I know I would be a much better deer hunter if I had more patience. I can only sit in one place for about 2 hours before it makes me crazy.
I am positive the most productive way to hunt deer is to find a good place and stay put. But I just can't stand it.
Any suggestions on how to develop my patience? Any tricks to use?
Sometimes I will stay for just another five minutes, then another, then another. Sometimes I count. These things help, but not much.
Thanks.

1. TAKE OFF YOUR WATCH AND LEAVE IT IN THE TRUCK
2. BE IN THE MOMENT AND ENJOY THE TIME YOU HAVE TO ENJOY NATURE
3.IF YOU NEED SOMETHING TO DO USE YOUR BINOS TO WORK A GRID OF WHAT YOU CAN SEE LIKE LEFT TO RIGHT FAR TO CLOSE .

4. LISTEN TO THE SOUND OF THE WOODS AND REALISE THAT IT IS GOD TALKING TO YOU
5. IF YOU STILL NEED SOMETHING TO DO MAKE YOURSELF A RANGE CARD OF WHAT YOU CAN SEE SO YOU KNOW THE BIG ROCK IS 150 THE SMALL TREE IS 200 DRAW IT UP AND MEMORISE IT FOR USE WHEN YOUR SHOT COMES.

5. LIST IN YOUR HEAD ALL THE GUNS YOU OWN AND THEN ALL THE GUNS YOU MIGHT WANT TO OWN. WORK UP THE PERFECT BATTRY OF RIFLES TO HUNT THE WORLD IN YOUR HEAD WITH FULL EXPLANATION.
6. DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THE TIME IT WILL GET LONGER AND LONGER WITH PRACTICE. UNTILL YOU COME IN TO GET LUNCH AND ITS ACTUALY TIME FOR LUNCH ONE DAY. THEN START TAKING YOUR LUNCH WITH YOU.

BE SURE YOU ARE WARM COMFY AND ENGAGED IN WHAT YOU ARE DOING MOVE VERY SLOWLY.

THAT IS ALL i CA THINK OF FOR NOW AND JUST REALISED i TYPED THIS IN ALL CAPS sorry.

good suggestions, crusher. some people bring a book, but imagine it would be all too easy to get distracted by it and miss what's going on around you.

we don't do any stand hunting here in montana due to geography etc., but twice in the last four years i ahve simply picked a good spot where i could see without being seen, sat down and simply waited. in both cases it was near the end of the season (around thanksgiving and in both cases it paid off. there was a third time that i should have, but didn't. i missed out on a very big mulie buck because of that!

As you get older, you'll want to move less & less.
Warm sunshine will begin to take on a new meaning; nap time...knowledge leads to comfort....being out in the bush gets better and better You'll want to stay longer & longer.

Remember, patience is a virtue, eh? Age will take care of all kinds of things.

Joe

tasunkawitko

we do the same thing that is how you decide where to put a blind in the first place walk around hunt search find a good looking spot then hunt from a 6 ft lawn chair or sit on a bucket or the ground sometimes just hang around an area and see whats what old age and other things make these blinds more and more plush but some of the best most productive places have been two 4x4 squares of pvc pipe with burlap in between (think colapsable box) hung from a branch. I still have my gullie suit and use it some but it sucks in fire ant country.

some folks like the book for something to do lately I just take a hyper kid and tell him to be still that is just real entertaining

quote:

Originally posted by ovis:
Age will take care of all kinds of things.

Joe

Sad but true, I can sit for hours and hours waiting for that shot without even thinking about it... Of course when I'm cold, time does seem to stand still...

Ken....

quote:

Originally posted by frank4570:
Any suggestions on how to develop my patience?
Any tricks to use?

Have a kid, you'll gain patience! My pastor says he prayed for patience, and God gave him teenagers.

Try a different style of hunting. Cut some tracks and see if you can catch up to the critter. You might be surprised! Mind the wind and try to be quiet. It is a fun style of hunting and can be productive.

Thanks for the replies.

I would like to add that although I can shoot just fine, I was in 1000yd benchrest competition, and I am comfortable to about 500 yds with my 300 win mag and my range finding scope, the area where I hunt is very very dense. Almost all the deer I have killed here are at 20 yds or less. At this distance even moving around in the chair is not acceptable unsless it is done very slow.
I have had 1 deer spook because she saw my eyeball rotate to see her better, I didn't blink.That was about 5 yards.

I also had problems with this. Since I was a child of the wide open western states, I never had experience with sitting still until the Navy stationed me on the east coast. So, I found a soulution:

Take a paperback book into the blind/tree stand. Read a page, look around. Read a page/ look around. Repeat as often as necessary. I can stay in a tree stand all day by doing this and since I tend not tomove much while I'm reading, it made all the difference in the world.

Cheers

Mac

Crusher has some great suggestions.

