What are some lessons that you learned from this past bow season?
- the deer in my area love winter oats. This has been the best food plot I've ever had in over 20 years of doing them
- don't blow your shoulder out before season and try and suck it up through season.
- don't book a mule deer hunt in the middle of the whitetail rut and expect to have a lot of action with white tails.
- it is nice to have a couple of friends that you text your adventures to. They can provide advice and encouragement. ( both of mine I met on trade gang)
Public land-Hunt hard early season before they get educated. :thumbsup:
Never pass a slam dunk on a good buck because there is a gooder one following him . The second one will stray off course behind brush ... :biglaugh:
I'm not in good shape anymore!
Don't got too deep into the woods, that's where the other hunters are!
-Get all of those home improvements you promised the wife done before hunting season. :banghead:
Gordon I am starting to think you are right. My favorite public place starts to get awfully busy the last week of October. Most of the crowd is gone by Veterans Day.
I learned that when elk hunting, do not get kicked by a horse. It hurts and ruins the hunt. :deadhorse:
Make sure you have enough slack in your safety line to turn and shoot towards your tree or it will cost you a 160" buck of a lifetime :banghead: :knothead:
Have good friends you can cry to after he's gone :biglaugh:
Very good thread....
It is not necessary to wear whitey-tighties under your longjohns AND hunting pants. In cold weather it's sometimes hard to find the gold hidden behind door number three in time. Trust me. BW
When your arrow comes off your string and starts to fall and there is a large buck close, DON'T try to catch it.
If you hunt where the wolves were released ........................ don't expect much.
Quote from: Barry Wensel on February 12, 2021, 11:26:41 PM
It is not necessary to wear whitey-tighties under your longjohns AND hunting pants. In cold weather it's sometimes hard to find the gold hidden behind door number three in time. Trust me. BW
:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
Kill your deer early before the gun season opens and the neighbors kill everything they see.
Lease the land from under the neighbors next door next year and move in bow hunters instead. It may cost you $12,000 up front but it will be worth it.
The one earlier about friends to text during hunts especially helps when you take a shot and need to find the patience to wait enough time.
Thanx Bisch!
After losing 30lbs you better check to see if your Tree Saddle is still comfortable!
Take the first good shot a buck gives you because he might not give you a better one.
Talk with the other guys hunting the public around you. They're generally just as willing to work with you as you are with them.
Go with your gut. If hunting a certain spot doesn't feel right, hunt somewhere else.
Pay attention walking back to the truck after a morning hunt. Never know what might be standing next to it when you get there...
Never give up...
Be careful of the angle of your shot as one step can make the difference between a chest shot and one to the ham, at least the coyotes ate well.
Buy another freezer or two. Seven aint enough.
Smag~
Be open minded to anything and everything.
Oh and be weary on Public Land. Never know what ya might find!!!! Like I did last year. Lol.
You can bend at the waist as much as you want to, but you still better prepare for a deer to duck. Especially on public land.
Tim , I bet there is a great story behind that find. :biglaugh:
I learned I shouldve gone deep into Joel Turner's teachings years ago. Ive wasted a lot of time.
Pay attention to locust trees for drawing in deer! They love to eat the beans in the the curly pods of locust trees. They don't eat the whole pod, but chew on them to get the seeds inside. Looks like they are chewing on a big curly fry!
Didn't learn much this year. My wife had a hip replaced, so I missed most of bow season taking care of her. When she got a little better, I still didn't feel right being away from home. The funny thing, and this really surprised me, I was OK with not hunting much. Guess I'm getting old.
Borrowing this from a friend: "All broadheads will disappoint and fail you at some point"... found that to be tru when one of my Abowyer heads curled on a large pig and failed to give me more than 6" of penetration.
When acorns are heavy...you better get it done early before the acorns are gone or rotten.
Shoot the first buck to stand broadside at 12 yards with his head behind a tree. You can always fill your brother's tag if a buck of a lifetime comes along.
If a buck of a lifetime is bedded at 40 yards and you have to pee, piss your pants because you're not sneaky enough.
Praise the Good LORD for each day HE gives you the health and strength to go hunting!
Ghullie suites work great for hiding. but if a buck comes into a call, and is looking for a doe in the spot your sitting, just because he can't see you, that doesn't mean you can draw your bow back.
You have to have that part worked out before he's looking at you.
Stay mobile and don't be stubborn
Two does are cheaper and tastier than one trophy buck.
Just got diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in September. Haven't smoked in over 25 years.
