noharleyyet
Well-known member
Nice job togie...on the fetch, and the shared introspection.
My General Tag
- Thread starter TOGIE
- Start date
rtraverdavis
Well-known member
Hell yes, @TOGIE. I really enjoyed the way you shared the psychological aspects of it all. The way it all panned out was the perfect finish. I hope the rest of your season is excellent.
after dinner that night, so.... after the shot i guess, technically. something about going into elk killing mode...
ShootsManyBullets
Well-known member
That'll usually tighten up the seal
Congrats and thanks for the ride along.
Thanks everyone and I hope you all enjoyed it. I hope there was value in my sharing some of the reality of what goes on in my brain while solo hunting.
A few of my takeaways from this hunt:
Another thing, if you get home from your hunt and your wife, unprompted, says "you know, you should still go out for your buck tag over Thanksgiving. I know you said you likely wouldn't if you get an elk and white tail buck. But, if we get pregnant again you're not gonna have a fall like this again for a long time, so I say go." Don't question it. Hug her and tell her you love her.
Can't wait to share more hunts. And everybody else, keep the write ups flowing. I'm gonna go fling a few more broadheads to make sure I'm dialed next week and hopefully I'll have more great stuff to share in the weeks after.
A few of my takeaways from this hunt:
- Among the bigger lessons learned from this hunt was to HUSTLE. Even I looked at that elk putzing along that hillside and thought "no way in hell he'll still be there when I get over there." Anyone would reasonably and rationally assume that maybe it would be better to watch him, because he'll be long gone once you close the distance. But he was still there. If I had been a minute slower he likely would've topped out and been gone, so hustle you ass over there if you want it.
- Try to enjoy the ride. I've learned over the years that that majority of my successful hunts have panned out in ways that I could not have predicted at all. You just never know how it will happen and every minute of the day could turn into the moment.
- If people like your wife are overjoyed at your success, do not take that for granted. Please, do not. It's really something special.
Another thing, if you get home from your hunt and your wife, unprompted, says "you know, you should still go out for your buck tag over Thanksgiving. I know you said you likely wouldn't if you get an elk and white tail buck. But, if we get pregnant again you're not gonna have a fall like this again for a long time, so I say go." Don't question it. Hug her and tell her you love her.
Can't wait to share more hunts. And everybody else, keep the write ups flowing. I'm gonna go fling a few more broadheads to make sure I'm dialed next week and hopefully I'll have more great stuff to share in the weeks after.
wihunter12
Well-known member
Great story, congrats! We have a big cold front coming late next week in WI, timing should be good for deer movement.
GrantK
Well-known member
Awesome recap overall, congrats! and those takeaways should get framed and referenced often by just about everyone, there are going to be moments where you wonder if it's ever going to come together no matter how long you have been hunting, keep going, and keep trying hard even if you think it's hopeless needs to be the default mindset.
seeth07
Well-known member
Yes, next weekend based on the weather report should be typical hot Halloween hunting in WI! So many bucks seem to get killed on Halloween eve or Halloween for some reason around here.
Irrelevant
Well-known member
I try to remind myself when things aren't going well on a hunt that it takes less than 2 minutes to completely change a hunt.
boy that didn't take long. It usually take a little longer for the pain and suffering to be forgotten. you'd better hope that next one let's you sleep like the first did...
lol
naive we may be. i guess if you're gonna take a trip to hell you might as well jump off the high dive and do a cannonball on the way down - we figure we might as well concentrate some of these more difficult early and toddler years instead of dragging it out and restarting them whenever things calm down. i dunno, something like, ripping the band aid off I guess
my first sit will be the evening of the 1st. hopefully the spooky vibes can linger into the next day
If you will allow, I would like to add some epilogue to this story. It was very cup filling trip.
I had texted a buddy of mine who drew a white tail doe tag for a nearby area that he should come up and hunt it while i was in the area. I'm familiar with multiple spots to go find white tails and I'd send him the pins. If I was lucky enough to tag out, I'd take him out to the spots I know. I did tag out, and we met up and I got straight to hunting with him. The low lying white tail spots are beautiful places to go wander and boy i was excited to go out with him.
