Chasing Big Muleys and Mental Endurance

[TimberHunter]

In the last few years I’ve been taking Mule deer hunting much more seriously. My harvest success is nearly 100% on about 2.5/3.5year old bucks for the last 4-5 years in ID, UT, CO.

Often times my hunts only last 1-3 days. I start with high hopes and “dedication” toward shooting an older buck but after a day or two of steep/long hikes my standards quickly change and I shoot an avg 3 or 4 point.

So for the last 11 months I’ve been hitting the gym religiously thinking if I was stronger I could endure more days on the mountain and be more selective. It certainly helped but I’m learning that my problem is mainly mental endurance.

Other than stop being a baby, any tips/tricks for staying out there longer? Any books that you’ve read that have helped increase mental endurance?


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[huntnful]

You simply have to just stop shooting deer that you deem to be young, and be okay not filling a tag if you don’t find a mature buck. It really has nothing to do with being in shape.

If you hunt more for the experience and opportunity for a bigger buck, maybe you’ll be able to mentally accept it. Shooting a small deer on the 3rd day because you’re tired, has more to do with you being incapable mentally, of not filling your tag, than it has to do with you being tired. You could have easily just went home early, tired, and with an unpunched tag.

As soon as you kill a deer on a hunt, the learning is over generally. Use the idea of holding out for a bigger buck, as an excuse to learn much more for a longer period of time.

 

[neil.hansford]

Yep, the comment above summs it up. You have to be OK with NOT killing a deer. So many people aren't, so they give up and shoot a small one so that they've at least got a picture to show to everyone back home. If you're tired, it's OK to go home without packing out a deer.

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[Jason Snyder]

You don’t learn mental toughness by reading a book. You learned it by experiencing and working through adversity. Doesn’t mean you succeed. It means you worked through the suck and didn’t quit.

 

[IdahoBeav]

I think the main reason why people settle for smaller animals is due to the anticipated remorse of not filling the tag and the desire to wrap up the hunt and get back to family and everyday life. I like to remind myself that hunting season only comes once each year and the tag may be less often than that, and it is best to take full advantage of the time and opportunity. I also remember that small animals are pretty much just as much work to pack as larger animals.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Have you seen many older age class bucks while hunting? The reason I ask is because many mule deer hunts result in a lot of deer being seen before laying eyes on a bigger older buck. If you are getting fatigued by seeing a bunch of does and younger bucks it may simply be that more patience is required to turn up a wily old buck.

 

[WCB]

1-3 days is the hump to get over physically/mentally imo...First day guys are always full of piss and vinegar...2nd day they are into it and burning leather...if they haven't seen anything of interest the 3rd day they feel day 1 and 2. If you can get to day 4 and 5 its all the same and usually I cruise after that. I'll admit that day 3 into 4 are my worst days mentally as your brain goes "I prepared, scouted, trained...where is my reward?" Just face that fact and be ok not shooting a deer. My brain does that and its just like I'm not saying it anymore...thought comes and thought goes.

Face the fact that there maybe 1-2 deer in the area(s) you are hunting that are "big" or "older age class". No different seeing 50 young deer or no deer. Doesn't matter you aren't going to shoot them anyways. My dad and I just had this discussion yesterday. How a guy goes from shoot the first thing, to first thing with horns, to passing a couple bucks, to passing nice young bucks, then eventually wanting to shoot something but literally not being able to even talk yourself into it last day last hour. We came to the conclusion that we are more dissatisfied shooting a buck below the line we set than we are not shooting a buck at all.

No shame in admitting you "want" to shoot every buck that walks out...where it settles is not having to. I go into almost every hunt now with the expectation of walking away without killing anything unless something makes me shoot it. Big enough old enough whatever.

 

[Elkangle]

Golf is not a game of perfect by Bob Rotella and with winning in mind by Lanny bassham

 

[outheretryin]

Last year I mentally bonked on the 7th day of a mule deer hunt that took me 5 points to draw.. I planned to be up there for 12 days. All summer long I did long weekend scouting trips, and at the end of each trip I didnt want to leave! but for some reason during the hunt I just got in a funk. I let my mind get the best of me. I knew what was happening but I let it take over anyways. Suddenly the thought of even finding a good buck seemed impossible. let alone shooting one. I knew I would regret leaving early.. but did anyway. I felt like a failure. I was embarrassed to tell my friends and my family that I had quit early. Not shooting a deer is part of life. But quitting early was unacceptable. a few months have passed now and I have came to peace with my decision. But that terrible feeling of personal failure is something I have bottled up. and plan to use it next time I find myself in a tough mental situation.

That being said! Imagine running 3-4 miles max, in preparation for a marathon. I would guess most guys would start doubting themselves before mile 20 of the race. This summer I will try and push my comfort zone with some longer solo trips.

 

[ianpadron]

I think that mental toughness can be trained.

Sure, all of us are born with what we're born with, but we can all build from there through mindful actions/habits.

I've made a habit of throwing together some really big days in the summer covering miles up top and reaching deep into the pain cave. Do this often enough and you bump your baseline up a little bit at a time. "Hardships" that would have really gotten to you suddenly don't even register on your radar. Do them solo from time to time as well...that really changes things in a hurry.

If you don't have any buddies that run ultras or climb, get some...they are the baddest dudes I've ever been around, and you never hear them complain, just one foot in front of the other ethos kinda guys. I've got 2 hunting buddies in particular that seem to never bat an eye regardless of what's going on, in fact, they usually laugh maniacally when the suffering is at its worst, and that has definitely rubbed off on me. We have a rule that no one's allowed to complain about weather, pack weights, lack of animals, etc. without providing a solution that includes more hunting. It works.

