Success, weakness & mistakes?
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Success, weakness & mistakes?
I think its important to recognize weakness and mistakes, as well as success... So, lets take a look back at this last deer season and ask ourselves why we succeeded when we did, and why we failed when we did not succeed.
If you got a buck, was it a planned execution? or luck?
How can we repeat this success?
Did your success involve waiting for a certain day? moon? weather?
Did you blow any chances? why?
What are you doing to make sure that type of failure is not repeated?
And lastly, what can the rest of us learn from your hunts last season?
If you got a buck, was it a planned execution? or luck?
How can we repeat this success?
Did your success involve waiting for a certain day? moon? weather?
Did you blow any chances? why?
What are you doing to make sure that type of failure is not repeated?
And lastly, what can the rest of us learn from your hunts last season?
- FRH
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Re: Success, weakness & mistakes?
My biggest mistake last season was over hunting my land. Ive always thought that I'n order to get a deer you had to put your time in. Since getting on here and absorbing all this info this year is going to be different. I put a ton of time into this offseason in scouting and finding new spots. It wasn't as productive as I thought but it did open my eyes to new opportunities. I need to cut back on over hunting my land and reserve it for day's with the best opportunity is going to be. As far as hunting public this year I think it's just gonna be trial and error for this year and probably the next couple until I can figure it out.
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- rudy78
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Re: Success, weakness & mistakes?
My biggest mistake was letting my partner talk me into going in for lunch during the first couple days of gun season. Even though he was hunting & I was filming I shouldn't have let him talk us into going back for lunch. Two days in a row we watched shooters heading near where we would have been sitting if we stayed out instead of going in.
Next year I was also have way stands set up for south winds because in our area the last 2 years there has been about 80% south winds during the rut. Next year I'll have more stands set for this, it won't happen 3 Ina row.
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Next year I was also have way stands set up for south winds because in our area the last 2 years there has been about 80% south winds during the rut. Next year I'll have more stands set for this, it won't happen 3 Ina row.
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Re: Success, weakness & mistakes?
I had some of both this past year.
Bowhunting
My bow buck was killed because I trusted a gut instinct, I was hunting a new property about 5 miles from my main peice of private I hunt for the first time and while I was set up on sign (it was a rut hunt on halloween), I had a gut instinct that I was on the wrong property and needed to switch. After an hour or two of thinking it over I got down and went out to where I figured I should hunt and killed the buck. I also shot my bow for a half hour that morning because it had been a few weeks and the hunts before then I was questioning my shooting ability, by shooting that morning I knew I could make the shot when the time came.
Some weakness I have had in bowhunting last year (and most years for that matter) is I seldom ever hunt mornings, I stay up too late the night before and am a bear to wake up in the morning usually even turning off the alarm and sleeping in even though I had intentions of getting up. I am not a good morning hunter with a bow, i just don't have many morning spots that I am confident in. I also don't like being in the woods in the dark much, with a gun I am ok but with a bow it makes me uncomfy, I know I know, little scardey cat Brad haha, but it does keep me from going in way early like I need to sometimes. I need to work on that, its all mental.
Gun hunting
My gun buck was killed with persistance, everyone else in my hunting group was inside on opening weekend in the afternoon because on opening day it rained in the afternoon, and on the second day it was pretty cold. I knew if I put in the time I would get a buck and I did, every one else was sleeping or watching the packer game, I was busy field dressing. I did what I needed to do to stay comfy, and put in my time.
Failure, opening morning I set up in a stand I was not satisfied with its direction, and how I had to compromise easy shooting to watch a certain spot, and a very nice buck snuck past me because I could not get the gun on him fast enough due to the angle I was at, and I could not see him sneak in on me until he was 40 yards away and I don't like that. From now on I will make sure I am satisfied before loading the gun because it cost me last year.
These are just some examples from last year, there are more of each if I stop and think more but these are the obvious ones that come to mind right now.
Bowhunting
My bow buck was killed because I trusted a gut instinct, I was hunting a new property about 5 miles from my main peice of private I hunt for the first time and while I was set up on sign (it was a rut hunt on halloween), I had a gut instinct that I was on the wrong property and needed to switch. After an hour or two of thinking it over I got down and went out to where I figured I should hunt and killed the buck. I also shot my bow for a half hour that morning because it had been a few weeks and the hunts before then I was questioning my shooting ability, by shooting that morning I knew I could make the shot when the time came.
