Changes?

[Doc]

Some of us have been hunting for a heck of a long time. I was wondering if any of you have thought much about how your hunting methods, attitudes, motives, etc have evolved throughout your lifetime. The reasons, the feelings, the tactics, weapons, needs, purposes and just the way you relate to hunting being in your lives may have changed from the time you first started hunting to the present day. Have any of you noticed these changes? Can you describe any of them?

[sweet old bill]

at 73 I sure do not do a lot of stalking. I pre scout a hunting area and plan were I can use ground blinds out of natural material and I leave a plastic chair for me or other hunter to use. I have a tag affixed with my name that says handicap hunter, use this spot but do not move the chair. I have about 8 chairs out and in about 12 years have only had two taken. Could have been the state forest guys, as most of my hunting is on state hunting lands in the a North Pharsalia area of  Chenago county.  A little town area that is 13 miles from Norwich  NY on route 23.I also no  longer can use tree stands so my amount of deer being taken with a bow sure has gone down, but it does get more exiting as you are eye ball to eye ball with a deer on the ground. Most of the deer taken with the bow are under 20 yards and with the gun under 75 yards.

[nyslowhand]

Sort of a twin to the "Why do you hunt?" thread, eh?

 

Few things more pertinent to this topic than other are;

• Gave up auto shotgun years ago in favor of single shot ML.
• Had to give up having beagles, so I do miss rabbit hunting w/dog(s).
• Same idea of physical limitations, don't walk numerous miles while turkey hunting anymore.
• My ATV paths & stand locations are situated secondarily for ease of retrieval. No more long drags!
• Not that I'm lazy or physically unfit, but have to hunt much smarter with advancing age.
• Much more selective of bad weather days I might hunt than when my time in the woods was limited by work.
• Apparently I've developed ADD, my attention span is ~3-4hrs in the stand. All day hunts are a thing of the past.
• The kill has really become secondary to the overall experience!
• Pass on a lot more bucks than I would have 20 years ago.
• Haven't shot any small game in decades. Would rather simply watch & enjoy nature!

 

Being a dinosaur, really hate some technology advances. Do have to give kudos for the advent of the cell phone. Not for the obvious texting, gaming or web browsing, but ability to be in contact with family &/or friends while in the stand. Peace of mind for everyone!

[G-Man]

I hunt a lot smarter now then when I started. Lot of scouting,and much less time sitting in woods,I use to think I had to stay out all day, now I hunt an hour or so in am and 2 hours or so in evening,with an ocasional 1 hr sit during the day if scouting warrants it, I learned to stay out of the woods for a good month before season, using aquire knoledge from previous years scouting and success to know I don't have to find that smoking hot sign and leave my scent everywhere.

as for weapons tools I try to make it harder by using more and more primative tools to harvest game, and look forward to the atatal,being allowed one day. (Damn right I want to try it and I have my flintnapping down already to make the points)

[nyslowhand]

Now that's a new one! Never heard anyone reverting back to the atatal! Love to see that!

[Lawdwaz]

Evolution..........it happens with time.

 

I still bow & gun hunt for deer as much or more than ever.  Seems as though I'm hunting birds much less than I used to.  Very little crow, duck, goose, pheasant or dove these days.

 

The legalization of the CF rifle for deer has been the greatest changes I've ever seen.  For years The biggest draw to hunting PA for deer has been that we could use a CF rifle.  I NEVER thought I'd see the day that we could use one in the areas we can now.  For guys that REALLY enjoy their rifles and shooting them that had to be like winning the damned lottery.

 

I'm enjoying fishing more lately.  As a kid I was a fishing fool.........anywhere/anytime I'd be casting a line.  I caught fish out of ditches in Amherst with a hand line and bread balls for bait! Been chased away from farm ponds, been CAUGHT at farm ponds and had to put the fish back that we had on a stringer 'cause the lady said they were her pets.  No wonder we hammered 'em so fast.

