I wasn't sure how to title this post and sorry for the novel ahead of time.
I'm faced with a little disappointment this year and wanted to get ideas on how others make their hunting camp experience efficient with the least amount prep to see if my group can't regroup next year. Historically, I have hunted with 2-3 friends just east of Grand Rapids, MI, hunting the edges of corn and soybean fields that belong to the family of one of these friends. This has been the tradition for many years. Getting together has always been fun but the arrangement at this farm property does have it's challenges:
We used to spend a dedicated 3-5 days of hunting but now we can barely manage 2 full days between work and family responsibilities. I think there are 3 huge complicating factors to "how it used to be":
My buddies have declared this year to "not be worth it" - $20 for a kill tag, 2 days of prep, 1-2 days of vacation, 1-2 hrs. of driving (for 2 of us) to MAYBE see a deer. Part of me gets it; I'm overworked and burned out too. But hunting is my recharge time so part of me is wanting to make the entire process and approach more efficient so it will always be worth it. After all, it is called "hunting", not "your time and effort guarantees you a deer". Some ideas I'm coming up with:
There are some things I can't change. A kill tag is now $20 (used to be $10); one guy complains about that (but has no problem dropping $10,000+ on a Polaris Ranger...I don't get it). Can't change location of the farm, the vacation time one needs to take, or any demands at home. I'm hoping that making other changes will make the effort worth it.
What do others do? Has everyone gone through a lull in interest/commitment within the hunting party as family and home responsibilities compete?
All is not lost for me. I will either be hunting my own few acres or will head to my parents' 20 acres that has almost never been hunted (lots of buck sign). This situation is lighting the fire to try to obtain the bordering 10 acres to my property and get my own blinds up. I could go up to the farm to hunt by myself but I can do that at home, or maybe my dad would want to come sit out with me out at their property.
Again, sorry for the novel. Thanks for any thoughts!
I'm faced with a little disappointment this year and wanted to get ideas on how others make their hunting camp experience efficient with the least amount prep to see if my group can't regroup next year. Historically, I have hunted with 2-3 friends just east of Grand Rapids, MI, hunting the edges of corn and soybean fields that belong to the family of one of these friends. This has been the tradition for many years. Getting together has always been fun but the arrangement at this farm property does have it's challenges:
- Blinds are located in square, wood lots that are away from the road and access is not available until the crops come off. One blind is 1/2 mi. off the road; I'm willing to walk in but the other 2 "need" wheeled transport. The other blind is roughly 1/4 mi. off the road; again, no one will walk in.
- Blinds have mini woodstoves but we never seem to have the foresight to cut enough wood and have clean, dry storage to have one session of cutting that will last us a few years. Seems like we are always scrambling to get wood prepped before opener.
- Deer numbers have been dropping. Coyote numbers seem to be up (I shot one last year, missed a 2nd, never used to see them) and MI had a hard go around with EHD (http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12150-26647--,00.html). We used to see 20+ deer a day. Now we barely see a few over 2-3 days, combined. I think the herd might still be recovering.
We used to spend a dedicated 3-5 days of hunting but now we can barely manage 2 full days between work and family responsibilities. I think there are 3 huge complicating factors to "how it used to be":
- We are all married now with young families. One guy has a 2 year old, I have a 2 year old, the other guy has 3 kids that are now involved in sports. None of us have much time outside of our full-time jobs, let alone full weekends to head to the property to prep for the season.
- I think the size and behavior of the local herd has changed; the good ole days are gone and our behavior needs to change. Deer are no longer walking around like chickens so we can't be in the woods the weekend before gun opener with ATVs, trucks, chainsaws, and tractors changing the landscape, spreading odors, and making noise. My theory is that before, numbers were high, competition for forage was high, so they tolerated our noise and odors. Now I think they are pressured (human and predator), wary, and competition for food is low so they go where they aren't bothered.
- Nothing is managed out there - no game cams, no food plots, no salt licks, or anything like that. I think we need to change our approach.
My buddies have declared this year to "not be worth it" - $20 for a kill tag, 2 days of prep, 1-2 days of vacation, 1-2 hrs. of driving (for 2 of us) to MAYBE see a deer. Part of me gets it; I'm overworked and burned out too. But hunting is my recharge time so part of me is wanting to make the entire process and approach more efficient so it will always be worth it. After all, it is called "hunting", not "your time and effort guarantees you a deer". Some ideas I'm coming up with:
- Get rid of the wood stoves, replace with propane heaters - wood is messy, smelly, and requires time spent cutting wood. Between the stoves, ATVs, and chainsaws, it makes me wonder if we are scaring off everything in the area before we ever get the opportunity to take a shot. I love wood heat but feel it is a liability now.
- Move existing blinds or add new blinds to more strategic locations (corners of the woods, mature stands of trees - can't see anything in the brush unless we cut shooting lanes so lets focus our effort where we can see and don't have to work as hard).
- Everyone bring their own contributions for food - typically we got together the night before and made a big grocery run. Now we are showing up very late or the morning of so this shopping trip isn't happening and instead of lunch in the woods, we leave and come back, running the ATVs (more noise and odors).
- Start leaving the blinds in a state that when we leave, that blind is ready for the next day....or the next year. Last year I cleaned out rotten food that had sat all year because we thought we would come back out, but didn't.
- Any work or improvements to blinds need to be made after the hunting season or in the winter when the ground is frozen, not days before we hope to shoot something.
There are some things I can't change. A kill tag is now $20 (used to be $10); one guy complains about that (but has no problem dropping $10,000+ on a Polaris Ranger...I don't get it). Can't change location of the farm, the vacation time one needs to take, or any demands at home. I'm hoping that making other changes will make the effort worth it.
What do others do? Has everyone gone through a lull in interest/commitment within the hunting party as family and home responsibilities compete?
All is not lost for me. I will either be hunting my own few acres or will head to my parents' 20 acres that has almost never been hunted (lots of buck sign). This situation is lighting the fire to try to obtain the bordering 10 acres to my property and get my own blinds up. I could go up to the farm to hunt by myself but I can do that at home, or maybe my dad would want to come sit out with me out at their property.
Again, sorry for the novel. Thanks for any thoughts!