Superstitions or Rituals Before/During Hunts?

[ElkHunter11]

Thought this could be a fun thread to see what everyone does before or during hunts to bring that extra luck to the table. I carry a coin with me that my wife gave me and it has brought me some luck so far, so I carry it with me on all hunts. Yeah superstitions might be dumb, but that coin is also a good reminder to me what I have back at home and how lucky I am.

 

[Nameless Range]

I haven't as much in recent years, but for most of my life whether I was in camp or leaving home I would eat the same breakfast. Taught to me by my dad. A beautiful pile listed from top to bottom.

Tobasco
Ketchup
3 Fried Eggs
One can corned beef hash
Half inch thick slice of sharp cheddar
Copious butter
Two Slices thick wheat toast

That's a 2,500 calorie breakfast. Bring toilet paper.

 

[hank4elk]

Good one Nameless! Add green chile and I own it. Better carry a roll....

I still carry the Zuni stone badger fetish a Zuni elk hunter gave me 15 yrs ago for good luck.He said an elk hunter needs to be tenacious above all else.

 

[Beartooth83]

If we are fly fishing, you never say the "W" word (wind) out loud. You just refer to it as dubya. And never run out of tomato juice & cheap light beer.

As for hunting rituals, the pickup must be pungent with the smell of coffee and Wintergreen Skoal (even though I don't chew) and any classic country playing on the radio. If Johnny Horton comes on, the speakers will be screaming. My dad has this engrained in my soul. Mush. Mush. Mush.

 

[Dave N]

Not sure if it's for luck or not, but I carry (and eat) a king size Hershey Special Dark candy bar in my bag. It was a tradition when our youngest daughter went deer hunting with me, and I still do it now that she's working and I hunt alone.

 

[SFC B]

First...Nameless had to bring up HASH!!! I haven't had hash in a coons age....gonna have to remedy that right quick

As for our camp there are 3 things: 1) We always stop at the store in Toponas (I'm sure there are some HTs out there who are familiar) and buy beer. Mine has to be a 12 pack of Busch (you know "Come to the Mountains") and 2) We always bring Rumplemintz and it NEVER gets touched until a harvest....a couple of pulls for everyone for every harvest finally 3) A little bit of Euro tradition, every critter gets a last meal of an evergreen bough. I think it just makes it special knowing that we all share these things.

 

[ElkHunter11]

First...Nameless had to bring up HASH!!! I haven't had hash in a coons age....gonna have to remedy that right quick

As for our camp there are 3 things: 1) We always stop at the store in Toponas (I'm sure there are some HTs out there who are familiar) and buy beer. Mine has to be a 12 pack of Busch (you know "Come to the Mountains") and 2) We always bring Rumplemintz and it NEVER gets touched until a harvest....a couple of pulls for everyone for every harvest finally 3) A little bit of Euro tradition, every critter gets a last meal of an evergreen bough. I think it just makes it special knowing that we all share these things.

Oh man, y'all don't mess around.. I've had some "interesting" nights with rumplemintz haha. Good stuff so far from everyone!

 

[TRS_Montana]

Nameless, I would imagine you can only hunt a spot once a year based on the damage a guy could do after eating that kind of breakfast!

I always sacrifice a puppy before the opener of every season.
Just kidding

Not really a superstition, but every year I always shoot each of my hunting arrows and broadheads once (practice all year with different arrows) and then order them in my quiver according to the distance each arrow was from the bullseye.

Also say a quick prayer before I go out, and keep a picture of my wife and son in my pocket to remind me that there are more important things in life (and to keep myself from throwing my bow off a cliff) when I get frustrated.

 

[Doublecluck]

When I lived in CA and we fished at night we always believed the catfish would bite if we played Ozzy, there might have been some beer involved in those days.

 

[Rancho Loco]

My ritual is right after I put a critter down, I look off in the direction of my truck and mutter, "ah, shit.."

 

[Tkaldahl2000]

I don't believe in superstitions. It's bad luck.

 

[Fire_9]

I don't do it every time but a tarzan yell immediately after at kill or a couple hundred yards from camp when packing meat. I didn't know what to think the first time I heard my dad do it

 

[kenton]

Well, since a couple of people have mentioned toilet paper, one of my buddies and I make a bet before the season as to what happens more often: harvesting a deer or loosing a pair of underware. Brown down vs code brown!

 

[hank4elk]

My ritual is right after I put a critter down, I look off in the direction of my truck and mutter, "ah, shit.."

Too Funny & True!

 

[A-5_Guy]

Back when I was a kid I was riding out to some International Paper company land in western TN to deer hunt with my step-father and the Beatles song "Come Together" was playing on the radio. I had that dang song stuck in my head for the whole day, through rain and wind, and eventually my Hawken .50 cal misfiring on a doe at 15 yds. Now, every time I'm hunting I eventually end up having that song stuck in my head and it seems like that's when things get interesting. Something always pops up! Not really a ritual, but something nonetheless.

If you really want to hear a ritual or superstition here's one. I've been an active duty Marine pilot for about 10 years. Every military aircraft I ever piloted I always carried a "pink pearl" eraser in my left shoulder pocket of my flight suit. I had that sucker through TBS, flight school, the FRS, Afghanistan, etc. I would never fly without it. One time I couldn't find it and just about had to cancel a flight, haha... Still got that sucker.

 

[choc dogs]

Never buy freezer paper till you get home.

 

[duckhunt]

When my kids were little we would eat deer meat the night before the opener. As a joke I told the kids that its makes you one with the animal that you're hunting kind of like an ancient indian thing. It turned into a tradition now.

 

[kansasdad]

I keep the shirt I was wearing on my drive to the site of my first turkey kill in the trunk of my car. I'm sure that is what has caused that silly shirt to shrink so much!

 

[beagle001]

Every year, the night before our gun opener here in Wisconsin, I watch the "Tracking with the Benoits" movie. I had just started hunting when I found out about them and I was hooked. I had a copy of the movie by my second season, and it's been tradition ever since. Unfortunately, my VHS of it got wrecked a month ago, so I've gotta get a new copy before November.

 

[7mm08mo]

When my kids were little we would eat deer meat the night before the opener. As a joke I told the kids that its makes you one with the animal that you're hunting kind of like an ancient indian thing. It turned into a tradition now.

^^^^+1