Lessons learned....how much have you grown?

G

gedenke

New member
Some of you here remember the story of my first buck that I took last year. Long story short I made a couple of big mistakes, got very lucky, and learned a valuable lesson about preparation and ethics. Over the past year I think I've become a much better, more responsible hunter and am much more ready for this years season.

Here's the point of this thread: I'd like to hear some of the lessons you've all learned over the years, and, if you wish, some of the mistakes that you've
made (and never will again). I'll start.

I've learned that it's a hunter's responsibility be completely prepared to head into the field. Everything from sighting in your rifle or bow and being well practiced with it, to having a plan on when and where you will hunt, to checking all your gear. Cover all your bases so that you, and all in your hunting party will have a safe and enjoyable hunt, and the game you pursue are taken quickly and cleanly.
 
My most important lessons learned:

1. Always bring a rope and a flashlight or headlamp, preferably with a red filter available.

2. Never lock your keys in the trunk.

3. Don't leave your hunting license in camp and make sure you have all the right stamps and endorsements for the hunting you will be doing.

4. Always take your digital camera. I have a pocket on my fanny pack just for the camera. Take lots of pics. You can delete any that don't come out right.

5. Make darn sure the doe you are fixing to shoot isn't a young buck with just enough antler to be a buck. 1" of hardened antler makes a buck in TX. That 1" can be hard to see at 155 yards.

6. Bring the means to sharpen your knife.

7. Red light may not bother deer, I don't know, but it bothers the heck out of turkeys when they are on the roost.

8. Always look under the seat of your blind and all around inside it. You never know when you will find an unwanted guest.
 
5. Make darn sure the doe you are fixing to shoot isn't a young buck with just enough antler to be a buck. 1" of hardened antler makes a buck in TX. That 1" can be hard to see at 155 yards.
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Ha, been there. Thankfully didn't have a chance at a shooter buck that year. He actually barely cleared the antlerless mark but I hadn't used my either-sex tag and I was winding up for the season, just looking for freezer deer. It was only my second season out, so didn't count him as my first buck. :p

Biggest thing I learn again and again, in the field and in life in general, is everything is common sense until you screw it up. I'm stubborn so very little gels with me until I botch it once.

As to hunting in particular: be punctual, and be patient. Punctual when hunting means give yourself an extra hour, then still leave early. When I finally bagged my first trophy, I think it was in large part due to the fact it was the only time I've ever made my stand while it was still pitch black. Patience is obviously easier to understand but harder to practice.
 
Biggest change in me over the years is ethics.

The guy I "learned" from was unethical, at best. Would launch an arrow at anything he could see with no real chance of making a good shot.

When I went back on Active Duty and moved all the time, I spent most of my time hunting by myself, and learned a lot.

I got into teaching Bow Hunter education, and now teach hunter safety. I am glad to have some impact on the next generation of people out in the woods.
 
I think the most important thing I learned in all my years of hunting is to relax and enjoy the experience. It will make you calmer for the shot, you will spend more time looking for game in those brush-choked hillsides, and if you come home empty-handed you still had a good time. I finally got that way because I figured out that meat is cheaper at Albertsons, I am not on a search & destroy mission, and the animals don't care if I have a good time or not. So I relax and I come home with game most of the time.
 
Breath. I learned to breath and relax prior to taking a shot. I've missed a couple of shots I shouldn't have in the past and the key is breathing.
 
Patience. Don't be in a hurry. Doesn't matter if you're gathering your gear for a hunt, walking along to a sitting-spot, or when sitting and watching country.
 
Congrats!

gedenke, you have had quite a year! From getting your butt chewed for not sighting in your rifle on your first Blacktail to calling in your first Black Bear. That is a great year for any begining hunter. I'm sure you have learned quite a bit and will continue to learn and grow as a hunter as we all strive to do. I think you are doing quite well as a hunter.
 
Thanks taylor, believe it or not, but that reaming I got was a great eye-opener. We'll log that one as a "training aide"!
 
Sit down, shut up, and wait. Besides that, know the area you're hunting in.

