Coming out of the hunting closet

[Steve J]

#5578

Ok , Im 48 and have never killed a large mammal. I have been a fisherman R&R since I was a kid . Salt & fresh. I just got the desire to hunt something more than fish a couple yr ago. Dont know why. I have shot bows for yrs. ,, but the 2 deer hunts I have been on I took a rifle. This thanksgiving I am going to my relatives place 180 acres in Leon county TX. Plenty of deer, I ve spooked quite a few walking to the stock tanks to fish.
Since this is my 1st yr to bowhunt, should I take the edge my compound gives me in accuracy ,, and learn other skills , then next yr hunt trad. or what?
I bowfish with my longbow,, but those are much shorter shots& shoot targets pretty good at 20 w/ longbow. But I know hunting wont be a controlled situation , like my backyard.
I plan on sitting w/ my back against tree close to fence line. Is a 3d suit going to far, or what . My bro in law says theres no way Im going to kill a deer from the ground ,, but dang I want to try. They got plenty of hogs too. Maybe I will get a shot at one of those.
I hope you dont shun my greenness.
Steve
ANY advice welcome

[johnny2]

#42410

Steve, there is no shame in what you’ve said, heck we were all green at some point, I’m still green when it comes to the trad equipment. I will say though that you must have some grande huevos(or huevos grande, I don’t speak Spanish) and have earned my respect by postin your “greenness” on this site, bravo.

I must warn you that you are starting down a path that will change the way you look at everything. I for instance take notice of the wind direction every single time I step outside and wish I had a better sense of smell, so I could, you know, add a dimension to my deer and turkey hunting.LOL:D

I say take what you feel most comfortable with, as you can tell by my posts, sometimes I’m not sure either.

Good luck and enjoy your hunting.

[Chris Shelton]

#42411

from what I have seen on the tele, you are in a great place to kill something from the ground.

Do not let that compound is more acurate crap make you think it is more effective. Sure you can put 19 shot in a quarter(exagerated, lol) but there are things that traditional bowhunters can do that a bowhunter with a compound will never do. I just think that you would have to worry about drawing and aiming and all that jazz. Basically what I am saying is that if you can put say 5 arrows in a pie plate at 20 yards than you are more than ready to hunt big game, if not then mabye you should take your compound? That is really up to you.

As far as going into your hunt I suggest you prepare yourself mentally, I always think to myself of a saying that some famous author said, expect nothing, live frugally. I almost live by it, and hunting by it is a great way to go into a hunt because you will not be let down by yourself if you are just expecting to have a great time! Best of luck, with whatever method you choose!
Chris

[Steve J]

#42446

Thanks guys, I see that there is a wealth of knowledge on this forum,, and I figured I might as well come out & say , what my experience , or lack of was.
Ive found most people will try to help you, if you will admit you dont know something,, but have a desire to learn.
I think a 48 yr old newb is kinda funny too, LOl
I can shoot that pie plate, at 20 ,so maybe I can do it. I will probably take both bows , and try them , Im gonna be there 4 days.
Thanks
Steve

[Chris Shelton]

#42527

great idea, I find that I ALWAYS take a target along with me, it doesnt happened to me anymore, but when I first started hunting with my recurve in the wildlands of western maryland, the change in elevation or possibly even the difference in shooting in the woods but I didnt shoot as well, still effective enough but not the same!

I think it could have been the way that sometimes distances look alot different in the woods than they do in open feilds. That is long gone because of some 3d shoots I have done, they are in the woods and that has since helped, althought the club that hosts the shoots cuts paths to the targets I suppose to make it easy to get your arrows and for them to get the targets but I would rather them make the shots look more natural. Still a exelent way to practice. I wish you the best of luck, hope your succesful either way!
chris

[johnny2]

#43717

3D suit is a great idea, be sure and cover your hands and face(here’s a chance for a plug Carbomask). I would get my butt up off the ground as I don’t shoot well sitting in the ground, an earthtone colored bucket will do fine. Position yourself if possible so the critter is past you when the shot presents itself. Animals pay more attention to where they are going as opposed to where they’ve been, I guess they think there is no danger where they came from cause they’re still alive, I don’t know that just seems to be the case. Use some background cover to break your silouhette. BE PATIENT. I’ve seen some posts that said to move if you see nothing in an hour. I’m sorry, that is terrible advice if you’re stand hunting. Animals don’t have a schedule. A deer may use the same trail 3 days in a row within a 15 minute time frame and the 4th day be 2 hours late. ABOVE ALL….. PAY ATTENTION TO THE WIND! The 2 animals you will be hunting have bar none the best noses on the planet and won’t stick around if they get a whiff of you.

Good luck.

[Steve Sr.]

#44466

I plan on sitting w/ my back against tree close to fence line

That is my current set up. 😀 It’s also one that has worked multiple times in past years…. without 3D.

I use mostly camo now of high contrast patterns but have succeeded sitting on a bucket (green in this case), with a plaid flannel jacket and jeans, in the MIDDLE of a woods, in sunshine, 4pm, leaning against a 4 inch diameter tree. A smaller 8 point IN buck actually pawed a scrape under the limb of the same tree I was leaning against (facing me) and I put him down at 18 yards walking away.

One of fav hunts of seasons past. I mean I could just about count eyelashes! I could have whacked him on the head with my longbow used that year. Just one of many occurances.

