What is a great hunter when on stand

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PredatorTC
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What is a great hunter when on stand

Unread postby PredatorTC » Sat May 14, 2011 5:10 am

All the talk lately about how the selas that shot Osama are the best of the best got me thinking. It was reading about how less than 15% of people are mentaly and capable of being this good becase a lot of the skills they have are all a part of their mind and how it works. They can make split second decisions in the heat of the moment just like hunters have to.

This got me thinking. I would think its pretty much the same when it comes to bow hunting. What are some skills that a hunter needs to be at there very best when it comes to your mindset?
For example, I was tinking about past two bucks I shot. The one I shot while walking at 35 yards and hit it perfectly left and right. I was just a bit high. I would say i only had about 2 seconds to judge the shot figure out where to lead him and sqeeze the trigger.
The next one caught me drawing and as he turned to run I finished drawing and quickly made a perfect shot.

SO i started thinking about my cousin who is a pretty big hunter but has never shot a buck. I did a lot of hunting with him this past season and we had many bucks that were within range that were shooters. Something always went wrong or he could not get off what I think was a split second decision of a shot. One thing i also noticed while hunting with him was how he did not sit still well which I also think hurt him. Also when ever he saw a deer he would pull up his binocs weather it was 25 yards or 100. Because of this i belive he lost shot chances

By rereading this post im not trying to tell you guys that I think im a seal :lol: or that i am better than my cousin. I just belive there are a lot of ways people miss shots chances while they are on stand.

SO lets hear what everyone else thinks or nocites that they or someone else is doing wrong or improvments that need to be made when on stand, not about scouting or the proper stand placement.


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PredatorTC
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Re: What is a great hunter when on stand

Unread postby PredatorTC » Sat May 14, 2011 5:15 am

Another thing i want to talk about is buck freeze as Dan would call it. A year a go I had my brother set up in the swamp about 5 feet off the ground. He had a buck come through and just before it got to the small opening in the trees, my brother pulled back(I would have done the same). I dont know if the buck heard something or noticed something but he froze before the opening when he pulled back for a minutes or so and turned and walked back where he came from. I e-mailed Dan and talked to him about this, Dan told me that in situations like these he will pull back while the buck is in the shooting lane and get the shot off quickly becasue most bucks will freeze for a split second before they run.

Just a tid bit I wanted to share! 8-)
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Re: What is a great hunter when on stand

Unread postby Southern Man » Sat May 14, 2011 5:24 am

One thing that came to mind while reading your post was "attention span". I think you need to pay attention when on stand. If you're too busy watchiin the wind blow or the squirrels runnin around, the wrong move will get you busted everytime. Have you ever suddenly looked in a direction and see a deer standing there that you didn't know how it got there? You've got to have a good attention span.
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Re: What is a great hunter when on stand

Unread postby Dewey » Sat May 14, 2011 6:24 am

Southern Man wrote:One thing that came to mind while reading your post was "attention span". I think you need to pay attention when on stand. If you're too busy watchiin the wind blow or the squirrels runnin around, the wrong move will get you busted everytime. Have you ever suddenly looked in a direction and see a deer standing there that you didn't know how it got there? You've got to have a good attention span.

I agree with the attention span statement. It's amazing how a deer can just show up and you only have a few seconds to get a killing shot. I would say that I seem to do a little better on those because I don't have time to get too worked up for the shot. Too many people are playing with cell phones gps's and other gear and not paying attention and miss getting shots because of this. You need to be 100% focused at all times. I am guilty of dozing off on all day sits and have missed opportunities because of that in the past. That is the one main thing I am working on for future hunts.

Most people move way too much on stand and if you need to move it has to be in very slow motions if at all because deer are experts at picking up any kind of movement at amazing distances.
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Re: What is a great hunter when on stand

Unread postby headgear » Sat May 14, 2011 7:13 am

I do believe a lot of it is mental, no doubt getting pumped up when a big buck is in range is a great thing but I think the best hunters are able to keep their emotions in check. You have to be able to think and control your movements under pressure, some can handle it well, others not so much. I think some of this "mojo" you are born with and some you learn over time with practice and experience.

