Buck Hollow Sporting Goods - click or touch to visit their website Midwest Habitat Company

If you could do it over again .

isu22andy

isu22andy

Active Member
If you could do some things differently from the start of your bow hunting what would ya do ?

If it were me - I'd buy ONE stand , and pack in and out every where and hang multiple brackets with sticks or pegs, that way no one else can hunt my stand and never get stolen.. Now I'm spoiled by permanent sets so don't like to hang and hunt as much as I should but half those the seats are chewed and the straps make me nervous on how rotten they are .

I'd buy a HBS instead of a whole bunch of layers.

I'd reconsider using cameras - it's fun letting your imagination run and not thinking about the bigger one you have on your camera out there .

Thoughts ?

Had some spare time during business meeting .
 
Last edited:
I would've shot a lot more does and smaller bucks. I held out for a TV buck, when one appeared I choked, even with 1,000s of arrows sent down range at lifelike targets in preparation. I still feel if I harvested 5-10 animals before that miss I would've been better prepared.
 
I wouldn't have taken bowhunting so stinking seriously. Now I just have fun like I should have all those years I obsessed about killing a giant.
 
I would have started sooner. I didn't begin bow hunting until I was 21. My means and methods wouldn't change much from what they are now. A few things I would have started sooner though, hunting from the ground and hunting with a decoy are a couple things I can think of.
 
breiner11 said:
I wouldn't have taken bowhunting so stinking seriously. Now I just have fun like I should have all those years I obsessed about killing a giant.
Click to expand...

Here and all along I was thinking I should have been more serious about killing a giant instead of having so much fun just hunting deer...
 
Spent more time hunting mid-day before rifle season in proper locations before leases started going crazy and there was tons of good ground to hunt.
 
I would have found a mentor early on and learned stuff right the first time around. My family isn't big into hunting so I am self taught mostly and I learned a lot of stuff the hard way.

I also would have bought a range finder a lot sooner, I missed some awesome bucks through the years because I guessed the distance wrong.

Lastly, I wouldn't have let myself get sucked in with all the hunting gear trends, fads and must have new camo. My motto now a days is keep it simple stupid and I find myself gravitating towards gear that is timeless and quality, without all the extras.
 
I would have never started hunting! I would of put every dime I spent on hunting into a jar and would probably be retired and living in a lake house up north somewhere by now. Sadly, now I am too addicted to quit. :)
 
breiner11 said:
I wouldn't have taken bowhunting so stinking seriously. Now I just have fun like I should have all those years I obsessed about killing a giant.
Click to expand...


Agreed x2 just booked a fishing trip for archery opener because it sounded fun. I enjoy hunts, fishing, etc. that I can share with buds and kids more and more every day.
 
breiner11 said:
I wouldn't have taken bowhunting so stinking seriously. Now I just have fun like I should have all those years I obsessed about killing a giant.
Click to expand...

AMEN!! I second this thought, and thank you for posting it. Get out there and have fun...shoot whatever makes you happy, and enjoy time with family and friends.

NWBuck
 
Would have bought land 20 years ago. Hard to do at 17 I guess, but as soon as I had the money I would have bought the right piece

Also, never would have spent time filming. Thought it sounded like fun and took alot of the thrill out of it trying to lay down a giant on film

Got another buddy or two involved. Sucks hunting by yourself, and I use to be the type that tried to keep all my land secret. Unreal how much land access I have now because 3 of us hunt together and have put equal efforts into land acquisition.

More all day sits. Still need to do this but 10 years ago I never did this.
 
jkratz5 said:
Would have bought land 20 years ago. Hard to do at 17 I guess, but as soon as I had the money I would have bought the right piece

Also, never would have spent time filming. Thought it sounded like fun and took alot of the thrill out of it trying to lay down a giant on film

Got another buddy or two involved. Sucks hunting by yourself, and I use to be the type that tried to keep all my land secret. Unreal how much land access I have now because 3 of us hunt together and have put equal efforts into land acquisition.

More all day sits. Still need to do this but 10 years ago I never did this.
Click to expand...


It would have been a lot harder to leave owned land. Can't argue with that. Honestly, not sure I'd change much--maybe a few things about myself and the way I approached the sport. But the intensity I pursued it with for as long as I did actually has helped sustain me in my recent life redirections.

There's not much room left on my wall, and my heart is full of memories that I'd not trade for anything, and that will get me through until I can climb 20 feet up again.

I will tell you this: I'd have better invested in the people I shared a passion with than the film, land or antlers that consumed me.
 
If I could do it all over again I would stay single, move into the parents after college, pay off student loans to get debt free, put a ton of money in the bank, hunt the world with my old man, buy ground then who knows what. :)

On a more serious note, I recall the first 10-15 years of my hunting career we hunted the morning till 10 or 11, got down for lunch and back in the tree at 1 or 2pm. After hunting all day the past several years during the rut I hate to think about how many missed opportunities I had by not being in the tree.

For the future, all I can think about is sharing the outdoors with my young kids. I can't wait to have them right along my side in the tree or blind. I think those will honestly be some of the best years of my hunting career. I definitely am going to have to buy a descent camera to capture those moments.
 
This will only be my 8th year of bowhunting (have shotgun hunted longer than that, but have missed a couple shotgun seasons in recent years due to babies), but I'd say be less serious. I always try to have fun while hunting, but I find I get caught up in trying to have everything perfect and get down on myself (or stressed/angry) when things don't go "right". Even in pre-season when trying to pick the right spots for stands or blinds, and have too much to get done to get those spots ready and too little time to do it. I need to approach it more light-heartedly, maybe focus on just the "best" spots to invest my time, and not worry about everything so much. Trail cameras were mentioned before as well. I know I could have more time to do other things, and more money that was spent on batteries, if I didn't run cameras, and have 1,000s of pics to go thru each time, but I also like to see what's there. I have just ran cameras since I started bowhunting, and I know from when I just shotgun hunted, the deer in my mind were always bigger than what I've had on camera, and it was fun dreaming about them. I know I also would shoot deer then that I would now pass due to knowing what else is out there. I'd also try not to get caught up in all the gadgets and scents and stuff like that, and just focus on location, natural behaviors of the deer, and minimal equipment that really provides a benefit. I like trying new things out, and looking at all the stuff out there and dreaming, and I definitely get caught up into thinking I need it, but I'm wondering if a lot of it is more of a hindrance in most cases (I know there is a chance that everything will help in at least certain circumstances).
 
Would have spent more time squirrel hunting and running beagles. Miss them both so much but I have been increasing my squirrel season more every year.

I would have found a really close friend to hunt with who shares my means and goals. This likely being the most important for me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom