days in the field poll

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onebuck
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days in the field poll

Unread postby onebuck » Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:09 am

Let's do some info gathering as we plan for next year. I really like the "what went right/what went wrong" threads. Let's get some data.....Here's my questions:
1) how many quality sits this year - beast style (on a target buck, stealth approach, wind and conditions good, you were 100% committed)
2) how many sub-quality sits this year - non beast (sub par areas, just a couple hours, not fully committed, morning hunt etc.)
3) how many rut type sits in classic rut spots (funnels, corners etc.)
4) how many days or hours spent scouting this year
5) buck encounters count
6) did you kill one? Were you happy with it and was it one you were targeting?
7) mainly public or private
7) what's your typical terrain like? hill country, river bottoms, farm country, marsh, cedars, big woods, mountains, suburban or other
8) try anything outside the norm? Bump and Dump, tracking, slow push, spot and stalk etc.

I'd like to get a little data and if there's enough I will compile it into some type of summary.


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jwilkstn
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Re: days in the field poll

Unread postby jwilkstn » Tue Jan 24, 2017 1:14 pm

onebuck wrote:Let's do some info gathering as we plan for next year. I really like the "what went right/what went wrong" threads. Let's get some data.....Here's my questions:
1) how many quality sits this year - beast style (on a target buck, stealth approach, wind and conditions good, you were 100% committed)
2) how many sub-quality sits this year - non beast (sub par areas, just a couple hours, not fully committed, morning hunt etc.)
3) how many rut type sits in classic rut spots (funnels, corners etc.)
4) how many days or hours spent scouting this year
5) buck encounters count
6) did you kill one? Were you happy with it and was it one you were targeting?
7) mainly public or private
7) what's your typical terrain like? hill country, river bottoms, farm country, marsh, cedars, big woods, mountains, suburban or other
8) try anything outside the norm? Bump and Dump, tracking, slow push, spot and stalk etc.

I'd like to get a little data and if there's enough I will compile it into some type of summary.


1) probably about 8
2) probably about 12
3) 3
4) not enough, I'd guess about 20 hours
5) about 15
6) 70/30 public over private
7) mountains
8) not really
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Re: days in the field poll

Unread postby JoeRE » Tue Jan 24, 2017 2:42 pm

onebuck wrote:Let's do some info gathering as we plan for next year. I really like the "what went right/what went wrong" threads. Let's get some data.....Here's my questions:
1) how many quality sits this year - beast style (on a target buck, stealth approach, wind and conditions good, you were 100% committed)
2) how many sub-quality sits this year - non beast (sub par areas, just a couple hours, not fully committed, morning hunt etc.)
3) how many rut type sits in classic rut spots (funnels, corners etc.)
4) how many days or hours spent scouting this year
5) buck encounters count
6) did you kill one? Were you happy with it and was it one you were targeting?
7) mainly public or private
7) what's your typical terrain like? hill country, river bottoms, farm country, marsh, cedars, big woods, mountains, suburban or other
8) try anything outside the norm? Bump and Dump, tracking, slow push, spot and stalk etc.

I'd like to get a little data and if there's enough I will compile it into some type of summary.


1) 6 hunts with a bow, 3 in IA and 3 in WI. About half a dozen more hunts late season with the muzzle loader - some of the gun hunting was just scouting with gun in hand. Actually "sat" 2 times with a gun and killed on my second sit.
2) no sub quality sit like you describe...first bow hunt had someone chainsawing around the target bedding which probably did screw things up.
3) The 3 hunts over 1 weekend in Wisconsin were classic big woods rut hunts in a swamp. I was hunting transitions and bottlenecks.
4) Probably 80-100 scouting trips. 200 hours or so. That is average for me. Do the work up front, the results speak for themselves.
5) 4 mature buck encounters total
6) 3 dead mature bucks and missed one on the WI hunt because I decided to use the stick bow. Also missed a small buck with my recurve in WI same trip. Other than that trip I did pretty well :lol:
7) All bowhunts were public. Late season gun hunts were half on public and half on private lands.
7a) In Iowa its farm and hill country. Where I hunt up north in WI is big woods with tamarack and tag alder swamps.
8) Some of everything mentioned gets tried about every year.
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Re: days in the field poll

Unread postby bigwoodshuntn » Tue Jan 24, 2017 3:04 pm

This really makes me want to start keeping track.

