I was just gathering things together for deer hunting tomorrow... as I was packing my hand warmers I realized I never heard of anyone else doing it the way I do. ( I’m sure others do)
For all day sits I bring extra warmers along so instead of having to open them on stand I open them and put them in a zip lock bag... Makes it much more quiet and quicker to get them started...
While I’m at it another thing I’ve done for years is I keep one arrow in my quiver that I mark my peep and nocking point locations on when held against the string to see if anything has changed... Please add anything that you can think of.
I put all foods to be eaten for the day in zip locks. Much quieter than foil wrappers and easier to get to and easy to reseal if full comsumption is not desired. Also peel fruit, prior to hunt and put in zip locks.
I shoot 4-fletch and my nocking point is one vane in the corner of my mouth between my lips. Always make sure nocks and vanes are properly aligned to ensure correct nocking point placement is additional arrow shots are necessary.
Good thread. I always put the little/ cheap caribeaner or dog leash type clip on the end of my pull up rope, so I dont have to tie a knot in the dark or when it’s cold. Make sure they are plastic or rubberized for quietness.
Also like to cut pine boughs and zipper tie them to my stand, my tree and any other nearby tree for back ground cover once leaves are down. I also use branches from old fake Christmas trees. They stay green :)
If you shoot firearms, you have hearing loss on the muzzle side. So if you’re right handed, look to your left before you move to get a better look even farther to the right.
High freqs (such as crunching leaves) are localized by relative loudness, so if you can’t hear them on your left, they ALWAYS sound as if they’re coming from your right.
I always try to put each of my usual items in specific places on my person: 6 pocket pants (with cargo pockets) will have my headlight ,knit hat, folding knife and some rubber gloves left side cargo pocket, and right side has camo gloves and armguard, left pocket has my shooting glove and right side has my head covernet. Back pockets have a bandana, and the end of my safety tether. Belt has my pocket belt knife and flashlight right side. It takes just a few seconds to run through the sequence and make sure I have all the essentials. Other stuff in the Catquiver but the basics on my person. I add a compass if not in a familiar place on a cord around my neck. At the end of the hunt I always make sure each item goes back in its proper place for the next time.
Always carry an extra release and an extra contact for my eyes. Sucks to have a contact pop out and not have an extra
Arctic shield Boot blankets are worth their weight in gold
ALWAYS wear a headlight when walking out after the hunt. Low light conditions are when people are mistaken for deer, and get shot. Even when no one else is supposed to be there, and especially near a road. People are nuts
A little pack of baby wipes beats toilet paper hands down when in the woods. And can be used for bloody hands, bloody deer, etc
A little trick from Africa, when taking pics, a little blood can be camouflaged by rubbing dirt into it.
Another one . . . If it’s going to be a while before you take pics, and the deer is in the woods or back of truck, or cooler, or whatever. . .pose the deer how you want your pics. When rigor sets in your deer will stay perfectly posed
Add a second prussic knot with carabiner to the bottom of each of your lifelines. Attach your pack/bow and pull the slack rope through the knot until taut. This adds resistance to the bottom of the lifeline, making it much easier to climb and slide the original prussic knot attached to your harness. Also turns your lifelines into a handy pull up ropes.
This maybe a small tip, but Leukotape wrapped around a Bic lighter. Leuko is amazing stuff, I always have some with me, it will stick no matter what, blisters, cuts, etc. I usually have a half a roll or so in my pack, and more in my first aid kit. you could stop a pretty serious bleed if you had to.
When hunting public ground with snow cover always walk backwards to your point of entry and then JUMP as far as you can into brushy cover before heading to your stand...keeps other hunters from following your tracks. Gets harder as you get older, however, but I'm convinced it works!
I practice no trace hunting. If I build a blind for an elk hunt, I always tear it down before the hunt is over. I have found some nice travel routes based on blinds I have found.
Always carry two short lengths of stiff haywire when deer hunting. If you shoot a truly giant buck, the wire can be used to make the droopy ears stand up more naturally and you avoid the media hate.
