GMMAT

I know what the "std./Pat./PC" answer is.....but I wanna know the real-life truth to how you approach most of your hunts.

In late Sept. of 1995.....I had yet to kill a deer. I was putting pressure on myself....and I was talking to everyone I knew and trusted in this endeavor.....asking what I might be doing wrong....and disseting each and every move even before I made them.

I remember where I was when a co-worker told me to quit thinking so much....and to follow my "gut instinct". He told me....."You're smarter than them. You have a good idea of where you wanna hunt......what your set-up should look like...etc... . Nowjust go out there and trust that this isn't rocket science."

About thissame time.....Germ told me to relax and have fun. Man what a difference.

So I ask you.....are you the analytical type? Do you dissect EVERY aspect of your hunt? Do you second-guess yourself over stand choices that day? Properties, that day?

EVERY TIME I catch myself doing this.....I turn off the ticker. I decide tomake my decision (the next morning, for example) "on the fly". There's a REAL REASON we need to go with our "gut" instinct. We're dealing with (and I mean NO disrespect) an animal who's brain is the size of a small pear. This ISN'T rocketscience.

I think we need to trust ourselves a bit more. I'm not saying we should flip a coin. We're all smarter than that. BUT....if you have a good feeling about a stand.......HUNT IT.

What about you? What's your approach?

GR8atta2d

Actually this year I became way more analytical. Not to the point of second guessing stands once there. But deciding where that stand would be beforehand!

Factors to consider:

Wind direction
expected deer movement (to-from)
weather patterns
Temp
Expected background cover to pick camo pattern of the day...(Not an issue anymore )
other hunters ?
rut phase (or reason for movement)
etc etc

I was usually on an aerial map site several times a day planning and looking at the intended hunting area!

I had a great season seeing over 30-some bucks. I will use the approach next year and add anything else I can learn.

buttonbuckmaster

I have stands that I set up for different wind directions and times of the season. I try to stay with the game plan I had in mind when I hung the stands.....butthis year those deer with pear sized brains are kicking my tail. Last weekend my stand that is normally automatic was off limits due to a 35mph east wind, pretty much unheard of this time of year here. I say keep the game plan in focus, the scouting, shed hunting, aerial maps etc will payoff in time. I hope.

rybohunter

Yes and no. I’ll think about where to hunt, and why I feel it would be a likely spot and all that stuff, but in reality often times I don’t know exactly where I am going until I step out of the truck. I’ve let wind direction dictate where to go the past several seasons, so that helps ease my choices. I have a general game plan, but actual details are subject to change at any moment, for any reason. And if I go and pick the “wrong” spot, yea I’ll take a few seconds and tell myself I should have been “insert other spot here”, but I don’t dwell on it. I know guys who over think where they sit to an unhealthy degree, and to me it just doesn’t make sense.

buckmaster

Well i find it to be true also, i dont exactly know how but i knew i was going to at least see that little spike the day i killed him, prolly cuz i had seen him a few times alreadybut none the less didnt you post about a good feeling you were havin right before you killed the Bull right?

Rick James

Keep in mind on both Dan's and my own properties, there are roughly 15 stands on each that are prehung in various areas...........all good.

Probably 1/2 the time I know where I'm hunting the night before, but there are so many times that even the morning of, or on the hike halfway in I go with a gut feeling on where to hunt. The only thing that affects this is wind direction. The last doe I took (bangstick) was one of these, I woke up with intentions to hunt a different spot but ended up in the "Sweet Spot" stand instead.......and sure enough there they were.

Rick James

Also, Dan is really good at this hunting on the fly thing. He will just walk in the woods 2+ hours before dark with a climber on his back and his bow and find a tree in the dark and setup. This is exactly what he did this year with the buck he killed during the NY bow season.

brucelanthier

I try to determine where they are currently bedding, where they are currently eating and how they may get from one place to the other,then check the weather (barometer, wind, etc.)report and hunt accordingly. Because I pack in my treestand I can find the best tree available in the area I go to.

Vabowman

GMATT, good post and question. Actually my better hunts are on the fly or off the hip. This year I took my 2nd and 3rd best buck with a bow and I never scouted before hunting those two spots. They were the first trips in the woods in that area and I scouted as I walked around with the stand and bow in my hand. I listen to my gut and my past experiences. I often put my stand up the second I jump deer in a new place that Im hunting, they always seem to return. I don't always have succes following my gut, and yes, I do question my decisions at times, but I do have success at times when shooting from the hip. I also have learned that you can over think this game way too much.

GMMAT

Matt: This is a PERFECT example of what I'm talking about. I may choose an area or even a tree the night before....but I still change, quite often. I'm not comparing anything....but it sounds like Dan and I have similar approaches (and you..to a certain extent).

It's also hard to "measure" if what you're doing is "successful". GR8 saw more bucks than he usually does...with what appears to be a fairly analytical approach. I saw 1/3 (approx) of the bucks I saw last year.....but I took (in my eyes) my best buck in 3 seasons.

All I know is....I HATE to be sitting in a tree.....and not feel good....or second-guess where I chose to set up. I did that a LOT the first year I deer hunted......a "few" times, last year.....and maybe once or twice, this year ('07).



Aaron....the difference whenI took my buck is....I knew I was in his core a few days earlier...and that I'd seen him there. That wasn't rocket science AT ALL. That's just plain old common sense! The hard part was not being able to go int here for the two days I couldn't! Part of my "that feeling" was.....knowing he was in the area.