What dose: "Hunting Smarter" really mean?

[BSeals71]

I've read books, talked to other guys on forums & listened to podcast to really try to learn as much as I can. I know all have helped. But... the the 30 year old kid inside of me still wants to "Hunt Hard" covering endless miles with a heavy pack.

What dose "Hunting Smarter" mean to you?

 

[Larry Bartlett]

Conserving physical and mental energy for the sake of precision and field efficiency is what I have in mind. The mind continues to build power as our bodies begin to betray us, so the "smarter" ratio becomes increasingly more attainable than the "harder" portions.

Less risk, more performance.

 

[tttoadman]

Smarter means conserving energy for when it counts. Hunt slow, steady and calculating all day. When you find the elk an hour before dark on the next ridge over, you have the energy to go into bomb mode and get there for an opportunity. Smarter also means having the mental energy left to study maps and make a calculated plan for the next day instead of just crashing every night because you are exhausted.

 

[Josh Wright]

I think some of it is not second-guessing yourself. Find your game, make adjustments, and do what needs to be done. There are times for stealth modes and time for full bore charges. Knowing when to do what is the key.

 

[Bighorse]

Perhaps it's having the "smarts" to be patient. A moving predator is very easy to spot by a prey animal. Make your movements count. Hunting smarter also involves a whole heap of humility. You should be smart enough to understand that your prey has senses more heightened than your own. Hunt accordingly! Lastly, like mentioned above, conserve your energy. Maintain a pace that allows you the ability to stalk, butcher, and pack your target. There isn't a trophy for speed in the hunting world. It's about cunning, stealth, and accuracy. Oh, also be smart enough to be diligent. Don't give up! Rise before light, stay out late, don't sleep on the job.... Common sense work ethic stuff

 

[larryschwartz]

To me, hunting smarter is all about making the best use of your resources to accomplish whatever your goal is. Your resources include your knowledge, time, money, strength, land to hunt, hunting gear, etc. Your goal might be to shoot any old deer, take your limit of ducks during a one day outing, find and tag that ginormous elk you saw last year on the last day of the season, or hunt a new GMU out West.

To hunt smarter, to me, you look at how you have been doing things and then think about how you could do things differently to get closer to the goal you want to achieve. For example, if you have been camping at the trailhead and only hunt within a mile or three of your camp each day, but don't see any decent sized elk (or any for that matter), hunting smarter might mean you decide to carry a spike camp with you so that when you find the elk you can stay there overnight and be on them in the morning. Another example might be hiking in 3-5 miles and settng up your base camp so that you are away from the areas everyone else is hunting and let them push the elk to you.

If you get into game animals after walking ten miles every day but you are exhausted because of the weight of your gear, then hunting smarter might mean getting lighter gear or reducing what you carry or getting in better shape or all three things.

Hunting in a drainage that has a road running along its bottom to faciliate getting your game out is hunting smarter rather than harder. Sitting on a ridge line glassing for bulls instead of walking 15 miles to try and find them is hunting smarter not harder. It all boils down to your saying, "There has to be an easier way!" and then finding that easier way.

 

[charvey9]

All of the above sounds good to me, but I think patience is a big key. The GIF fairy tends to visit often on the mountain, and you start overthinking what you should do next. Stick to what you know avoid the guessing game.

 

[307]

I think it means to watch me and do the exact opposite of what I do...

 

[5MilesBack]

That's normally used within the entire phrase of "hunt smarter, not harder". Part of that is doing your homework before you ever set foot on the ground. Studying, knowing, and understanding your quarry and their terrain in all aspects. Most all of this can be accomplished in the off-season, so you're well ahead of the game when you put boots on the ground so you can make educated decisions instead of just covering the mountain range looking for animals. That works too........but that's more hunting harder than smarter. Doesn't mean that you can't learn from that too though.

 

[Bonedalien]

^^^^^^ all that. secondly knowing and admitting you blew it. know when and how and why you blew it,and how you wont do THAT again.be brutally honest with yourself.

 

[Bar]

Hunting smart is consistently killing game while expending the least amount of energy.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

It's what naturally occurs after sufficient time in the field.