What did you learn this year?

I learned that money spent on quality gear that keeps you in the field longer is a better investment than sinking more dollars into your gun. (actually I already knew this but saw it illustrated when I was able to out-hunt others in my party that didn't think this way) Comfortable water proof boots and quality insulated coveralls made all the difference on my last hunt.

What hunting tip or trick did you learn this year to improve your success?

I am going to take the 3-500 yard shots at monsters, started really practicing about mid december, saw the largest buck of my life, and didn't take the 420 yard open shot....

You are correct on gear, I laughed at people with Under Armour until I tried cold gear a few years ago. It is the bomb for starting a layering process.

I am also a firm believer in have a well built and designed pack, and hunting all day....

Absolutely, if you are confident in your weapon and set up.. Take the Poke

That the property I hunt hardy has any deer.

Don't wait for Muy Grande to show up. If a deer shows up that is one you would like to have, take the shot. I didn't and got Muy Nada for the season. Still enjoyed the time spent hunting...

Charlie

Sometimes it works that way, doesn't bother me though. What does bother me, is how hard I tried to get the wife on a good buck, it would be her first, only to have equipment failures the two weekends she came out. Out of 8 hunts, we saw 5 deer, none of which were shooters.

I hesitated on a 300-350 yd shot and that split second of hesitation cost me a big big buck. Luckily a nice 10 showed up shortly after that.

I learned to listen with my heart. I have learned to speak Sanskrit and I can now divide by zero.

Oh, we are talking about hunting.....never mind.

Couple of things. Zero control when it comes to landowner's and Mother Nature. 2013 & 2014 the owner of our lease sold off the timber right's to a logging crew.

Everything was clear cut.

2015. Mother Nature said let it rain and it did. Sulphur River at Talco is still above flood stage. No access to the property.

3 strikes.

We're out.

I wanna know what colt.45 learned...

I learned pics on the deer with cameras may or may or may not do justice and seeing in person is a whole different story sometimes. But the outdoors and the hunt is what its all about.

I learned that I don't know how to hunt. I know how to sit in a stand and watch a feeder.

I learned that moose meat is awesome.

-That sometimes what a landowner says he wants you to do one day can directly contradict what he told you 24 hours before.
-That a "family lease" brings challenges all its own and that it takes effort and compromise to keep "drama" off a lease. (I knew this really; just had a "refresher course.")
-That a few days with your grown, married daughter can reassure you that she's still your little girl and, she likes it that way.
-That all tires are not equal in the Chihuahuan desert.
-That if you want to eat blue quail, your method of acquiring said quail might require bending the rules of what's "cricket" as far as sportsmanship.

I learned that when the forecast shows the temps to dip into the 30s with bluebird skies that I need to go hunt. Seemed to be something worth shooting on multiple cameras every day we had like that this year.

I learned I can get a freezer full of deer meat w/o firing a shot.

Learned:
*That my wife can take out an entire sounder of pigs, and their children, and their grandchildren... (pigs learned that running off deer from a feeder was not a good idea)
*That if given the opportunity to shoot three bucks, my wife will shoot... three bucks
*That if the wife puts three deer down right where they stood, she will give me grief for having to track one

I learned that game camera pics can be very deceiving. I learned over the last few years that having my young children hunt with me every weekend is better than me shooting big bucks. Especially when one of them harvests a deer.

I can still get buck fever. And I can still make the shot regardless.

I see more and better deer when I focus more on hunting heavily used trails and funnels.

Save your kitchen passes for good weather patterns.

I've come to realize that my dream of going to Africa isn't likely to ever happen. Every year it seems I start saving money for a trip to the dark continent and every year I wind up spending it on something for my kids or my wife or the house! Oh well maybe I'll learn this year but I doubt it!

Oh yea one more thing. Since moving to Louisiana I'm surrounded at home and at work by duck hunters who all claim to know how to prepare and cook duck so that it's awesome. Duck is still damn nasty tasting to me! I'll stick to Axis.

that deer dont like dogs!!!!!!!!!!!! and I'm beginning to dislike my new neighbor

When it floods like it did this year, even the hogs disappear.

Owning land, even a small tract of 150 acres in Mason where the family and I am go out to is amazing.

That and we had a great hunting year with better years to come with proper management.

Never ceases to amaze me how people will never get that it taste like crap

Or the ole ...You've just never had it done right

That the game warden in our south texas county has a key to our gate.

That he doesn't give a rats behind about if we have hunting licenses or properly tagged deer, he just wants to know how many other big bucks we see, how long we were down for and where we live

Also that a feed pen is a great investment. I always thought it was ok without because the deer came, but now after we have one feeder penned its evident the deer are hitting it more than ever before.

