Patience Pointers

Discuss deer hunting tactics, Deer behavior. Post your Hunting Stories, Pictures, and Questions/Answers.
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Jackson Marsh
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Re: Patience Pointers

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Tue Sep 12, 2017 11:28 am

I spend a lot of the year wishing it was deer season. Once it arrives I have no problem enjoying it. Just take a few deep breaths of fresh air and enjoy the experience.


hunter10
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Re: Patience Pointers

Unread postby hunter10 » Tue Sep 12, 2017 12:36 pm

I find it takes me a half hour to settle down after sitting down in the tree. Usually early season I don't sit for more than 3 hours, pre rut and rut I enjoy putting in the time. Sometimes I get bored, frustrated, agitated and tired but pushing through that has put deer in front of me at times of the day where I'd usually be at home. I'm still learning patience and it's my weakness in the woods still
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Re: Patience Pointers

Unread postby Jdw » Tue Sep 12, 2017 12:40 pm

Confidence in the location is what keeps me sitting still and staying alert and focused.

I gain confidence through scouting, observation and trail cam pictures.
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Maianwatahe
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Re: Patience Pointers

Unread postby Maianwatahe » Tue Sep 12, 2017 12:41 pm

The woods are my get away from work and people. Sometimes when I am hiking or scouting Ill just sit in a nice spot and stare off and think about nothing. It has kind of become a trigger that once I am in the woods my body just knows to relax and take everything in
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Re: Patience Pointers

Unread postby Hatchetman » Tue Sep 12, 2017 1:18 pm

I admit I'm a little fidgety those first few sits of the season but as days go on I become much more focused.
I do a lot of thinking when I'm on stand. Might sound dumb but I find time goes by much faster the LESS I think about hunting

Sure, the first hour in the morning or the last hr in the evening I'm on high alert but as time gets farther away from those times the less I'm focusing on hunting. I don't know how to explain it. Kind of just let my perifial senses take over while i'm in auto pilot, really helps to pound out the hrs especially on all dayers during the rut.
It may sound like I'm in some kind of Zombie state of mind 20 ft up in a tree, which I may be, but I will say in my 43 yrs of bowhunting I think very very few deer have gotten by me undetected.
Other than avoiding having an uncomfortable sit, like a tree with a bad lean, or being stomach growling hungry, I guess that's the only pointer i've got to beat the fidgets.
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Re: Patience Pointers

Unread postby Ajazwinski88 » Tue Sep 12, 2017 2:08 pm

Most helpful thing I've done for myself to keep less fidgety was buying COMFORTABLE treestands for long the long sits! For the short evening sits I'm usually so dang tired that I strap in and half sleep and let my ears do the work.
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Re: Patience Pointers

Unread postby Tennhunter3 » Tue Sep 12, 2017 5:46 pm

Trick is keeping your mind off being uncomfortable and keep yourself mentally motivated and focused on a single goal.

Using phone on silent a few times when you start thinking about climbing down. Look at stuff through binoculars when you get bored.

Most of my sits are 4 -6 hours. During rut last year I did a few 14 hour sits.

Imagine snipers waiting days in the desert without moving for a shot that takes unbelievable patience can't move to go bathroom or eat.
Never give up Freedom for imagined safety.
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Kraftd
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Re: Patience Pointers

Unread postby Kraftd » Tue Sep 12, 2017 9:55 pm

Like a couple of others have said, usually takes me a solid 30 minutes in the woods to start to feel reconnected. That's hunting or even just scouting or hiking. TO me that's just another reason I like a little longer hike in or walk in and hanging and hunting. Usually I'm a little decompressed and tuned in by the time I'm sitting then. Sometimes when I'm hunting short walk presets on some of the private options I have, those are harder sets for me to keep still, even though the chance of seeing deer is probably higher, since I may not have had a chance to get unwound before climbing in. Just something to consider.