I clearly hunt with a few guys who don't have "it" - don't know how many times I hear how they just pulled up and shot, when I asked if they aimed they usually say something like "I saw brown". :cry:

Thinking back to when I was young I did some good things and bad things on the stand, but every one of them was a learning experience and made me a better hunter. Great hunters learn from their mistakes.

This kind of reminds me of the "shoulda been a sniper" thread.
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Re: What is a great hunter when on stand

Unread postby Bucky » Sat May 14, 2011 7:50 am

I think mental determination, patients, and being able to stay alert, and keeping your cool at the moment of truth all make a difference... of course none of that matters if you don't scout and put the stand in the right spot in the 1st place :lol:
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Re: What is a great hunter when on stand

Unread postby tim » Sat May 14, 2011 8:18 am

as far as buck freeze, i try not to draw unless i know the shot will already be present even if i get busted and have to make a quick shot. but, like this year i drew before the shot presented itself because the buck was plenty far off and was on a mission, plus my senses were dulled--i was sick as a dog :lol: but i try to time it so if i get busted that deer is stepping into the lane not has to take 5 more steps. this happens often the deer will stop and look in the general direction of me and i believe that is because i USUALLY set up very close to where the deer will be traveling on trails, i feel i have a better advantage as far as wind goes especially in bluffs being very near the trail or where i expect the deer to travel.
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Re: What is a great hunter when on stand

Unread postby Indianahunter » Sat May 14, 2011 2:09 pm

As far as attention span...or alertness on stand. I think that these skills can be learned and earned. I think it comes from confidence, and confidence comes from hard work scouting. If you know that you're in the game it makes you focus harder knowing that the buck you have been watching could come in at any moment.
I have heard many people over the years say that they just don't possess patience. I whole heartedly believe that patience is a skill that you learn and develop NOT something that some people are born with and some people aren't. Just my 2cents.
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Re: What is a great hunter when on stand

Unread postby dan » Sat May 14, 2011 2:25 pm

I think a lot of hunters over analize and worry to much about doing something wrong and don't shoot when they need to... A lot of the things mentioned can be "learned" with time and kills.
One problem I see is guys who want to start there hunting career killing mature bucks right away so they never learn how to kill prior to when they get a big one in front of them and thats when they learn there mistakes and it takes them a lot longer to become good hunters.
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Re: What is a great hunter when on stand

Unread postby Buckfever » Sat May 14, 2011 3:29 pm

No question some are better suited to execute than others. That aside it comes down to experience and preparation. I have to agree, maybe for the first 25 bow kills, focus on reading the deer and executing a good shot, before you go on to exclusively buck hunt. And then finally to borrow from the military, "you don't rise to the occasion, you fall to your level of training". Every year we need to reacquire our hunting specific archery proficiency, if we do that and have enough experience, things come together.
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Re: What is a great hunter when on stand

Unread postby Uncle Lou » Sun May 15, 2011 11:57 am

PredatorTC, great offseason topic. I just keep trying to learn and hone my skills to get better. I think that mindset is key.

Learning from others mistakes is a bonus too, but just cant seem to learn well enough until I blunder myself, then that usually drives the point home.
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Re: What is a great hunter when on stand

Unread postby dan » Sun May 15, 2011 12:18 pm

One thing with me is that if something fails, I fix it rather than use something "1/2 working"
If something makes noise I silence it .... The things that make me fail that are controlable are taken seriously.
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Re: What is a great hunter when on stand

Unread postby ttsbuck » Mon May 16, 2011 2:31 am

I think to be a great hunter on stand includes a combination of skill with your bow and experience in the woods with deer. When it comes time to make a shot you should be able to do it without to much thinking ( auto pilot ) would be my best description. And when an animal is approaching from experience you learn when to make a move to draw for the shot, sometimes when the animal is farther away and sometimes you may need to wait until it is close or even after it passes depending on the set up and the deers behavior.
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Re: What is a great hunter when on stand

Unread postby PEAKRUT » Mon May 16, 2011 11:44 am

Cool, Calm, and Collected under all situations!
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Re: What is a great hunter when on stand

Unread postby muddy » Mon May 16, 2011 2:42 pm

Learning to trust your gut instinct is huge. This plays a roll in everything hunting from scouting that little extra, hanging that stand 3 trees over, or just learning to embrace "auto pilot" when that buck is bearing down on you.
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