We went out the next morning and still hunted some public river bottom locations. He is a newer hunter and has always been a bit shakey on the trigger. Having someone there would be immensely helpful for him in a still hunting environment.
We went out, enjoyed some beautiful scenery, got startled by moose, and yes, came upon a group of does. I was staying ahead of him and saw them first, told him to find the first one with a shot and take it. And take it he did.
I happily got the young doe all taken care of for him and were shortly back at the truck. Went and grabbed some burgers and beer and he hit the road to head home. I was going to stay one more night. Visit with my second grandparents a little and just soak in time in one of my favorite places on the planet.
I went out that evening to drink a beer and watch the sunset from the sage flats. I watched a pronghorn buck wander around not 200 yards from my truck for 30 minutes, in the very unit I'm saving up to hunt for them some day. I want to hunt here not because it's the best unit but because like the elk story, this place is special, and i've been wanting this buck tag for a long time and I'm gonna keep applying and saving points until I get it, even at the expense of being able to hunt elsewhere many times over with 0 or 1 point.
I had texted a buddy of mine who drew a white tail doe tag for a nearby area that he should come up and hunt it while i was in the area. I'm familiar with multiple spots to go find white tails and I'd send him the pins. If I was lucky enough to tag out, I'd take him out to the spots I know. I did tag out, and we met up and I got straight to hunting with him. The low lying white tail spots are beautiful places to go wander and boy i was excited to go out with him.
We went out the next morning and still hunted some public river bottom locations. He is a newer hunter and has always been a bit shakey on the trigger. Having someone there would be immensely helpful for him in a still hunting environment.
We went out, enjoyed some beautiful scenery, got startled by moose, and yes, came upon a group of does. I was staying ahead of him and saw them first, told him to find the first one with a shot and take it. And take it he did.
I happily got the young doe all taken care of for him and were shortly back at the truck. Went and grabbed some burgers and beer and he hit the road to head home. I was going to stay one more night. Visit with my second grandparents a little and just soak in time in one of my favorite places on the planet.
I went out that evening to drink a beer and watch the sunset from the sage flats. I watched a pronghorn buck wander around not 200 yards from my truck for 30 minutes, in the very unit I'm saving up to hunt for them some day. I want to hunt here not because it's the best unit but because like the elk story, this place is special, and i've been wanting this buck tag for a long time and I'm gonna keep applying and saving points until I get it, even at the expense of being able to hunt elsewhere many times over with 0 or 1 point.
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The sunset was beautiful. I would be content if my hunting season was over, but technically it was just beginning. Here's to (hopefully) being back up here with a pronghorn buck tag next year. It may be nearly the only hunt I can do next year.
I am content.
I am content.
CPAjeff
Well-known member
@TOGIE - there are many on here who are more experienced at raising kids than I am, but in my opinion, you are your wife are headed in the right direction with keeping children close in age. My wife and I were blessed with three from 2013 - 2018, it's been so much fun enjoying life with them in tow.
Leaving them at home never gets easier and I've pretty much gotten completely away from it. Planning hunts becomes quite a fun family adventure. Luckily, my wife is supportive of my out-of-state hunts and we'll usually take the whole crew. Staying at hotels with a waterpark is much better than sleeping in a tent on the hard ground - even if it adds a couple extra hours of drive time each way to hunt. Speaking from experience, the best is yet to come!
Leaving them at home never gets easier and I've pretty much gotten completely away from it. Planning hunts becomes quite a fun family adventure. Luckily, my wife is supportive of my out-of-state hunts and we'll usually take the whole crew. Staying at hotels with a waterpark is much better than sleeping in a tent on the hard ground - even if it adds a couple extra hours of drive time each way to hunt. Speaking from experience, the best is yet to come!
Pahoundsman
Well-known member
Great recap and I really appreciated your honesty in your posts. Leaving never gets any easier, but you do have something to look forward to when you’re done hunting. Good luck with the rest of your season.
