dan wrote:I think peoples progression will vary on two things... #1 how much time they put in. #2 Whether or not they view it as work, or enjoyment.
You gotta enjoy scouting, and enjoy figuring out the bucks. Its more important than you probably think. If your forcing yourself to scout, rather than really wanting to scout, its going to make an impact on your scouting. For sure...
I am always scouting, and always thinking about scouting. ALWAYS... Especially when the Boss man is barking orders at me and yelling "are you listening to me?" wHEN I GO ON VACATION, EVERYTIME WE STOP FOR A REST AT A WAYSIDE, OR A PARK, I WANT TO WALK OVER AND CHECK OUT TERRAIN FEATURES I SEE AND SCOUT THEM... Go fishing and end up boating over to some marshy area and check out the bucks... Go mushroom hunting and end up checking out a leeward ridge... Even where I can't ever legally hunt. Im looking at buck bedding so much, that it sticks... Its really a passion thing, and you either got it, or you don't. If you don't look forward to scouting it will likely be a long hard journey.
Dan you just described me exactly. Everyday on my lunch break i sit and Google map for the whole 30 minutes. My screen background on my computer at work is the big boys ive named and still stare at and wonder if they're still alive and where they might be at. When i get out of work i walk outside and the wind hits me and i immediately think of which bed they are in bc of where the wind is from.
I've got a fiance and a 4 year old boy. We went on a 4 wheeler ride thru the woods over the weekend to look for some tree branches so she can make center pieces for the tables at our wedding coming up. I got into some thick brush and she yells "where'd you go? What r u doing in there?" "I said i found some deer beds!" (So much hair on the ground they must be shedding their coats) but anyway she was laughing at me bc she knows about my addiction.
I just hope over the next few years i can get away from the 100 inch bucks and put a few big ones down. Ive been an average hunter all my life. At 30 now i want to get serious and raise the bar. I've put so much into it the last 18 months since joining the beast. You've single handedly made scouting fun for me. I know exactly what to look for and where to find it now. Makes it so rewarding now. Taking my boy along and teaching him now is such a bonus.
"Pressure and Time. That's all it takes, really. Pressure, and time..."