How many hours spent deer hunting ?

[turkeyfeathers]

Just saw Deerpassion post from Live from the woods...  Got me thinking. This guy and bunch of you others hunt hard during bow season.

How many hours of "actual " in the woods would you estimate you spend during the season ?

 

Per bow season ?

Gun season ?

ML/late bow ?

 

I don't bow hunt but end up in the neighborhood of 100 -110 hours each year during gun/ml season.

 

and I think my wife likes me being gone as she bought me a shotgun and ml for Christmas and a birthday years back.

[growalot]

I have no idea...but I can say not even close to what I use to hunt....

[ApexerER]

Just adding it up I would say I spend between 50-60 hours in a tree during bow season. I would love for it to be more than that but work and family get in the way of that....(not that that is a bad thing)

[Core]

No need to estimate as I log all at sheets.google.com

 

This was my first year and I went out 16 times through this past Sunday, first day on October 3. Over that period 49.5 hours total spent "hunting", which means either in the woods or if I was in a stand, time while in stand. I spent 21 hours driving.

 

Next year I hope to find some private land, at least to use a bit. At least earlier in the season when brush is brutally thick and odds in general seem less at getting a deer I'd rather blow less time in the car to be honest. I also will not do any all-day hunts I don't think. I believe the odds of seeing deer are just not worth losing an entire Saturday in the places I've been. On the other hand dropping a couple of hours then back late morning is perfectly compatible with family life and guilt-free living.

 

If I owned a house with a stand 5 min walk from my back door I would park my ass in it every single morning starting Oct 1 for two hours on weekends until I had tagged out or one hour before work come Nov 1 (time set back), that's just the honest truth. Most of us aren't so lucky!

[The_Field_Ager]

So far probably about 20 sits of varying length for a total of roughly  35 hours. That's a gestimate. I don't log times. I do take mental note of the most productive stands and times. Would have been more if I had not gotten my Buck a week ago.

 

I definitely hunt harder during bow versus gun. Gun is meat time for me usually and I generally have one or 2 spots where I know I can drop a freezer filler after 2 or 3 sits.

Edited November 11, 2015 by Papist

[BizCT]

Figure 6 weeks between early xbow, shotgun, late xbow. 1 full day and 1/2 day on each weekend would be like 11 hours on a full day and 5 hours on a half day. So that's 16 hours x 6 = 96 at the max for me. But then subtract from there 2-3 days for other commitments on the weekends so that knocks off say 22-33hours so that puts me back down to around 60-70 or so.

My dad does dark - dark almost every single day except for bad rain. So 6 weeks is 42 days x 11 hours is 462hours and I say he misses maybe 3-4 days at most. So that puts him around 420-430hours

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[Nomad]

In hunting like painting the real time is in the prep work .

This bow season perhaps 30 hours in a stand .

Gun who knows I got the first two weeks off, I'll hunt for sure but with a buck in the freezer already I'll sleep in when I feel like it .

[518BowSlayer]

alot

[ApexerER]

No need to estimate as I log all at sheets.google.com

 

This was my first year and I went out 16 times through this past Sunday, first day on October 3. Over that period 49.5 hours total spent "hunting", which means either in the woods or if I was in a stand, time while in stand. I spent 21 hours driving.

 

Next year I hope to find some private land, at least to use a bit. At least earlier in the season when brush is brutally thick and odds in general seem less at getting a deer I'd rather blow less time in the car to be honest. I also will not do any all-day hunts I don't think. I believe the odds of seeing deer are just not worth losing an entire Saturday in the places I've been. On the other hand dropping a couple of hours then back late morning is perfectly compatible with family life and guilt-free living.

 

If I owned a house with a stand 5 min walk from my back door I would park my ass in it every single morning starting Oct 1 for two hours on weekends until I had tagged out or one hour before work come Nov 1 (time set back), that's just the honest truth. Most of us aren't so lucky!

Wow Core, I have been reading a lot of your posts etc. You are really into this hunting....I should keep track of time in stand, driving, wakeup time etc......I have tried to remember to log deer I see and get in scout look but I never remember...I am going to get a small notebook and put it in my pack and make notes. I think everything you are doing is awesome for someone just getting into hunting.....

