The Hunting Beast

So here is kind of an observation I have made while scouting. I have been putting in a lot of work and finding some great buck bedding areas and some good looking rut time stand locations, they are all hard to access, wet, remote, miles off the road, you name it...

Anyway a lot of the time I find evidence of other hunters, but here is the thing all of the hunter sign is 30+ years old. An old broke down stand or ladder, a board nailed to a tree, I even found an old bridge someone constructed to get across a river/beaver dam just this past weekend. It just seems like those old school hunters use to put on the miles and go through the nasty stuff to find deer. Some of them even appear to be setup in the area of or close to the bedding areas. Now a days if a guy can't drive in there they won't hunt it. I know the old timers we hunted with use to go way back when they were younger, as they aged they stayed a little closer to home and it just seems like the following generations followed suite. Anyone else noticing this same thing happening in their woods?

Now I guess I don't know if I should shake my head at the whole thing or thank everyone. I just opened up a good 1200 acres of public land that I might have all to myself. At least until there is a drought and someone finds a way to get a ATV back in there.

I'm finding a similar thing with the relatives I gun hunt with. Most of them are 65 or older... they love to sit around and talk about the "old days" at deer camp when they would go around and do drives on everyones property. They also tell stories how they would just wander all the old logging trails and woods roads sneaking up on deer. Now they all have their own permanent box stands with wood stoves in them on the corners of our private property and they all hunt over bait. They nicknamed me "scooter" because I started gun hunting with them when my parents got divorced and we lost our good land in Marquette county when I was 15. I didn't like, and still don't like, sitting still in my stand during gun season. They treat it like I'm a nuisance for walking around, exploring and act like I'm wasting my time trying to get further from other hunters. Seems like they forget a few decades ago when that is just what they did. As a hunting community we are creating more "trophy hunters" with less ambition and less appreciation for the sport at younger ages...I'm glad you started this topic-good observation!

Excellent post topic. I tried starting a thread last week about 4 wheelers on public land that is posted as NO MOTORIZED VEHICLES. And much it irrates a guy whose doing it biy the book, and walking to these areas. Only to come there a day later and see 4 wheeler tracks littering the land. Somehow my post did, nt work. So real glad to see yours.
Now that I think about hunter sign in the woods.I think your onto something here. I too come across old remnants of stands way back in the swamps. But really never came across recent stand activity.And it sure is, nt because all hunters are useing. Lone Wolf stands that barely disturb anything. Most guys have cheap ladder stands or hang- one that weigh a ton. And they are all usually 1/4 to 1/2 mile from the parking lot.
So yes, must be too lazy to hike back on foot. If the grounds dry enuf the wheelers are sure to be there too.

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Good observation. I think it is good for those willing to get off the beaten path.

yes, a lot of the guys I run into in the field are simply fat and out of shape.

they could not make far off the road if they wanted to...one guy saw the stand on my back and asked where I was going, I pointed roughly in the direction of some old coal hills on the back of a large cornfield and told him "back there where it gets thick"

He said no way would he (or could he) carry a stand much less hunt back there

Lots of time on public particularly through the week, I have hundreds of acres of prime hunting land to myself

Uncle Lou wrote:Good observation. I think it is good for those willing to get off the beaten path.

HG....a true observation

Makes us ask a question, we believe we are advanced in our deer hunting tactics thesedays, with treestands, baitpiles, foodplots, ATV's, and heated deer shacks,etc. But how did those oldtimers hunt deer without all these modern things....simple, they were hunters. Todays hunters have become very accustomed to ambushing deer....but how many actually hunt deer...probably not many.

In another thread AN posted, how his father probably forgot more about hunting than he will ever know, and that his tatics are "a lost art". I couldn't agree more, I was fortunate enough to be taught as a kid by my uncle Fred. As a kid, I always looked forward to our visits, and would spend hours in his game room, and asking questions. Uncle Fred was a farmer, and hands down the best hunter/woodsman I've ever met, he just knew deer. Uncle Fred had a deer camp in the E.U.P. of MI, he never hunted on opening day, one time I ask him why? he replied " I would rather hunt deer" and at the end of opener every year he would say, " you shot some good deer today, but tommorrow we start hunting deer"

Maybe it's that things come full circle at times, the more they change, the more some things remain the same.

I agree with Tad... I don't think its as much "lazy" as it is that they just don't know how to hunt... Woodsmanship is becoming a thing of the past and there are few people that know how to hunt based on the lay of the land or terrain anymore... Ninga posted how he believes "my" tactics are not anything new in another post... He is absolutly correct. Just new to todays hunters because most people have lost this thru the generations...

Very good points Dan & Tad, a lot of these guys aren't lazy but they are just hunting the popular/modern way. I was the same way, reading and doing what all the tv and magazine hunters were doing but obviously what works for them doesn't often work on public land. I knew there had to be a better way to hunt, thank god I found this place.

It's funny you should mention ninja's lost art post because that is what kind of got me thinking about all this old hunter sign I have been finding. Not that all these older hunters were experts or anything but they sure seem to be better at reading the sign and doing the extra mile to get a deer.

I find some old stands way back too. Often wonder about the hunter who used to sit there, did he know what he was doing or was it just a random spot. I am a first generation deer hunter, my dad nor either of my grandparents hunted. So I don't get to hear any old timer stories. My younger brother got me started, looking back we didn't have a clue what we were doing. My brother died in 2002, and I wonder how much he would have liked this sight, we were always looking for better "ways" to kill deer. Cool thread, HG.

Are ATV's allowed on public land up there? They are not down here. But on private land most people think you can't hunt without one. If you get to the stand early enough, you can sit and listen to them hit the woods. Most people will not hunt public here due to the effort involved. The youngens coming up don't know any different. Sad

Some public lands are closed to motorized vehicles but most are wide open, like you said you can hear the hunters coming and going. I don't really want to be overly critical of ATV's either, I do use them to get back to some of my hunting locations and they are nice to use to help you get your gear and your deer in and out of the woods. I do think they can become a crutch when everyone wants to drive within 200 yards of their stands. At a minimum I like to stay a half mile away when I park, sometimes much further depending on terrain. I also use other ATV riders in my hunting group as decoys, I ride and park with them and hoof it the rest of the way.

I really didn't have anyone to show me how to hunt growing up. I learned from reading and doing. I made a ton of mistakes and had no idea on how to hunt the land up until 3-4 years ago. Luckily some great people helped me out. That being said, I am teaching my son the "right" way. We will stand on hills, look out into the woods, and I will ask him, "Jack, what do you see...where would you hunt". Then he will answer and I will teach. We do this all the time about where to shoot a deer, where to find a deer, the work ethic involved and the pride of hunting one's own meat. It is a lot of fun and as I learn on here from many of you guys, I pass it on to my son. I bet he is well beyond his hunting years when he gets into his teens. He even talks about tuning arrows.

virginiashadow wrote:"Jack, what do you see...where would you hunt".

Funny VS, I have a little Jack at home too. He will be well trained in the ways of the BEAST!

Getting back to lazy hunters, well Im not sure if there lazy or desperate? I see a lot of guys thinking they can buy some magic product that will magically get the huge bucks. Sometimes its the latest scent, or maybe the most talked about or fastest bow... Or the priceless
magic suit that takes away all human odor... Anywho the logic of thinking they can buy a buck rather than earn it.

dans right its not all the new products that kills big bucks! desperate is the word!
it takes motivatoin, persitance,believe in what your hunting and dont second guess yourself, scout ,scout scout
dont be lazy on your set ups
be agressive when u need to
oh ya did i mention SCOUT
burn that boot rubber boys!