Some weakness I have had in bowhunting last year (and most years for that matter) is I seldom ever hunt mornings, I stay up too late the night before and am a bear to wake up in the morning usually even turning off the alarm and sleeping in even though I had intentions of getting up. I am not a good morning hunter with a bow, i just don't have many morning spots that I am confident in. I also don't like being in the woods in the dark much, with a gun I am ok but with a bow it makes me uncomfy, I know I know, little scardey cat Brad haha, but it does keep me from going in way early like I need to sometimes. I need to work on that, its all mental.
Gun hunting
My gun buck was killed with persistance, everyone else in my hunting group was inside on opening weekend in the afternoon because on opening day it rained in the afternoon, and on the second day it was pretty cold. I knew if I put in the time I would get a buck and I did, every one else was sleeping or watching the packer game, I was busy field dressing. I did what I needed to do to stay comfy, and put in my time.
Failure, opening morning I set up in a stand I was not satisfied with its direction, and how I had to compromise easy shooting to watch a certain spot, and a very nice buck snuck past me because I could not get the gun on him fast enough due to the angle I was at, and I could not see him sneak in on me until he was 40 yards away and I don't like that. From now on I will make sure I am satisfied before loading the gun because it cost me last year.
These are just some examples from last year, there are more of each if I stop and think more but these are the obvious ones that come to mind right now.
- jlh42581
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Re: Success, weakness & mistakes?
My biggest downfall last year as I am sure you all read multiple times was lack of scouting due to a new baby. I just didnt have the time to commit and I blew what time I had in spring and summer doing other things. When my #1 area went public in the local newspaper it came on like a freight train. I have never seen the likes of so much pressure in such a small area.
What I learned is that it doesnt matter how many deer are in an area if you are playing the game and everyone else is just rolling the dice. I needed to walk away and find areas that I can get away from absolutely insane amounts of pressure. If you hunt an area close to a major town thats open to public expect that your season will also be the same.
Dont hunt the mountain behind the football stadium on friday night or saturday morning. You cant hear anything over the game.
Make the hike and make the time for the hike. Dont go out at 2pm and rush into where you think you want to go, get half way and decide its not worth the effort. Its worth the effort. Leave at 10am, stop on your route, take a break, cook a little lunch, take a nap if you need to. Never sacrifice your location that you want to be by thinking you can lay around till 2 then head out.
What I learned is that it doesnt matter how many deer are in an area if you are playing the game and everyone else is just rolling the dice. I needed to walk away and find areas that I can get away from absolutely insane amounts of pressure. If you hunt an area close to a major town thats open to public expect that your season will also be the same.
Dont hunt the mountain behind the football stadium on friday night or saturday morning. You cant hear anything over the game.
Make the hike and make the time for the hike. Dont go out at 2pm and rush into where you think you want to go, get half way and decide its not worth the effort. Its worth the effort. Leave at 10am, stop on your route, take a break, cook a little lunch, take a nap if you need to. Never sacrifice your location that you want to be by thinking you can lay around till 2 then head out.
- oneflag
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Re: Success, weakness & mistakes?
This is what I like about the forum and Dan. It gets me thinking. How will you ever learn if you don’t seriously reflect on your success and failures?
I had some success last season and I guess it was planned but I have a plan every time I go.
One thing that has helped me is to have several places and setups. I have a couple ladder stands for the kids and I relax being close to home. For myself I call it deep woods hunting. During season I leave my climber in the woods and move it often. This is something I may change because I primarily hunt public land. I also make ground blinds and sometimes just sit against a tree. I guess my success comes from the theme of this forum and hunt where nobody else will go. Some success comes from spending more time in the woods just hiking and small game hunting. I'm also learning more about the whole woods, trees, terrain, birds and enjoy just being out there. Sometimes you have to think out of the box and always be willing to learn. That’s another reason this forum rocks.