 

I got away from fishing for probably 30 years until recently and am really enjoying it again.

 

Spring turkey? This year I'll probably miss my first opening day since 1982 and I wouldn't be shocked if I don't kill a gobbler.

 

Change is inevitable in life and good.

 

 

 

 

[wildcat junkie]

What amazes me is how little we knew about deer in the '60s & '70s.

[Curmudgeon]

I hunt a lot smarter now then when I started. Lot of scouting,and much less time sitting in woods,I use to think I had to stay out all day, now I hunt an hour or so in am and 2 hours or so in evening,with an ocasional 1 hr sit during the day if scouting warrants it, I learned to stay out of the woods for a good month before season, using aquire knoledge from previous years scouting and success to know I don't have to find that smoking hot sign and leave my scent everywhere.

as for weapons tools I try to make it harder by using more and more primative tools to harvest game, and look forward to the atatal,being allowed one day. (Damn right I want to try it and I have my flintnapping down already to make the points)

 

A friend - a flint knapper - had to go to a deer farm to kill an animal with an atlatl. He says it a lot harder than you might think. The arm movement really draws attention. 

 

[thphm]

Started out in the 1950's with a five and dime store bought bow and arrows,later on bought a shot gun and then a rifle and a MZ loader, hunted mostly state lands and some private for birds , fur bearers and deer , filled our bag just about everything.Fished most of my life also.

Moved to where I am now when I retired as they say ( In the boonies ) Now just hunt my own property.I can now just walk out the door when I want and go to one of the many spots I have set up with natural blinds or have ground blinds set up.No more tree stands for me either.

Bought a crossbow this past year because of the old body parts failing,We will see how we do wit it this coming year.I have become selective on the age group of the deer that we will take a shot at. I have let many pass the last few years,so the Quality of the deer has improved.. And do not have the attitude that I have to shoot one every year.During the spring and summer I do a lot of clearing of trees and brush and replace them with grasses or other plants to keep the wildlife around.And it is paying off because I have just about every type that is in the area walking around the house and property every day.

[grampy]

- Don't hunt much from trees any more,prefer a natural ground blind,fallen tree or still hunting. When younger I would climb a tree like a squirrel to sit 20 feet high on a couple of 2x4s.

 

- Have much more patience now and have learned not to rush things like the shot or moving into position,moving through the woods.Or just sticking it out when I know I'm in a good set up,at a good time. Slow and easy works for me now. In my first years of hunting,I would move quickly through the woods to get to a spot. Only to move a half hour later to a "better" spot.

 

- The summer I turned 16,I worked on a local farm to earn enough money to buy my first real hunting gun. An Ithaca model 37 in 16 gauge. I still have it,and have taken just about all game legal to hunt in New York with it. And yes,quite a few deer too. Got a Savage Axis in 7mm-08 now and looking forward to shooting a mature buck with it this fall! Started my bow hunting with a Bear recurve @45lbs. Then bought a Bear whitetail hunter compound. A couple of Martin compounds came later and now use a Mathews mq32 compound and a Barnett crossbow. None of my hunting implements are "top of the line",but all are very functional and deadly accurate.

 

- Hunting in the early years,it was all about just filling tags,shoot the first legal deer that came by. I did not feel I was a successful hunter unless I shot a deer,any deer. I now measure my success in seeing a young hunter I have mentored,standing over his first deer. And spending more and more time in the woods with my grandsons aged 11 and 13. Now for me I only hunt mature bucks as they are the most challenge to me and let a lot of deer walk. It really doesn't matter to me if I do not kill "a" deer,I will only shoot "the" deer and will know him when I see him. 