Not to hijack the thread but what's the best way you guys keep log of this info??
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Re: days in the field poll

Unread postby seazofcheeze » Tue Jan 24, 2017 3:19 pm

onebuck wrote:Let's do some info gathering as we plan for next year. I really like the "what went right/what went wrong" threads. Let's get some data.....Here's my questions:
1) how many quality sits this year - beast style (on a target buck, stealth approach, wind and conditions good, you were 100% committed)
2) how many sub-quality sits this year - non beast (sub par areas, just a couple hours, not fully committed, morning hunt etc.)
3) how many rut type sits in classic rut spots (funnels, corners etc.)
4) how many days or hours spent scouting this year
5) buck encounters count
6) did you kill one? Were you happy with it and was it one you were targeting?
7) mainly public or private
7) what's your typical terrain like? hill country, river bottoms, farm country, marsh, cedars, big woods, mountains, suburban or other
8) try anything outside the norm? Bump and Dump, tracking, slow push, spot and stalk etc.

I'd like to get a little data and if there's enough I will compile it into some type of summary.


1. I'd guess about 12 without looking back at my journal

2. 6 ish

3. 10-12

4. 10-12 sessions pre season about 5-6hrs each and quite a bit of in season scouting...20-30hrs.

5. Any bucks, I probably saw 35-40 different bucks. Shooter bucks, passed 1 early waiting in a bigger one. Wounded one and lost it. Shot one. Had a huge one 10yds but smelled me before I ever had an ethical shot. Saw 4-5 more out of bow range.

6.see above

7. Mainly private but I had at least 7 public sits.

7. I hunted everything this year. Mostly MI farm, but also MI swamp/marsh, hunted OH hills, and rolling hills/farm in KS

8. Tried decoying for the first time. Scared away a shooter buck, drew in some yearling bucks. It was late October and maybe a week too early for that tactic. I have lots to learn there.
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Re: days in the field poll

Unread postby tim » Wed Jan 25, 2017 9:19 am

I didn't keep track of everything this year. The two things I kept track of were on my vacation from oct 23 through gun season is Wisconsin so 36 days. I hunted a total of 18 dark to dark sits I also had quite a few that were almost all day sits. I had a total of 43 buck encounters in that time
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Re: days in the field poll

Unread postby oldrank » Wed Jan 25, 2017 11:10 am

I probably deer hunted 30 days give or take a few.

Maybe 5-8 were hunts where due to work or whatever I hunted spots I knew were low odds. I still had confidence that they may produce and most had in the past but they were not my bread n butter stuff.

The rest of my hunts were bedding area hunts. I dont have target bucks. Im not a big cam guy. Ive tried but its not my thing. Id rather just hunt sign and whatever shows is a suprise. I do have alot of confidence hunting beds n had alot of good encounters.

I did kill a 7 point buck on Oct 18th. I was pretty happy because I had been trying to figure this area out for awhile and he was my first kill out of that spot.

I spent alot of time scouting last off season. Prob 15-20 days in late winter n early spring.

I didnt get to crazy. I just hunted what I scouted.
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Re: days in the field poll

Unread postby oldrank » Wed Jan 25, 2017 11:15 am

Oh yeah...all on public too
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Re: days in the field poll

Unread postby <DK> » Wed Jan 25, 2017 1:25 pm

1 x20 Quality
2 x5 Sub-Par
3 x3 Rut Sits
4 x14 Days Scouting
5 x5 Buck Encounters
6 x2 Lost Wounded Bucks
7 1/2 Public - 1/2 Private
8 No Different Tactics
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Re: days in the field poll

Unread postby JoeRE » Thu Jan 26, 2017 2:53 am

bigwoodshuntn wrote:This really makes me want to start keeping track.

Not to hijack the thread but what's the best way you guys keep log of this info??


I think the best way is whatever you are comfortable with. I use spreadsheets, add a row with every scout or hunt and can sort it by location, date, that sort of thing. This year I didn't keep track of hours but I did track every single hour in 2015 and know I spent a similar amount of time scouting. So there is data behind my numbers. That's the nerd way of doing it. I am sure there are smartphone apps a person could use for it too.

