Sat i did some pre season scouting. Ran into a guy at the state forest parking lot.

We exchanged small talk as we unloaded our mt bikes.

my plan was to bike in, then set out on foot from there.

He told me where he was heading, commented about it being kinda dangerous going down over, because of the rocks.

And it is, it's very steep and full of rocks the size of basketballs to cars..you step from rock to rock, and its steep, and i've taken some nasty falls.

He mentioned studying OnX...etc and in the span of about 5 min i described to him a easier spot to go down over that took me years of boot leather to find.

I watched a video of Larry Wensel...he made the statement...You can study topo's...OnX etc....but NOTHING compares to actual bootleather on the ground...i agree.

The modern hunter has a vast assortment of gear that has undergone a lot of research innovative ideas, and technology, everything from clothing, footwear, packs, treestands, and compounds, crossbows, internet apps...etc

But nothing compares to actual experience...and that takes time.

I see so much info, and so many giving it, and i see so many trying to substitute what takes years to learn, with technology and equipment.

nobody can teach you how to interpret sign, find and set up in high percentage locations, and be successful, like the woods ,and animals, and nature itself.

You can go to a technical school study books, learn all the in's and outs of the masonry trade.....and you will NEVER be a bricklayer like a guy that has done it for 20 yrs...till you put your time in.

same goes for hunting...

There are guys that rarely fill their tags...

there are guys that fill their tags, because they have their own private honey holes, or hire a guide....or have the right connections...

and there are guys that fill their tags anywhere...anytime....and with minimal equipment, and without any help...

usually those are the guys that have put the time in.

I watch videos made by guy's that do a great job of videoing, the scenery, narrative etc...full of info,they are popular but they are not really all that successful....and when they are it's because they had the right connections.

then i watch some guy from lets say Georgia....down to earth....minimal equipment, not exactly award winning video and narration......but he's a killing machine.

pay attention to those guys....but if you ever want to get to that level?...it will not be through your gear...or internet...or info....it will be through actual experience.

That guy i ran into at the parking lot?....despite the rain, he was planning a pretty good scouting trip, miles...his vehicle was still there when i got out.....i have a hunch he's gonna do just fine.

i could not agree more. spot on. regarding trade or professional work - i see so many now with what is often referred to as youtube certified. they watch an online video, get an e-certificate, and they are a certified or expert ______________ fill in the blank.

I taught both my sons from an early age how to hunt in the woods away from food plots. They now know how to read and recognize good deer sign and also how to choose stand locations based on their knowledge of deer behavior. Both are pretty good hunters. Below are a couple of pictures that prove they are.

My oldest son.

My youngest son on right. I’m on left.

Yes Sir, nothing like foot work on the ground. I just wanted to add that when I began trapping years ago, I really began to read the ground, the sign and what was laid out before me. I went from assuming to knowing. But it took a lot of time, time well spent. When you begin to read the sign as you walk versus simply blowing by it, you begin to see and understand so much more. And as you said, some keep it simply and are deadly, like some say in Georgia.

You done good Greenstyk. Nice deer!

good stuff there greenstyk...

we can pass the torch for sure...

my two sons are also very adapt in the woods, no matter where or what state...they seem to get it done.

Now my oldest grandson is doing it as well, and he's only 13...but he has a couple gobblers, and quite a few deer...from PA and other states...

by the way....thats Barry wensel not Larry...i typed that wrong.

Some times the school of hard knocks can be an expensive education (?).

So much for Larry Wensel's 15 minutes of fame. bvd

Very well said Shade. I’ve met a number of young men who have come to me asking for “the secret”, and what technology I use. Most are clearly disappointed when I boil it down to longbow, woodies, eyes, brains, boots and experience.

Shade, great job with your sons. My brother and I were blessed to have our dad. He taught us at and early age and those lessons still hold true. My brothers and I are passing it down to our two nephews. Best of luck to you and your boys this season.

Great thread!

Good post. Technology has made many lazy and a few dumber, even though they think they are smarter.

I remember when trail timers were a new thing. :)

I'll tell ya Phil i think sometimes it wouldn't hurt us to just back up a little.

I'm not as old school as many think (well maybe i am) Nothing wrong with technology or new and inventive, but it sure is refreshing to just go back to the basics, and i'm thankful we can.

Once we start trying to skip over, or fast forward basic knowledge and skills, substituting it with a vast assortment of technical crutches that make it "easier" we rob ourselves.

One good thing is, nature itself will pull us back to basics...

We have the choice to try and control nature, manipulate it, manage and fence it for our own personal gain, seeking quick and easy gratification and success and the "sure thing"...

Or we can allow it to teach us patience,and perseverance. To accept failure not as an end...but as a motivator to try harder.