I hunt alone frequently. Have an app on your phone that someone can text to that will auto-text your GPS coordinate back. If you fall from your stand and end up unconscious or worse they can find you.
The rubber covered wire (like Nite Ize gear tie, but there are others that are cheaper) are great to wrap around different parts of your climbing stand. You can cut branches and attach to to break up your silhouette and they don't get in the way when not in use.
When it is really cold (my thumbs quit working) make sure you don't wear button fly pants.... Bad things can happen when you can't reach your willy.
Paint the tops of the steps on your climbing sticks white. Makes them way easier to see when climbing down after the evening hunt.
When whitetail hunting in cold weather during the rut, and your nose wants to run, instead of trying to blow your nose softly, I do a snort-wheeze through my nose. It clears the sinuses out, plus it is a more natural sound vs blowing your nose. Sometimes, it even brings to dominant buck in. 20% of the time it works every time.
Lots of great tips; a backup release is a must to have in your pack; even if its a cheap $15 one.
A new purchase i put in my pack this year is an electronic handwarmer/phone charger. I always keep a portable phone charger in my pack just in case; i always check in with the wife when i'm hunting alone and this option provides 4-5 hours of heat in addition to charging your phone.
I also keep an extra hoist rope in my pack since my trip to a treestand last year where the rope was gone; that made for a tough (and dumb) climb up the tree with the bow in my hand.
Never forget toilet paper when wearing a new pair of gloves.
I don’t wear underwear much unless I’m in deer camp. Out of respect for my hunting buddies and, the fact I can’t stand smelly underwear. So, sometimes I forget I’m not wearing them if I’m staying in a tent by myself. My tip is don’t forget toilet paper if you aren’t wearing underwear and are wearing a good pair of gloves.
My next tip is don’t squat to take a dumb if you are wearing suspenders. Unless you pull the suspenders forward, out of the way.
My next tip is a repeated one from above. When whitetail hunting, take all the protein bars and such out of their foil wrapper and carry them in a ziplock bag. Apparently nice bucks don’t like the sound of a nature valley protein bar being opened. If you don’t know they are standing within 40 yards when you do open them out of their foil wrapper, you will shortly after unwrapping one.
My next tip is when using a climbing stand, always put your pull up rope away until climbing down. Don’t let it swing back and forth in the wind thinking you’ll be able to shoot him before he gets that close. You won’t be able to.
I’ll try to think of a few more. My stuff isn’t reveloutionary. It’s stuff I should have learned years ago. Truth is, I did. I just like revisiting issues from time to time.
Attach a wind floater holder to your bino harness and use it! I’ve killed a ton of deer with it! You will know pretty quick if a tree you picked for a certain wind direction actually works!
Wear a waist muff and keep your essentials in it - I keep my haul rope, grunt call and release in it. I also throw hand warmers in it before leaving the truck. I don’t care what the temp is I never leave without it.
Buy a pair of muck boots two sizes to big and wear one pair of socks - your feet will stay warm. Add more socks and they won’t. The dead air space is what does the trick.
I carry a cooler in my truck and use gallon plastic milk jugs or gallon juice jugs filled with water and frozen to put in cavity of deer after I gut it. They don’t leak like a bag of ice and you can just refreeze each time if unsuccessful. 2-3 fit perfect in the cavity.
We all have a couple crappy flying practice arrows, I put one in my quiver. When I hunt thick area, may have 3-5 feet of brushy grass on ground. When I shoot an animal especially just before dark from a ladder stand, I follow it up with a “shot” using the crappy practice arrow tipped with a field point. Aiming for the last place I saw the critter (or where it was at when I shot). This really speeds up the process for tracking. I do not use lighted nocks, but I put one on this arrow.
Per Ike- "BigOK, shave your butthole hairs and you won’t need toilet paper, just a smooth rock. You’re welcome. "
I used to have issues. (Dingle berries clogging up the blades) Now I put a little Carmex on the blades of my electric shaver . It also helps cover up the residual smell! LOL!