If you are old school just carry a notebook in your truck, every page a new scouting or hunting entry. Short and sweet is key, just when, what, and where. Use something you are comfortable with or a person probably won't stick with any journal. Sticking with jotting down observations year after year is key. I have been doing it since 2006 and really wish I had documented the 10 years before that better. I would not remember hardly anything from 5-10 years ago without notes otherwise.
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Re: days in the field poll

Unread postby Rich M » Thu Jan 26, 2017 3:48 am

onebuck wrote:Let's do some info gathering as we plan for next year. I really like the "what went right/what went wrong" threads. Let's get some data.....Here's my questions:
1) how many quality sits this year - beast style (on a target buck, stealth approach, wind and conditions good, you were 100% committed)
2) how many sub-quality sits this year - non beast (sub par areas, just a couple hours, not fully committed, morning hunt etc.)
3) how many rut type sits in classic rut spots (funnels, corners etc.)
4) how many days or hours spent scouting this year
5) buck encounters count
6) did you kill one? Were you happy with it and was it one you were targeting?
7) mainly public or private
7) what's your typical terrain like? hill country, river bottoms, farm country, marsh, cedars, big woods, mountains, suburban or other
8) try anything outside the norm? Bump and Dump, tracking, slow push, spot and stalk etc.

I'd like to get a little data and if there's enough I will compile it into some type of summary.


1 - 2 pure beast hunts

2 - 10-12 regular hunts - repeat stand usage but no hope and pray hunts, I typically won't hunt if it is hope and pray. I did not see deer every time I was on stand but could have - I set in areas where I thought bucks would be and not the hot doe crossings I had (stepson saw 25 deer in 2 days on one of those stands, my father saw 15 in 2 days on another).

3 - 0 I sat a powerline crossing and a long edge crossing most of the time - both entrances were clean and I was watching crossings 100-250 yards away w rifle.

4 - 4 days (on 90 acres of private land)

5 - saw 12 bucks - 8 were 6 pts or better, 1 was a 7 pt, 2 were 8 pts (shot 7 pt, missed big 8, saw 8 with long tines twice but he crossed the edge too quickly). The buck I shot was 3.5 yrs old, missed a 4.5+ yr old. The other 8 was 2.5 I believe.

6 - took my largest buck yet, missed a bigger one that was an accidental sighting.
If you aren't happy with a buck, don't shoot it.
I did not target an individual buck - still at the "just happy to see bucks" phase of hunting.

7 - Private

7 - Farm, almost suburban, some topography with maybe 30 feet of elevation change

8 - I tried a close in bed hunt and then had my father drive the bedding area - there were 2 beds in that area. Wanted to do drives but couldn't get any cooperation.
I was able to use trail cams to find where deer were using and then see the deer that were on cam.
I also got to see how quickly human intrusion can influence deer movement - lease holder's buddy decided to come back to club and used to hunt that parcel, so the club "had to" come out and do a tree cutting thing and then return 2 more times under different guises. Deer got nervous, went nocturnal, buck photos stopped, etc.
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Re: days in the field poll

Unread postby Jrichard » Thu Jan 26, 2017 4:07 am

1) how many quality sits this year - beast style (on a target buck, stealth approach, wind and conditions good, you were 100% committed)

I hunted beast style, or attempted too every time I went out this year. I am still learning but I focused on every aspect listed above on every hunt. Playing the wind was huge. This is the first year I took it into consideration and I really appreciate the guys on here for helping me break my SCENT PROOF habit.


2) how many sub-quality sits this year - non beast (sub par areas, just a couple hours, not fully committed, morning hunt etc.)

I would say that I hunted this way twice this year. I did not consider these "hunts". They were both observation sits. I sat on top of a large hill with some back cover. And I got deer within 20 yards both times. And the whole time I told myself "this is just an observation sit" because I was so bent on going 110% every single time. And this is oddly enough the most proficient I was.

3) how many rut type sits in classic rut spots (funnels, corners etc.)

Zero. I did not have a lot of rut time out this year due to moving. And break up problems lol.

4) how many days or hours spent scouting this year

I try to put in at least one solid day every week scouting. Sometimes two. So I would say 6 hours a week. So around 312 hours a year. (this does not include in season scouting.)


5) buck encounters count

Sadly only 1.

6) did you kill one? Were you happy with it and was it one you were targeting?

I did kill one. And I was more than happy with it. And honestly I Was hunting a much larger buck.

7) mainly public or private

Oddly enough, I did A LOT of private land hunting this year. I only sat on public maybe half a dozen times.

8) what's your typical terrain like? hill country, river bottoms, farm country, marsh, cedars, big woods, mountains, suburban or other

I would say around here in RI we have a little bit of everything except for mountainous country. And all my spots have the list above. And I sat each one at least once. Learned a lot.

9) try anything outside the norm? Bump and Dump, tracking, slow push, spot and stalk etc.

