learning how to hunt

Discuss deer hunting tactics, Deer behavior. Post your Hunting Stories, Pictures, and Questions/Answers.
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BassBoysLLP
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Re: learning how to hunt

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Fri Dec 23, 2016 6:48 am

mainebowhunter wrote:
JoeRE wrote:Great topic Magic.

It took you very little time to decipher what the buck in your example was doing through reading sign - but don't forget how much time it took to learn how to read that sign....years, DECADES, of time looking at sign.

That's what so many newer hunters get hung up on. They search frantically for a shortcut, unable to accept that a hunter has to be a novice for probably 10 or 20 years before you start to feel in control of your destiny out there and are not so intimidated to get outside your comfort zone. I have a news flash for you: for the first decade maybe a lot longer sure you might get lucky a few times but overall you are gonna suck at hunting!!!

Technology does offer some shortcuts to success no doubt about it, but a lot can be lost by shortening the journey at the same time. Depends how you define success too.

Then there are the sleazy snake oil salesmen that prey on hunters, just slowing their attempts to gain any real hunting skills.

Woodsmanship is not quite dead yet but its probably gonna die in the next generation of modern hunters...buried under great piles of "gear"

I love using trail cameras now but I am very glad that the first 10 years as a hunter they didn't exist - then when they did they were too expensive for me to afford for quite a few years. They are a great tool to supplement scouting but absolutely do not replace it.


Here in the bigger timber, I think it takes 10-15 years just to build up ones knowledge of the ground they are hunting, knowing how the deer move in and out of the pieces, how the deer use the pieces during what times of the year. If your not a rifle tracker, you have to make up the difference off season to learn the same amount of ground. Lots and lots of boot leather thats for sure.

Its totally understandable why tracking / still hunting is such a huge part of the way hunting is done around here.


Spot on.

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Dewey
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Re: learning how to hunt

Unread postby Dewey » Fri Dec 23, 2016 7:00 am

I agree woodsmanship skills are quickly fading these days. In my younger pre-teen days I was totally fascinated with exploring large marshes and wooded areas and would do this all the time with no maps or compass. I got lost often but always found my way out. I believe this really gave me a good sense of direction that benefits me now. Hunting deep in the northwoods well before GPS technology was another great learning experience for me. Learning to read maps and using a compass is a lost art nowadays. I truly believe most hunters now would be lost without their GPS and smartphone maps. I'm guilty of using them as well now for convenience but would hunt the same without them and do that quite often to maintain my natural navigating skills. Drop me off in the middle of nowhere give me a compass and I bet you I can find my way out with ease. I'm amazed how many guys don't even know how to use a compass.

When I learned to hunt my dad taught me the basics to get started but then time in the wild and reading sign is what shaped me into a hunter. I remember at a young age even before I was old enough to hunt being so excited to find deer tracks, beds, droppings, rubs, scrapes and trying to figure out why the deer were there and how I could hunt them. As a kid there was nothing I enjoyed more than being out in the wild and since it was basically accessible right out my backyard this was how I spent my days. That excitement carries on today.

There is no replacement for experience and spending time in the wild. No amount of reading magazines and books will make you a better hunter. They are good for teaching the basics but if you don't have the ability to apply it will all be worthless. Like JoeRE said there are no shortcuts. Woodsmanship skills take many years to learn but unfortunately with todays technology it's slowly fading away and sadly most will never learn the skills.
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Re: learning how to hunt

Unread postby Lockdown » Fri Dec 23, 2016 7:03 am

JoeRE wrote: They are a great tool to supplement scouting but absolutely do not replace it.


Completely agree with this. Half my cameras use is inventory based, half is invasive bedding intel based.

Just to clarify, earlier when I talked about reading sign when I check my cams, I do this specifically to sharpen my woodsmanship skills. This will help me figure out exactly how hot the sign is when I'm checking bedding areas.

Great thread guys.

I forget who posted it, but I also have trouble tracking due to small parcels. A square mile of public around here is "huge" by most people's standards.

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magicman54494
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Re: learning how to hunt

Unread postby magicman54494 » Fri Dec 23, 2016 10:19 am

Lockdown wrote: but I also have trouble tracking due to small parcels.

