How do you deal with poor harvest rate in the field?

[CorbLand]

I gotta wonder how many of them received participation trophy's as kids

Tons of boomers gave up hunting in the 90s when it got hard too.

 

[Pony Soldier]

This year will be 50 years of elk hunting. The last 5 years has been tough weather wise and I have felt like I was two days behind nearly every day. We have suffered with erratic weather and weird elk movements but we keep at it. Thirty five days on horseback in the snow can challenge your determination. This year I will start to train a grandson. Another challenge!

 

[cnelk]

I had a dry spell for a couple years with OTC archery elk. But I had a string of 20 successful years before that.
Broke the cycle the other day but even with some good tags this year, the excitement just isn’t there.
I was more excited to spend a few days with my son elk hunting and filling the tag was a bonus.

I can agree with Corblands post #23 above.

I have a cow moose tag coming up and a couple rifle buck tags after that.
We’ll see what happens

 

[Hnthrdr]

This thread is worded differently than some of the others. But they all have the same " I did the homework, I did the work, wtf" kinda vibe to them.

I gotta wonder how many of them received participation trophy's as kids

Agreed, if it was a guaranteed kill every time out I think hunting would lose much of its thrill. At least for me. The best is when it looks/ feels like all your chips are down and you are done and then you spot that buck or hear that bugle and give it hell again! Had it work out great and also watched the clock tick and the sunset on un punched tags and that’s okay. Just adds logs to the fire in the off season and usually gives me some good stories about the ones that got away

 

[Steve300xcw]

Tons of boomers gave up hunting in the 90s when it got hard too.

I was more worried about crayons and recess in the early 90's

The posts regardless how they are worded... They all seem to go the way of " I did the work so wtf"..They just kinda bug me. Might even bug me more than the use of the word "harvest". Yall are killing shit for sport. Yea yea you're goona eat it. But dont tell me you spent that much time and money on that lil meat just to feed your family! Nobody is buying that line of crap

 

[Steve300xcw]

Agreed, if it was a guaranteed kill every time out I think hunting would lose much of its thrill. At least for me. The best is when it looks/ feels like all your chips are down and you are done and then you spot that buck or hear that bugle and give it hell again! Had it work out great and also watched the clock tick and the sunset on un punched tags and that’s okay. Just adds logs to the fire in the off season and usually gives me some good stories about the ones that got away

A couple of my best hunts, no shots were fired

 

[Amos Keeto]

This^ I think people get way too wrapped up with how others are doing via social media, sometimes on hunting forums and remember comparison is the thief of joy. If it’s about killing. This go kill. If it’s about time spent out there then enjoy. If it’s about big racks then hunt animals that have them. I have 2 kiddos under 3 years old right now to say my hunting seasons have changed a bit in the last 3 years is a giant understatement. Went from 100+ days in the field to about 10 if im lucky… I do feel a little guilt when im away but not that much honestly. I have almost completely stopped waterfowl, upland, and predator hunting for the time being so I can big game hunt, remember it will get easier as the kids get older they can tag along some and make it a family adventure

LMBO!
First, let me explain.
I am an only "son".
I am also an only "grandson"!
So to say I got all the outdoor attentions would be kinda moot!

First time I can remember going hunting with my dad, I was 3 years old!
He would piggyback me up into the tree, wrap me in a blanket and tie me to the tree so I wouldn't go to sleep and fall! LOL!
I am coming up on my 74th birthday. So basically, I may not have actually "hunted", but hunting has been a part of my life for over 70 years!
Grampa retired when I was 8 years old.
When dad couldn't take me, grampa would.

I didn't kill my first deer until I was 16. I know all about the frustration of "poor harvest rate"!

Hnthrdr: another thing, start your kids on keeping a hunting journal NOW. If you haven't started your own, I can't think of a better time to start!

Take your kids hunting and you won't have to hunt your kids!

