For the love of the game.

[mainebowhunter]

Been in the woods the past few days, scouting through to check what preferred food sources are producing this year. As I am going about this, its just so enjoyable because in my head, I can see all of this stuff working in 3mos. Everything is setting up to be a great season with the limited food sources, which typically puts bucks in spots where I need them to be.

I just thoroughly enjoy the game. Thoroughly enjoy being in the woods. Does not matter whether its the midwest or the northeast. I hunt because I love to hunt. The Jon E thread got me thinking about it and how people get so caught up in "the beast" method or "the eberhardt" method or whatever method. I came face to face today with a 2.5yr old buck at 15yds rescouting an area that I have not hunted in 10+yrs. I heard the twigs snapping. Thought maybe a deer was coming. So I froze. Wind was in my favor. BAM there he was. Took some pics of him. Thats why I love the woods.

I care what people think of my character. But when I set aside what people think of my skills as a deer hunter, hunting is so much more enjoyable. Its not a competition. There is no prize or contest for "ultimate beast season 2017". I am part of the beast because I love the hunt, love the challenge.

[wickedbruiser]

Amen! I departed from a Facebook group because I was tired of the competitive comments, "this product is the best", "look at my shoulder mounts", trail cam pic galore.... Me this, me that. When you get caught up in competing with others or hunting a certain way you shouldn't be that leans towards being unsuccessful, it's time to change up your game plan.

It's amazing how much more fun it is when you opt out everything and focus on competing with yourself in the woods which ever way it is. Taking it all in and enjoying it. It sure leads me to learn more.

[Boogieman1]

Nice post.. Being surrounded by fisherman (we seem to talk more trash) and not knowing any hunters personally mixed in with afew years of guiding where half your job is to put em on fish the other half keep them entertained I bleed it over into my true passion.

[Jackson Marsh]

Well said Maine.

I got out for a scout this week too. It felt great... A guy can just feel the stress burn away despite the deep muck and mosquitoes. Might not even hunt the area I walked, the point is to enjoy your time in the woods.

[Dewey]

It's amazing how much more fun it is when you opt out everything and focus on competing with yourself in the woods which ever way it is. Taking it all in and enjoying it. It sure leads me to learn more.

Exactly. I like the competition to be between me and the bucks with focus being only on bettering myself as a hunter. I could careless what other people think of me. I hunt for myself and not to impress others. The more I focus on that the higher the level of enjoyment for me.

[dan]

Great perspective... People seem a little on edge lately. Snapping at people cause they misread or misunderstand a post. I had 3 people in that John E. thread take something I said wrong even though what I wrote was clear. I think maybe I need to take a walk in the woods too... It makes a guy not even want to openly talk in a thread. That time of year when its hot, and nasty out and you wish hunting season would get hear.

[pilgrimhunter]

Couldn't agree more. At one point I frequented Archery Talk but rarely go on there because of all the bickering. I have really enjoyed the solid info I have gleaned from this site! Keep the bickering at home children!

[Wlog]

Great post Maine! Agree 100%.

[Lastcast#1]

Every moment in the woods is a gift. Good post Maine.Couldnt agree more..

Chad

[Ghost Hunter]

I walked an checked cameras on farm this weekend. Cool 90 degrees an just got through raining couple hours earlier. Hot an miserable. Checked one an hung another camera on public land Sunday walked 4.11 miles according to GPS through muck, mosquitoes an 92 degrees with HX 98 degrees. Hot, humid and miserable. Time away from daily grind. Priceless!!!!!!!

[oldrank]

Great way to put it Maine. I also got out for a little scout today. I put deer hunting to the side for about 6 months because it was time to take a break. My mind and body both told me it was time. I didn't give the outdoors a break. That is a part of me I have to feed.

The competition part is probably what drives most of us to be hunters to begin with. Sometimes we have to explain every step a buck took in our heads to try n make sense of a kill. If it doesn't fall into a book of do' s n don't then it ain't right. Very very few of my buck kills follow the script. My best hunting spot still to this day is nothing more then a thicket in the middle of the woods. No marsh , no apple trees, just a simple spot a little thicker then the surrounding woods. It's surrounded by human trails n nothing any book says can explain to me why it pays off. I spent yrs figuring it out. Making small adjustments until I found out how to cover the most ground from one tree. I never care about wind when I hunt it. It doesn't seem to matter. Deer come in it from every direction. I hunt 30 ft high in a summit n I found it long before I ever heard of Dan or John. I have hunted public long before both were a thought in my head.

As stated in another thread being self taught is what creates great hunters. Reading and copying another will only get you so far...we all need to be ourselves not Dan, not John....ourselves. We also need to respect others thoughts and ideas. You can learn something from everyone, from the worst to the best.

[tbunao]

[mainebowhunter]

Great way to put it Maine. I also got out for a little scout today. I put deer hunting to the side for about 6 months because it was time to take a break. My mind and body both told me it was time. I didn't give the outdoors a break. That is a part of me I have to feed.

The competition part is probably what drives most of us to be hunters to begin with. Sometimes we have to explain every step a buck took in our heads to try n make sense of a kill. If it doesn't fall into a book of do' s n don't then it ain't right. Very very few of my buck kills follow the script. My best hunting spot still to this day is nothing more then a thicket in the middle of the woods. No marsh , no apple trees, just a simple spot a little thicker then the surrounding woods. It's surrounded by human trails n nothing any book says can explain to me why it pays off. I spent yrs figuring it out. Making small adjustments until I found out how to cover the most ground from one tree. I never care about wind when I hunt it. It doesn't seem to matter. Deer come in it from every direction. I hunt 30 ft high in a summit n I found it long before I ever heard of Dan or John. I have hunted public long before both were a thought in my head.

As stated in another thread being self taught is what creates great hunters. Reading and copying another will only get you so far...we all need to be ourselves not Dan, not John....ourselves. We also need to respect others thoughts and ideas. You can learn something from everyone, from the worst to the best.

Well said.

Its interesting because at times we will all wrestle with different parts of this game that just do not add up with rest of what you read. The person I learned the most from ...he has opinions that at the stage I am at now, I don't necessarily agree with all of them. I have learned a TON from that guy. But what if he is wrong about certain things? What if there are things that can be done more efficiently to increase success rates? Its constantly bouncing ideas off each other as the season progresses. He definitely never hesitates to remind me of all my mistakes

[DeerDylan]

Preach on fellas!

[Grasshopper]

The local archery shop has a buck pool every year. It's cheap to enter, and they give out a lot of prizes. Friends ask why I never enter. It seems like they don't understand that hunting for me is not a competition against anyone else other than the animals I'm hunting. I always just say that I have a hard enough time getting a deer I don't want the added pressure. I feel bad because I like to support the shop and they always ask if I want to sign up for it when I stop in. Competition between hunters can truly bring out some ugly actions I'm not into it. When I was a teenager I felt it for a few years and it took away from the experience so much. My first few years of hunting I wrote down a few sentences about every hunt. I read through them sometimes it is great to see how often it seemed like I was too busy enjoying nature happening around me to call it hunting. When I started feeling like I had to compete against other hunters I stopped taking the time to soak in things like chickadees hanging upside down or hawks swooping down on squirrels.
So like you said who cares how I hunt as long as I follow the game laws and enjoy myself. I hope you're all enjoying your selves too. Once I was watching a centepede fighting a spider when a nice 8point buck interrupted. I killed him for that.