Becoming Better hunters- a survey of prioritization

[Customweld]

I'm surprised physical fitness was prioritized so highly.

I think with physical fitness, confidence is greatly increased. A hunter with a positive mindset and confidence in his abilities is able to overcome other short comings.

 

[ORJoe]

I've done it both ways. I don't think being physically fit has increased my lethality, or at least not being fit hasn't degraded it. Know the country, know the animals, take advantage of the opportunity when you get one.

Individual experiences may vary, but I don't think it was coincidence that the year I got serious about getting into hiking shape was also my most successful hunting year (1 elk, 1 bear)

Following elk tracks in the snow opening morning, elk tracks head straight up the mountain
"This is what I've been exercising all summer for, guess I'm hiking up this mountain"
Crossed paths with the bear on the other side
Wouldn't have seen him if I got to the mountain and said "That looks hard, back to camp," Which I had done before.

3 days later I'm not completely exhausted because I've been hiking all summer and still have the energy to go down into the thick timber canyon with bayonet fixed.
Two separate moments of "Should I take a break here? Nah, I'll walk for a couple more minutes" put me in the right spot to shoot a spike elk at 25 feet.

I think with physical fitness, confidence is greatly increased. A hunter with a positive mindset and confidence in his abilities is able to overcome other short comings.

THIS!

 

[ianpadron]

I think with physical fitness, confidence is greatly increased. A hunter with a positive mindset and confidence in his abilities is able to overcome other short comings.

Absolutely.

If you're physically fit AND mentally tough you can deal with some serious shit on a hunt.

Can't imagine how bad it's gotta be when things go South AND you're sore, out of breath, and feel like crap

There is this weird ego thing with dudes who can live on Copenhagen, Coors Light, and no sleep...

I'm like "Congrats, but you'd be an absolute animal if you took care of your body" haha

Oh well

 

[Dos Perros]

I think with physical fitness, confidence is greatly increased. A hunter with a positive mindset and confidence in his abilities is able to overcome other short comings.

How does confidence help overcoming not knowing where to go, or what the animals are going to do, or how to operate a weapon effectively?

 

[Customweld]

How does confidence help overcoming not knowing where to go, or what the animals are going to do, or how to operate a weapon effectively?

Well, it gets you out of camp or out of the truck. If you don't have any confidence in your abilities, you are going to second guess everything you do. A hunter with no confidence is about as useful as a gun shy dog.

 

[Dos Perros]

Well, like I said I've done it both ways. I was in pretty good shape year 5 when I killed my first bull (and all the failed years prior). Haven't really worked out since year 5 but have obviously done most of my killing since. I personally think a lot of you guys overblow the physical thing.

 

[Customweld]

Well, like I said I've done it both ways. I was in pretty good shape year 5 when I killed my first bull (and all the failed years prior). Haven't really worked out since year 5 but have obviously done most of my killing since. I personally think a lot of you guys overblow the physical thing.

You are probably right.
It has a lot to do with the situation though. If I'm hunting a new spot, I probably need to do some scouting to get an idea of the lay of the land. Most of the time though, I hunt the same area. I know what kind of shape I need to be in if I want to get back in where I hunt.

 

[Mcribs]

It seems like the physical thing can help mitigate other limitations in knowledge and lack of prep. You can always get to a high glassing point or do an additional stalk. I’d love to find them in easier spots.

With that said, it does wonders for my confidence being able to get around the mountains properly. Plus I enjoy the process of staying in shape.

 

[SDHNTR]

I’ll have to say I laughed at most of these. As seemed seemed to skirt around the most obvious in my opinion, but probably the hardest to improve. “Woodsmanship”
Or bush craft some call it. Overall improvement things like getting the most out of your camouflage, (no not buying the newest qucci camo), stalking, interpreting changing weather, moving through terrain, so on and so. Boots on the ground weapon proficiency also very important. These things have made this difference between eating and starving for food 1000s of years. The others essentially have only rapidly evolved in the last few decades but are useless with out woodsmanship.

This matters most. Right after the physical ability to get to and stay in the mountains/woods.

 

[stan_wa]

So after this year my focus for 25 will be as follows
Boots on the ground scouting
Weapons proficiency ( increasing speed and accuracy)
Fitness
I’m sure I’ll spend the most time on fitness but that’s just how it goes

I missed a bear and a big cat this year so wanna get even better with the weapons

 

[Beendare]

1. Boots on the ground
2. Fitness
3. Desktop scouting

Weapon proficiency comes in fourth for me. Hunting thick woods in PA doesn't require 500 yard rifle shots and 70 yard bow shots. I don't shoot at anything past 30 yards with my bow and most deer I've killed with a rifle have been 100 yards or less. Most places I hunt I'm familiar with so boots on the ground info is generally what kills deer for me. When I have free time at work I'm always looking for new places to go.

Agreed.
Scouting in person is numero uno.

 

[Poser]

1. Boots on the ground/scouting
2. Physical Fitness
3. Weapon proficiency

I frequently combine all 3 in the summer months by going for training hikes in country that I am scouting and taking some longer, complex shots along the way.

 

[AZ_Hunter]

Macro Planning is what I chose. I don’t get drawn very often so I need to figure out how to get “hundreds of elk” like some on this site.

I say that tongue in cheek.

In all seriousness, figuring how to hunt out of state more to increase my opportunities. Problem however is:
1) Time
2) Family obligations (kids sports, activities, etc
3) Who would go with me; part of the hunting experience for me is being with friends
4) justifying the spend on myself is hard to do when there are so many other things and people spend on

My 2025 plan is to try to balance the above with having more hunting opportunity.

