Your thinking huh?

Well, here's the deal.  Every year I learn something new while hunting and I'm sure most of you do too so lets share.  I'm also sure that all of you have some little tips or advice to pass along to others that have served you well in your own hunting.  

"Ism's" are any little rules of thumb you have found to hold true or maybe just got a chuckle out of.  

For example, "It's easier to make a shot on a deer than to GET a shot at a deer."

Or, to paraphrase a line from Gene and Barry Wensels book Come November, "In every wood lot, there is ONE tree that more deer walk past than any other tree in the wood lot."

Advice is easy.  Basic things like bend at the waist when shooting out of a tree stand.  Or maybe always be sure to practice shooting in your hunting gear to ensure you don't have any problems like a pocket flap that the string hits or restrictions in drawing your bow.

Or maybe something more advanced like a special way to sharpen broadheads faster, how to cut up a deer easier, how to make some of your own gear etc.  In most of these cases, pictures would be sure to help.

If I can find the time in the next couple of days, I'll show an easy way to camo a tree stand.

So, what have you learned this year?

ttt

when you draw, dont question yourself, feel the shot.

a cheap quiver from the thrift store and 50 feet of braided paracord makes a great GFA style quiver.

a milk crate, a few feet of rope, and some small rope tied into a prusset knot makes a great ground seat and doubles as a backpack to carry my extra clothing layers in.


deer dont seem to fond of snoring

its hard to hit deer you dont shoot at (like winning the lotto without a ticket)

I have learned to take advantage of being an insominac..... i paper tune, work on form, sharpen broadheads, and enjoy the smell of fresh cedar

Charlie Lamb on Chris' computer... If you think the wind is perfect, it won't be as soon as that big buck approaches. (as I witnessed last night.

Don't argue with an idiot, people watching may not be able to tell the difference.

never pass a shot early in the season. You may be begging for that shot at the end of the season.

When I go to the woods, I'm the stupidest one out there!

Scott

A season can be made by one shot, so be ready for it.

Do not believe everything you read on the inter-net.

What can go wrong usually will go wrong. practice doesnt make perfect, PERFECT practice makes perfect.   Good form beats bad form 10 times out of 10. Don't miss    

A suddenly shortened brace height could mean a broken string!!!!

Shot placement is more critical than bow weight and arrow weight.

Always wear a saftey harness.

Just because you see elk on your trail cam, doesn't mean they will be there when the season opens.

When trimming arrows for bareshaft tuning, just cut a little at a time, it is amazing how stiff carbons get as you trim.

While walking back to your truck with your bow strapped securely to your backpack, you'll always spook the best (in my case the only) deer of the day/hunt.  

Watch yer top knot.

If you break your arm in two places. Stay way from those two places.

When hanging a hang on stand, don't just put in enough steps to get to the platform, put about two more on past it so you have good hand and foot holds up to about shoulder level when standing on the platform.  I think I've read that about 90% of falls from a tree stand occur when stepping onto or off of the platform and I think it is often because guys are trying to hug the trunk at that point instead of just adding a couple extra steps.  I know they sure make me feel a lot safer.  Here's a pic of a stand I just took down this morning.

 

Also, if you hunt public land like I do and can't use screw in steps, take a look at the steps in the picture.  They are Jim Stepp's "Stepp Ladder" steps.  Just about the slickest tie on individual steps you'll ever find.  Of course, being individual tie on steps, they take longer to install than something like rapid rails or climbing sticks but you can put them in any kind of tree and I love that they have multicolor braided camo rope.  They're just plain hard to see on the tree from any distance compared to most that have black nylon web straps.  Here's a second pic from farther away that shows how I kinda curved around the tree as I was going up.  This is a mild example of folowing a twisted trunk but these steps would work on a corkscrew shaped trunk just fine.

 

The steps cam over and lock super solidly to the trunk and best of all you have a handle like a ladder rung and you can put two feet on a single step so no standing on one step screwing or tying on the next one while your calf muscle starts to quiver and jump around like crazy.  The only drawback is on thick coarse barked trees like black locust.  They don't work quite as well there due to the deep grooves and punky bark.

Benoli, you made me laugh out loud with that one!

I'll have to use that some day...

I thought I was the only one who owned a set of those........if ole jim would have only made those steps with 2 legs instead of 1....it would have been the perfect step.IMO

If you think you've seen it all....look again

If you are sitting cross-legged on the ground, then don't store your pack, rattle-bag, etc. on your left side (if you're a rightie) where your lower limb tip is sure to whap into your junk.

As I learned, mistakes like this, cost bucks.