[Marion]

Probably pushing close to 60 hours or so since starting the season. Maybe more. Haven't really kept track but many many many hours. Maybe next year I'll actually keep track

You Can't Beat My Meat!

[stoneam2006]

As many as possible...especially October 24th thru end of late muzzle ....

Anniversary Oct 6 daughters b-day Oct 23 so busy month till last week

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[deerpassion]

Gotta hit it hard in bow before the orange army rapes public land and its dam near impossible to see a deer during daylight unless bumped ... Especially after having two close calls on shooter bucks and it didn't work out .... Times a tickin now n I'm gettin a little anxious... But has to be up there around 60-70 + ...

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[bigpaul]

I fill out the DEC Bowhunters log sheet.  I didn't kill myself in October.  As of now i have hunted 63.5 hours and I have next week off. 

[GreeneHunter]

No where near as much as I used to !

[mtbuck]

36 hours driving and about 54 hours in stand

[The_Real_TCIII]

I used to put in 100+ but the past couple years I started duck hunting and I have to say it's been awesome. I wasted too many weekends in October hoping for a lucky buck before the good hunting started in November. This year I've had four really good duck outings instead and have been bow hunting hard since the 2nd of November.

[deerpassion]

I've killed bucks as soon as October 11th and as late as the day before gun and in between during bow... As far as I'm concerned on public land that's hunting ... Pretty much have the place to myself ( 4 diff state lands) , rarely run into other hunters , and can actually pattern deer... All that goes by the way side once I pull the gun out .... 1st weekend of gun I hunt seriously , but after that , I still go , but turns into mostly a scouting mission for next year , and o have killed deer that way but just not the same ..... So do or die for me during bow on state land during bow, after that , mostly luck that you get a deer bumped to you ...... Ugh want to throw up just thinking about all that orange s$&@ everywhere in the woods in less than two weeks ....

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[crappyice]

Just logged my 30th hour on stand for the westchester management program (not counting any travel, hiking or climbing the tree - nine of that counts for this program). Probably another 10 hours at a different track of private land. Saw three total deer, none of which while I was in my tree. I keep expecting the area to erupt with rutting behavior which Is why I haven't changed things up - definition of insanity=doing the same thing and expecting different results!!!

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[jflats123]

Last week alone had 26 hours so on the season im probably in the 45 hours mark right now in westchester

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Edited November 12, 2015 by jflats123

[Gencountyzeek]

First year of being able to walk out my back door to a tree stand. So far I'm up to around 70hrs this year. Truthfully I'm feeling burnt out and frustration is growing. But ya gotta keep grinding away, whether I get a big buck or not I need to get 3 deer in my freezer.

[mlammerhirt]

To put another spin on this hours logged question.....guys/girls who are single I umderstnad how the hours can add up.....guys/women with families how do you find so much time away from wife/husband, kids, home owner responsibilities??

[Chris B]

Often times with my scouting efforts and luck I could be done bow hunting the first week of the season and done gun hunting the first weekend, plus a handful of doe management days. But if I'm really grinding it out for a year it would be something like:

 

Bow: 60-90 hours

Gun Season: 40-50 hours

ML: 10 Hours

[stoneam2006]

To put another spin on this hours logged question.....guys/girls who are single I umderstnad how the hours can add up.....guys/women with families how do you find so much time away from wife/husband, kids, home owner responsibilities??

I am married 2 kids wife stay at home mom 5 yr old kid full day school and a 3 yr old home all day...I just moved to 2nd shift 3 to 11 pm Monday and now hunt daily 6 to 9 Ish come home do house stuff (been working on water all week this week) then leave at 2 hunt all weekend basically sunrise to sunset and my wife understands...I hunted before we met and she knew the deal same with riding my bikes weather dirt or street she knows I love it and that's at part of me...but I do take her on vacation 2 times a year and send her on a momcation with her friends once a year so helps...

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Edit she loves venision

Edited November 12, 2015 by stoneam2006

[genesee_mohican]

I've already sat dark till dark 4 days, with an hour walk in and out. I have to be closing in on too many hrs already.

[Hock3y24]

engaged with a stepson, work evenings 3-11 but i usually have weekdays off. since i dropped a few deer this bow season im gunna set her up good for her first deer this gun season.