"'Think the place maybe shot out, but I really like the peace and quiet. Don't rightly know when I'll head home."

I learned they named a planet after my boss....Uranus. Because he took off right smack dab in the middle of the rut, and I had to cover for him. The hunting totally sucked afterwards. What a jerk.

I also learned that your fanny pack with all your deer cleaning gear should be around your fanny.... not sitting in the blind you "thought" you were going to hunt that night on the other end of the ranch.

HF not about me, i'm just a postie.... Most my threads & posts come back, as pappy says: return ta sender, postage due... . Still Proud Suporter of WMA ... Were evan a poorman can aford ta hunt.... Aconomy income had ta sit this season out.. Hopeing every one reached their goals...

I learned I need to lower the front shooting rest on my tripod after I couldn't depress the muzzle enough on a point blank shot. Killed the deer but blew out about 6 inches of backstrap.

That my 12yo grandson is becoming a young man. He upgraded this year from his youth model 22-250 to his great grandfathers old Ruger .270....shot 2 deer with it in the neck. One at 110yds and the other at 170yds.
So proud of him!!

killin me...

Just help me get a bunch to mount on our Hunt...You can Eat them

MORE FOR ME!!

I got invited to join several neighbors for a hunt last month and when we were thru I told them I'll clean all my birds but I didn't want any of them. I nearly had to break up a fight!!!

Baked mergie is the bomb!

Don't show family members pics of any deer

Shoot the first legal buck you see if on a lease.

If you find an arrowhead, don't put it in a pocket that has something else in it that you might need.

If you think you might get stuck, have an escape plan.

These boys around here love them some ducks. I don't know how they can eat that mess but to each his own I guess. My wife told me you ought to feed them guys some of your Texas BBQ and I told her I would if she was ready to have them hanging around the house every weekend!

Work less and hunt more!

That the rancher we lease from is a stand up guy as we already knew. When he told me he was going to have to up the price by .25 per acre he was upset and hoped we didn't leave. I told him we are in it for the long haul as we have already been here 3 years with no hiccups and he then said well we will make this year a five year lease and not go up again for the next 5 years and I will split the cost of a cleaning station with yall.

I learned that people still actually use fanny packs.

I learned it is time for a scenery change...

I learned that putting a camera back in the woods and hand corning will take pictures of bucks you never knew you had.

I learned that last year and this year I learned that putting a tripod and feeder in that location would make them disappear again

You beat me to it

I learned to hunt the weather. Trying to accommodate everyone's schedule will cost you weeks if you have to drive very far.

Learned how to field dress deer. Always had the luxury of having help or taking deer in locations with easy access. Not anymore. iPhones and YouTube are wonderful.

Learned how to skin, quarter and take the straps. Always took the gutted deer to processor whole. Not anymore, saved myself a fortune in processing costs. Again iPhones and YouTube are wonderful.

Learned to get myself in better shape, hauling corn and ladders in and deer out on my back sounds hard but presents more opportunities.

I learned that the more I think I know about deer hunting and deer behavior, I often find that I don't know squat........

I learned that dealing with hogs isn't all fun and games. We've been on this place over ten years and never seen a single pig until this year... We've kill 27 since October 1st

Don't cover your face completely with a beanie when bowhunting under a tree, no matter how deeply the wind bites.
Never forget deer calls. Don't call too often and master calls.
ALWAYS tuck pants into boots (50 chigger bites taught me this)
Don't be afraid to get out of stand and get after em if you can and the time of day/deer activity warrants it; patience only goes so far.
If meeting quota, shoot first, slaughter later (slitting throat).
Don't push deer too hard or they will get smart real quick and bed up tight and make the hunt harder and more likely less fruitful.
Never bring an unsighted weapon on a hunt (not my mistake, but another's and that which cost us much).
Never pull the trigger of a weapon unless you check the barrel first (I had a dream recently in which I accidentally fire into the floor of my home because I failed to clear the action of my rifle)
No scope no worries; git to em!
The more the merrier, except when ACTUALLY hunting; solitude in the deer woods is wonderful.

I learned that the older I get the faster the season goes by.....

I learned that there are no true coons in Texas. They're really all coatimundi.

Young, solid 8 points with potential make great cull bucks.

And, somehow, a Ziplock bag can be peed in and left in a blind without incident. I just don't know how.



Anyone know of a lease I could have to myself?

Boy your not kidding.

I learned how to build a duck blind.

I learned extreme patience (horrible migration year, miscalculated on the lease I got on. First lease ever).