With that said my failures still come from lack of planning and rushing getting to my spot and setup. Like everyone I have friends, family, jobs, other hobbies and the list goes on. Getting older I try to have more quality hunts but that comes at a price. I hunt a lot by myself and I do feel some guilt spending so much time away from home. Another small failure may be sharing too much info with the wrong people and losing a spot. Hunting is such a part of our lives it's hard not to share stories. I have a few trusted friends I can vent to but certain people you just don’t tell where you hunt. I'm new to the forum and could write a book on this topic.
I started watching extreme turkey tactics last night and it’s the coolest turkey video I have seen.
You can always make an excuse not to do something; life is too short to be a poser!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My original one-liner is; there are talkers and there are doers!
Thanks you all!
I had some success last season and I guess it was planned but I have a plan every time I go.
One thing that has helped me is to have several places and setups. I have a couple ladder stands for the kids and I relax being close to home. For myself I call it deep woods hunting. During season I leave my climber in the woods and move it often. This is something I may change because I primarily hunt public land. I also make ground blinds and sometimes just sit against a tree. I guess my success comes from the theme of this forum and hunt where nobody else will go. Some success comes from spending more time in the woods just hiking and small game hunting. I'm also learning more about the whole woods, trees, terrain, birds and enjoy just being out there. Sometimes you have to think out of the box and always be willing to learn. That’s another reason this forum rocks.
With that said my failures still come from lack of planning and rushing getting to my spot and setup. Like everyone I have friends, family, jobs, other hobbies and the list goes on. Getting older I try to have more quality hunts but that comes at a price. I hunt a lot by myself and I do feel some guilt spending so much time away from home. Another small failure may be sharing too much info with the wrong people and losing a spot. Hunting is such a part of our lives it's hard not to share stories. I have a few trusted friends I can vent to but certain people you just don’t tell where you hunt. I'm new to the forum and could write a book on this topic.
I started watching extreme turkey tactics last night and it’s the coolest turkey video I have seen.
You can always make an excuse not to do something; life is too short to be a poser!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My original one-liner is; there are talkers and there are doers!
Thanks you all!
- Stanley
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Re: Success, weakness & mistakes?
On a thread a few months ago I remember some people talking about a guy that hunted one small parcel of ground and killed a nice buck every year. They said he was just plain lucky with no skills and all luck. If you are hunting for a nice buck, the objective is to put yourself in the best position to do just that. Now if that same guy didn't hunt that spot is he more of a hunter? There is a certain amount of luck in killing a nice buck anytime anywhere. I don't know of anyone that can go out opening day and kill a good buck every year. So I say realistically for me and for a lot of others that just don't realize, there is luck involved.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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Re: Success, weakness & mistakes?
Good point Stan. Luck ( good or bad ) is always a factor. I can remember seeing a nice non-typical come out of the same small bedding area every evening for three days in a row then slipping in and hunting it for two days without seeing it. I was going to hunt a different spot and my hunting buddy asked if I minded if he hunted there. I said go ahead... Yep. He shot the non-typical the 3rd day.
The truth about luck though, is you still need skill to be successful in most cases. You certainly are not going to get lucky and shoot a buck sitting on your couch watching TV. My point is, you create luck by doing things to put yourself in better odds. The better your spots, the less human interference, the higher the population of mature bucks, the more you hunt, the luckier you will be...
The truth about luck though, is you still need skill to be successful in most cases. You certainly are not going to get lucky and shoot a buck sitting on your couch watching TV. My point is, you create luck by doing things to put yourself in better odds. The better your spots, the less human interference, the higher the population of mature bucks, the more you hunt, the luckier you will be...
- FRH
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Re: Success, weakness & mistakes?
Going with brads morning hunting frustrations I can agree with that. It's really hard for me to wake up in the morning. The buck I have on my wall happened one of those mornings 3 years ago. I hit the "snooze" button but actually shut it off. I finally woke up just as it was getting light out. This was the last Saturday in September. I was gonna go back to sleep but I had one stand I could get to quick. I ran out the door grabbed my gear and headed out back. 30 minutes later I had shot the biggest deer to date (150" 12 pt). This last year I really toned it down on going out on weekends. I committed myself to hunting and from sept thru dec I never once went out. Weekdays were a different story :). I can always go to work with a hangover but I hate doing it hunting. Especially being 20 ft up
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- Stanley
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Re: Success, weakness & mistakes?
dan wrote:Good point Stan. Luck ( good or bad ) is always a factor. I can remember seeing a nice non-typical come out of the same small bedding area every evening for three days in a row then slipping in and hunting it for two days without seeing it. I was going to hunt a different spot and my hunting buddy asked if I minded if he hunted there. I said go ahead... Yep. He shot the non-typical the 3rd day.
