I've had a lot of time to ponder a few things while in the woods this year because it's been more than a little slow around here.  One thing I noticed is that ther seem to be a few unwritten rules of hunting that always seem to work against hunters.  

For example, why is it that I can set for a week and I won't see a deer until I have to pee so bad that I can't sit still and they always seem to walk up and laugh at you while you're in the act.      Happened yesterday evening.  :rolleyes:  

Also, why is it that you never have to go #2 in the morning until you wake up late and are gonna make it to your stand just in time when the tight cheekers hit?  :(  

If you can think of any of the other unwrittens, please share.

How about the wind being steady from one direction for hours, only to change just as a deer approaches...and the game is over.

I must be one STINKY bowhunter!

That's another good one.  I don't know how I forgot about that.

the deer are always right under the last tree that you moved your stand OUT OF

steve

Thats Mr Murpheys first law of sportsman. Also works when you put down fishing rod to let go.

You spend all morning being stealthy and quiet and the guy smoking the cigar out squirrel hunting wants to talk loudly about if you're seeing any.

No matter which compass direction you face your tree-stand if you're right handed the deer come from the direction your right elbow is pointing (I was reminded of this Saturday by a spike who's still chuckling).

A deer will ignore you until it's head moves past a tree.  Then it will look directly at you with that tree blocking the vitals.

Tabs are left on kitchen counters.  Spare tabs are in cellar on top of the freezer.

The exact moment you give up on deer and knock a blunt to pop that squirrel you've been watching for the past three hours, a deer will step into view.

I finally quit shooting at squirrels after scaring off deer nearly every time!

Sat in tree stand for 5 hrs w/o a glimpse of a deer. Half way down the tree a nice buck walks by a 15 yards totally unaware of my presence. The view was quite nice.

Nothing I know of will bring deer in better than the sight of a bow being lowered down to the ground.

This one has happened to me on several occassions.

Just got in the stand and about to pull up my bow and a buck walks w/i bow range. I end up saying to myself that I should have gotten to my stand earlier. The approximate time for these occurences have been at 1:00, 1:30, 2:30 and 4:00. The deer come in when they decide to come in. We are on their time.

If you decide to stay in the stand all day and you never even see a hair on a deers back, It's sure that when leaving the hunting grounds that evening, A nice buck will step into the headlights to go out and feed

When all feels right about going and the excitement is overwhelming the wife or kids want you to stay home and do something with them.

The climbing stand you have been sitting in all day spontaniously decides to plumet two feet down the side of the tree out from under you, giving the ole' cardiac system a good workout and jerking all the slack out of your safety harness.  This requires that you find a place to hang your bow, get turned around and get your feet in the straps (remember, dangling.  No slack in the harness.), and get the whole thing set back up.  Naturally, all this takes place just as a nice would-be-tasty doe walks into the area.  She watches in bemused indifference while this struggling camo clad creature in the tree bumbles around and mutters under his breath.  She then chortles and rudely prances off fifty yards or so to continue munching acorns from a safe distance.

As you may have guessed, this is a recent experiance.

Geez, I've hit several of these scenarios this week! Heres another- your brand new treestand, that has always been perfectly quiet, will all of a sudden develop a squeak just as a fat doe steps into your shooting lane. Then when you take the stand back to camp, you cannot reproduce the squeak.

this one's burned me quite a few times: you're working in on a bull wind is perfect for the entire time,up until you get close to shooting range then it turns and you hear the brush crash as he runs off.          

Hunting all morning with no sign of a deer and on the way out to find a buck 15 yards from the truck.


The one most memorable to me was that I had driven quite a distance and hunted turkeys hard all morning without even hearing nor seeing a bird. When I got home, my wife said a tom had been strutting and gobbling in the back yard nearly all morning. She rubbed it in all season.

Papa Bear

That was my entire early season.  Constant got blown by a puff of wind on the back of the neck.

i get plenty peeved at that clay.lot of work for nuttin..still a hoot though and wouldnt trade it for anything.