 

[Bwhntr]

I was more worried about crayons and recess in the early 90's

The posts regardless how they are worded... They all seem to go the way of " I did the work so wtf"..They just kinda bug me. Might even bug me more than the use of the word "harvest". Yall are killing shit for sport. Yea yea you're goona eat it. But dont tell me you spent that much time and money on that lil meat just to feed your family! Nobody is buying that line of crap

I’m sorry the wording offended you. I don’t expect to “kill” every year nor every hunt.

Fortunately I didn’t receive any participation trophies either. Killing for sport is 100% a part of hunting. I never argued that. Apparently harvest is not an acceptable term in your book. Anyway, hence the reason for the post. Hunting is fun but taking an animal is an integral part imo.

Simply just seeing if others have experienced the same cross roads when it comes to hunting.

Family life, life changes, and a lack of success, kills whatever you want to call it, over several years has me reevaluating my overall desire to hunt.

But it sounds like you have all the answers so I’ll let you keep yapping about something that “bugs” you.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Dangit yall ruined my joke. I was gonna say when I'm having trouble harvesting I switch to kill mode.

 

[Beendare]

If a guy does a tiny bit of research, he would see that the success rate on archery elk in areas like OTC Co is about 6-7%.

Its silly to think you are going to stroll in there without many miles of boots on the ground research and kill a bull.

 

[Bwhntr]

If a guy does a tiny bit of research, he would see that the success rate on archery elk in areas like OTC Co is about 6-7%.

Its silly to think you are going to stroll in there without many miles of boots on the ground research and kill a bull.

Totally understand that

When did I say I hadn’t put many miles on the ground and plenty of research? I agree with you. That’s completely silly.

 

[timekiller13]

I think sometimes we expect too much of ourselves and set our expectations too high.

I can remember when I got really into bow hunting whitetail deer. I hunted a ton. First few years I was pretty successful and then I started pushing harder. Despite the fact that I was hunting 20-25% more, my success rate and overall enjoyment was plummeting. It seemed that everything that could possibly go wrong would go wrong in the moment of truth. I got stuck in my head. I was miserable. Taking bad/questionable shots because “I had to kill something.” Hunting in absolute miserable conditions. I got to the point where I didn’t even want to go.

So, I took a step back reevaluated why I hunted. Was it solely just to kill something? Or was it more for the enjoyment of being outdoors and enjoying the experience, with a kill just being the cherry on top?

I dialed back my hunting efforts. Decided not to push so hard. Would time my hunts during better conditions and prime hunting times (the rut). Sometimes I would just take a couple weeks off and not even hunt. Just recharge the batteries, catch up on home projects and family time. And then when I started to get the itch to get back in the woods, I would head out.

My success rates have drastically improved. I hunt probably 50% less now than I did at my peak. But I kill just as many deer and I kill bigger deer.

 

[Bwhntr]

I think sometimes we expect too much of ourselves and set our expectations too high.

I can remember when I got really into bow hunting whitetail deer. I hunted a ton. First few years I was pretty successful and then I started pushing harder. Despite the fact that I was hunting 20-25% more, my success rate and overall enjoyment was plummeting. It seemed that everything that could possibly go wrong would go wrong in the moment of truth. I got stuck in my head. I was miserable. Taking bad/questionable shots because “I had to kill something.” Hunting in absolute miserable conditions. I got to the point where I didn’t even want to go.

So, I took a step back reevaluated why I hunted. Was it solely just to kill something? Or was it more for the enjoyment of being outdoors and enjoying the experience, with a kill just being the cherry on top?

I dialed back my hunting efforts. Decided not to push so hard. Would time my hunts during better conditions and prime hunting times (the rut). Sometimes I would just take a couple weeks off and not even hunt. Just recharge the batteries, catch up on home projects and family time. And then when I started to get the itch to get back in the woods, I would head out.

My success rates have drastically improved. I hunt probably 50% less now than I did at my peak. But I kill just as many deer and I kill bigger deer.

Great insight. Thank you for sharing

 

[Amos Keeto]

"... I dialed back my hunting efforts. Decided not to push so hard. Would time my hunts during better conditions and prime hunting times (the rut). Sometimes I would just take a couple weeks off and not even hunt. Just recharge the batteries, catch up on home projects and family time. And then when I started to get the itch to get back in the woods, I would head out. ..."