[ApexerER]

A lot of things have changed for me over the years. The biggest thing that has changed for me is patience. When I first started hunting with my father when I was 16 I would trek for miles and miles each day. I called it still hunting but it was more of a casual walk through the woods. There was really nothing still about it. If I did sit it was for 10 minutes and it felt like it was 2 hours and I would be moving again. I actually saw a lot of deer but they were always running and were just glimpses of them as they bounded away. Now I have progressed to the point that my hunting buddies make fun of me for never moving. I will sit in one spot all day because I am sure the second I climb down I am going to spook that big buck that is creeping in. I also take a lot more time waiting for the perfect shot where when I was young I would just bang away and regretfully lost a couple of deer in doing so. The third thing that has changed for me is the equipment I am not able to buy compared to when I was younger. I couldn't afford a tree stand and I hunted with my grandfathers bolt action 20 gauge which I still have of course. But now I have a couple of different rifles to choose from, numerous tree stands to decide where to sit each day, and plenty of gear to keep me warm for my all day sits. I also enjoy all the little things a lot more than I did when I was younger. The woods coming alive, watching chipmunks playing etc....The beauty of the SILENCE.....I have evolved quite a bit in my 25 years of hunting....

[First-light]

Teens early 20's I had to be out there 24/7. Nothing got in the way and hate to say it some bad decisions were made. Now at 52 I look at hunting as a privilege, the little place I can get away to that lets me be and lets me choose what I want to kill! Sure opening weekend is pretty sacred but all other weekends have their place. 

[Doc]

Physically:

 

Back in the olden days, I used to hunt so far away from home that if I ever had gotten a deer back in some of those places, I would have had to eat it there because it would have been way farther than any human could ever drag a deer .... lol. Of course back then I had the appetite that I probably could have ate it there. Today, My hunting area has shrunk considerably. I either have to guarantee a down-hill drag, or shoot where I can get my ATV.

 

Mentally:

 

When I started out, the deer were pretty darn sparce ..... even the does were not exactly plentiful. So there was no picking and choosing of deer like we have the luxury of doing today. With the bow, seeing a deer was a story worth telling. Getting a shot was something that would draw a crowd around those first cups of coffee Monday morning at work. Getting a deer ... any deer (usually a doe)... was a story that not only the one who got it would tell for days, but even those who heard the story would repeat it many times to other hunters. And there were damned few people actually getting their deer with a bow. Not even a lot of people even trying. So we weren't all that picky. We saw a deer we tried to get that deer regardless of size or gender. It was an exciting thing to all who participated and even some who didn't, never failed to sit in on those Monday morning story sessions and I do believe that the excitement that went on in those story-telling sessions were responsible for recruiting a whole lot of bowhunters even though there was no talk about big bucks or scores and other such nonsense.

 

Pretty darn different today isn't it .... lol. Nobody wants to hear about the doe you saw. "You shot a deer? Oh great what was the score? What, you didn't score it? What? ... a doe? Ummm, well it's time to get to work now. See you later."

 

So, yeah, eventually as herds grew, I started to get picky. It all turned to work at that point. Huge amounts of money were spent trying to buy success. Hours and hours of target shooting took place. Scouting became a necessity, and not something that I really wanted to do. That was when a lot of the fun went out of it. Self-imposed pressures and crazy levels of activity and effort made the activity more lije an occupation than a hobby. But recently, I have logged enough years, that score and size and all that crazy crap are taking a back seat to whether I am sure it's in a location that can be dragged back to the house.....lol. That's where I am now. Hunting is not quite as frenetic and crazy as it used to be. My hunting is now laid-back, returning to a more enjoyable state and a lot more into the calming and relaxing aspects to it rather than running all over the hill like a crazy person, willing to do whatever it takes to get a big deer. Sure I did enjoy those middle years a lot, mostly, but as Clint said, "A man has to know his limitations". That phrase is never truer than it is to an aging hunter. And that new relaxed aspect to hunting has become a much more enjoyable and broad experience. Now the mind-set is more like those great old early years. I want a deer ..... any deer, and I just want to enjoy the experience and not take it all so damned serious.