I learned to trust my equipment (in this case, a '98 Tacoma) even though it's old and been through hell and I've always had questions about it being able to handle what would be normal conditions for a newer truck. That thing is a beast in muddy conditions, at least so far (knock on wood).

I learned hunting during a tough year is great for forging new friendships.

I learned a lot from my new hunting partner that has been doing it a lot longer than I have. We had never met until our first hunt this year. He is a cousin of a good befriend of mine that got me into hunting.

Been a great year, despite not harvesting much of anything, so I also learned it's not all about the harvest.

I've learned how much time and money go into a hunting lease and how much of a pain it can be to manage a place with a new group. Been hunting free with my in-laws the 15 years previous so this is all new to me.

I Learned not to hunt a pop-up blind in the middle of a wheat field during a storm w/ 50mph gusts
I Learned the 50 yd zero
I learned cows like protein a whole lot more than they dislike fences/pins
I learned that a good pair of muck boots and frog togs can go a looong way
I learned Camels are in fact a violent, terrible animal, and they pack a mean bite (HER name was Seymour)

I can already sense the same...

Don't be hating on the fanny pack...

I learned that coons can empty a feeder with a quickness(Operation coon eradication in progress)
That neighbors shooting all the time can make the deer nocturnal.

Learned that a lot of people on Fort Hood thinks the land belongs to them and some do some shady stuff to your equipment.

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For what its worth... ta HF never hunted their...

That my sister has given the gate combo to 167,512 people and still counting.

and you're like what, 24? just wait young one...

HA 5 years ago! Thank you though

...didn't learn it this year, just reminded every year when season starts, why on the 9th day...God made Texas!!
Love it or leave it!!

30 is gonna suck

Your gonna start experiencing all kinds of new problems

To hunt from sun up to sun down. And always hunt the wind.

I learned that this year was much tougher to shoot a deer than last year. But it all worked out, as I was still blessed to have been in the blind with my oldest son when he shot his first buck. A memory that will last a lifetime! The grin on his face after he shot and we found the buck was priceless.

Haven't heard the coatimundi story Sneaky. ???

Just a fella on the lease that knows a lot of things the rest of us don't. It's one of the many "facts" he enlightened us with.

Na I do 50 kegals a day

Is a Kegal some new kind a keg stand?

I hit the big 3-"O" in a couple months too

You really don't wanna know...

Thought it was Kegel?

as pappy once said: When the going gets tough, don't HighTail it... bout the fanny packs... Keep pen & a small spirrrol note pad, GPS, & my camera in one... While wondering about the woods...

Iv never been the best speler

That cows suck and when 40 of them move into your area after opening day, you better have a different place to hunt.

That nearly 90 inches of rain, a flooded nearby lake, and no crops planted make for a SLOOOOWWW year

1. In my 3 years of hunting I've successfully ruined my kids for store-bought meat.
2. Getting a trigger job to reduce your weight from 6.5lbs to 3lbs gets you roughly a 1,000% improvement in your shooting. There's an equation in there somewhere, I'm sure.
3. Duck hunting is a heck of a lot more fun when the ducks know to show up.

#2) As pappy once said: tis all about the jerk behind the trigger... Smoother pull, less of a jerk....

Learned that I finally found a lease the family will enjoy and that LOs can be your best hunting buddy. I also learned I have to move a set-up and build a new blind before next season. Also learned that everyone has a different idea about how much feeding is adequate. All-in-all it was a great season on the new lease.

I learned that forgetting your Pee bottle can make for a miserable day.

You should learn to pee on the ground.

Pee bottles are great, but yeah if I gotta go I'll pee outside the blind or hop out and get further away pee and come back. Generally I can hold it, but I'm a youngen compared to some of y'all old dudes here.

I learned that most of the things I do with squirrel, I can also do with deer.

I learned that 10 hours on low in a crock pot will literally melt the connective tissue right out of the shanks... and sriracha and ketchup will do for seasoning in a pinch

I learned that "high fence" doesn't necessarily take the sport out of a hunt.

I learned there are exotic hunts available bere in the U.S. under more sporting conditions than some hunts in Africa... and you can't even take the meat home from Africa...

I learned that some hunts, like moose hunting for example, can cost more than I make in a year to take my family...

...while good hunting for deer can be found close to home, and cheap...

...and the gun that you have is a lot better than the one that you want...

I learned that I'm not getting any younger. Those 50lb sacks of corn are getting heavier!

Concur sir!

Yes! Went to solar powered winch up feeders and the bags are still heavy.

I learned how much work it is to pack a bull elk of the mountain on your BACK!

I learned that when you hunt a lease full of bottom land, have a 2nd stand on high ground!

