gutshot

I was lying in bed this morning, waiting for the alarm clock to go off, and I got to thinking just how much that my hunting style has changed from the way that my dad taught me. WhenI was growing up there were a lot less deer in WV and hardly anyone bowhunted because it was hard enough to even get tosee a deer, let alone get one within bow range, so we all started out gun hunting. My dad taught the drive and stand method. Iwas the first in the family to pick up bowhunting and the love affair soon started. Since then my dad has completely quit deer hunting, by his own choice,and I've abandoned the drive and taken tothe trees. My dad tells me every year that if he would've had to go through what I go through every year, with scouting,practicing,tree stands and eveything else that we as bowhunters except as normal for ourchosen passion he would've never taken a deer. So how is the way that you hunt now different from how you were taught to hunt?

rybohunter

Great topic. I've thought about this many times. I was lucky to have a good start and a good teacher in my dad, he hunted with a gun as well as bow. I started gun hunting only 2 years before picking up a bow, and that was mainly because I wasa small child and couldn't draw a capable bow. Gun hunting was from stands in the mornings, and drives with other family members later on in the day. It wasn't so easy to get deer back then you had to make the most of every chance you got. Bowhunting was very challenging. Just seeing or getting any buck in range wasa feat. There wasn't much talk about playing the wind or anything. We hunted the same stands every trip out, hoping eventually a buck would come by. With 2 people in the game now, learning went really fast, with me showing Dad a few things from time to time. Eventually I reached a level to be picky with what bucks I shot, and my Dad just could never understand that. He's now given up hunting, but still enjoys my stories and success. I've come a long way and continue to learn and change hunting styles in pursuit of older bucks while filling the freezers with does.

Legacy357

I was thinking about it too but a lot of my strategies have come through trial and error. I got into hunting at age 12 but didn't go deer hunting until i was 15 or 16. MY dad had given up on hunting when the kids were born but got back into it when I got into it. He never went deer hunting though only small game. We finally decided to try some rifle hunting with a guy from my dads work. We went out one day of rifle season in PA and didn't see a thing. (except a turkey). That summer, I took up bowhunting and became addicted almost immediately. Opening day of archery season, we saw our first deer in the woods together (both on the ground about 15 yards away from each other). Neither of us got any shots that season but we learned a lot. I thought our hunting buddy was a master hunter cause he "knew" what the deer were doing and where we would get one. This proved later to be untrue but i'll get to that. The following yearI started hunting more hours and hunting from a stand and I harvested my first buck which was my first deer ever. Once I got my first deer, I have shot deer every year including a record 3 with a bow this year. I learned the "older wiser" hunters don't always know best and that times, techiques and technology have changed. The hunter who adapts to these situations is the one who will come out on the better end. Hunting the same stand over and over might get you a deer or two but most of time might end in failure. I have changed my ways and now the old guys consider me "Lucky". luck has some part but when I am getting lucky all the time, its a little more than luck!

RTA47

I agree it is a great topic.
Now that I think about it It is unreal on how much my hunting style has changed from way back then untill now. From the stand I use to the camo I wear to weapon I choose to hunt with. Total change!
I guess the biggest change I see today is how much more commercialize hunting as become from back in my dad`s day hunting to mine. I remember when I was a kid my dad going hunting Idon`t think he even ownedany camo much less wear it, I don`t no if they madeclimbing stands back then? I know my dad didn`t own one. And if he were lucky enough to take a deer you would have thought it would have made the national headline newseveryone was so excited.
My dad`s birthday and my son`s birthday are on thesame day. My dad turned 80 this past december and my son turned 11! I can`t help but wonder how muchhunting will change to when my son is my age?
I sure hope some things never change and that is the passion, love, and respect, for hunting and the outdoors that I have come to know.

jaybe

What an interesting thought! When I first began bow hunting, we wereNOT allowed to hunt from "any tree, raised platform, deadfall or windfall". ALL bow hunting had to be done from the ground - period. My attempts at this were totally unsuccessful. I never got within bow range of a deer in the first 5 years of hunting. When tree stands became legal, it was a completely different game. I began killing multiple deer every year - as long as I had access to good property. Recently, I have been learning how to still hunt (sneak hunt)with a firearm. With the correct use of wind, sun and scent control, Ibelieve that I may now be able to do it with a bow. I can hardly wait to take my first deer that I have walked up on without its knowing I'm even there!

IM jaybe

gutshot

Thanks for the reply's. I think that it's wild to see how many of us got started by small game hunting with the person that taught us to hunt. My dad still squirrel hunts with me every weekend. Keep'em coming.

G2 Shooter

I got myself into hunting so my hunting style has been evolving for 20 years. I've learned through trial and error, reading magazines, watching TV shows, different equipment available and learning from others. When I started, it was just luck that I saw deer. I wore camo and practiced with my bow but knew nothing about scent control or deer sign. I know more now but my private land is all gone except for 11 acres. Having to hunt on high pressured public land has been a new learning experience. I think hunting is one of those things that will be forever changing. The basics apply, but to get close enough for a bow, we will always be fine tuning our styles to adapt to the deer. The deer will always be adapting to new building developments, loss of land and hunting pressure. I guess it's good that it will never get boring.

Diesel77

I came from a divorced family, my dad was a pilot in VNam and bugged out when he came back, left my 22 year old mom with 3 boys. My mom took us to the local gun club when we were about 12 to 16 I think, and had some guys there teach us how to shoot and shoot safely. My 2 other brothers quit hunting 15 to 20 years ago, I have become more and more excited every year when Fall approaches. Thank the good lord for a wonderful mother like I have.

MThunter

I may not be the best person to reply to this topic since I am only 23 and only been hunting big game since I was 17, but it is such a good topic that I thought I'd share from some of the experiences I've heard about. Elk hunting has been getting progressively better for the last 20-30 years in Montana. It's now not really a sucessful season if you don't get a bull, and as hardcore as I've gotten into bowhunting, I know I'm going to at least get a couple of shots on bulls if I put the time in. As for whitetails, it would probably only take a couple of days to get a shot at a nice buck with a bow, because there is little bowhunting pressure, even on public land. Muleys are pretty hard to come by.

Now from what I'm told, 30 years ago you might hunt the whole season and see elk only a couple of times with a rifle. Nobody even hunted whitetails. And there were a lot more big muleys.

tschaef

Drives, drives, and more drives, its making me nuts!
My uncles took me hunting (deer drives)as a kid and I fell in love with the outdoors. When I got older I met some guys that hunted in college - more drives, but these guys used dogs.
I bought a x-bow simply to take advantage of the longer seasons (we only get 2 weeks gun up here) and some friends followed suit - they still wanted to do drives!
Now I hunt archery alone with a compound, gun season is party time but to be successful with the bow I prefer to be alone because my buddies can't understand that you have to wait for the shot to present itself. I'm not the best shot but I know where to put a stand to see deer. Alot of learning has been trial and error because I don't really have an archery mentor, thats why all you guys and this site are so great, thanks to all that have answered my questions!