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I hear this a lot. It's important to remember that mature bucks a creatures of habit. Pay close attention to exactly how they travel thru the places that you can hunt because they will most likely come thru there again. Try to guess why they came thru. was it feed or does or escape from danger. These are all little clues that will help you guess when and where to hunt. Scouting is guess work based on the info you gather. I equate it to the CSI shows where they show the crime scene then show what happened in a flashback. You are going to guess wrong a lot of times but at least you are using actual intel that put you closer to success. watch for his tracks in the future or this would be a good spot to toss in a cam and see if he comes thru or how big he is. Is there a rub line on that route thru your property? Which way was he traveling? These are all little clues that might just turn into a trip to the taxidermist.
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Re: learning how to hunt

Unread postby creepingdeth » Fri Dec 23, 2016 10:26 am

good post and good comments...dont have to look far to see people taking shortcuts in other places. I dont really play cards, but I would bet(haha) that it takes lots and lots of playing poker to be any good. Sorry kids, I think most things worthwhile (to me), take time, work, and patience. I learned from family that hunts the same area and same stands all season :shock: . Might get lucky,might not.If you want to harvest deer like no other, you need to learn to hunt deer like no other...Thanx Beasts
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magicman54494
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Re: learning how to hunt

Unread postby magicman54494 » Fri Dec 23, 2016 10:28 am

Trail cameras can be a great tool but scouting to find the right spot to place it is very important. Most guys like to use an attractant to draw the deer in for a pic. This could hurt your chances. I know that big bucks are scared of bait piles in the north so doing this could make it tougher to hunt them in that spot. If you scout and hang a cam on a trail based on your scouting you are less likely to alert that buck to danger increasing your chances of getting a shot in that spot.
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Re: learning how to hunt

Unread postby mheichelbech » Fri Dec 23, 2016 10:42 am

I think this website helps to motivate the younger guys to build up their woodmanship skills instead of relying on technology so much.

One thing my brother used to do is take off and leave me in the woods to find my own way out. While scary at first, it ultimately helped me develop confidence in finding my way around and out.

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"One of the chief attractions of the life of the wilderness is its rugged and stalwart democracy; there every man stands for what he actually is and can show himself to be." — Theodore Roosevelt, 1893
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magicman54494
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Re: learning how to hunt

Unread postby magicman54494 » Fri Dec 23, 2016 10:56 am

mheichelbech wrote:
One thing my brother used to do is take off and leave me in the woods to find my own way out.

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My brother probably would have taken my compass too. Then told my parents that I was staying with a friend overnight.
We get along much better these days. :D
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Re: learning how to hunt

Unread postby Edcyclopedia » Fri Dec 23, 2016 11:32 am

magicman54494 wrote:
mheichelbech wrote:

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My brother probably would have taken my compass too. Then told my parents that I was staying with a friend overnight.
We get along much better these days. :D


And THAT folks is how it all started.

You're like Austin Powers when they sung Daddy wasn't there...


Daddy, daddy wasn't there

Daddy, daddy wasn't there
To take me to the fair
It seems he doesn't care
Daddy wasn't there

Daddy, daddy wasn't there
To change my underwear
It seems he doesn't care
Daddy wasn't there

When I was first baptized
When I was criticized
When I was ostracized
When I was Jazzercized

Steak and kidney pies
When I was modernized
When I was circumcised

Daddy wasn't there

When I was first baptized
When I was criticized
When I was ostracized
When I was Jazzercized

Steak and kidney pies
When I was modernized
When I was circumcised

Daddy wasn't there
To take me to the fair
To change my underwear
Daddy wasn't there

Daddy wasn't there peace

If you got a daddy issue
Here's a daddy tissue
D to the A to the D D Y
D to the A to the D D Y

They say it’s just a fact
But I’ve got a dead beat dad
D to the A to the D D Y
D to the A to the D D Y

I’d sit in my room and cry
And I ask myself the reason why
D to the A to the D D Y
D to the A to the D D Y

Daddy, daddy, daddy
D A D D Y, peace

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Re: learning how to hunt

Unread postby mspaci » Fri Dec 23, 2016 12:17 pm

very good topic, it goes for other types of hunting like turkey as well. Mike
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Re: learning how to hunt

Unread postby mheichelbech » Fri Dec 23, 2016 12:29 pm

Edcyclopedia wrote:
magicman54494 wrote:
mheichelbech wrote:

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image


My brother probably would have taken my compass too. Then told my parents that I was staying with a friend overnight.
We get along much better these days. :D


And THAT folks is how it all started.

You're like Austin Powers when they sung Daddy wasn't there...