I can only add what an old guy from Canada told me years ago. This old guy would go out with a sleeping bag and a 5 gallon bucket of apples or carrots. He would arrive at his bait pile about 1 hour before light and dump the bait on the pile to freshen it up (baiting deer in most Canadian Provences is legal, and in many places if you didn't do it you would never see a deer)

He would turn the bucket upside down, sit on it and wrap the sleeping bag around him. He would sit for the entire day 13 hours!!
He always got a nice buck, sometimes on the first day, sometimes after 2 weeks.

I asked him what he would think about while sitting there ALL DAY. He said, "Sometimes I think about things, but mostly I just sit."

I have only sat from dark to dark a few times. If you have never tried it it is a tough thing to do. I think you should be as comfortable as possible and then the rest of the battle is in between your ears. I walk in in light clothes and carry in heavy ice fishing boots and a real heavy down jacket that if I walked in I would sweat to death. I take a thermos of tea and food and I sit and trance out and just try and hear the big one comming.

quote:

some folks like the book for something to do lately I just take a hyper kid and tell him to be still that is just real entertaining

i have to add a +1 to that! saw it myself in full glory this year!

I once read a book on what the Iran hostages did to remain sane, and it helped me a lot to just stay put. They are things like, try remembering a movie that you like from start to finish. Do the same things with songs and books. If you are so inclined, do it with the Bible. Can you remember the names of all of the teachers you had over the years? I began thinking of writing a book and started it in my head. (It's a piss poor book, but it's mine )

I spend a lot of time thinking about all of the good things my wife has done for me over the last year. That ALWAYS takes a LOT of time, if I try to remember every incident. I have a very good wife.

The main thing as you get older is NOT to go to sleep. One day here in the mountains of So. Az my wife and I were sitting under a Juniper just watching the deer trails to a nearby spring about a mile away. Heard some people talking and looked up to see two hunters. They asked if we had seen the big Muley that had just stopped by the tree and why didn't we shoot. Told them he moved when we picked up the rifles. Could not tell him we were sound asleep and never saw anything. Such is old age. Patience is not the problem staying awake sometimes is. Knew a PH in Africa once that snored so loud in a Leopard blind he had to quit hunting them. He just could not stay awake but could sit around the campfire and talk all night.

quote:

Originally posted by CRUSHER:
...4. LISTEN TO THE SOUND OF THE WOODS AND REALISE THAT IT IS GOD TALKING TO YOU. ...

Excellent advice.

quote:

Originally posted by frank4570:
...Almost all the deer I have killed here are at 20 yds or less. ...had 1 deer spook because she saw my eyeball rotate ...

Hey Frank, I can help you with this issue.

First you need a new(non-faded) full Face Mask that only has two eye holes. Adjust the Mask so you are just barely looking "over" the bottom of the eye holes.

Next you need a non-faded Boonie style hat. When you must turn your head slightly, it provides the same Brim profile, unlike a Baseball Cap. And pull it down so you are barely looking "under" the Brim.

The Mask and Hat combine to leave nothing but a small, well shaded slit for you to look through. Both the darkness and concealment offer a great advantage.
-----

Now, back to what CRUSHER said, I'd recommend you look around very slowly and enjoy what you are able to see. When I don't see Birds, Squirrels, Rabbits or Varmints moving about, it is generally because they spotted something I did to draw their attention.

Look "into" the Woods rather than "at" the Woods. You should be looking for a slight Flick or Movement. It could be white, brown or gray, but focus on looking for movement.

Next re-scan and look for a "Line(s) or Angle(s)" that are not natural. Focus on them until you are absolutely positive about what you are seeing. It might be a weed, tree limb, leg, ear, tail, or antler.

Since you described being in the Woods, it helps to remember there is a better chance to see a portion of a Deer than an entire Deer. And it can be any portion from any angle.

If done correctly the intensity of the Watch Duty, is very draining and tiring. I don't do All Day on a Stand, because I need a bit of a break.

I also do not take a Book. Just not what I want to be "Focused On" when I'm afield.
-----

I carry a Revolver with Snake Dancing Loads in the first two cylinders and Bambi Blasters in the remaining four. I carry it on my right hip when moving around and slide it around the Belt to a Cross-Draw position when in the Stand. Much less movement than a rifle or a bow to get it into position. And at the distance you are talking, it shouldn't take long at all to get up to a good accuracy level.
----

If I have not seen any Deer in 3-4 hours and the Birds are around me, I "Come on down". May go by the Processor to see what has come in, talk Deer Hunting strategies, go to eat, watch a bit of a Game or take a nap. Then when I go back out I am refreshed and ready to go again.

You must "Look Into" the Woods.

Best of luck to you.

I spent two 8 hour stints behind a ground blind in Northern Alberta last year, watching a barrel of bait. I took a book. But I also watched and listened to the ravens, heard elk cows and calves communicate, focussed on the chickadees, almost had a heart attack when the brush rustled and a fisher came out to steal a bit. Lost a few years of my life when the bear that had circled the blind caught my scent and EXPLODED out of there. Sat and thought, and tried not to think about the tracks we saw somewhere else, and watched the flies buzz, and when the flies went, watched the mozzies come out. Thought about hunting in Africa, and hunting sheep, and about the big bear that defecated in front of the bait barrel, about life in general, and work in particular, and so on and so on... and I read some.