As lame as it sounds, hunting from the ground was a huge feat for me. I am someone who cannot usually sit still, and gets over excited. So when I see a deer I tend to shake more than usually. It usually takes me a few minutes after I draw back to even get the kisser button aligned with my lip. Never mind lining up the peep site and pins and bending at the waist ect. haha. So hunting from the ground was very challenging mentally. I did it twice and had deer within 20 yards or less both times.
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Re: days in the field poll

Unread postby Dewey » Thu Jan 26, 2017 5:23 am

onebuck wrote:Let's do some info gathering as we plan for next year. I really like the "what went right/what went wrong" threads. Let's get some data.....Here's my questions:
1) how many quality sits this year - beast style (on a target buck, stealth approach, wind and conditions good, you were 100% committed)
2) how many sub-quality sits this year - non beast (sub par areas, just a couple hours, not fully committed, morning hunt etc.)
3) how many rut type sits in classic rut spots (funnels, corners etc.)
4) how many days or hours spent scouting this year
5) buck encounters count.
6) did you kill one? Were you happy with it and was it one you were targeting?
7) mainly public or private
7) what's your typical terrain like? hill country, river bottoms, farm country, marsh, cedars, big woods, mountains, suburban or other
8) try anything outside the norm? Bump and Dump, tracking, slow push, spot and stalk etc.

I'd like to get a little data and if there's enough I will compile it into some type of summary.


I keep track of this info so it's easy to put together.

1) 38 Beast style hunts not necessarily on specific target bucks but known buck bedding. All my hunts are 100% committed. If they're not why even bother?
2) 4-5 but wouldn't call them sub-quality hunts as they were more observation sits before moving in on patterns seen.
3) 6 all day rut hunts but these were still based on known bedding in combination with terrain travel in hill country.
4) Estimate that I had 200+ hours of scouting in for the year. Likely much more when you figure in glassing and shining but I don't log these hours at all. Just part of my daily routine when traveling around.
5) 24 buck encounters. At least 15 were well within the kill zone and let them go. Only killed one. The rest were out of range or no shot.
6) Killed a 10 pt in Iowa. Not a target buck that I had on camera but still happy. Didn't fill my WI tag due to limited time due to hunting out of state during prime rut. Rest of the season had some opportunities on decent bucks but passed on them holding out for something much bigger. Had a few close calls with nice bucks but no shot.
7) 100% public cattail marsh, swamp and hill country.
8) Learned hill country for the first time. Great experiences to build on for the future. Been doing more snow tracking every year especially during the gun season. I like learning new tactics to keep things fresh.
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Jonny
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Re: days in the field poll

Unread postby Jonny » Thu Jan 26, 2017 6:22 am

bigwoodshuntn wrote:This really makes me want to start keeping track.

Not to hijack the thread but what's the best way you guys keep log of this info??


I live and breathe microsoft excel. Easily spend 3-4 hours on it daily for school. Any kind of spreadsheet will work and Joe nailed it. Add tabs to everything you can. Temps, leaf drop. The more the better. I try to add exact gps coordinates as well because I don't trust my gps lasting forever and being able to extract numbers from it when I need to. Prepare for the worst and expect the best.

As far as the original question. Its a work in progress for me. Most spots I hunt aren't spots I am confident in. Its a process but I feel like I am starting to figure out how to scout properly and efficiently. Next season I will keep a more updated log and really note the details on a spreadsheet. When I am done, it will be posted here somewhere.
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Re: days in the field poll

Unread postby bigwoodshuntn » Thu Jan 26, 2017 7:38 am

Jonny wrote:
bigwoodshuntn wrote:This really makes me want to start keeping track.

Not to hijack the thread but what's the best way you guys keep log of this info??


I live and breathe microsoft excel. Easily spend 3-4 hours on it daily for school. Any kind of spreadsheet will work and Joe nailed it. Add tabs to everything you can. Temps, leaf drop. The more the better. I try to add exact gps coordinates as well because I don't trust my gps lasting forever and being able to extract numbers from it when I need to. Prepare for the worst and expect the best.

As far as the original question. Its a work in progress for me. Most spots I hunt aren't spots I am confident in. Its a process but I feel like I am starting to figure out how to scout properly and efficiently. Next season I will keep a more updated log and really note the details on a spreadsheet. When I am done, it will be posted here somewhere.


If only I wasn't the most non tech savvy 21 year old to walk the face of the earth :lol: I will have to try something this year though. Thanks for the response to you and Joe.


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