Staying the Course

[SageFlat]

It recently occurred to me that almost all of my successful hunts over the last couple years were a result of either hunting until the last possible day/minute or making an unplanned, inconvenient return trip on an out of state hunt. I've always known the importance of sticking it out and maximizing hunting time, but I've now found new motivation for doing so. I'd be curious to hear stories and experiences of success found in taking hunts down to the wire. Maybe it will help a guy stay on the mountain longer when all hope seems lost. Here's a picture of an antelope taken on a last-minute return trip after seeing gobs of much smaller bucks on the first go-round with no real hope of finding a shooter. Let's hear some stories!

 

[weekender7]

My first archery elk hunt we planned to hunt 14 days. On the last day our group of 4 agreed we would hunt to 9:30 am, then hike back to camp to pack up for the horse ride out. At 9:25 I was hunting alone, the other 3 were together, I almost left but said "no I will stay 5 more minutes". Within 1 minute I heard them coming. I had two herds come by me, and saw 52 elk. It was prolly one of the most exciting 5 minutes I have ever had in the wild. I missed my shot but cherish the memory of those last 5 minutes. That was 1987 and ever since I can't force myself to leave early on any hunt whether it be just an afternoon or a 2 weeker, I stay till time is completely up.

 

[lintond]

On my first & only antelope hunt here in Oregon I decided to sit water. I figured I’d have success in the first few days since I had a nice buck on camera & even had a herd come in on us as we were checking cards the evening before opener. My buddy left after 3 days and now it was just me in my sweat lodge. I hunted everyday from dark to dark in my blind moving to a couple different locations. On the last day, after blowing a shot the day before, a couple bucks came in at noon. He wasn’t the biggest goat I’d seen, but I was proud of my perseverance. Particularly because I’m not somebody who likes to sit still unless I’m napping.


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[SWOHTR]

By extension, does the theory of “if you wait until the last minute it’ll only take a minute” work here?

Just kidding. I admire the perseverence

 

[jasonhul]

By extension, does the theory of “if you wait until the last minute it’ll only take a minute” work here?

Just kidding. I admire the perseverence

My procrastinating son's favorite quote. Seems to work for our hunting too.


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[DWD]

Trail cameras changed my mind about the “leaving early fairy”. Go back to camp, cold beer sure sounds good, might as well pack up and beat the traffic heading home, etc, etc. A few times after leaving the stand early during whitetails hunts I would come back the next weekend to see a nice buck that came by an hour or two after I’d left. When you are hunting low deer density areas, that sure hurts.

I’ve learned my lesson, stick it out!

 

[woods89]

It recently occurred to me that almost all of my successful hunts over the last couple years were a result of either hunting until the last possible day/minute or making an unplanned, inconvenient return trip on an out of state hunt. I've always known the importance of sticking it out and maximizing hunting time, but I've now found new motivation for doing so. I'd be curious to hear stories and experiences of success found in taking hunts down to the wire. Maybe it will help a guy stay on the mountain longer when all hope seems lost. Here's a picture of an antelope taken on a last-minute return trip after seeing gobs of much smaller bucks on the first go-round with no real hope of finding a shooter. Let's hear some stories!

View attachment 560283

I mean, what do you expect when you hunt in blue jeans and work boots? First step is to get some Kuiu and Crispis.

Seriously, though, this is a great point. My other hunting mantra is to always be hunting while you're out there. Meaning weapon close, situational awareness high. I shot my 2nd biggest whitetail last fall when he chased a doe by me while I was sitting on the side of a ridge eating a sandwich.

 

[SageFlat]

I mean, what do you expect when you hunt in blue jeans and work boots? First step is to get some Kuiu and Crispis.

Seriously, though, this is a great point. My other hunting mantra is to always be hunting while you're out there. Meaning weapon close, situational awareness high. I shot my 2nd biggest whitetail last fall when he chased a doe by me while I was sitting on the side of a ridge eating a sandwich.

I use the crispis when warranted. Antelope hunting is rarely such an occasion!

I've definitely found merit in your mantra, especially as I've started hunting whitetails. Been caught off guard more than a few times, sneaky suckers!

 

[Mosby]

I always encourage hunters I run into to quit and go home after the first day. No decent deer or elk are ever killed after the first day and normally you're screwed if you don't have it down by lunch.....so better to go home early and save some of those vacation days you were going to use hunting and get some chores done around the house or take your wife somewhere nice later.

 

[mi650]

Got off work at 0300, went home, got my stuff together, and drove an hour and 1/2 to my grandparents farm. It was really warm for late Nov., in the 50s before sunrise, and the wind was howling. 30-35 mph, gusts to 70. Asked myself WTH I was doing going hunting, thought about just going home. Went out anyway, 1/2 mile thru ankle deep mud just to get to the woods.

An hour after sunrise, I killed my 1st deer, a small 7 point. Then had to drag him back to my car thru that mud!

