can’t get permission anywhere. Once it’s starts getting closer to Spring my focus shifts to turkey and fishing. Otherwise just work and family time. I have been looking into R/C cars/planes but it looks like a big money pit.
 
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