I wrecked my left elbow playing high school football in 1965. It's bone-on-bone! Right shoulder is prosthetic. Can't draw the bow I have. Can't afford to reoutfit myself with a crossbow.
I'm a rifle hunter only.

Your premise sounds good, but in OK, "Deer - Gun" opens the Saturday before Thanksgiving and closes the first Sunday in December. Two weeks. If you only got gun season, your time is extremely limited.

 

[JackButler]

I don’t know if you’re a guide , that would change things if it’s your profession. When I got married and especially after kids, I simply had to dial it back. My wife is super cool but if I’m mid September I told her no dates until January, that I couldn’t even miss a couple days of hunting here and there, I assume she’d tell me she’s going on dates regardless lol.

There is an element of selfishness to hunting, especially with guys who have spouses that don't hunt. Dealing with the amount of time spent away from family can create issues for sure. This weekend coming up will be the last weekend that I will be home until Thanksgiving. Then I'm out again until the end of December. Most of the times, I'll be home at night but date nights are certainly on hold until January.

 

[Westernduck]

Simple. I don’t hunt for the meat. I love it and eat it all when I get it, but if I don’t it doesn’t change anything. I’m out there for the adventure

 

[Customweld]

I don’t know if you’re a guide , that would change things if it’s your profession. When I got married and especially after kids, I simply had to dial it back. My wife is super cool but if I’m mid September I told her no dates until January, that I couldn’t even miss a couple days of hunting here and there, I assume she’d tell me she’s going on dates regardless lol.

I'm not a guide, but we did fairly well in draws this year. One of the hunts is with my wife for a November cow .

 

[timekiller13]

"... I dialed back my hunting efforts. Decided not to push so hard. Would time my hunts during better conditions and prime hunting times (the rut). Sometimes I would just take a couple weeks off and not even hunt. Just recharge the batteries, catch up on home projects and family time. And then when I started to get the itch to get back in the woods, I would head out. ..."

I wrecked my left elbow playing high school football in 1965. It's bone-on-bone! Right shoulder is prosthetic. Can't draw the bow I have. Can't afford to reoutfit myself with a crossbow.
I'm a rifle hunter only.

Your premise sounds good, but in OK, "Deer - Gun" opens the Saturday before Thanksgiving and closes the first Sunday in December. Two weeks. If you only got gun season, your time is extremely limited.

If I only had 2 weeks a year to hunt, then I could hunt those 2 weeks non stop and not burnout.

I’m talking about hunting 60-70 days in a season, 4-5 days a week, week in week out. 4 solid months of your life doing nothing but hunting. That’s what I mean when I talk about dialing it back.

And again, it’s all about perspective. Do you HAVE to kill something for a hunt to be successful? When I go elk hunting I bust my butt for 7-8 straight days. Sleep 3-4 hours a night, burn the boot leather. I work hard to try and kill something, but I don’t consider an elk hunt a waste or a failure if I come home empty handed. I go out and enjoy my time on the mountain, I want to kill something, but if I don’t, then I don’t. I don’t make excuses or feel like I’ve failed. And I don’t have to justify a hunt to my wife/family with a kill. Every year, when I head out an out of state hunt, I tell my wife that there is a good chance that I will come home empty handed. She always says “this is your time, go out and enjoy yourself, you don’t need to explain anything to me.”

 

[Mojave]

Just because you don't see the animals in front of you and can't find them doesn't mean they are not there.

Thermal handhelds are legal in Europe. I am blown away by what hours of glassing doesn't reveal with my Swarovskis that the Thermal handheld picks up during the day time.

Also for safety, I have found people walking behind wildlife here in the forest that I never would have seen.

 

[Boarmaster]

It happened to me. After 7 years of filling tags I had 3 years strait of tag soup. Honestly I was a bit stunned after the 3rd year. It happens. If there is game where you are hunting then you need to suck it up and keep hunting. I love to hunt as much as anyone but I would be a liar if I said harvesting didn't make its better hunt for me. If the kids aren't going hungry and the bills are getting paid I don't see were you should be feeling guilty. Good luck