To stand after a blown stalk, or a deer just out of range, and not seek an easier way....but rather smile with contentment, and think....wow....next time.

Then learn from it, and get right back after it.

There is something very primal about nature, very earthy.

The farther we get from the "simplicity"....of hunting....The farther we remove ourselves from the very quarry we seek.

Good topic , I could'nt agree more . There is no replacement for actual time in the woods and boots on the ground . A person can study topo maps , earth photos , and every other scouting tool or resource but nothing is as revealing and informative as actual time spent in the wild hiking , exploring , watching and listening .

Nothing against the young guys out there , but some of them think that because someone on the internet says so it is the gospel. Good old experience is hard to beat. I'm 65 and learn something new from someone everyday , might be from an old guys/gal or a young one. I hunted from the ground yesterday and found 3 places I'm going to snare some coyotes this winter. Neighbor showed me a place he sees deer cross the road everyday -hmmmm. I'm going to go in that piece of ground and learn something.

Good Huntin' Jack

Shade great post.

Yeah, great post Shade Mountain.

I have seen it in the General elk units for years now....guys relying on Blowing a bugle....now it's as likely to push them away or alert them, "There's another hunter"

I went back to relying on Lacing up my boots, scouting, studying sign....and other tried and true hunting skills and glad I did.

A lifetime of learning, pass it on , we never learn it all , but some think they do, I enjoy the process every day.

I need to snare some coyotes

I don't care how other guys hunt, but I personally can't stand all the technology. My recent Colorado trip was pretty low-tech--I had a tent, a recurve, aluminum arrows, a knife in my pocket, and a cell phone to take pictures with. No scents, no calls, no mapping software on the phone, no rangefinder, no binoculars, no decoys, no four-wheelers, no game cameras watching the trails for me, and no hunting at waterhole blinds.

The elk had about fifty square miles of forested mountain terrain in a national wilderness where they could hide from me...and they did a pretty good job of it, I will confess; though I managed to see fifty or sixty of them over the span of two weeks. I had the thrill of walking up on six bedded elk, and needing to decide whether or not the elk 35 yards below me had antlers enough to shoot (it was too close to call; I passed on the shot).

The point is, it felt like I was HUNTING the whole time; relying on my own skill and some very basic equipment. That's how I like it.

babysaph

i was running my beagle years ago he was running a rabbit, i was standing on a small hill watching down in the bottom, saw him come out of the briars and run down a deer trail, for some reason my mind registered snare....not that i actually seen it, but a lifetime of learning trapping...something just registered snare, sure enough my beagle hit it, and i had to go down and release him.

It's like hiking through the woods and you see this one sapling and you just know there will be a rub on it...walk over for a look and sure enough, there is one on it.

Call it sixth sense, gut feeling whatever, but you just learn it.

Exactly what I have done all my life, learned to track when I was a kid, hunted with a couple buddies, divided the meat among ourselves no matter who got it.

Never hunted from a tree always stalked, didn't use any chemicals or baited, wore regular clothes, didn't look like a Maniquen in a sporting goods store, carried three arrows, didn't have a quiver. Always clean shaven, don't understand what the scruffy beard thing is, I guess it's an image thing.

Hunted hogs mostly because no season. Boiled down the fat and made what we called chitlins, that was done in a big cast iron pot over a wood fire. Did a lot of bow fishing also. That was my favorite because a lot less work. ha!ha! We didn't have camera's Nothing left to take a picture of anyway.

We walked many mile through some very rough vegetation, but we had fun doing it together. I'm not sure if I would have hunted if it weren't for the other two, but we had fun together, we shared the hunt and the meat, we were not overloaded with meat. Sometimes we would go out every two weeks to get a pig.

To me that is hunting, I just don't understand why people have to have all this equipment to go hunting.

I am not talking about elk hunting where you have to set up camp and track for days, just layed back hunting. I wish everyone had that chance of a simpler time. Like Eric Krewson mentioned in another post, just being in the woods is good enough.

Thanks Shade,

I actually started archery/bowhunting in 1956. I still walk my hunting area, regardless of how many years I have bowhunted a place. Public or private. I seem to learn something every year & when I get requests to come help 'look" or a phone calling asking advise, I guess I've done OK. I was on a bowhunt in Texas several years ago & a kid about the age of my son had arrowed a Deer that they could not find. He & my son (about the same age) were talking on the porch & my son says, ask my Dad, if it's dead, he will find it (made me feel great). He did & with pure luck on my side, I did find his Buck. One small thing about the hoof of that Deer allowed me to go in the right direction. Yes, luck but I never shared that with them. Modern tech definitely can help but a walk is worth so much to me..

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