What You Learned..What You Will Change

[Big_Holla]

My list always seems to stay the same. I have stands I keep using that are not in the greatest locations but I just cannot figure out how to improve on where they are or how to make them better. I have grown comfortable thinking that the surrounding properties were the sanctuaries that some of the better bucks made home, however this year proved that is not necessarily the case and what I have been doing is actually working ON our property. Also with that comfort I never worried much about pressure from other hunters but this year it seemed some of my better spots are in jeopardy because of the recent activity.

Couple more things I learned: night scouting is waaay under utilized.........and never be afraid of making all kinds of racket getting into your stand and immediately start rattling and grunting all evening long......heck it must work for some.....some day I will spend some time elaborating but until then this is all ya get........LMAO!!

[badfaulkner]

Swirling winds too close to a buck's bedroom = never seeing that buck. I hunted way too close to where he slept simply because I liked the setup but the wind never stayed true to the forecast in that swamp.

[Newbowhunter32]

I learned not to underestimate a deer's eyes. I had been told previously that deer had fairly poor vision and that their nose was what you had to look out for. This led me to set up a couple hunts in places where the cover was not so good, and I thought that if I kept still, that I would have no problem. This led to deer skylining me almost instantly and I lost out on a couple nice opportunities. I plan to avoid this mistake as much as possible in the future.

I also learned and am continuing to learn that the moment when you least expect to see a deer, is precisely when they seem to show up...so don't let your guard down.

[Stumpy]

I learned that tag soup tastes the same this year as it did 20 years ago.

I had a good year and saw and passed on deer just about everytime I went out. I made the decision to hold out for a certain size of deer and never got the opportunity. But I am still happy with the outcome. Early season does are still safe with me. I would rather have the live decoys out there during the rut then meat in the freezer early.

What I would change for next year........... Get some new recipes for tag soup.