Consistency

[OneCam]

Harvesting a good animal each year takes many things;
1. luck
2. hunting accuracy
3. right property
4. persistance
5. stand placement technique
6. attention detail
7. woodsmanship

these are in no specific order but how would you rank these and do you have any other items to add to the list?

 

[Shredder]

1. Right Property
2. Attention to detail
3. Stand Placement
4. Woodsmanship
5. Persistence
6. Hunting Accuracy
7. Luck

Best I can tell, this would be the way I would rank them...hunting accuracy low because if you do not follow the above, you rarely get to use your shooting skills. Luck or Chance plays a role but it is low in the sense you follow the above.

Nothing else specific I would add...scent control would fall under attention to detail (before, suring and after each hunt)

 

[scout]

WOW! You almost need to attach a definition to each!
Persistence = the investment of time?
Hunting Accuracy = mental focus?

I'd have to add commitment (the willingness to invest the amount of time necessary)and confidence. ( the ability to not crack under pressure- mental focus)

1. Persistence - Year after year investing the time and effort to find the trophys, getting permission, scouting and hunting them.

2. right property
3. woodsmanship
4. attention to detail
5. stand placement
6. hunting accuracy
7. luck! Why last? luck runs out!

 

[blake]

Here's my opinion of the order:

1. Woodsmanship (a skill that few today have).
2. Persistence (a learned behavior that few today have).
3. Right Property (getting harder and harder to come by).
4. Stand placement (may take years to acquire this knowledge).
5. Attention to detail (landowner relationship, scouting, scent control).
6. Hunting Accuracy (practice, practice, practice).
7. Luck (what many hunters today rely on when they don’t follow the first 6 steps).

 

[scout]

Perhaps hunting accuracy should be #1.
You have to be able to "seal the deal" at the monent of truth. You could have done everything else correct and botched it!

I'm recalling being contacted to many time to solve the mistery of "where did my huge buck go"! All due to the lack of being FULLY prepaired to "seal the deal"

HEY Shredder, your signature hits the nail!

 

[150 Class]

1. Right property (if you don't have this, you can be an expert at all off of the other items and go home empty handed year after year).

2. Persistence (if you have the right property and are persistent, you can be lousy at the other items and still get your buck).

3. Attention to detail (what Blake said and includes other things such as wind direction, shooting lanes, timing, etc.).

4. Woodsmanship (what Blake said).

5. Stand placement (because paying attention to detail and having good woodsmanship, you already will be good at this one).

6. Hunting accuracy (very important, but if you don't have 1-5, you probably won't need this either).

7. Luck (not a factor. You make your luck yourself by being good (or bad) at the other items).

Hmmm....The more I think about it, this isn't correct. Hunting accuracy MUST be #1 from a hunting ethics standpoint. Not only should you practice it and have it, if you don't, you shouldn't go out, even if you are an expert at all of the other areas.

Later!

 

[Critter]

I would say, above all else, having an understanding wife that'll let you out of the door for hours on end, day after day, week after week, is the number one item on the top of my list. If I had to work a second job just to make ends meet after paying child support and alimony, I wouldn't be able to hunt at all.

CRITR

 

[SaskGuy]

1. Right property- if you're not hunting where big bucks live you won't kill one.
2. Persistence- The more time spent persuing them the greater your chnces are in taking one.
3. Attention to detail- We know that with big bucks, the littlest things are important.
4. Woodsmanship- In our big woods you need it, without it, you're lost.
5. Stand Placement- Finding the spot on the spot is just like fishing walleye to me, find the structure and you'll find the bucks.
6. Hunt Accuracy- the other 5 must come into play before this matters.
7. Luck- Anyone can be lucky once but it takes more than luck to kill a good buck every year.
Add CRITRGITR's post to the list, without my wife being so understanding I wouldn't be able to play the gam as much as I do.

 

[boatman]

1 Right Property (part of scouting)
2 Woodsmanship (part of scouting)
3 Stand Placement (Learned from scouting)
4 Attention to detail (another bi product of scouting)
5 Persistance (how much scouting/hunting you do)
6 Luck (you make alot of your own luck if you do your homework)
7 Hunt accuracy (if your commited to all of the above, you surely are commited to this subject)

Its hard to put those in any type of order, to me they all fit right in to one big lump of scouting! Homework pays off. And like was said earlier, if I didnt have a very forgiving wife, it would be very hard to do all of the above!!!

 

[avidhunter]

[ QUOTE ]
Harvesting a good animal each year takes many things;
1. luck
2. hunting accuracy
3. right property
4. persistance
5. stand placement technique
6. attention detail
7. woodsmanship

[/ QUOTE ]

$0.02 - stressing the "good animal" part above

1) Hunting Accuracy - gotta be able to make the kill - no point otherwise, unless you're armed with a camera

2) Right Property - need to locate a "good animal" first - and unfortunately Blake is on the money here.
3) Woodsmanship - which actually includes: attention to detail, stand placement technique, and persistence - if ya ask me
4) Luck - shouldn't be as great a factor if you take care of the Top 3

 

[OneCam]

ttt

this was a good thread to continue - let's here everyone's thoughts

 

[Scott]

1. Right property
2. Persistance
After thinking about this for a while I would say that all the others could be summed into a big #3. While they are all important, I dont think any of them are something I try to focus on while out hunting. I just try to use commonsense and keep trying until something works. I would say dont make the same mistake twice is a pretty good rule to live by.

 

[SaskGuy]

Fred, you and I have the same top 2. Great minds think alike.