Last thing, I don't know what kind of faith you have but a relationship with Jesus has allowed me to push harder than before my walk with Him began.

I used to worry about not punching tags and what others would think, now it's just about soaking up every possible second in the Lord's creation, enjoying everything that He has done for us on Earth. It becomes a form of worship, and the little things that would typically push someone off the mountain become tests/gifts that fortify your faith and trust in the Lord to provide you with adventure and meaning more than anything else in life.

Book recommendations, I really like "Can't Hurt Me" by David Goggins...and yes I fully realize the dichotomy between the way he writes/talks vs. the way the Gospel teaches haha...I appreciate both

 

[Fogalo]

Bottom line here is simple. If you’re not willing to eat tags you won’t have the same opportunities. There’s a significant difference between deer hunting and hunting big bucks

 

[Hnthrdr]

You know what “big” or mature is in your mind, might be different than mine or someone else’s, but 2.5&3.5 year olds don’t often fit that bill. Figure out your standard and be okay with eating the tag. This year I only had 3 days to deer hunt, only saw a few very small 3points until I tagged out on my final morning on an older buck with a nice frame, I usually go with frame size/ age over raw score personally. I hunt a lot of units that are opportunistic and have almost no age class so the older bigger frames bucks are hard to find but so rewarding when you find one.

Also I have never had a little buck get bigger when I get closer. Sometimes I will put a stalk on a buck just to confirm, but if they don’t make you feel something at 1500-1000 yards through your binos, it won’t change when you get closer, often it’s kind of sobering for me I’ll get him in crosshairs and realize he isn’t the one I’m after.

 

[mtwarden]

I went on a deer hunt with a buddy who drew a hard to get early rifle tag (wilderness area). It was really rough country and we were WAY in- like 7-8 miles in. The first day he spotted a cranker, but it slipped into some timber before he could set up for shot. We glassed for another four -five hours thinking he'd peek out again, he didn't. We decided to just ease that direction- we had a very favorable wind. After a bit, I felt him grab my shoulder and I froze- there was the buck just 50 yards away looking at us. I instinctively put my fingers in my ears for the blast that was sure to come. It didn't. He whispered what do you think? I said holy hell that's a good buck!

We whispered back and forth for 2-3 minutes, the buck frozen, never moving. Eventually he did and was gone in a hurry.

He said if you had this tag, we'd be boning meat right now- I couldn't argue with that. My buddy said he's shot a couple of deer in that same class and wanted something bigger. We hunted that general area hard for there more days and then came back two times more— seeing bucks, but passing on all of them.

I learned a pretty good lesson on that trip- well actually two. Big bucks tend to live in really rough country and if you want to kill big bucks you have to pass on not so big of bucks

 

[Shortschaf]

I feel compelled to say that if you like venison, and you enjoy the way you hunt, there is absolutely no reason to change a thing about what you are doing.

No wrong way to participate in God's creation

 

[Jason Snyder]

Sometimes part of the hurdle is being okay with, and enjoying being alone for 10 days in the middle of nowhere.

 

[180ls1]

It'll come if that's what you actually want. It seems like you dont really want/value it enough to stick to the process. Working on physicality has great carryover in a lot of areas so I think that's a great start.

Also, do things that make it easier to hunt longer. Punch a cow elk tag early so you have meat, cut weight in your equipment, get a sat phone so you can call home, improve nutrition, etc....

Automating good behavior is incredibly powerful. Check out Atomic Habits by James Clear.

 

[Wheels]

I had a hard to draw tag a couple years ago. I summer scouted for about a week, then got there 5 days before season opened. I was burned out by about day 10 of the 28 day season so I packed up and went to town for a few days.
Just relaxed, ate some real food and did nothing.
That gave me time to reset and I went back up the hill for the rest of the season. I was archery hunting a couple real big deer and had several encounters that kept me from settling for anything else.

 

[ProStaffSteve]

Can we see pictures of your bucks over the past 3.5 years. No judgment, but I'd appreciate horn porn & standards to adjust to for myself!

 

[westonhoma]

In the last few years I’ve been taking Mule deer hunting much more seriously. My harvest success is nearly 100% on about 2.5/3.5year old bucks for the last 4-5 years in ID, UT, CO.

Often times my hunts only last 1-3 days. I start with high hopes and “dedication” toward shooting an older buck but after a day or two of steep/long hikes my standards quickly change and I shoot an avg 3 or 4 point.

So for the last 11 months I’ve been hitting the gym religiously thinking if I was stronger I could endure more days on the mountain and be more selective. It certainly helped but I’m learning that my problem is mainly mental endurance.

Other than stop being a baby, any tips/tricks for staying out there longer? Any books that you’ve read that have helped increase mental endurance?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Tim Grovers books. Relentless and Winning. It will bring awareness and tap into the "how bad do u really want it" part of your brain

 

[westonhoma]

It'll come if that's what you actually want. It seems like you dont really want/value it enough to stick to the process. Working on physicality has great carryover in a lot of areas so I think that's a great start.

Also, do things that make it easier to hunt longer. Punch a cow elk tag early so you have meat, cut weight in your equipment, get a sat phone so you can call home, improve nutrition, etc....

Automating good behavior is incredibly powerful. Check out Atomic Habits by James Clear.

Just finished this book. Great read!