Taking a break in middle of hunt?

[elkkilla1]

Taking a morning off and sleeping in is a good way to get your head back into it. Getting up at 4am hiking and hunting all day wears me down. I was on day 12 in Wyoming a few years ago bagged the trip and headed home to Oregon. Only took about two days of being home for me to realize all I needed was a day off and needed up by coming home.

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[Jimss]

A lot depends upon the hunt, terrain, backpack vs truck camp, length of season, early fall vs winter, rut timing vs season dates, snow vs heat vs rain, elk vs antelope hunts....the list goes on!.

I'm pretty hardcore and usually hammer it from before daylight to after dark on hunts with short seasons. I may even hit it hard before a season even starts. It's a lot easier to take it a little easier on hunts that are open for extended periods or are closer to home.

I often take full advantage of the best times of day to hunt (usually early and late). I sometimes take short cat naps in the middle of the day while in a prime spot for glassing....waiting for things to liven back up. Things can change in a hurry for the best in a matter of minutes so I always try to keep a positive attitude and spend as many hours in prime hunting areas as possible. Once the sun sets it's sometimes nice to head to a nearby town for a warm meal, shower, and bed to get motivated. It's a lot tougher to rough it as I get old....er! For special once-in-a-lifetime type hunts I remain pretty darn hardcore!

 

[Mosby]

A rainy day is always great for sleeping in and catching up. Nothing wrong with taking a day off in the middle of a hunt.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

Depends. When tent camping from a luxurious base camp during our November deer hunt, I find I need no days off due to wear and tear or being burnt out. A good wood/coal stove gets the body feeling well by bed time and rested well for an early morning departure. I don't come back to camp and just sleep in the woods during the day if I need a nap.

Elk hunting is different. I sometimes don't come in during the day. The planned hunting day dictates whether I do or not. If I do, I sleep and lounge if I want. Just relaxing. Honestly, I never really had a problem with a drawn out hunt because I had always previously killed one earlier then mid hunt. However, by day 6 last year, I needed ice. So, a trip to town and a nice meal rejuvenated me. I was getting beat up by the variables that surrounded my hunt that year. Way to many sheep and cowboys, elk were really hard to work with etc..... I truly needed a chance to clear my head and evaluate my plans to kill one. That would have made the evening hunt a quickie if I hunted it. Instead, I cooked a really nice meal in camp and drank some cold Corona's. That evening off really got me amped up to finish the hunt strong too. Wish I could tell you it mattered but, day 8 we had a death in the family and had to return home 9 days early. But, I'll remember how much desire that evening off created in me to finish strong.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Take an evening off, I’d never waste a morning on a hunting trip.

 

[journeyman713]

In a long week, when rest is needed as a 'reset', sleeping in and a lazy morning does it for me.
Never want to miss the evening hunt, weather permitting.

 

[Glendon Mullins]

One time me and 3 buddies were hog hunting in georgia, it was our 4th or 5th day in the swamps, it got to around midday and tempratures were trending up to the low 90's unseasonable hot for the time we would go down to hunt. We take a little break for lunch at this picnic area beside a pond, end up deciding to make it a longer break due to heat, next thing i know i wake up from my nap because a car is driving by slowly and staring. I look around and it looks like bomb went off, 4 guys all laid out, me at the base of a tree, another buddy literally on a picnic table and the other two in whatever shade they could find. Due to the heat each of us had taken various layers of hunting clothing, off and layed them wherever, as well as whatever food we were earing for lunch lol. I just laughed took a couple pics with my phone and shut my eyes again