 

[Brendan]

I answered Boots on the Ground. But really it's just getting out and spending time in the field learning terrain and game. Becoming a better hunter is 99% learning your quarry and over time absorbing the details of being successful in the field. How to walk slowly and quietly. How to still hunt. How to glass. How long to glass. When to speed up, when to slow down. How to read the terrain for bedding, security, feeding areas, escape routes, etc.

Fitness and Mental Toughness would be next, but some people don't need to spend any time on that at all because of their day-to-day. Desk job guys, it's important.

Everything else is a long ways back IMO (Not that some of it isn't important, but basing this on % of time required)

Point of reference - I was in the worst "Elk Shape" I've ever been in this year for Wyoming General Season, but during the first two days of the season was the only shot fired and Elk Killed in the area I was hunting as a DIY'er from Massachusetts with professional guides/outfitters and their clients on horseback around. It came down to Elk Knowledge, and having spent time in that specific area and knowing where they'd be and what they'd do.

The packout sucked, even though I had help and it was a small bull.

 

[justinspicher]

1-physical fitness
2-shooting capabilities
3-area knowledge

I only hunt in Colorado, specifically within 30 minutes of my house. Over the past decade I’ve switch where I hunt, but being able to get out all year has really made a difference for me. Besides knowing the animals and their routines, I’m always finding better ways to get to areas and better spots to glass from. I’m also starting to learn how to use the mass of folks that come here to my advantage.

 

[Wrench]

1500ish days in the field or more have taught me that knowing a particular animal or group of animals behaviors is far and away the most important means to killing them.

Once upon a time I would have said weapons made a big difference, and while it does help, I have killed enough with primitive weapons to know that's not the deciding factor AND killing with primitive weapons capitalizes on behavior knowledge.

Physical fitness certainly helps, but unless we're running these things down and stabbing them, behavior knowledge is superior as a fat bastard can get into a place he knows an animal to frequent and expect better results than fit guy can running around haphazardly.

E scouting is essentially a waste of time in my area as they can log a forest in a week and google earth isn't that fast.

 

[elkliver]

I've seen a lot of guys decked out in the top of the line camo and gear... a walking bank account... and miss with a rifle broadside at 75 yards... and or walk down wind hunting.. or any other of numerous obvious snafus... We over think gear. Camo is the biggest overhyped thing in the world.

 

[TaperPin]

I’d put getting in the inner circle of more experienced hunters as the best thing someone can do. Reinventing the wheel all by yourself or by hanging out on forums sounds noble, but one year with guys actually doing it is 10x more valuable. The best hunters are well rounded on all aspects listed, but know 80% of their time should be spent on 20% of that list, and have the experience to know what that 20% is for any given situation.

Some types of hunting can be done quite well with a beer belly.

Scouting is wasted effort in some areas where animal movements are known and predictable.

Teenagers with little natural ability or practice are quite successful in some types of shooting.

Boots on the ground or e-scouting has zero benefit if you’re in the wrong area.
All good hunting is in pockets, having 10 licenses in ten different states for 10 mediocre areas, and 10 days to hunt each, isn’t as good as one week in a good area.

Hunters with limited money for the latest gear rarely can’t hunt effectively because of gear quality. Rather than glassing two miles away, they simply focus on areas one mile away.

A friend told another less experienced friend to go to a certain point on the elk opener and he’ll shoot an elk about 100 yards away. The guy did and actually did shoot an elk. No education needed - no elk behavior, no elk reproduction cycle, no anatomy lessons, no autopsy photos, no tracking, and not much of any kind of hunter education or skills needed. When new hunters have about a 10% chance of success, this guy knew nothing other than he was in the inner circle of an experienced, successful friend. Lol

 

[Harvey_NW]

I'll rank this in order of what I've been subconsciously doing, not by what I think:

1. Weapons proficiency - I live and only hunt out West, so the majority of my off season is dedicated to long range shooting, precision practice, reloading, and validating rifles.

2. Desktop-scouting - Constantly looking and OnX and other resources dropping pins, or studying areas. I may not be a giant killer, but I've killed a lot of animals in areas I've never been to because I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what to expect from E-scouting.

3. Gear - always tweaking or trading and upgrading stuff as I learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of my setup.

4. Education - Used to despise podcasts but the last couple years I've found a couple to be informative. Also social media, here, and general research on the daily.

5. Boots on the ground scouting - Been putting more effort into this lately in my home state in search of better quality.

6. Macro-planning - probably the most effort put in during application season, and heading into fall after tags are acquired.

7. Physical training and fitness - I rank this last because it's not something I do for preparation, my wife and I are regularly active people that watch our diet and try to get out year round. More of a lifestyle type thing, so maybe this is considered #1 in the grand scheme, but "exercise" is not a focal point.

Rough number of lifetime days in the field: I have no idea. Between shed hunting, scouting, hiking/backpacking, and actual hunting, est ~40 days/year.

Main state: WA, live here. Used to get ID tags every year , attempt to get tags and/or apply for multiple states per year.

 

[csrichardson97]

1. Boots on the ground
2. Education
3. Weapon Proficiency

State: I hunt in Colorado, as a resident.
Field Days: 100-200 (only been hunting for 3-4 years now)

1. Boots on the ground.

- Easily #1 for me, winter hiking -> shed hunting - >summer scouting -> hunt execution
- Being in the field throughout the year has led to tremendous growth for me as I learn about each species I am after (elk/bear/mule deer)

2. Education
-As a new hunter learning about each species (forage/location/elevation/etc) has paired perfectly with my time out in the field. Putting what I've learned to the test essentially. I've seen and experienced lots of skill development with how I have paired the 2 together.

3. Weapon Familiarization
-Hope this one quickly becomes lower on my list. I only rank this higher than physical fitness because it cost me my first mule deer buck this year. Pulled the trigger at 200 yds, clean miss. I'm very thankful and relieved I did not wound any animals, and this WILL be corrected going forward.