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Mistakes you made as a young/rookie hunter
It goes without saying that hunting is a skill honed over time and I think it's safe to say that it's a rare time out that we don't learn something in the field that makes us better at our sport. Coming into hunting myself as a grown man in his 20's, I can attest to the fact that an adult who is new to hunting is hardly immune from making the same mistakes as a kid just setting foot in the field for the first time. So, what mistakes o wrong ideas did you have walking into the woods as a kid or new hunter?
Here's a few that I can remember:
1) Getting into the woods too late/leaving too early: I can't tell you how dumb this feels in hindsght. More than a handful of times, I would come strolling into the woods when the sun was well up, sit all day at a dead stand, and then leave too early because it felt hopeless being that I had just sat most of my time in the midday lull. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
2) Sitting down at the fist "good spot" on public land: nowadays, I do everything in my power to get as far away from the entrance to public land as I possibly can, even if that's a couple of miles. Why? Because every hunter who just wants to get out his truck and walk 5 feet to set up a chair or a treestand will be there with you. The fact is, that's exactly what I was doing right along side them. I think back and have memories of at least 10 treestands within' eyeshot of my position, many with hunters in them. Not a good place to be, but it took me a season or two to figure that out.
3) Leaving the scope zoomed in when leaving or entering the hunting spot: this one only happened once and has never happened since. I left my 4-14x scope zoomed all the way in only to have a doe and the big, mature buck she had tailing her blow out of a grass bed less than 15 yards away for what should've been an easy shot. Instead, I was stuck looking through a soda straw, trying to find them through the optics at the moment of truth. By the time I got a hopeless shot off, they had cleared over 100 yards.
Here's a few that I can remember:
1) Getting into the woods too late/leaving too early: I can't tell you how dumb this feels in hindsght. More than a handful of times, I would come strolling into the woods when the sun was well up, sit all day at a dead stand, and then leave too early because it felt hopeless being that I had just sat most of my time in the midday lull. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
2) Sitting down at the fist "good spot" on public land: nowadays, I do everything in my power to get as far away from the entrance to public land as I possibly can, even if that's a couple of miles. Why? Because every hunter who just wants to get out his truck and walk 5 feet to set up a chair or a treestand will be there with you. The fact is, that's exactly what I was doing right along side them. I think back and have memories of at least 10 treestands within' eyeshot of my position, many with hunters in them. Not a good place to be, but it took me a season or two to figure that out.
3) Leaving the scope zoomed in when leaving or entering the hunting spot: this one only happened once and has never happened since. I left my 4-14x scope zoomed all the way in only to have a doe and the big, mature buck she had tailing her blow out of a grass bed less than 15 yards away for what should've been an easy shot. Instead, I was stuck looking through a soda straw, trying to find them through the optics at the moment of truth. By the time I got a hopeless shot off, they had cleared over 100 yards.
Accuracy: because white space between bullet holes drives me insane.
Replies
Should have been my first deer.
Adam J. McCleod
2- Like Wambli said: Scent Control. Did not get serious about it for years.
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
I think you could probably combine numbers 1 and 2 if you think about it. But yeah, as a kid I spent countless hours hunting hard in areas that probably hadn't seen much game in years.
And I'll string along with you and bullsi on the scent thing. Even well into adulthood I didn't sweat scent too much. Sure, I played the wind. If it was right they'd walk right up to you. If it was wrong, then you're busted and it's just part of it. But with the products we have available today...
To Bullsi's point on shot placement. I learned that lesson the hard way on the Western slopes of the Rockies. Shot an elk and man I tracked that thing for literally miles. I was in camp when the herd came through, called my shot and was confident of a clean, quick kill. The punishment for my mistake was, having left camp thinking it was a done deal, I had to hike back up that mountain with no water or snacks. The hardest lessons are best I guess. But I didn't even learn it til later that same year when I shot a deer in that same scenario. Not much tracking but when I found it the lightbulb above my head really went off on that elk.
This has been an interesting topic for discussion OP, so kudos to you and I hope others will chime in.
You're walking with your rifle shoulder slinged, muzzle down through thick stuff during a wet snow, low wind. Great stalk opportunities....everything goes according to plan when you level the rifle at what you hoped to find....and discover that snow in the eyepiece thing...deer 1, me nothing.