Daddy, daddy wasn't there

Daddy, daddy wasn't there
To take me to the fair
It seems he doesn't care
Daddy wasn't there

Daddy, daddy wasn't there
To change my underwear
It seems he doesn't care
Daddy wasn't there

When I was first baptized
When I was criticized
When I was ostracized
When I was Jazzercized

Steak and kidney pies
When I was modernized
When I was circumcised

Daddy wasn't there

When I was first baptized
When I was criticized
When I was ostracized
When I was Jazzercized

Steak and kidney pies
When I was modernized
When I was circumcised

Daddy wasn't there
To take me to the fair
To change my underwear
Daddy wasn't there

Daddy wasn't there peace

If you got a daddy issue
Here's a daddy tissue
D to the A to the D D Y
D to the A to the D D Y

They say it’s just a fact
But I’ve got a dead beat dad
D to the A to the D D Y
D to the A to the D D Y

I’d sit in my room and cry
And I ask myself the reason why
D to the A to the D D Y
D to the A to the D D Y

Daddy, daddy, daddy
D A D D Y, peace

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Funny song! Fortunate to have a brother 10 years older that got me into hunting and shooting archery. I wouldn't be the person I am today without him.

I would add that some dads teach what TO do and some dads teach what NOT TO do.
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"One of the chief attractions of the life of the wilderness is its rugged and stalwart democracy; there every man stands for what he actually is and can show himself to be." — Theodore Roosevelt, 1893
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Octang
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Re: learning how to hunt

Unread postby Octang » Fri Dec 23, 2016 12:35 pm

headgear wrote:I grew up in a family of hunters, however their idea of hunting and how I operate now are worlds apart. I don't mean this as a slight to them but the way I was taught to hunt deer probably set me back a decade while I set out on my own to learn more. Basically their style is to pick a spot in the woods because no one else was hunting there, build a perm stand and that was kind of your area for life.


Haha, you're family and my family must have went to the same hunting school!

Seriously, though I joke about it, my dad did/does have some good woodmanship skills. He can read tracks, and understands deer behavior to an extent, but he never took it a step further to put it all together. It was the way he was taught, so it IS the way it is!

My dad's family is obsessed with hunting and they are all the same way. When I bought my first buck grunt as a teenager my dad had a good laugh about wanting to make "noise" in the woods. I may have well have wanted to bring a tuba into the woods in his mind.

Personally, I'm ok with most of the hunting community not taking an interest to learn how to 'really' hunt... I don't have to compete with many people for my good spots, and I like shooting more deer than my dad!
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Re: learning how to hunt

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Fri Dec 23, 2016 1:40 pm

magicman54494 wrote:I think that hunting today has changed so much from the old days that most people have lost (or never learned) how to hunt



I wonder about this....Are you saying the average hunter (as a percentage) 50 years ago was a much better woodsman than the average hunter today? That could be true, but I have my doubts. The old bell shaped curve would suggest that only a certain percent (in any endeavor not just hunting) are on the right side of the curve. Most of us are in the middle. Of course then you have the lefties, who couldn't navigate themselves out of a paper sack :lol:

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The top woodsmen today would have also been a top woodsman 50/100/2000 years and vice versa.

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magicman54494
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Re: learning how to hunt

Unread postby magicman54494 » Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:03 pm

Jackson Marsh wrote:
magicman54494 wrote:I think that hunting today has changed so much from the old days that most people have lost (or never learned) how to hunt



I wonder about this....Are you saying the average hunter (as a percentage) 50 years ago was a much better woodsman than the average hunter today? That could be true, but I have my doubts. The old bell shaped curve would suggest that only a certain percent (in any endeavor not just hunting) are on the right side of the curve. Most of us are in the middle. Of course then you have the lefties, who couldn't navigate themselves out of a paper sack :lol:

Image

The top woodsmen today would have also been a top woodsman 50/100/2000 years and vice versa.

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I understand what you are saying but I think that people were closer attached to nature in years past and needed those skills in times past. All mountain men would fit your curve but the curve was different then because if you didn't have good skills you would starve. So over time the curve was correct but the skill level of average changed.

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Re: learning how to hunt

Unread postby seazofcheeze » Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:10 pm

I hunted a new property this year that I got permission to hunt after green up. I was able to find some good tracks in the ag fields on the property, and I was able to locate several licking branches that ended up as active scrapes in October. Using that information combined with aerials to hone in on suspected bedding and trail cameras significantly reduced my learning curve on this property. I ended up (unfortunately) wounding and eventually losing a good buck. I guess my point is I like to employ EVERY advantage I can, but woodsmanship is the foundation for sure.

I actually wish I had more areas to snow track during November because over the last few years, some of my best spots rut spots are spots that are lacking typical rut sign in the immediate area. I think I could find more of these areas quicker by tracking rather than by soaking cameras all November.

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