Don't get wrapped around the axle on things and enjoy life and your hunts. It could all change in a heart beat. I sooo missed sitting in a tree this year but more than that, the prep and excitement that goes with it. live each day as it could be your last, as you never know.... Enjoy the hunt regardless of size etc.
When walking in the dark, holding my bow at arms length in front of me keeps spider webs from wrapping around my face.
Age Appropriate Hunting - At 67, drag out a deer like I'm 67, not 27.
Quote from: Trenton G. on February 13, 2021, 05:52:06 PM
Pay attention walking back to the truck after a morning hunt. Never know what might be standing next to it when you get there...
Please tell us more about this one :coffee:
When grinding over 100lbs of meat and mixing or cutting it with suet, fat or pork butt grow another arm or two. Will makes things gr=o way faster.
HH~
Stay ON sign. That is the deciding factor on where to hunt.
Only hunt your best wind direction. This is the deciding factor of when to hunt where.
Terrain features are the deciding factor- Tree - or Ground ambush.
Deadly silence of my longbows and heavy arrows shot 9 deer and NONE dodged my point of aim.
Sharks & Centaur Short Mags Never Disappoint !!! Short blood trails profuse sign.
Wasted too many days scouting doves I can't believe I did that.
Wasted too many days in my public areas working through a gate - going back to my decades tried true proven "water entry".
Fantastic season- basically just stick to what I already know and don't do dumb stuff.
Don't eat a "bunch" of pickled eggs before heading out to your stand ... :o :scared: :o
ssoden, I understand you completely. One night before hunting the next morning, I ate a bunch of pickled eggs and smoked sausages. Plus, I drank a couple of beers. I couldn't stand being close to myself, so certainly I could not expect a deer to come around.
It would be nice to have a wife that could be blamed everything on. Miss her for six years now.
We have different antler point regions in Pennsylvania and the bucks know them.
Thanks for the laughs, good thread. And yes, enjoy the hunt.
Sodden...that brought back NOT so fond memories of a day back in 68 when my cousin was home on leave...his beer and pickled eggs mixed with my dads normal was way more than my young nose could handle...they even named those stinkin things the fizz the fuzz the fuzz was the rip roar AND the bung hole tare...they all smelled like :nono:
Learned that I guess I'm getting old. Carrying a tree stand very far hurts my back. Just bought a Molle ll pack to use the straps and waist belt from on my stand. Also learned that my LW assault stand is very uncomfortable, funny I've been using it for around 18 to 20 years and never noticed it being uncomfortable.
An 8 point buck can stand facing you at ten yards and not even blink way longer than you even think they could. :o
I can enjoy hunting whitetail from the ground even after 50 years enjoying the view from trees.
Also, I had so much fun with the one cell game camera checking pictures on days I couldn't or just didn't hunt.
I learned several valuable lessons this year.
1) If you pick a target buck in a small woodlot he can disappear for the entire season.
2) If you hunt does in said woodlot after buck season he will feed in your shooting lane
3) If you put other people in your stands they have better odds of killing a deer than you.
and several more that I should have learned a long time ago, so I will not share.
oz
One eye bucks dont duck arrows very well!
Shawn~
Enjoy the woods to the last minute of the last day.
A coyote can't handle a tree shark to the ribs :shaka:
I learned that if I arrow a deer and it runs down hill and dies on the road below camp, its likely that my low life neighbor and his grandson with gather it up and haul it to their camp.
Luckily my tracking skills were good enough that I tracked that dead deer to their camp and recovered it...
He had a lot of excuses...I learned what kind of neighbor I really have!
Lesson 1: When building natural blinds make them as thick as you can and use material that doesn't thin out within a month or so.
Lesson 2: Don't let work dominate your life and mind so much that it prevents you from getting out in the woods.
Zeebob, I'm sorry that you had to learn about bad neighbors the hard way. I'm glad you took your deer back.
Sam, I caught them just as they were hurrying to leave their camp. He said he didn't want any hard feelings over that, and I told him he could have had the courtesy to really check to see if I was at camp...
I used to let them hunt our place when we weren't hunting, those days are over. The worst part is he is setting a horrible example for his 11 yr old grandson. The grandson was supposed to check to see if we were at camp..he lied to his grandfather and gramps is ok with that. They had already quartered the deer and had it in a cooler...and they never tagged it.
The whole incident just makes me sick... I had told the kid I was there bow hunting the day before... He's an 11yr old slob hunter...