What is your best and worst hunting skill?

[Stanley]

Saw this on another site and though it was a great topic for discussion.

[Brad]

My best is I a have a gut instinct that has lead me to a ton of deer, and I usually go with it if possible, its like I can see a spot and it "just feels right" and a lot of times it is. This seems to work throughout the entire season. My worst is I stay up way too late at night and it is next to impossible to wake me up in the morning and get me out (probably why most of my bowkills are in the evening). That and I tend to rely on scent control instead of the wind being in my favor too much, but I am working on that.

[BowtechHunting]

My best hunting assets is picking gut instinct spots. Like Lamont said, "it just feels right". My worst, however, is I for some reason or another make entirely too much noise when trying to get to my stand and getting set-up. I might as well send out a flare with my exact location....

[kenn1320]

It seems my best skill is obtaining permission to hunt. I knock on doors and they seem to open for me.
My worst skill is everything else I guess. I rarely even see a buck I want to shoot, let alone get in bow range of one. Maybe I need my eyes checked?

[GRFox]

Best skill is persistance. I haven't missed a morning or afternoon since September 15th besides when work, weddings or events interfere. This afternoon will be the first afternoon I am chosing not to hunt only because I have to be at a Christmas party by 7. Just would be rushing it. I feel horribly guilty about not going out, and were talking about missing out on one afternoon. Iff im free and don't hunt I will be miserable the whole time, I learned about 5 years ago that hunting wasn't an option, it was athe must LOL.

My worst would be my scouting.......not that I don't scout pre season.....I pretty much live in the woods, just that I see now that all of the time spent scouting was wastefull because I didn't know what I should have been looking for (bedding) or what to do with it.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Zap]

See avatar.

[Stanley]

Best skill is persistance. I haven't missed a morning or afternoon since September 15th besides when work, weddings or events interfere. This afternoon will be the first afternoon I am chosing not to hunt only because I have to be at a Christmas party by 7. Just would be rushing it. I feel horribly guilty about not going out, and were talking about missing out on one afternoon. Iff im free and don't hunt I will be miserable the whole time, I learned about 5 years ago that hunting wasn't an option, it was athe must LOL.

My worst would be my scouting.......not that I don't scout pre season.....I pretty much live in the woods, just that I see now that all of the time spent scouting was wastefull because I didn't know what I should have been looking for (bedding) or what to do with it.

[ Post made via Android ]

I can relate to that. I have mellowed over time though and do miss a day or two now and then. I still get the itch when I'm not in a tree during hunting season though. I also get bummed when the season is over.

[Stanley]

See avatar.

I believe you, I followed your blizzard hunt a few years ago and last year for that matter.

[dan]

My best skill is dealing with huntings lows and making the best of it... I can take a bad or mediocre spot and produce a solid buck, when most would give up after not seeing a single deer for several weeks.
My worst skill? Probably don't practice shooting enough.

[Spysar]

My best skill ....is luck.

And my worst skill is holding out for the really big one (I just like to shoot deer), and getting kills on film.

[Dewey]

My best skill is determination and a never give up attitude. I learned a long time ago the only way to get to this point is by having plenty of patience and you have to generally love hunting or it's easy to give up when you have a string of bad days. I believe in hunting hard and earning every deer I kill and would find it much more rewarding killing a deer on the last day of the season after hunting very hard all year versus killing a deer on opening day. Of course this only applies to bowhunting and gun hunting is a different story for me. One day and done would be fine with me!!

My worst skill I would say is paying attention to details. When scouting I zip right through an area and need to spend more time really paying attention to what is going on around me. Another thing is I need to believe in the spots I scout and focus on hunting them more because I tend to keep hunting spots that were good in the past. The problem is that things change from year to year(hunting pressure,food sources, deer population) and I need to adapt better to what is changing around me.

[matt1336]

My worst(s)- I'm almost embarassed about how much noise I make setting up in a tree that isn't trimmed up ahead of time....at least the trees that have a lot of branches on the way up or a ton of junk around the base of the tree. Also recongnizing the subtle sign, like a buck bed or a buck's tracks. Also putting the peices of the puzzle together. I seem to have the "oh yeah" momment when I see the buck as I'm hunting or after he busts me or when I'm laying in bed that night after he busted me earlier that evening.
My best- I keep trying despite not shooting big deer way more than I do shoot them.

[bowhunter15]

My best skill... probably deciphering topos and aerials to find good places to sit going in blind. I used to suck at this but after help from guys like Dan I've gotten pretty good at it. Sometimes I'll mull over a map for hours trying to decide between like 3 locations based on logic rather than gut, but the one I end up picking usually produces. I can't tell you how many times on public or private I've walked in to a new spot, go to put my sticks on the tree and there's already some decade old tree steps in it. Twice this year I've been able to find stands in the dark in a 640 acre woodlot based on taking someone else verbal description and converting it to a GPS location on a topo map.

Worst skill... woodsmanship. Show me 10 different trees and I might be able to name 3 of them. I can't tell you what kind of bird is chirping on that branch. Show me two plants with 3 leaf cluster and I couldn't tell you which one is poison ivy. I'm typically pretty noisy walking through the woods, especially in dark. When I'm putting up or taking a stand down I could have someone walk right up to me and be completely oblivious to their presence. I always seem to pick the most difficult route from A to B and end up sweaty at the base of the tree. If it's not a deer, turkey, or duck, I don't know much about it. But I am working on those things. I already know much more than I did last year, but have a long, long ways to go. It'll be a lifelong journey.

[BackWoodsHunter]

Worst-I move to fast through the woods and I just can't be 100% silent when I am setting up. Also, when I set up for an all day sit I tend to get twitchy!

Best- Not a skill BUT a desire to always learn. I never claim, and never will claim, to know it all. I spend a lot of time in the woods year round and whether I am scouting, hunting, or reading books/magazines/the internet I am always on a quest for more knowledge and a better understanding of whatever it is that I am after. I can't think of any actual skills that I am good at, YET.

[dan]

Best- Not a skill BUT a desire to always learn. I never claim, and never will claim, to know it all. I spend a lot of time in the woods year round and whether I am scouting, hunting, or reading books/magazines/the internet I am always on a quest for more knowledge and a better understanding of whatever it is that I am after. I can't think of any actual skills that I am good at, YET.

The desire to learn, improve and advance is a great asset in hunting. Its also a great trait to analize why you fail or succeed to the point obssesion.