I learned that when i have a lease close to home, i do not make time to go hunting near like i did when i hunted Mills County!

Agree sirs, we must get our corn from the same place.

I learned that if you hunt with a 223 or hunt a HF it is best that you keep it to yourself.

Spend the extra and get the better gear instead of buying cheaper and then replacing it with what you really wanted in the first place!

I learned that as much as I enjoy hunting by myself or with a friend or two, I really miss hunting with my grand kids.

I also learned that if you take a Deer that is not at least 5.5 years old you say it was a cull.

I'm guilty I reckon. Turned out to be only a 4.5 yr old 8 point I took so still a cull I think

I learned that you don't admit you don't have any Deer you just say they are nocturnal.

I work with a guy that's always talking about the beautiful girlfriends he had in college. I suspect that they were nocturnal as well.

If you are a nocturnal hunter, they all look a bit more beautiful

I learned that more than anything I get enjoyment out of just being out on my place with my family. Meat in the freezer is just icing on the cake.

That being "lease boss" on an awesome ranch is a lot of work but also very rewarding. Trying to manage a bunch of different personalities/guys who are literally living together for days at a time can be a challenge but I would not trade it for anything.

We had the best year since we got on the lease 8 years ago. I learned that being there when a hunter kills his first real trophy is as rewarding as shooting it yourself - even better. I learned mother nature (translation - RAIN) makes all the difference in quality of deer. And I learned the older I get and the longer I hunt the more I love it all - it is not just about the deer and shooting - it is the whole experience. Here is a picture from my stand last night - nuff said.

Learned that I CAN sit in the woods from sun-up to sun-down. Have tried in the past with limited success but made the full conversion this year.Catnaps are your friend.I only hunt public land and saw game mid-day that I would not have seen if I was back at the truck.

I learned that a lot of folks take things way to seriously.

appears to me you are talking to yourself

Lots of rain although great for deer can make hunting tough. Actually I already knew it, but it still sucked.

I learned that there is absolutely no substitute for good cardiovascular fitness and a map and compass while on the bugle after elk.

I reinforced what I already knew. There is no better sleep than what you get in a deer stand.

I've learned to keep my mouth shut on where I plan to put a new stand for next year.

As pappy once said: They keep culling my posts & threads...

Without a steady income tis tough ta enjoy wondering about the woods ... Tis suffering from hunting withdrawls ...

& as pappy once said: with high-tech... Posts can go missing... Like the one i just posted on Poor Guide Service ... more money ya have the more Freedom...

I learned that the deer movement patterns I've learned over the past 8 or 10 years on my place are no guarantee that's what they'll do THIS year. This year was way different.

Never apply for a drawn hunt at Honey Creek SNA, as there are no deer there.

I learned that I need a rangefinder for bow season, I learned that if you shoot a deer high shoulder they drop in their tracks (5 times). I learned that if the internet experys tell you to hunt October 27 due to the moon phase take it with a grain of saltt. I learned the joy of taking a friend to harvest his first deer. I also learned not to laugh at TXSHNTR for bow hunting with 40-50 mph winds. (One of his best hunts of the year. I also learned that I know enough to hunt, but not enough to be satisfied with my knowledge.

I learned that sometimes it is more important to go on a walk with your family during peak hunting hours than it is to sit in a stand. My two kiddos love going arrowhead hunting, which is my favorite past time with my own dad...you can't replace those moments.

As far as actual hunting/shooting lessons go, I learned that I need to practice longer distant shots more often, and once I did, and I built confidence, and I could extend my comfortable and effective shooting range! Added another 100 yards of comfortable shooting range this season. Next season will try to extend it another 100! Practice practice practice!

I learned that 4 hours in a stand is too long for a 3 year old. I learned that a 7 year old thinks she is ready to kill a deer after one successful trip to the range with the "big gun." I learned that having 6 kids track your bow kill is as much fun as shooting it. I learned that a deer with a broken back can get his rear back under him and make it over 600 yards and still be alive the next day. I learned that some people take hunting way too serious.

Beware of the person that asks too many questions about what you saw and where you saw it. They will be sitting nearby...

That pheasant hunting takes a lot of walking and the rush of having a rooster take off is awesome. That time spent with my brother was priceless. And that now, I want to go to South Dakota to chase wild birds.

.
that an honest post, gets rejected... Two this morning this might be the third....

That snow drifts from the blizzard conditions in the panhandle after Christmas are still there on January the 16th, and when they have have been covered with blowing sand they are pretty much invisible at night.

This 2X.

That the 13" rule sucks. I saw many 8's and 10's years before the rule. Since and this year, I've seen many 8's and 10's? No change.