When traveling to hunt and most anytime I drive for a vacation I take my 7.0 CF chest freezer. A few days before I leave I empty it and place two totes in the bottom full of water to freeze. Amazing how long that ice will stay and keep your food cold. I use two totes so I can easily remove them to load it in and out of the truck bed. Also if your wife doesn't hunt kiss her a$$ in the off season.
-I think everyone does this but it hasn't been mentioned, number your arrows on the fletching. Sometimes things get a little crazy and the quiver gets emptied. Good to know what arrows went where when that happens:)
This one is mostly applicable for those who don’t shave their butt cracks and hunt in or near farm country. If you’re hunting whitetails near corn food plots, pick up a few of the cobs and save them. They work great for dingleberry removal as well as pre-dingleberry residual. Takes off all of the new and part of the old.
And, BTW, dingleberry is one word, like raspberry, strawberry, boysenberry, etc.
On a serious note, about the only things I do that has not been mentioned already is I make sure I walk through mud holes, creeks, or anything that helps cover or remove scent from my boots when approaching my hunting area.
Not sure if I posted this on here but I have a spot where the deer come from behind me on a logging trail... they can often get by and not offer a shot.
I put a mock scrape out in the best location for me to shoot sitting down. There were no trees with an overhanging licking branch so I put one there.
Always remember to tie your haul rope to your belt or climber rail. Especially with the climber. Sucks to get all the way to the top and you go to haul up your bow and there's no rope to haul it up with. Ha!
If you use a release with your bow after your shot in take some shots at 20 yards with your fingers. This way you know were you are hitting incase you forget your release and your backup release. I always remember to bring my fingers with me.
Always carry chap stick. Not only for your lips its also a good back up a chapped bun hole after using the corn cobb. Just don't forget where you used last.
Make sure to pick your spots carefully when sitting down or where you put your hands in the desert. Old dried up cactus is easy to miss and can really be annoying.
Rock piles always seem to have scorpions and snakes around, even in January.
Mule deer above treeline are very approachable in their second bed mid-day.
Afternoon rain/sleet/hail/snow storms keep bucks locked down and you can get really close on a stalk.
Those same storms will put elk up on their feet in the middle of the day, moving around and talking and is a great time to get in there and kill one.
Sheep, goats and antelope can’t see very good in that get light at dawn before the sun pops up or dusk when the sun has gone down.
When returning to your vehicle after hunt don’t lay equipment/bow on top of it. If you have to lay it down at least put it on the hood right in front of the steering wheel.
Hunt the last hour just as hard as the first hour.
If you wear a ball cap style hat, turn it around when hunting uphill. How often do you look up from under the brim and say, "crap, why didn't I see that buck sooner!?!"
My 2 cents: On a float or paddle hunt, carry a set of dry clothes, fire starter, and a lighter in a dry bag. Should you take an unplanned dunking in cold weather you can get to the bank, start a fire and shuck the wet clothes. Might save the hunt and prevent hypothermia saving your life. LaGriz
Way back before GPS capabilities, I learned that when hunting a new area, every so often stop and take a look behind you, the way you came. Pay attention to big trees, rocks, sloughs, horizon, etc.
Chances are it will be dark on your way back out and you can navigate it without a GPS.
Just learned this one yesterday morning before daylight. If you think hip waders will work to cross the river to that perfect spot go ahead and buy chestwaders.
I was on my tiptoes with only about five steps left to make it when a big chunk of floating ice pushed me. Only got one leg wet but never made it across.
You do not need to haul chest waders. I carry in my pack, reuseable light overall waders. they weigh 10 ounces, and fold up in their own case. they are made my Hodgman, they are designed not for wading as is, just to cross, deep water.
They fit right over your hunting boots and pants etc. once you cross, take off and put back in pack. Mine cost 15.00 and I used them over a dozen times this past fall and they worked out well, and kept me dry. My boot size is 10 and I bought them in 2XXL.
My other tip is Stealth Strips.... the material is great, go on line to see and learn more, I use them to quiet down my hanger, climber, and tree sticks. You will not be disappointed.
If you do use a climber, get stabilizer straps from 3rd Hand archery..... they post a video on their use,,,, to me there a must, you watch the u tube and you will see why
