Premium Tag: How many days would you spend hunting?

More time scouting and less time hunting if it's a great tag. Hunting for a long consecutive time can be tough. Nothing wrong with taking a day off in the middle or whenever. I'll drive to a nearby town grab lunch talk and get some interaction going. It's a good recharger on long hunts.
 
This one takes some thought for me. While I jump to say "every single day until I either harvest what I am hunting or time runs out!!" but I really don't have a basis from which to say that really confidently. Every hunting season I have ever been able to take part in has been very limited (2 weeks at the longest). It is easy (relatively) to tell one's self that you have to give it your all when you have that short deadline hanging over you. Even if you get tired there is a very definite end in sight. I guess I come to this.....I cherish my time in the woods, hunting or otherwise, and if other commitments did not get in the way I would be out for the duration. The solitude and peace truly sustain and energize me. Hopefully I will test this thought out in the future :)
 
As a NR of any of the states where I am going to draw a coveted tag, I think what would increase the most for me is the time I spent scouting preseason; as I already spend about 9-10 days in both archery and rifle hunting on my general tag.
 
I'll let ya know when I draw one! I would plan on a full week off work and the weekends on either side as a starting point.
 
Knowing this will all change probably a handful of times before the season starts, my plan for now is take the wall tent and hunt for about two weeks at the start of the season. I will probably have a day or two for scouting on the front end. If I need to go back again toward the end of the season, I can. I already know the area reasonably well but lack experience in the unit during the rifle season. The only pressure I am feeling is the pressure to enjoy the tag and put in my best effort. I am not really worried about score, but I want to put in the effort and time so that when I look back I can be satisfied with the effort on my part. Sounds like friends and family will probably pop in and join me for at least portions of the hunt. I put in as a group with someone else, so I will not be the only one with a tag, which I think is going to make it an even more enjoyable experience. Also, because it is a general deer unit, we have the option of shooting deer as well.

Seems like a lot of you have had similar experiences as me with getting burned out and feeling pressure to succeed. Having others around, even if the time spent with them is mostly in camp, I think will make a big difference, and I think things are shaping up to be pretty fun!
 
We have drawn a couple special tags in the past. From our experience . We took off as much time from work that we could get anywhere from 2 weeks to 4 weeks off in a season . We hunted as much as we could afford money wise. We usually hunt 4 days hard then take a day to recover and get back into the mindset and rest the body. We have never let the expectations of anyone influence us on size of animal or pressure us into thinking with a le tag u have to have a 180 mule deer or 375 bull elk. We believe fun and enjoyment are first in the outdoors big or small racks are a bonus.
 
Premium tag, id like hunt until my tag is filled. Tags that take 15+ years to draw would make me want to actually hunt the entire season until I was successful or the season ended. I get enough comp time and vacation to take off a significant amount of time and if I got a hard to draw tag, then id have to give it my full effort. Tags that take 20 years to draw, I'll be lucky to hunt twice in my lifetime.
 
Back
Top