What makes a successful hunt for ..... YOU?

[WinMag]

Ok after spending a little over an hour reading another thread on here from start to finish, one question came to mind. I have my own opion on what makes a successful hunt for me. Now I'm curious what others use to gage thier hunts as a success or failure.

 

I was not going to start first but what the heck it is cut and dried for me. It's the hunt itself and not the kill that makes a successful hunt. If I dont kill an animal, thats ok. I can buy meat from the store at a much cheaper price than the cost of hunting so thats not it. Again it is the hunt itself and the time outdoors in the field with family and friends that makes for success.

 

Well what are your thoughts?

[WFGinNM]

Heck, anymore just drawing a tag here in NM is reason enough to be happy. I drew one hunt this year and it was AZ coues'. A friend in AZ had drawn a different unit for the same time so he showed on a map a couple places to scout before the season. We were staying at his house so after each day we could discuss what happened while out. A friend from here in NM also drew with me and we've been hunting together for the past 20 years, being able to share my limited time with some good friends, and being fortunate enough to be able to encounter an animal as fine as the one I shot was just good fortune. Being able to live in a place where we can enjoy activities such as hunting is somethinig to treasure.

 

Other than my own hunts, hunting with my son and spending time with him is always a success. Probably what I look forward to the most is seeing what hunts he draws for each spring and seeing how he prepares himself for each outdoor experience.

 

--Bill

[mattobertin]

Don't get me wrong I love to be out with family and friends BUT, when I leave a hunt empty handed I feel like there is something I did wrong and am always second guessing my decisions. I absolutely love to hunt but I like to kill even more! I know I will probably catch some crap for this but hey thats me! I have been hunting for twenty years and I think there will be a day when the kill won't be as important as the time spent, but until then i'm pretty hardcore about shoppin for backstraps and puttin em on the ground! LOL!

[firstcoueswas80]

I agree with Matt 100%.. Maybe that is why we had such a good time on my hunt?!

 

I love to hunt. I love to spend time out there, cut and dry. I am not saying that if I do not get bloody, then I had a piss poor hunt but it sure helps! Matt and I were getting pretty frustrated towards the end of my hunt. We were having a great time. Glassing up a ton of deer, just nothing that deserved a bullet. (actually thats not true.. I didnt get a shot at one, Fred shot at the other, and dad shot at the other).

 

Plane and simple, I HATE the taste of tag soup.

[COOSEFAN]

I'm a guy who always see's the "silver lining" and with that I can always find a reason to call any hunt a success! BUT, I don't handle it very well if I'm not successful, regardless wether it's my tag or somebody elses! I enjoy every aspect of each hunt, especially the friendships, experience and memories, but I want trophy photos on my flash card when I pack up camp.......if I don't, then I'll be trying desperately to find the "silver lining"! Nuthin' like being successful to feel like you met the challenge of the hunt, beat the critter on his own turf and won......I don't like to lose

[Ernesto C]

Succesfull hunt to me is...........being able to go,have a good time and enjoy the oportunity while admiring Gods creations (wild life and landscape) being able to get there, hunt and return home safe. (you do not want to end up your hunt because an emergency at home or you do not want to have a broken leg while hunting).

The killing is a bonus, a gift a blessing.......but just being able to do it is already a blessing. (I know some hunters that get frustraded if they dont kill)

 

FAILURE is..........to see a buck you want several hundred yards away and not to go for it because you may think you will not find it again of because you are to lazy or tired. If you dont try......you already fail!

 

Ernesto C

[IHunt2live]

I think I need to ponder on this a bit. I have to get out hunting, its me release from the day to day grind, and feel good everytime I go out but I do have to say that I feel a little "less successful" when I come home empty handed. When I go bird hunting and end up with just a few birds I'm ok with that IF my dogs performed well or learned something during the trip. But I also feel like I was unsuccessful if I was unable to get my dogs into birds and give them the reward of having the chance of putting a bird in their mouth.

For coues, if its a rifle hunt, I usualy get all excited and feel like I have a good chance which I feel leads to disapointment when I come home empty handed. I have to add though that thats comeing from someone who has only shot 3 deer, and I'm sure i would probably feel different if I have a bunch more deer under my belt.