Other than that, comfort is the biggest factor I think. If I'm comfortable, I don't have issues most of the time, if I'm not, I'm fidgety and much more prone to call a sit early.
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E72
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Re: Patience Pointers

Unread postby E72 » Wed Sep 13, 2017 2:44 am

The "What if the buck shows" factor keeps me from fidgeting and staying on my phone too much. Keeps me in the stand longer too. Confidence in your location helps . Easy to get distracted and not be ready when you aren't thinking a target deer is close by. I've been there ...a lot . :lol:
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freezeAR
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Re: Patience Pointers

Unread postby freezeAR » Wed Sep 13, 2017 3:55 am

I wouldn't trade my time in the woods for nothing, I really enjoy it. I am hyper-focused on stand to the point where it wears me down. It is still relaxing but the focus is intense. I would not waste my time hunting in a spot that I didn't believe would pay off. The trick is to be really focused, monitor everything around you while not making sudden movements.
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Re: Patience Pointers

Unread postby Twenty Up » Thu Sep 14, 2017 2:45 am

Well it happened again last night....

15 minutes before dark I decided to start zipping up my pack for the descent only to hear a doe blow ~60 yards off that I never saw. Not 2 minutes later two fat slick heads came darting by from the opposite direction stopping 26 yards in a shooting lane. They came very close to downwind from me but there was another hunter setup in the direction they came from so either one of us could have set them off. They ended up heading towards the doe that blew at me and that was it.

I've been cycling through spots at a WMA close to me since most of the dirt roads are still beat up from Irma and I don't feel like cutting my way to some of the more rural WMA's just yet. Most of these areas are from where I have briefly scouted or seen deer doing other things like duck hunting and bumping them on the way out...

I could see myself being much more focused when I finally get a chance to hunt buck beds, as for now I'm looking to stick a fat doe and wait for the right wind/conditions for the beds.
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magicman54494
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Re: Patience Pointers

Unread postby magicman54494 » Thu Sep 14, 2017 3:35 am

it takes me a while to settle into the rhythm of the woods. my business can be hectic both physically and mentally. what helps me tune in is to focus on the small details of the woods like the birds or just the shapes of trees or the wind. another thing that is key is to stop thinking about anything else in my life that is not right in front of me. I block out what is going on back home or work or any other things outside of the woods. I learn to block out time as well. there really is only two times in the woods. day time and night time. another enemy is expectation. don't expect anything such as seeing deer. Just enjoy being there and relax. If you practice these things you will be able to sit all day without it being a struggle.
It is very important to be relaxed. mentally check yourself head to toe for any tension in your body. Take a few deep breathes once your settled in and focus on relaxing all of your muscles. DONT FALL ASLEEP!
Another key to longer sits is to mentally make the decision that you are going to stay there BEFORE you get in the woods. If you decide to "see how it goes" I will bet you wont last very long.
I have also learned that if I'm not enjoying my time in the woods , it is time to get out or mix things up a bit. I might just go for a scouting walk or leave early . I have learned that when I am able to get into the rhythm of the woods I enjoy it much more and MY SUCCESS RATES GO THRU THE CEILING.
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Re: Patience Pointers

Unread postby gillyfi » Thu Sep 14, 2017 4:28 am

Using milkweed for the first time was more addicting than my phone. Used a hole pod on Saturday.
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Re: Patience Pointers

Unread postby rempse2 » Thu Sep 14, 2017 1:52 pm

It usually takes me a time or out each year before i find my natural rhythm and slow myself down. Once I'm settled in on stand i actually like to pass the time by closing my eyes and just listening to the woods it's amazing how in tune and focused your hearing can be when that is the only sense your using and lets face it we hear most deer before we see them especially when hunting in thick cover. I'll just sit still with my eye closed for 5 minutes or so then open them up then scan my surrounding with my binos, then close my eyes again...then repeat. It passes the time on an evening hunt until prime time. I also bring a guide book on trees called Bark and will spend time trying to identify the tree species around my stand.
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Re: Patience Pointers

Unread postby WEA$EL » Thu Sep 14, 2017 3:40 pm

Yep I'm done with electronics in the tree. Was reading my Kindle two years ago and had a shooter come out of the thicket right near my stand, never expected him to come that way. He never saw me but he walked through several close shooting lanes before I put the book away and got my bow. Shot right under him at 30 yards. Not even taking a pack this year, just essentials in my pockets.


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