Next Level As a Hunter

[180splitg3]

First of all - I still have a lot to learn and I've been hunting for a while!

My first 7 years whitetail archery hunting I was successful at shooting does but I really wanted to shoot a deer that was 3.5 years old or 120" - I finally got it done in my 7th year bowhunting and it was an amazing feeling but it took me 7 years to do it! As others have said - to be consistent you have to be dedicated.

In recent years I have really started looking at not just hunting a lot of days but hunting on days with the best chance of seeing mature bucks. With whitetails in the Midwest anyway I feel that a little too much pressure and the mature bucks go norturnal. Focusing on the high activity days has helped me be more successful. Now if I could get better at predicting which days they will move I would really be getting somewhere!

 

[Anobody]

Learn to be efficient with time. Hunt the animals where they are and not where you want them. Some People don’t like the idea of scouting in season but that the only way to get real time information. It’s a small step but understanding scouting and being efficient with time is way more important than the hunting. U can grind hours into days sitting waiting in a spot or u can flip that idea on its head and u can go find them and be on game. Scouting and finding game and sign builds confidence and confidence goes along way to being successful. It’s a small bit important step into improving

 

[540-Virginian]

Try to learn the biology of the animal your hunting even if it’s boring. That helped me with scouting (and if you aren’t scouting more than hunting you won’t have much success) as I was able to connect the dots on what the sign meant vs going off some old campfire story people may have claimed was the reason deer act a certain way.

however, not sure what kind of research is out on other big game besides deer. But as a prey animal with hooves I bet they have some similarities.

 

[chasewright15]

Slowing down physically and mentally. Or trying to immerse myself in the "spirit that moves through all things" for the Tom Brown Jr fans out there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Opah]

As one zone after another zone became overran with idiots that trash and destroy, moving on to a new area was a major obstacle for me .
Learning to view from Google earth and other such media gave me options, I also found you don't necessarily have to go farther to find quality Hunting habitat.
The next evolution was quality of contacts and hunting associations, having quality hunting friends and associates is the Gold standard to growing as a hunter.

 

[robby denning]

How did you know when you hit the “one” species? I understand what you’re saying, the best only focus on one sport. What I would find equally impressive is the guy who could hunt any species and do it better than most.

I am not a high achieving hunter by any means but I do still find a lot of passion in a multitude of animals. Living in Alaska I probably have a skewed perspective but I couldn’t imagine putting all my time into shooting the next biggest of any species and not taking advantage of the other opportunities out there. Even living in this state I’m really looking hard into a mountain lion hunt behind hounds next year for the experience.

you’ll you’ll know when it’s all you can think about from a hunting perspective—If all the other species are just a shadow.

We’re all different, and that’s what makes the world go round.

Yes there’s some awesome multi species hunters out there, @Jared Bloomgren comes to mind. And Jason Carter


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jared Bloomgren]

Thanks @robby denning it is very hard for me to pick just one species and to deem it my favorite animal to hunt.
This is a question I have been asked often...."What is your favorite animal to hunt?" Honestly....I cannot answer it with just one species and usually leave it at this, "My favorite animal to hunt is whichever animal I am hunting at the present time."

If I am after mule deer, only mule deer is on my mind. If I am after elk, only elk is on my mind, etc...

But if I had to choose just one to hunt the rest of my life, my answer would be, "What else in living in that same area at the same time that can also be hunted at the same time?!" lol....

What has helped me be a "next level hunter?" I would have to say years spent in the outdoors honing my skills and learning each individual critter that I hunt. The time I have spent with each species/animal has taught me a lot and allowed me to be very adaptive.

 

[Opah]

If I have to Pick only one animal to hunt the rest of my life:
It would be pig ! Year around, no limit hunt till my heart is content and my freezer is full.
if fact forget the freezer being full I would buy another freezer and fill it up.
Yep no question it would be pig

 

[alecvg]

I certainly don't think I am next level, but I am fortunate to be more successful than deserved. I think drive is the biggest thing that leads to success.

I am a multi-species hunter- mostly elk and mule deer. I am fortunate to have a wife who is very understanding of me being gone. I hunt every second I can, and feel guilty if I don't- if its an hour before work, or a quick hike after work, I am out there, as well as take at least two weeks of PTO every fall. I also notice many guys convince themselves that the rut is slow this year, or the weather is keeping the animals in heavy cover- I call that bullshit, and talking yourself into staying home. If that's what you want to be doing, that is perfectly fine, but if you want above average results, I think you need to be out there every second you can. I will also get up at midnight to drive 5 or 6 hours to get somewhere by daylight to hunt for the weekend.

I love backcountry hunting, and if I have the time to be getting into the backcountry, I generally will, but you have to have some spots for quick hunts too, helps increase opportunity.

All of this said, it helps having the forest service boundary actually cutting through a corner of my house, giving me easy quick access.

 

[Felix40]

When I stopped being a traditional archery purist things really turned around for me. Adding in a compound and a rifle tends to make a whole lot more stuff dead throughout the year.

 

[Wapiti1]

Slowing down physically and mentally. Or trying to immerse myself in the "spirit that moves through all things" for the Tom Brown Jr fans out there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You realize that you just described "Next Level" the same as "I'm getting old".

I do understand your actual point though. Brown's book about edible and medicinal plants is good.

Try to be more one with nature and less like a bumbling tool from the civilized world.

Jeremy

 

[Bear_Hunter]

Getting to the next level is easy. First step, get decked out head to toe in Kuiu or Sitka gear. Second, make an IG account and become proficient in the use of hastags and filters. Hunting success will naturally follow, which is obviously secondary to the primary objective of gaining followers. Doing anything else is a waste of time. #Kuiunation #huntinfool #onepercenter

 

[hereinaz]

I have always been camping and backpacking, but came into hunting in my 40's. Just going hunting was the "next level".

I have eaten tag soup in my five years of hunting on coues whitetail several times, but I have shot a cow elk, mule deer, caribou, blacktail, cow bison, and bull elk, all public land draws or OTC. I am blessed for sure. Hopefully this year is my year for coues.

To get started, I found a hunting partner, and made sure I worked as hard as him and helped him so he would let me tag along. When another buddy bailed on us for an Alaska trip, I picked up the slack and made sure it happened.

I also go hunting and scouting as much as I can with others even if I don't have a tag. There isn't a lot of difference to me between hunting with or without a tag.

I have gone out solo backcountry hunting, but, always eaten tag soup when solo. But, every trip was still successful because I am drawn to the adventure.

I guess I knew I needed an edge, being a rookie. So, I practiced shooting--short range, long range, timed, tired, windy, hot, uncomfortable positions, and in the field. I study relentlessly so I can kill stuff with confidence in more and more situations than any one I know and hunt with. It was the one thing I could study and master. When I go hiking, glassing and scouting, I practice all the skills from carrying/packing my gun to deploying my gear to making first round impacts on rocks. I never leave my rifle.

For years, I heard guys talking about missed shots, bad shots, tracking animals, wild west shootouts. That was my motivation. So, I have never brought my gun out yet after deciding to take an animal that I haven't killed it. The first shot was lethal on every one of them. As a rookie, I am pleased that I have never had to track an animal I shot, yet. And, I have helped my buddies become more lethal. My rifle has killed more animals than I have. I can't decide whether it is more exciting to do it myself or to help someone else shoot their animal.