Where is your focus?

[Ack]

So what is your main focus when it comes to deer hunting? Obviously everyone is out there to have fun, but is your main focus to see a lot of deer while on stand? Find and kill the biggest buck in your area? Sit in a tree just to get away and unwind? Buy the latest and greatest equipment?

There is no right or wrong answer....this is meant for people to recognize what their priorities are and to see if their actual focus is helping or hurting their deer hunting expectations. These threads are also nice to revisit a few years later to see if you stuck to your plan, or if your actual focus may have changed.

[muddy]

1) get the kids outdoors
2) kill a toad
3) have fun doing all of it while being safe and practicing good ethics

[greenhorndave]

Mine are probably different than most of you as I enter my second full Beast season and 3.5 overall.

1. Get better at finding bedding areas, particularly primary and those that might be more heavily used at certain times of year.

2. Continue to progress in reading sign, in-season scouting and finding overlooked spots.

3. Practice setup, tear down, shooting at wacky angles (important in general, but particularly if I try a saddle this season)

4. Knock down a good buck (which I will know when I see it... might be a runt for others, but that’s not my problem)

5. Enjoy the ride.

[KRONIIK]

Focus?
My focus is always intently upon... Hey, look -a SQUIRREL!!!

( Runs off after squirrel...)

(...Comes back an hour later.)

I'm sorry. What we're we talking about, again?

[Boogieman1]

My focus often changes as much as the wind. Will confess sometimes I’m content to just sit in any ole tree and soothe my soul. Other times I just wanna see a lot of dang deer and don’t care if they are bucks or not. Just watching deer up close has always put a smile on my face. But the meat and potatoes of my hunting season my focus is on locating a few bucks that would put a grin on my face. Then letting an arrow fly at the first one that gives me a shot.

[1STRANGEWILDERNESS]

Making me think about it I realize that my focus is all over the place. It shows in all facets of my life. I don’t usually have a plan but all in all everything works out. I’m likely trying to focus on locating some bigwoods hotspots in oct and nov with big buck sign. there has been a few falls I decided chasing steelhead with my fly rod would be my focus. Or years back it was mallards or grouse and I’d just focusing on the first week of bow and the rut because I felt bad going hunting and leaving my dog at home. He didn’t know the diff between me deer hunting or bird hunting and he would get realllly pissed off. He destroyed a lot of stuff and I got the point haha

Nowadays I like to try and learn bedding, I always was good at locating a general bedding area but never had the inclination to take it to the level that say someone like Dan has. (Wind based, pressure bed, approaches etc. It’s really intriguing and if I don’t go all scatterbrained I’ll focus on improving on that front.

[seazofcheeze]

Adventure/experience. Bonus if I get a nice animal.

[oldrank]

My focus can change at anytime. Honestly, I would say that enjoying myself trumps all. I want to figure a pattern out and make a kill. It doesn't matter if it's a doe or buck. The fun is in the hunt. I may be hunting 20 different areas a season and each area has its own specific goals.

There are many things that can change my focus. Time of the year, time of the day, weather, people, how empty my freezer is, bow season vs gun season.... and on and on. I don't like putting myself in a box. I think when I first joined this site I did that and a couple seasons ended with a sour taste in my mouth. I didn't like that.

[headgear]

1) get the kids outdoors
2) kill a toad
3) have fun doing all of it while being safe and practicing good ethics

Hit the nail on the head for me.

[Jonny]

Having fun and learning. My job can get stressful so getting out in the woods is a nice relaxing thing for me. And I always enjoy getting challenged and learning.

If I get a deer even better. I love venison. So I guess that’s my focus. Maybe someday I will want the challenge of a mature animal but I really enjoy that I get excited about shooting a spike a mile back in a nasty bottom. Feel like it keeps me humble and honest.

End of the day it’s a hobby for me. Running such large operations every day and playing with huge investments is a bit stressful so I really cherish the time I get to enjoy what I love to do. No different than fishing. Except that seems to come way easier for me

[PaPublicLandHunter]

Mine are probably different than most of you as I enter my second full Beast season and 3.5 overall.

1. Get better at finding bedding areas, particularly primary and those that might be more heavily used at certain times of year.

2. Continue to progress in reading sign, in-season scouting and finding overlooked spots.

3. Practice setup, tear down, shooting at wacky angles (important in general, but particularly if I try a saddle this season)

4. Knock down a good buck (which I will know when I see it... might be a runt for others, but that’s not my problem)

5. Enjoy the ride.

x2. I’m at the exact stage you are (beast hunting experience)

[jkelley1487]

1) Soak it all in. Take some time to pray and thankful to see another deer season.
2) Kill a solid buck if the opportunity presents itself.
3) Repeat steps 1-2.


And just enjoy myself. Hunting is suppose to be fun.

[Dewey]

My focus is to find the best bucks in the area and then concentrate on how I’m going to kill one of them. I don’t need to see a lot of deer and am generally very pleased if I just see the one I’m after on that particular day even if I don’t get a chance to kill him. As long as I’m in the game that’s my main priority.

Of course having fun is the ultimate goal and always my main focus. Last year I’ll admit I didn’t have much fun for the first time ever. My mature buck sightings were WAY down and then losing a good hunting buddy and then burying him during the peak of the rut dampened my spirits for the rest of the season. I hunted hard right up to the end but my heart just wasn’t really into it 100% like usual. For the first time ever I was glad a season was over and was ready to move onto the next one. Hoping 2020 will be a better year.

[crankn101]

Fill any buck tag I buy with a 3.5+yo public land buck. I failed last season but have plans for a good one in 2020.

[live2hunt]

1. Get away from daily stress.

2. Push myself. I’m high strung so pushing myself is also relaxing.

3. Figure out and kill a deer that makes me happy. I love a cat and mouse game with a buck

4. I am also a gear guy. I have a form of o.c.d that requires my equipment to be functional and efficient. My stuff has to work or I tinker to make it work. I don’t want to take my focus away from hunting during season so I over prep in the off season.