Second blunder (as a kid) sitting, getting a tad cold. Saw a small critter late morning through the cedar swamp, circle the ground like a little puppy dog looking for a comfy spot to lay down on a rug. Thought it was a fox/coyote perhaps....I stalked the spot, got very close.....and then I heard the snort of the very large Bullwinkle/Boyfriend coming to visit her with flowers.
I'm quite sure I'll think of a few more.
I removed the cross bolt safety on my Marlin 1895 45-70 for the same reason, although I was only hunting groundhogs. As soon as I heard the click, I knew what I'd done, recocked, moved safety and shot him. I wan't a rookie, but had never hunted with that gun, and now I've made sure I can't reapeat that same mistake again on that gun!
2. Arrow fetching had one white and one yellow. The other two were camo. One bird kept fussing at the colors it recognized.
3. Not being really familiar with a borrowed gun. Missed a BIG, for S. Texas, buck because I had the safety on.
2. Walking a submerged footlog across a deep creek while wearing chest waders. When I missed a step and slid into the creek, my BIL kept my head above water by pulling on my hair, until I could extricate myself from the waders.
3. Trying to deer hunt on public land in Texas. You have to run the gauntlet through a thick band of city slickers to get to a good spot, only to discover that someone else also did their homework and got up earlier than you.
4. Not retrieving your downed dove before shooting another. If the birds are thick, it's very easy to lose one, if you get two or three down at once. I try to discipline myself not to shoot another bird while walking to retrieve the first one. It's hard to do, but it's really a shame to kill one and not find it.
I delayed getting a dove for about 3 minutes while the birds were flying heavy, and by the time I got to the bird it was completely covered in fire ants. get the bird you downed ASAP, or nature will take it.
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
First buck I ever shot at ran off with a Bear razorhead stuck in the side of his antlers........right where I was looking. ROFL.
God Bless
Steve
Been there, done that. Learned that lesson forty years ago and have never forgotten it. Marango Swamp is no fun after dark.
Mike
N454casull
So did I. But I gave myself a refresher a couple of years ago, and it was a lot more painful in a 60 year old body. Now, I take a backpack with snacks and water, GPS, AND a compass.
2. leaving the scope on high. blundered my first chance at an elk that way. I was tracking them in deep snow and I came up right on top of them not 50 feet away. All I saw in the scope was brown
I was wrong.
But, all things considered, probably the biggest mistake I made as a young hunter, and am still prone to making, is not practicing enough. I've made my share of great shots on game, but I've also made my share of misses on shots I should have made.
The other one that comes to mind is misjudging the range. When hunting wide open country, it's so easy to do. The first antelope I ever shot at was what I thought to be about 350-400 yards away. I held over what I thought was about right, and touched off the trigger of my .270. I saw dirt fly about 50 ft. in front of the animal, and they quickly vacated the area.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
Forgetting a deers eyes are different from ours. They see in black and white and can't focus. Problem is if you twich they see you then those dang radar ears will locate you.
Winchesters do in a way. If the trigger is not pulled the hammer will not fall all the way and strike the primer. Also, the lever has to be pulled up tight to the stock. Those aren't safeties in the traditional sense but they are safety features.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
I remember you mentioning that and I really, REALLY hope you're luck will rub off on my adventure. I am not looking forward to that heavy terrain element of the hunt from a shot opportunity perspective. It's public land and sometimes you have to act "right now." I am more than willing to stalk patiently, but some of the places I saw would necessitate a canyon-to-canyon effort if the animal is worthwhile because navigating the terrain would slow you down far too much.
Found that out crossing a stream in blinding blowing snow on one of my first hunts.
I started getting serios about scent control about 30 years ago. When we'd be at deer camp it was cold so we wouldnt take a shower until we were about to leave. Then I read an article about scent. There's two sides to it though. You can smell like a cave man and run the deer off or you can smell like Lady Petunia Blossom and scare hell out of em too. Because human body odor is unlike other animals, deer and other game when they smell you, know it's something "NOT GOOD." You need to keep your scent, good or bad, down to a dull roar. But when you use alot of perfumy deoderant and maybe cologn it is not natural either. Also, brushing your teeth with baking soda is a pretty scentless method to keep your breath reasonably good. Any strong smell other than that of things natural will raise the red flag to wild life. Anyway, that's my opinion.