C. Davis

I think there are some basic things that everyone can saywe finally learn and get good at. Learning how to shoot, and actually haveing confidence that your shot will produce a quick dead deer is one of them. Another one would be...what do you do with the deer after you shoot it. After a few dead deer, it kind of becomes natural but I remember that itused to be challenging to me right at first. It was something I was not used to doing. Every new hunter I have hunted with, be it a kid or older person finds that part of the hunt a little intimidating.

Now as far as knowing everything else....It seems that just when I get them figured out, that is when I learn something new. I'm sure there are a few old bucks telling funny stories about me right now.

C. Davis

formula1

From the stories of the ones I have on the wall to the stories of the bucks that got away, that about says it all. You always improve, but you never really figure it all out!!

Honestly, I don't ever want to figure it all out, it would be no fun anymore!

GSPsnFORDs

I started shotgun hunting when I was 10. Never have had the "feel" during shotgun season b/c there's so many hunters out....in my opinion it's more random movement more or less.

I started bowhunting when I was 16. I had a good feel for what I was doing and what the deer were doing when I was about 18 or 19.....that's when I started scouting a lot more; walking, glassing, etc. I've always seen loads of deer while bowhunting. BUT, then comes this year. I saw the least amount of deer ever! And the thing that pisses me off the most is that I upped my game a notch. I've always been careful about scent but I started doing more planning for entry and exit routes, was extra quiet, etc. And I THOUGHT I knew what I was doing. haha

3Ddepression

I find that there is more of a shift in focus over the years, than reaching a point of certain confidence. Scent, wind, guns, game, game managment, dog training. It seems that there is always something I feel undereducated in, which is good in terms of not growing tired of it all.

Another angle to this subject is, that I know of nothing more annoying, than to go hunting with a guy that is over confident in what he is doing. The kind of old geezer who always, always, know of something other hunters should improve or change. The kind of guy that somehow always know why things went wrong (afterwords of course).

Rebel Hog

It starts at an early age. I shot my first deer at 13, in 1953, but I had been in the woods since the age of 8 shooting my pellet rifle at wood peckers. At the age of 10, I was shooting squirrels with a .22, at 12 I was shooting rabbits with a 20ga, at 13 shot my first deer with a .30-06. All these years I had seen many deer in the woods and asked the old timers many, many questions on the subject. At the age of 13 my dad said I was ready and bought me a J.C. Higgins .30-06 for my birthday in August and by December of that year I shot my first deer.
By the age of 13, I knew the woods pretty good and the habitat of most animals.

mobow

For me, it was about 2 years ago. Used to, I would sit for hours every day and not see a deer. Or if I did, I would only see one every so often. I still have PLENTY to learn about the art form that is deer hunting, but at least I put myself into position to see and take deer regularly. There is seldom a day anymore that I don't see deer and have deer in range. My downside is bucks. I just don't see many bucks at all. Does, I see them. My goal for this year is to see more bucks.

Dirt2

This question is a loaded one. Like others have mentioned, once you start believing you've got it figured out, you probably aren't going to get any better. There's always something to learn, case in point:

I just bought a plant guide and started running around in the woods identifying browse plants. I just called it all "bushes" in the past. Wow has it made me realize how little I knew, not just about plants, but about the deer. Already, I am starting to see the "why" ofdeer movementmuch more clearly than I had in the past.

VT Ridges

It's funny that I have given this some thought as I get older.

I am no trophy hunter. I like to get out in the woods and if I get lucky, put some meat in the freezer. But, as you get older you start getting more experience and you find things that work and build off of them. My experience grew by leaps and bounds when I joined an archery club. By getting to know all of those guys I picked up a lot of pointers. Unfortunately, I don't have time for the club any more.

I guess that's why I like this forum.

rybohunter

This is could be tough to express without sounding cocky. When you go into the woods having confidence helps alot, but you don't want to cross the line to "know-it-all". I felt my Dad prepared me very well even the 1st time I set foot in the woods with a gun. Now that is far from saying I knew it all, but I was prepared and confident. I had a good understanding of where the deer would probably go and why. As the years went by I gained bits of knowledge every time out. It took me a while until I was pretty sure I could get a buck every year with my bow, so I started raising the bar. This has really helped me re-focus and pay attention to the little things that I let slide in becoming complacent. Now if only I could get a bit more confident and "figure out" these darn turkeys.

Mountain Cur

When I was 6 years old and killed a 186 1/8 b&c buck was when I came that realization. Made the 165 class buck that killed when I was 5 look like a dwarf! I'm only 37 now, I just cut their horns off now days.