I think I want to do it one more time, if I can get myself into a friend's set up, and wait for that really big bear. And then never again, until the bones are too old to climb the mountain, and I'll be forced to sit.

Frans

Patience is achieved by realizing the things in life that truely have importance and consequense.

I have the same problem IF I haven't done enough scouting. If you know you're in the best possible area and moving is more likely to scare something heading your way, you'll be more likely to stay.

I love cold crisp days because you can hear for miles if anything is walking. When you're feeling good about the area, glass and listen. Once boredom sets in grab a book and a cup of coffee and just enjoy the day. I've killed many deer, bow and rifle because I stayed in my stand reading instead of wandering around the mountainside.

I also bring a full integral frame pack for almost every hunt. In it is a warm but compact blanket to wrap up below the armpits. This cuts the chill down to where it's enjoyment instead of "braving" it out.

The most important thing is just trust your scouting. You'll be surprised the number of "bonus" deer you'll see that come from other hunters that can't sit still all day. Let them do the driving for you.

quote:

Originally posted by frank4570:
I know I would be a much better deer hunter if I had more patience. I can only sit in one place for about 2 hours before it makes me crazy.
I am positive the most productive way to hunt deer is to find a good place and stay put. But I just can't stand it.
Any suggestions on how to develop my patience? Any tricks to use?
Sometimes I will stay for just another five minutes, then another, then another. Sometimes I count. These things help, but not much.
Thanks.

You and me both! I swear, I could have written your post word-for-word!

You guys are all overlooking the obvious solution: a Texas high-fenced hunt. Problem solved! Sorry, couldn't resist.

Patience is only useful if it's not misplaced.

No point in being patient if the wind is wrong or there is no food, shelter, a route in between or a rutting stand.

When you have the right conditions and the right place THEN it pays to be patient for a while. After a while when nothing has come out and if the conditionas are such that any right minded deer should, go and be patient somewhere else.

The best things I can do to stay put in one place are:

1. Be comfortable!! This means warm along with a good place to sit so my back or butt don't get fatigued after an hour or two.

2. Put your watch somewhere you won't be able to see it. This has got to be one of the biggest aids. It's not really much of an issue for me because when I'm hunting, I don't really give a shit what time it is!

3. I think about other hunting or gun-related topics. Conjuring up a dream hunt or designing a custom rifle in my head passes time like no other. It has also been known to lead to a smaller bank account when I get back to civilization. Use this one with caution.

4. Just remember the longer you sit stationary, the better your chances are. I always pretend the deer (or whatever) and I are having a contest to see who can sit still the longest. If I lose, he goes home; if he loses, he goes home with me!

All you need is the three W's:

Whiskey
Weed
Woman

Only joking!

Get a job sitting at a freaking desk all day using a computer and you will learn patience.

It is a blessing and a relief when I get to go hunting a chance to look at all GOD's creation.

Patience is truly a virtue. When in the field, it is important to disconnect oneself from the "real world". I stop thinking of politics and religion. I stop stressing about time and money. I stop thinking of friends and family and co-workers. I just focus on the scenery in front of me, be aware of movement and sound, focus on my surroundings.

If I'm warm, comfortable, and have some food to nibble on and something to drink, I can stay afield all day, no problems. I do like to leave my stand when the sun reaches it's highest point and go for a walk and enjoy nature. Normally, the game is bedded down around this time and you never know what you might stumble across. Then I just head back to my stand to wait out the day.

Im a truck driver with a bad back, I say patience be damned, I hunt to enjoy, I sit on my arse enough. Lots of hiking is one of the best things about hunting from my perspective. Play to your strengths..

Some great replies above. It's hard to add much except to stress comfort. I've found that if I can become comfortable with my setting position, the weather, and even the vantage point I have selected, it is easier to stay on stand all day.

This may sound a little stupid but for lack of a better term, become one with the woods. Meaning that when everything comes together I start feeling like nothing more than a set of eyeballs, blended into nature and watching it all unfold.

I am good after lunch for the rest of the day. My blind is too close to camp. The wind blows the smell of breakfast and I am on the way to camp.
Butch

I really enjoy just sitting in the woods, especially if I am seeing game.

Still many times I will carry a book.
I do a lot of reading [always hunting books] while in the woods.

But, I like to read, sometimes there is so much game action, it interferes with my reading , then I just shoot something.

Let me know already, durn-it!

Actually, I've just resigned myself to being bored to tears for 99% of the time, punctuated by a moment or two of sheer exhilaration.

Most of the time, I just enjoy a cup of coffee or cider and take in the beauty of creation.

Enjoy!

friar