Finally, when you're old and fat, make friends with farmers, ranchers and orchardists. But you got thirty years or so to wait on that one.
 
Seat Cushion

Not much help when I was 20, but now at 40....

Camo seat cushion, butt warmer, whatever you want to call it. Usually around 10 bucks or less at Walmart

When you're leaning up against that tree waiting on sunrise, it sure does make a difference.

And about 10:30, when the sun is warming you up, you just slide on down and use it for a pillow ;)
 
Patience, patience, patience...

Last year, at age 31, was my first time hunting. I learned SOOOOOO many lessons. I didn't take a deer last year, and it was 100% my fault. First, I was borrowing a rifle from a left handed/left eye dominant shooter, who I was hunting with. He and I didn't have time to go to the range and sight it in for me, so I was relying on his sighting in, with the opposite eye and opposite shoulder. I think that was part of the problem. My biggest problem was having the patience to wait for that great broadside shot in the clear. I shot at one deer that was running full tilt boogie through the woods in total mad rut insanity. I should have waited for a better shot. I shot at another deer that wasn't but maybe 70 yards away, but was partly obscured by brush, and missed. Had I waited, I'm sure he would have walked right around in front of me completely in the clear.

This year, I'm getting my own rifle, and I'm going to swallow that lump in my throat and wait for a good shot instead of taking marginal shots and blowing it.

Big Charlie
 
Not much help when I was 20, but now at 40....

Camo seat cushion, butt warmer, whatever you want to call it. Usually around 10 bucks or less at Walmart

When you're leaning up against that tree waiting on sunrise, it sure does make a difference.

And about 10:30, when the sun is warming you up, you just slide on down and use it for a pillow
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Age starts catching up with you. I use an old padded kitchen chair or one of those dove buckets with the spinning padded seat cushion.
 
First, I was borrowing a rifle from a left handed/left eye dominant shooter, who I was hunting with. He and I didn't have time to go to the range and sight it in for me, so I was relying on his sighting in
Click to expand...

I made the same mistake last year, "borrowing a rifle from a friend". Only my situation was worse, as the rifle had only been factory bore sighted, and had never even been fired. :( I blame myself mostly, for assuming, but I was also a little put off that he (my friend) would knowingly put me in that situation. Long story short, the bore sighting was 8" off and my first shot was a bad one in in the belly. Luckily, I was able to make a clean second shot in the pump house and the deer was havested minutes later.

Needless to say, I no longer trust "factory bore sighting", nor do I assume anything about a gun being sighted in by anyone but me.

The patience thing is also a must-have in any hunters attributes.
 
My words of wisdom...

Make every hunt a learning experience. Pay attention to game, not just the ones you are after. They all play a big part in the grand scheme of things.
---I can't tell you how many times a squirrel has told me when deer were on their way.

Other lessons I've learned:

- Don't park on the trail the deer are "actually" comming from.
- Never assume that when walking to your stand using the full moon as light, the noise you hear 10 feet from you is a deer or opossum. It may be a black bear.( Happened my first year of bowhunting in my own stand at 14)
- Do not test your safety harness. It will work, but it hurts like hell.
- Don't try and use your climber on a River Birch. You may slip and slide going down.
- The rope attaching your two climbing stand pieces is important.
- Ensure the the area around your tree is clear before pulling up your Bow/Gun.
- No matter how much time you have put into scouting a good bow stand, the deer will always come from the direction least expected.
- Hunting is a sport, earn your game.
 
wpcexpert said:
- No matter how much time you have put into scouting a good bow stand, the deer will always come from the direction least expected.
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Ain't that the truth! My uncle set me up on his land one year (it was the 2nd year I went down. it's not my typical opening day spot), right off a trail that crossed a path he had that ran to the top of his property. I didn't see much that day, unless you could the monster whitetail I choked on (I don't' like to talk about it). After my choke session, I just happened to look over my shoulder only to see a 4-point's head walking along a ridge line behind me. The only thing I could see was his head, maybe 30 yds away. There was nothing I could do but watch, sigh, and let him go.
 
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