The truth about luck though, is you still need skill to be successful in most cases. You certainly are not going to get lucky and shoot a buck sitting on your couch watching TV. My point is, you create luck by doing things to put yourself in better odds. The better your spots, the less human interference, the higher the population of mature bucks, the more you hunt, the luckier you will be...
Yep, there is almost always something you can do differently to increase your luck.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
- gjs4
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Re: Success, weakness & mistakes?
I overthink everything- need to keep it simple and let the deer show me how to them or him. Picked the stand with the wind and chase factors....but bailed 10 min early becasue it was 30 degrees above average....the neighbor punctuated my bad move aroudn 150 yards away with a thwack. I knew who he shot with that sound.....just 20 yards over the line. I will only run and gun wiht visual reason and once i am strapped in- i(other than what i just listed) it is for the long haul..everytime.
Last years lesson- you are better off having 3 great stands all prepped close to perfect than 30 so sos.
If theyre not there- hoping will rarely change that.
Luck- it is for everyone else on the beast.
Preplan, keep it cut & dry and follow the plan you made form scouting until your observations show you a better one.
Last years lesson- you are better off having 3 great stands all prepped close to perfect than 30 so sos.
If theyre not there- hoping will rarely change that.
Luck- it is for everyone else on the beast.
Preplan, keep it cut & dry and follow the plan you made form scouting until your observations show you a better one.
Green and growing... Or red and rotting
- Missionman
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Re: Success, weakness & mistakes?
The one mistake I made was shooting at a deer from a further distance than I usually would with my bow. After I shot, it looked like it was a good hit. I looked for my arrow with a brand new light up nock but it was nowhere to be found. I also looked for signs of blood. I later stumbled upon a patch of snow littered with blood. At that moment I knew it was a good shot so I had my friend come along to help track the deer. The blood trail took us through the swamp and at times it was impossible to find because it suddenly stopped. To this day I still wonder what happened to that deer. I also think we could have waited longer to track the deer because we might have scared it and made it run further.
- jlh42581
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Re: Success, weakness & mistakes?
Another bad habit I have is the "grass is always greener" problem. I could be seeing deer, fear Im putting too much pressure on and just leave it go rather than push it.
I agree its better to have 3 stands(for every wind) than to half hearted go at it. You REALLY gotta put the time in here and its progressively gotten to the point over the last few years if you dont, you can pretty much forget it.
I scouted today 2 spots I have had my eye on for over a year and never stepped into. My hope going to this season is at an all time high. Im still not done scouting and havent even started running my cams yet.
I agree its better to have 3 stands(for every wind) than to half hearted go at it. You REALLY gotta put the time in here and its progressively gotten to the point over the last few years if you dont, you can pretty much forget it.
I scouted today 2 spots I have had my eye on for over a year and never stepped into. My hope going to this season is at an all time high. Im still not done scouting and havent even started running my cams yet.
- mn5503
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Re: Success, weakness & mistakes?
My mistake last year was thinking having hunting spots spread out over 40 miles would allow me to avoid wolves at least some of the time.
Success came by absolutely refusing to give up when it was the worst I've ever seen it. Just hope I didn't kill the last buck in northern Minnesota.
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Success came by absolutely refusing to give up when it was the worst I've ever seen it. Just hope I didn't kill the last buck in northern Minnesota.
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Steve
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Re: Success, weakness & mistakes?
My mistake was not having a knee replacement a year earlier. Knee was so bad by Oct that I couldn't hunt my rut spot in N. Minn and N.Wis. Hunted a couple new spots close to roads and only saw one big one. Fixed mistake by getting knee replaced Nov 29. Hope it is ready by fall! Minnesota man, I hope you didn't shoot the last buck in N. Minn either, I plan on being up there this fall, wolvws and all!!1
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