How many hours will you spend in stand bow hunting this season?

[Bear55]

Good advice guys, I know the first year I took up bow hunting I had plenty of time on my hands and hunted a lot. By the time rifle season came around I was pretty burnt out, I still hunted hard but I was actually happy the season was over.

Now I still get out there plenty but I pace myself a little more, I save the all day hunts for late Oct or early Nov and for rifle season.

Speaking of all days hunts, don't be suprised if you can't make it all day in the stand on your first attempt, it rarely happens. If you start to go a little crazy just get down and go for a walk or change stand locations.

[FL SNIPER]

As many as life will allow. (you can replace the "l" in life with a "w" if you care to....just kidding honey)

[ac777]

Originally Posted By: bottom-bouncer

i am with dark cloud on this dont over doit. last year I hunted every day from sept 27(got layed off untill the dau before gun season with many all day sits. if it is slow bale out and do something differnt otherwise you will get bored and start to go crazy.and find yourself not paying attention when you should be. I read in one of your posts about all day sits your son will never make it on a all day sit and you will strugle with this as well 10 t 12 hours is a long long time on a platform thats 20" by 20" you wont really know untill you try it. but believe me and others on here who do it it is tough. also have you considered a ground blind for your son it is not my favorite method but can make it more tollerable. you can get away with a little more movement(eating snacks,reading,playing hand held video games thing that help pass time for young people also easier to nap in than a tree) just my thoughts

I agree. I shouldn't focus on hours. I'll be bringing the .22 and the 12ga with on all trips so if we get board, we can check out some other land and shoot squirrels, rabbits, grouse, logs, etc.

I most likely will get a ground blind so I can bring my 6-year-old on a couple short hunts this year. My 16-year-old is old enough to find his way back to camp and find something else to do. On opener we can only go up for Sat/Sun because of school. It'll be a good practice run for our late October trip which will be 5 days.

It'll be interesting to see how it all turns out. I know I have a lot of learning to do -- on hunting and getting kids a good hunting experience.

I thought it was Illegal to carry firearms when archery hunting. Unless you are hunting for bear.

[FishingWebGuy]

I thought it was Illegal to carry firearms when archery hunting. Unless you are hunting for bear.

Yup, won't be carrying while archery hunting for deer. But can always go back to camp and swap weapons out.

[FatDan]

Not including gun season 250 or so a few years back I kept a log and it was something like 216 or 218 and that year I could'nt find the deer I was looking for but it,s alwaya fun to watch,you see so much when you spend that much time in the woods.

[Bluegill1510]

Quote:

bluegill, two years ago I shot my biggest archery buck on Oct. 15. The deer are still there, but they tend to get stirred up by pheasant hunters, crops are maturing so their food sources are changing, plus as others have said, they may be getting wise to you if you're overhunting your stands.

You also touched on the great part about fall and hunting, not enough time!!! Should I go fishing, bowhunting, pheasant hunting, duck hunting?? What I try to do is hit the pheasant hunting hard, but make it out bowhunting once or twice a week, then by end of Oct/early Nov. when the rut is cranking up, I spend as much time in a tree stand as possible. I'll bowhunt in the morning, go pheasant hunting for a few hours, then bowhunt in the evening. Good luck!

Cool thanks Blackjack & Froggy for the advice. Your right blackjack there isnt enough time to do everything in the fall, thats why I was asking about If anyone else experiences a lull in October. I also do agree to some comments that I have over hunted some of my stands over the years, grant it, this upcoming season is only my 5th season of bow hunting and I started out with only one portable, so I did tend to, to over hunt my spots. But I've acquired more stands over the years so Now I have more spots to hunt, but my 1st year of bow hunting was when I went to college in Bemidji and had access to many acres of public land, now that hunt by St. Cloud I have alot less land to hunt and more prone to overhunting the same areas. Plus comparing the 2 areas (st. cloud/bemidji) are like comparing apples to oranges as to how to bow hunt each area.

I guess my problem is I get so antsy and prepare for bow hunting (scouting, shooting, etc) starting in the spring of the year that I just wanna sit everyday for the first 2 or 3 weeks just because of all the time you spend preparing but I'll tone it down so I don't burn myself out by pre rut time. So I'll do some fall fishing coming up here, maybe even during opening weekend if its freaking over 75 degrees, and do a little bit of grouse, pheasant and maybe duck. But nothing beats being on the lake with the trees in full color and a walleye thumping the end of your line or a bluegill taking drag on your Ultra light!

[HunterLee]

I have spent about a 100 hours already this year. Two nights in the bear stands and then 9 total days antelope hunting, only to blow a 40yd shot over a waterhole the last day. All days were long sits/naps. I am possesed by antelope and they better be careful in South Dakota when we go there with our rifle's.

[HunterLee]

I also hunted deer with my bow over 30 days last year, but i have a week on/ off schedule. So its 7 nights in a row in the tree, and ducks/trapping in the morning. I have 15 pre hung stands and many spots i use a lw climber. I feel i probly under hunt stands more the over hunt, as some I sat in once or not at all, with only a couple trees i spend more than a couple days in.

[ac777]

Originally Posted By: ac777*

I thought it was Illegal to carry firearms when archery hunting. Unless you are hunting for bear.

Yup, won't be carrying while archery hunting for deer. But can always go back to camp and swap weapons out.

Ic, I thought you meant on trips to your stand. Not that I would really care if you did or not, just sayin.

[archerystud]

I hope to 100 hours in if possible, I'm already going to miss the first two weekends for work.

Currently I coach hockey and do the family thing over hunting. Once my son is older I hope to get back to spending more time in the woods again.