 

[*zap*]

it is e-z to quit....most people excel at it.

 

[Brandon.miller.4]

Just last week. Mt bear hunt.

Headed to nw montana in hopes of hunting new country and avalanche shoots, choked out, too much green up, and grizzly bears were the only thing we found in 2 days. Decided we were better off moving to a known location that the snow melt should be right for..

Day 3: big boar spotted and my buddy made a well placed shot on a gorgeous color phase.
I was up next to shoot. I was determined to shoot a bear on this trip and time was on our side....had 9 days total to hunt.

Days 4-9:
Blown off the mountain in the middle of the night, gear soaked multiple times from thunderstorms that were constant. Repetitive action of gaining elevation and losing elevation, wet boots, soaked rain gear, set up emergency tarps for shelter, random periods of glassing, hail, wind storms gusting upwards of 40mph, etc. Mentally and physically we were getting hammered.

Last day: we made a move to a mountain range closer to home in hopes of shortening the last drive. Arrive at trailhead and talk to 2 hunters coming out...not a good report. They were in the basin for 7 days and only saw one boar worth shooting. Congrats to them,, they got him! Claimed they saw 10 other groups throughout the week hunting. I didn't like the sound of the amount of pressure so we pulled an audible for the last night. It was not a welcomed change by my brother and buddy. It would be a one evening hunt that involved rockslides, Boulder fields, and steep, tall avalanche shoots. But the base of that avalanche shoot was lush and green and looked just right. I knew nobody else was dumb enough to climb up in there as it was miserable and treacherous 2400 ft climb. And we were dumb (smart) enough to do it for one night.

Got into a glassing position at 5 pm. Perfect, exhausted we sat down and wouldn't you know it, here comes the rain again. Our now dry gear was soaked in 10 minutes. My brother perched up in a different part of the basin was dry under his tarp. Lesson learned there. My buddy and I soaked, sit out the night waiting, praying, hoping a bear would turn up. As the hours turned to minutes I said the hell with it. Let's climb down to the edge of that shoot and use the predator calls as a last ditch effort. Got into position, set up the gun on the tripod and placed the lanyard around my neck. One quick look to my buddy on the other side of the old pine and I say, "hey don't forget to check behind us when I start calling." Not 2 seconds later before I make one breath into my call, he goes, "bear, bear! Right here!" I turn and see a medium sized boar stepping out of the small patch of pines I told him to watch. I wait for it to clear the trees and 1 well places shot at 150 yards ends it in seconds. Quite literally the last minutes of the last day. It pays to be persistent. I've had the same situation in different ways play out with multiple different hunts. It's easy on day 8 of getting your ass kicked to want to go home and crawl in bed with your misses a couple days early but the one time I did do that I just could not forgive myself for quitting. Felt sick to my stomach about it for years. Never again. Leave it all on the table or don't go in the first place.

When I guided in Alaska, another big game guide that I was guiding on an emperor goose hunt mentioned, "hunting is a game of seconds. All it takes is mere seconds to turn a poor hunt into a great hunt" that has stuck with me in a big way!

 

[Jcaff]

like you said, the biggest thing is staying the course. My mentality is that it can happen at any moment. I’ve had many encounters with animals in places I wouldn’t expect them to be. Some I’ve capitalized on, others I did not. The difference between the two being if I was mentally ready or not.

 

[ozyclint]

Luck can change at any moment. You have to give yourself the chance to capitalize on it by still being there.

 

[Jcaff]

Yup! Can’t fill your tag if you head home early or stay at camp

 

[SWOHTR]

Yup! Can’t fill your tag if you head home early or stay at camp

Unless you’re “coming from the wayside, and kill it with your truck.”

Reference: The Second Week of Deer Camp by Da Yoopers.

 

[KenLee]

My Daddy's top 3 rules of hunting that I was raised with:
1. You can't see them if you aren't there.
2. You can't kill them if you don't shoot.
3. You can't eat them if you can't find them.

Well, I guess those were actually #s 2-4 after "if you point that gun at anything you shouldn't shoot, Ima beat you half to death".

 

[KenLee]

My most idiotic and extreme "stay the course" story is killing a 215 pound whitetail (huge buck for Upstate South Carolina) with a muzzleloader 5 minutes after a tornado hit less than a mile away. Took out my buddy's barn and woodshop. Flipped mobile homes, twisted up a wide swath of trees, took off roofs and dropped trees on many houses.
I was sitting 16 ft up in a homemade box stand swaying and riding it out. Pressure and wind actually pushed the plexiglass out of the track on the window that I shot out of a few minutes later.
The old buck's antlers had gone downhill. Spindly and many tines broken off. I joked that the 'nader got em.

 

[mi650]

Unless you’re “coming from the wayside, and kill it with your truck.”

Reference: The Second Week of Deer Camp by Da Yoopers.

It's the greatest time of year.