But then again, why do I go archery hunting so much? I understand my chances are so slim but yet I go and thats why I think I don't feel as bad coming home empty handed, I've excepted the fact that I will probably not get anything.

Basicly I guess what I'm saying is that it all depends on my entisipations for the hunt. But its true what they say, a bad day in the feild is better then a good day at work or school I might add.

[WinMag]

Succesfull hunt to me is...........being able to go,have a good time and enjoy the oportunity while admiring Gods creations (wild life and landscape) being able to get there, hunt and return home safe. (you do not want to end up your hunt because an emergency at home or you do not want to have a broken leg while hunting).

The killing is a bonus, a gift a blessing.......but just being able to do it is already a blessing.

(I know some hunters that get frustraded if they dont kill)

 

FAILURE is..........to see a buck you want several hundred yards away and not to go for it because you may think you will not find it again of because you are to lazy or tired. If you dont try......you already fail!

 

Ernesto C

 

 

Great answer and well stated.

[COOSEFAN]

Succesfull hunt to me is...........being able to go,have a good time and enjoy the oportunity while admiring Gods creations (wild life and landscape) being able to get there, hunt and return home safe. (you do not want to end up your hunt because an emergency at home or you do not want to have a broken leg while hunting).

The killing is a bonus, a gift a blessing.......but just being able to do it is already a blessing. (I know some hunters that get frustraded if they dont kill)

 

FAILURE is..........to see a buck you want several hundred yards away and not to go for it because you may think you will not find it again of because you are to lazy or tired. If you dont try......you already fail!

 

Ernesto C

 

You are exactly right Ernesto, I share the same belief but I can't help but get frustrated if I don't "tag out". I'm a very driven person and usually put alot into my hunts and all for one reason.....to fill my tag on the animal that at least meets my expectations! I'm never dissappointed, but I do get frustrated and will use that frustration to scout harder, hunt harder and stay more focused on my goals next year. I think there is a difference between frustrated and dissappointed, I'm always happy to have a safe, enjoyable time in the feild regardless of kill or not, but I ultimately want to have the "full" experience on every hunt I go on........a year is a long time to wait and you never know when a hunt will be your last! JIM>

[mattobertin]

I'm a guy who always see's the "silver lining" and with that I can always find a reason to call any hunt a success! BUT, I don't handle it very well if I'm not successful, regardless wether it's my tag or somebody elses! I enjoy every aspect of each hunt, especially the friendships, experience and memories, but I want trophy photos on my flash card when I pack up camp.......if I don't, then I'll be trying desperately to find the "silver lining"! Nuthin' like being successful to feel like you met the challenge of the hunt, beat the critter on his own turf and won......I don't like to lose

WORD! That is exactly what I'm talking about but you said it alot better than I! I think it's funny when guys say that it does'nt matter when you get a kill. If that's the case, why not just go camping and leave the set of $2000 binos on the shelf? Not to mention the other gizmos and gear that we spend our hard earned paychecks on to find and kill game. LOL! Now for all you guys that trully don't care about harvesting an animal to each his own but I can't stand to lose!

[Chef]

A successful hunt includes eating with an oil lantern glimmering through it's lacy veil.

With the sweet aroma of fresh cut flowers that someone made me hand cut myself.

 

Yes this really happened, but I won't get into it. I have to protect my manhood.

 

....for me, just being in the outdoors and seeing quality game makes it a success.

[coueschaser3]

#1 GETTIN THERE! if my truck breaks or something stops me from reaching my destination it is a complete failure! aside from that i know if i do get there its gonna be better, no matter what happens, than being in town. There have been a few to many times gettin stuck and i say to heck with it get my stuff and start walkin. Ill deal with the rest later, Stuck the truck on my late bull hunt, just left it figured mud would dry in at least two days and just hunted.

 

#2 Gettin stuff is great, makes ya feel like you made every little piece come together perfectly. BUT, Have a mostly archery back ground i go out knowing im gonna try my hardest and if nothing else i know im comin back sore, dirty, blistered and probably bloody...my own....which makes me feel like i tried so still a success. When that tag does get filled WOW, you got more than you expected, i remember shooting a pig first one with a recurve, first animal with a recurve. Upon drawing i expected to see the arrow skip harmlessly under the stink pig, but i made the best archery shot of my life and pin wheeled the bugger.