[stoneam2006]

I have only been hunting for 15 yrs or so...only 10 with a gun for deer...one thing I have noticed is lack of deer movement ever sence rifle opened....seems everyone wants to be a sniper now...not sure I like that...and I do notice alot of guys not hunting or not hunting as hard as years ago....could be age weather time I'm not sure I just don't run into nearly as many people anymore and I hunt alot of state land....

[G-Man]

I have only been hunting for 15 yrs or so...only 10 with a gun for deer...one thing I have noticed is lack of deer movement ever sence rifle opened....seems everyone wants to be a sniper now...not sure I like that...and I do notice alot of guys not hunting or not hunting as hard as years ago....could be age weather time I'm not sure I just don't run into nearly as many people anymore and I hunt alot of state land....

I agree a lot less walkers, drivers ,still hunters..seems like everyone is afraid of pushing a deer to someone else. ..

[dbHunterNY]

when I was in highschool and college I did more actual scouting and didn't use trail cameras at all and now I do much less actual scouting and more use of trail cameras.  dictated by time really.  back then I'd find a buck and keep it a secret.  now I just share any info I've got.  I've learned and continue to learn more about deer biology and why they do what they do.  involved in more deer and hunting associated organizations.  also I'm now coordinator for a 11,000+ acre co-op.  seems I hunt much less for myself and do more for others hunting now.

[Two Track]

I am not old yet, but not young any more.  My knees are not what they use to be, Ran long distance track and knocked one around a bit. That has caught up to me. Steep terrain takes longer than it use to go up.

 

The portable ladder stands feel heavier than I remember them being back in college days.  Lately been ground hunting only.

 

My older relatives that had rabbit dogs have moved on to the "Happy Hunting Grounds", so I miss hunting rabbits that way, much more difficult.

 

Now on public lands.

Grandparents have passed on and the farm was sold off minus a few acres, but not enough left to hunt.  Those hot spots are now a housing development.

 

On the plus side I now have access to places to pheasant hunt and get to turkey hunt (rare to see them  where I grew up, but the birds are starting to make a come back there).

 

Growing up, we would out for an evening hunt are school - now at the office for long hours and an hour commute.  So its some weekends and a few days I take off of work just to hunt.

[phade]

I scout twice as much as I hunt for deer - that is something that isn't likely to change. For turkey, I probably hunt twice as much as I scout because I find it more of a recreational pursuit.

 

My available time to hunt is dwindling with family and job responsibilities, but when I do get out, I am having more fun with my friends. Maybe a quality vs. quantity thing mixed in with good great company. My out of state hunting has disappeared the past two years. Last year was the first year in 10+ years that I did not take two consecutive weeks off to hunt. I managed to get seven business days off, but that was a noticeable difference for me. I doubt I'll have the luxury of two weeks off in a row any time soon and this year is the year I'd like to do it if I could due to the calendar timing. Ah well.

 

Game cameras keep it interesting for me. Case in point, while I was typing this, I got a pic sent of a few turkey passing by. Confirmation they are back in the area! Sure helps when I'm stuck in the office.

 

 

 

[phade]

I agree a lot less walkers, drivers ,still hunters..seems like everyone is afraid of pushing a deer to someone else. ..

That happens when avg parcel sizes dwindle over the years. We push usually the last weekend or MZ weekend, but we're pushing several 10-40 acre blocks within a 30 minute drive. We don't push them much before because it only takes a few minutes to burn through a small parcel like that.

 

Larger land holdings would be awesome, but hard to find up here access/value wise for leasing/buying.

[dbHunterNY]

the family farm isn't setup very well.  drives/pushes for deer usually means you're pushing to adjacent cover that's the neighbors.  so we discourage it.  just the lay of the land we've got cover on the outside and fields in the middle.  one swamp in the middle of the property is used as a sanctuary.

[Elmo]

I find myself less paranoid about every little detail and simply just enjoy being out there.

[maytom]

Seems that the gun season for deer has lost interest with me, but I still enjoy going out with the bow. Spring turkey season has always been my favorite bar none.