Holding STILL is the key. Coloring the skin on my face darker than old man white is probably my only “must have” cause I tend to move my head too much. Too dark is as bad as too light too, IMHO. Think Grey.

Right now Im hunting on a collapsable stool, leaning against a 8 inch tree in the shade of a tree that has fallen down all but 9 feet or so on the end. Shade is important but as Ive said, sometimes Ive gotten away from even that but dont like it and its much more difficult.

A pair of trails split and go on either side of the tree Im under coming out of the corner of the other woods or corn. Im about 45 yards from either fence. It’s just a matter of time when the wind allows me to sit there.

Keep in mind, that it was some time ago but still in some of our memories when tree stands were “new”. Hunting from the ground is as old as bowhunting itself and works just fine.

Remove any leaves or twigs from your foot area in case you need to “shuffle” a bit, and you’re good to go, Buddy!

God Bless,
Steve Sr.

[Steve J]

#44599

Thanks Steve ,
I am actually printing this out with some other advice I have gor from Johnny.

Do you use a spray to kill your scent.?? Ive realized 3d is overdoing it. Im gonna get a regular set of camo jacket & pants from Academy.
I am looking for a hunting buddy/ mentor on a texas forum ,, I have all year access to 180 acres ,, but no one to go with.

Thanks again
Steve

[Chris Shelton]

#44604

I totally agree with what you have already learned. I have a old pair of camo pants from when my dad was in USMC and they are worn and all the crap. They probably are tattered with UV, and all that too. Sure I think these new patterns are great, especially like ducks in a row, that is cool, using natures camo! I like the ap by realtree, but all my other gear is mossy oak, see, this whole camo thing is to please us, I dont think the animals will care, unless you shoot them, then they might start caring!:D

[johnny2]

#44690

One more thing Steve J, and I say this as an admitted romantic, it may not apply to everyone. It is easy to become intimidated by the “mystique”, if you will, of hunting big game and in my case turkeys. It’s actually the same thing I’m going through right now with my switch to trad equipment.

I remember starting out as a teenager thinking it would be impossible for me to close the distance to 20 yards on a deer or call a big gobbler in to range because prior encounters with the critters ended when they busted me a long ways off or hunting many moons without seeing anything. I thought the guys consistently killing em had some Indian secret or voodoo charms or something, but like everything else in life I figured out it just comes down to putting in your time and being willing to learn. You will screw up. Most of the time there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to animals. Anything can and does happen, that’s what makes it so much dang fun.

Oh yeah, baking soda and scentless soap. I wash my clothes and myself in a combo of both and mix baking soda with water in a spray bottle for in the field use. I still watch the wind religously and I don’t think anything can beat their nose but I think it helps. Helps my confidence anyway.

[William Warren]

#44747

Good luck on your hunt. A lot of good advice on here.
Just hunt slow and try to get close no matter which bow you use! And enjoy the 4 days out.

[David Petersen]

#44939

I swear we’re going to have to start giving all you Steves numbers to keep you straight! 😀 To your question of whether to start with a stickbow or recurve … it all depends on what bottom line you’re hunting for. There is no argument that in many cases, especially at the starting level, “training wheels” offer advantages. For one thing, once you get it sighted in and arrows tuned, you don’t really have to practice much if at all to be accurate at known distances. So if it’s your primary goal to kill an elk with a “bow,” and you don’t have a lot of time to practice and you understandably need some self-confidence building, nobody can criticize you for taking that half-step. The major personality quality required to be a traditional bowhunter, in my experience, is the ability, as Snuffornot says, to enjoy hunting without always killing. It was easy for me since the compound arrow-launching device was years away from being invented when I took up bowhunting. Took me 4 years to kill my first deer, hunting alone and with no support structure whatsoever. I don’t think I’ve ever been a better hunter than in those years. Just a wonderful experience spending tons of time in the woods alone, studying nature and trying to figure it all out for myself. But if you can keep ’em in a foot or less consistently at 20 yards with a stick, it might prove easier than you think. Deer may seem like supernatural beings at times, but if you put in enough time and try hard enough, you’ll always have opportunities. It would be great if you had hogs there as well. I politely differ from any and all advice that says you need this or that, 3d, a blind, or any other special gear. This stuff can wor, no argument. But you don’t need any of it to succeed and too much of it becomes an anchor. Wear blend-in clothing including gloves and face mask, stay in the shade, don’t move when a deer may be looking at you and move slowly always, try not to spread scent walking to your blind with smelly clothes and fabric boots and by touching trees and stuff with your hands as you go along. One of the greatest joys of traditional bowhunting for me is seeing how much “stuff” I can get by without. Turns out, that’s most all of it aside from bow and arrows! And don’t get too hung up on what others say, including myself. Making your own mistakes and figured things out independently is tremendously satisfying. I’m envious, as I don’t get to hunt again until December. dave

[crittergitter]

#45291

from my experience of now 5 fresh years shooting a stick i would definitely say go with the wheels kill something with an arrow its still more challenging than you could ever imagine as a matter of fact if you are like me i would say hunt each season with the wheels untill you get to the point that you dont shake dont get nervous or anything of the sort then using a rediculously light draw stick bow no more than 45 lb kill a deer.that is if you are as relaxed in the woods as me and can ever really get used to being in the presence of a deer,apparently some folks cant get over the shakes no matter how many they see or shoot.well have fun getting bored sitting on a bucket i never could, tended to be more interested in chasing the squirrells on the yonder ridge with a 22.

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