What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made hunting?

[T-town]

Not buying points years ago.

Not wearing hearing protection in my early years.

 

[JFK]

Last season I hunted a spot that I’d had easy success in the previous year. Leaned on that spot too hard and, in hindsight, should have been looking elsewhere sooner.

 

[WCB]

What’s the biggest mistake/hardest lesson you’ve experienced in the field?

I’ll go first:

I was stalking a bachelor group of mule deer for an entire day. One of the more mature bucks must’ve been 190+. Towards late afternoon I was getting close enough to get a shot with my flintlock. But I had a problem…my bladder was reaching critical mass. Like bad. The bucks dropped over the hill out of sight and I leaned my rifle against a tree and went. Feeling better, I picked up my gun, looked up, and *SNAP*. I broke a tree branch overhead and it was LOUD. I may have well been singing the star spangled banner. I looked toward where the deer disappeard and all I saw across the top of the hill were heads with giant antlers looking right at me. They hadn’t gone as far as I thought, and I was busted.

Rookie move. Should’ve just wet my pants.

I did almost the same thing...hunting ND late OCT my wife (gf at the time) and I drove the 6hrs out there from home early in the morning and got out to the area around noon...Drove straight to a spot to hang a stand. Drove through a stuble field right to the tree set stand and was driving out of the field when I spotted a big buck just standing out in the CRP about 250yds away. Put the binos up and instantly knew he was over 170 and had a drop tine, but other wise a perfectly clean 10. Wife said go after him...It was spitting rain/snow and I was in street clothes. Grabbed bow, range finder, and a grunt tube and snuck up to 90yds of him. He was on a small rise in the CRP and I was on another. He was laying down by then and I grunted a couple times...he turned his head and looked but didn't move. I decided to wait him out and see what he did. an hour or so later soaked and frozen I rolled over to my side to take a pee while still laying down. As Im creating a steam cloud I look up and the buck is 45ish yards away standing there looking around...I tucked it away but had to roll completely over to grab my bow. Buck walked straight away and stood at 85yds for 15minutes. Then walked straight up over the hill 50 yards from my wife sleeping in the warm truck.

I have no doubt that buck was 180"+

 

[Hopapa]

Assuming that I didn't need to bring TP because it's just a day hunt

 

[7mm-08]

I did almost the same thing...hunting ND late OCT my wife (gf at the time) and I drove the 6hrs out there from home early in the morning and got out to the area around noon...Drove straight to a spot to hang a stand. Drove through a stuble field right to the tree set stand and was driving out of the field when I spotted a big buck just standing out in the CRP about 250yds away. Put the binos up and instantly knew he was over 170 and had a drop tine, but other wise a perfectly clean 10. Wife said go after him...It was spitting rain/snow and I was in street clothes. Grabbed bow, range finder, and a grunt tube and snuck up to 90yds of him. He was on a small rise in the CRP and I was on another. He was laying down by then and I grunted a couple times...he turned his head and looked but didn't move. I decided to wait him out and see what he did. an hour or so later soaked and frozen I rolled over to my side to take a pee while still laying down. As Im creating a steam cloud I look up and the buck is 45ish yards away standing there looking around...I tucked it away but had to roll completely over to grab my bow. Buck walked straight away and stood at 85yds for 15minutes. Then walked straight up over the hill 50 yards from my wife sleeping in the warm truck.

I have no doubt that buck was 180"+

Great story - you got to love it when crap like that happens.

 

[DawnPatrol]

Not getting serious about hunting soon enough to benefit from having access to a huge ranch in the Flint Hills.

But seriously, the bulls I’ve seen and not gone after for various dumb reasons. Kill them when/where you can, sort the rest out after.

 

[roosiebull]

Man, I don’t even know how to narrow it down, I started archery hunting 26 years ago and had no mentors, I have done a lot of dumb things, and still do, because hindsight doesn’t help in real time

 

[justinspicher]

Trying to hunt like everyone else instead of figuring it out on my own.

 

[Isildur]

Not listening to what your ears are hearing. Not listening when your gut is telling you something and the occasional moved too soon. Other than that not being out there when I could be.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Assuming that I didn't need to bring TP because it's just a day hunt

I will never make that mistake again.

 

[insanelupus]

Prioritizing hunting over all other things in my life. Letting hunting be more important to me than God and my family.

I am thankful hunting is no longer the idol it once was.

As much as I still enjoy hunting, the quality of my life has improved dramatically since I've prioritized God, my spouse, and my kids in life.

 

[Boarmaster]

I was hunting a new property in AL in 2008. I was running my ATV on a logging road thru a clear cut. I was going pretty fast, not crazy but not putting along. I decide to stand up and look over a hump in the road at a food plot off to my right.

I never saw that 6 foot wide three foot deep washout in the road just on the other side of the hump. A crash occurred launching big azz out over the handle bars and off the hump in the road. I landed about 20 feet out and 10 feet down and rolled the other 30 yards down the hill then slid another 20 feet in the wet red clay.

My ATV ended up jammed into the bank of the washout with a tire knocked off the rim. I was banged up but not seriously hurt. I got my ATV (800 polaris) out of the washout and somehow got the tire back on the rim with a racket strap and my air compressor I carried.

That was a big screw up but I lucked out. I learned to slow down.

 

[nettereo16]

I've had hunts where I've gotten frustrated and packed it in early. I ALWAYS regret it within 48hours. Need to remember to enjoy it all even when things are not going well.

 

[benkahle9]

“Young guy here” (32) will heed your advice

 

[Tennpin]

Hunting with an open sighted rifle when I had a scoped 270 .

 

[DiabeticKripple]

Calling in moose, had multiple bulls come in. There was one giant I had on camera in that same quarter section of land.

Had a younger bull walk by at 30yds. Had him dead but decided to pass.

A few mins later here comes the big boy. I froze. I was in awe at how big he was and I had him at 40yds full draw and let him circle downwind of me. Of course he stopped with one big tree on his vitals. I shouldve moved down the cutline silently when he was behind a small hill and not let him get around me. He smelled me and took off.

Burned 7 years of priority on that tag and never got a shot off in archery or rifle season.

 

[longspeak74]

Not involving my daughter from a young age. She lost interest very early on and I never pushed it. Wish I would have a bit more.
She does help me hang stands and cameras and most of what we eat is wild game. She just never got the bug to shoot anything.

 

[Ikmclean]

Not buying sheep/moose points for the first 2 years living in WY.

Not buys idaho lifetime license before leaving

One I still find myself doing is messing with the decoy spread thinking it will help, no better way to get birds coming in

 

[blackwood]

I was out squirrel hunting one time and tried to brace against a tree to take a shot. Turns out the tree was dead and rotten and I just pushed the entire tree over. Needless to say the squirrel didn't stick around afterwards.