 

#3 RELAX!!! i cant think of a hunt where i didnt not calm my mind more so that any other place. It is a release, time with God for me.....hunt mostly solo..... I can organize my head get my ducks in a row....however you say it. Again Successful without a kill. Although i did relax for the most part on my recent bull hunt i now know to do so before a bull is down 3 miles into a wilderness area for there is no relaxing then and no ducks in a row AT ALL when your solo.

 

#4 ENJOY the company! Whether my Gun, a bugling bull, chipmunk, hunting buddy, coyote in the distance, even a skunk in my rock pile once. For it is the only place you will enjoy such things to that degree. I have had the opportunity to meet an extensive amount of great friends this past year and great people to hunt with.....IM VERY PICKY ON MY HUNTIN BUDDIES...which is good cuz my best buddy moved to montana. Chef...Hector... great guy and amazing hunter i enjoy hearin his stories and Scoutin with him learnin even more. Cody whom i met by...what some call a bit to anxious efforts... to get a wide Coues on the ground i had hunted for years. and quite a few others. YET AGAIN i feel successful in meeting and knowing these people and spending time hunting with them.

 

All in all ive got to say as long as #1 works out im successful.

 

 

 

[Stray Horse]

I hunted all the late bull elk season and found my bull on the first day. I never could reach him as it got dark. Nor did I see him again. After I looked for 7 days and passing on smaller bulls I went home never to see him.

 

I'm no trophy hunter, but after seeing him that's all that would satisfy me. I said to myself that's the bull I want. It keeps the hunt alive for next time. It's happen to me before too, and I wish I would've done things different sometimes. I still have fun each time.

 

Remember hunting is recreation. I think when we let it get more important than what is important in life, like family, then we should really stop and think.

 

As I get older just being out is good for me. I never really understood this, as my dad would say the same thing. Now I'm the same way.

 

 

[bchoitz]

Success is not being at work, leaving the rat race, and stress behind. Marking time by the position of the sun, and if I get to shoot an animal that is fantastic!

Success is the satisfied smile on my son's face when he is standing over his first deer and first elk.

Success is not sleeping all night because the bugling and grunting of the elk keep you awake as you wait impatiently for opening morning.

Finally, after everyone else's hunt is over (aka December), Success is being able to drop all my responsibilities to everyone else, and only having to worry about me, my needs, and my desires.

 

Other than that, I'll echo Ernesto's sentiments, God has provided a wonderful world with rich diversity, and when I am able to spend several days observing God's creation, I truly see the magnitude of His Glory. I come back refreshed.

 

Bret C

[Weston]

Well, My views have definitly shifted during the last 7 years of hunting.

I started hunting when I was 10 and all I wanted to do was kill a deer and for 3 years I went home empty handed. I was very disappointed to say the least. anything would have been amazing, and I got to the point the end of the 3rd year that I didnt really want to do all the walking and glassing anymore heck, we werent gettign anything so whats up with all the work? and after I shot my first buck all I was was proud and I didnt care it was a spike, it still is the deer I have been most excited over EVER. Now I go out every weekend for a month or 2 before our hunt I scout, I glass, I work even though I know that I cant bag a deer that day. This year I went out probably 10 times and camped out by myself, sometimes I'd bring a buddy from school. And I see bucks now, and I get excited still but I dont neccisarily want to kill them, I get just as excited watching them especially if I had to work to see it. So I would say that now, The time with my Dad and our Friend is more important to me than the actual hunt, a COMPLETE opposite from my view 7 years ago, Funny thing is the same thing happend with Coyote hunting. The first time I went hunting for coyotes I was 15 my dad dropped me off to hunt for the day (he says hes got no intrest in hunting coyotes) and the first 5 or 6 times I got skunked I would call I would do everything that I read online or watched in my video's and was just getting skunked, but the first dog I had come into the Call I was so excited I must have missed him by 10 yards, I shot way to early 500 yards sitting no bi-pod but I guess we learn from our mistakes, now when I go out I love watching the dogs work the wind and it's so interesting how they come in diffrent every time some times full blast, others they sneak around for a while. So I guess another thing I value in the hunt is learning and seeing the animals. I have learned a good life lesson hunting and that is never give up.