Are you the most hardcore hunter you know?

[Hawthorne]

At my place of work yes, in my family yes, in my neighborhood yes. On the Hunting Beast no.

[backstraps]

I know a lot of so called “hardcore” hunters who only think about hunting October/November. I don’t like labels but will say I think about hunting more than anybody I know.

I could for sure say this about myself

[mauser06]

In terms of time and effort out forth, I'd say absolutely.

I know I spend more time just scouting than most people I know actually spend hunting. I also hunt every possible chance.

To many guys, hunting seems to be more of a casual hobby than it is for me. For me, it's just what I do. It's who I am.

Everyone is different and have different situations. Being 32 with a good job, no kids and not married allows me more "freedom" than most guys. I have a day off and I wanna go trudge through a Marsh...guess what? Not much keeps me from doing it. I feel like packing up the gear and taking a trip I'm going.

I spend a lot of my time in the woods. If in not in the woods, there's something hunting related on the phone or laptop... always trying to learn something new.


I'm not the most successful. But that's IMO a different topic.

[Ghost Pointer]

I dang sure used to be. Not the most successful, but was always the one to put the time in. Slowly, different things started to creep in and take over the time I used to spend in the woods; to the point that 3-4 days a week turned into 1. Recently purchased a new house that is exactly a 0 minute drive from where I have killed my nicest game on public land. Walk out my door and keep walking Did some soul searching and redirected my time constraints to be free to hunt the way I did 5-6 years ago. I found the beast page in 2014, got excited about the information, then have hunted less. Can't wait for Oct. 5th opener here in VA.

Despite the time in the woods, I think and talk about hunting more than anyone I know, just like others have said. My family and friends get tired of hearing me talk about hunting! That's okay, I still wear them out with it anyway. If I run across a hunter I know to be successful, you can bet I am picking their brain!

As a coach, I want the most hardcore players, they are driven to succeed. As a hunter, Hardcore is the only way I want to be remembered. Can I change my username ?

[Tufrthnails]

At my place of work yes, in my family yes, in my neighborhood yes. On the Hunting Beast no.

I completely agree with this! Some of you HB guys leave the bar really high

[mipubbucks24]

At my place of work yes, in my family yes, in my neighborhood yes. On the Hunting Beast no.

Spot On!

[Tennhunter3]

Besides a few on the beast yes.

[Kraftd]

Honestly, probably not, though I suppose it matters how far you want to stretch "know". Within the circle of fairly close friends and family, absolutely, start branching it out a little and I know a few pretty tough bastages. I'm comfortable with the level of effort I give to hunting based on my goals and priorities though. I float back and forth between incredible admiration for some of you guys that are 24/7/365 go go go, and also content that the impact that would have on my career and family life isn't something I want. That's not an implication that more hardcore means neglecting other things. Many of you super hardcore guys probably just have flat more capacity to accomplish than other folks.

I know I could do better if I tried harder at hunting. I can get myself pretty content with things, and normally I think that's good. When something becomes something I want more though, I adjust, reprioritize, and go get it. Another 10% gain in success on mature bucks hasn't checked the box for needing a reprioritization...yet. When I came to the beast in 2013 that was different. I was stagnant. Those first couple of years I was a sponge and put a lot of miles on. I'd say I made a 30-50% improvement in my skills in short order. Now I have a pretty good overall handle on the land I hunt close to me and how I can accomplish goals. I also know that the window of gains to effort is narrowing. The extra effort needed to improve another few percent, would have too big of an impact on other parts of my life right now. So I'm good with things.

[muddy]

I have to flip.... I don't do food plots and i dont own land.

[tgreeno]

Hardcore is an interesting word. Many guys have shot way more big bucks than me. Does that make them hardcore?

I've hunted many many years before all the advancements of today. No cell phones, trail cams, GPS's, aerial maps or internet. You scouted boots on the ground, with a map. You had a compass in your pocket, and if that didn't get you out, you were spending the night. I consider that hardcore

[Boogieman1]

For me hardcore doesn't doesn't fit. I hunt cause I have fun doing it. I scout cause it doesn't feel like a job. When it comes to stats I don't measure myself against others. My competition is with the game I pursue with weaponry that makes me feel I accomplished something.

I realized not so long ago when it comes to the basic understanding of hunting these critters in close quarters I'm as good as I will ever be. Now situational stuff is where I'm always learning and applying new knowledge.

[xpauliber]

Hardcore is an interesting word. Many guys have shot way more big bucks than me. Does that make them hardcore?

I've hunted many many years before all the advancements of today. No cell phones, trail cams, GPS's, aerial maps or internet. You scouted boots on the ground, with a map. You had a compass in your pocket, and if that didn't get you out, you were spending the night. I consider that hardcore

Hopefully you had a lighter in your pocket too. That would have definitely been interesting times to be out honing your woodsmanship.

[cspot]

For me hardcore doesn't doesn't fit. I hunt cause I have fun doing it. I scout cause it doesn't feel like a job. When it comes to stats I don't measure myself against others. My competition is with the game I pursue with weaponry that makes me feel I accomplished something.

I feel the same way. It isn't work for me. It is fun.

[xpauliber]

My original post wasn’t about comparing yourself to other people to see if/how you are a superior hunter than them. It’s more of a way to be self-critical of yourself, a way to become aware of new tactics, and always strive to be a better hunter this season than you were last season and the mindset that I’ve used to help me grow as a hunter (who’s the most hardcore hunters I know and what do they do that I can apply to my style).

Archery is absolutely a competition to me but it’s one I fight against myself and the goals I set for myself, not against anyone else. If anyone took it as a chest beating thread, that was certainly not my intent.

[tgreeno]

Hardcore is an interesting word. Many guys have shot way more big bucks than me. Does that make them hardcore?

I've hunted many many years before all the advancements of today. No cell phones, trail cams, GPS's, aerial maps or internet. You scouted boots on the ground, with a map. You had a compass in your pocket, and if that didn't get you out, you were spending the night. I consider that hardcore

Hopefully you had a lighter in your pocket too. That would have definitely been interesting times to be out honing your woodsmanship.

Actually waterproof matches