A hunting trip takes quite a long time to plan, and if you are a hunting enthusiast, you are most probably waiting for hunting season the whole year.
So, now that you have saved some money, planned a budget, got the approval of your spouse, and acquired all the relevant licensing for hunting. Your confidence and shooting skills are on point; you and your buddies probably can’t stop talking about the exciting hunt. However, if you show up on the field with the wrong mindset, your entire trip can be ruined.
Furthermore, most times, the hunt doesn’t even reach the field and is ruined even before because of ineffective planning and wrong decisions. This is a problem that more inexperienced hunters tend to make.
Now, when you have waited for a vacation hunting trip the entire year, getting some barricades in your plan can be quite frustrating and disappointing. Therefore, today I am going to tell you about five ways in which a long-awaited hunting adventure can be ruined entirely so that you can avoid these mistakes, or at least be ready to solve them when they happen.
Continue reading to learn more and increase the chances of a successful and enjoyable hunt.
Overestimating your abilities:
This is a mistake that many experienced hunters make. Even though you may have a lot of experience in hunting a specific animal, and you are used to tracking in a particular terrain, it doesn’t mean that your skills will extend to other terrains and games.
Most experienced hunters want to try out something new, but they don’t seek help from a person who is experienced in the type of hunting they want to try out and end up making mistakes. Moreover, if they can plan the details of the trip, they show up with an overconfident mindset, which can be very troublesome.
Therefore, whenever you are planning a hunting trip that you haven’t experienced before, it is an excellent habit to hire a guide, or since you do have the necessary skills, even consulting one in the planning, and learning the complexities of the terrain and the behavior of the animal from them can be very helpful.
Not packing the right gear:
On the field, no matter how experienced you are, you are only as good as your gear, for instance, if an experienced hunter only had a makeshift bow, and another less experienced hunter had a fully kitted marksman’s rifle, of course, the hunter with the rifle will have the better hunt.
However, your hunting gear includes a lot more than just your rifle or crossbow; you will need some essential camping gear like a tent, a sleeping bag, a flashlight, some food, and a portable stove to cook it. You will also need to keep a first aid kit with you for emergencies.
Camouflage is a significant part of hunting, therefore make sure that you wear camo gear and pack a new camo suit as well. However, keep in mind that wearing camo suits do allow you to evade the sight of the deer, they can also make it difficult for your buddies to spot you if you get lost; therefore, keep an orange hunters jacket with you as well. You should also have a GPS tracker and a physical map of the area you are hunting in so that you can get back to a familiar spot if you are separated from the group.
As far as your rifle is concerned, you should also invest in a good quality optic to make sure that you can take more accurate shots. Check out www.OpticsVilla.com for various high-quality optics and rifle scopes.
Not scouting the hunting spot properly:
Scouting is an integral part of hunting, and if you aren’t able to do it properly, the entire experience can be ruined. These days you can use wireless cameras for scouting, which can do a very active job. However, make sure that you use infrared night vision cameras instead of flashing cameras.
Though flashes don’t typically spook deer, that technique is ancient now, and infrared cameras give you better tracking and scouting opportunities.
Moreover, hiding the cameras properly and removing your scent off of them is also essential. You should use the natural vegetation from the environment like branches, leaves, and twigs to hide the cameras, and you can use scent masking sprays to get rid of your odor.
Questioning the credibility of your guide:
If you are new to hunting or you are experimenting with a new animal or terrain, it is not uncommon to take a guide with you. Hunting guides can be beneficial, and you can learn a lot of things from them; however, it can’t be denied that some people con new hunters and act as guides to take their money.
Therefore, you need to be quite careful and do your research before you make plans with a hunting guide, and once you have found one that is well acclaimed and experienced, you need to trust their decisions. Questioning the credibility of your guide in the field can lead to a terrible hunting trip.
You give up hope since you haven’t hunt anything:
Even if you aren’t having any luck, and you haven’t had any close encounters or even sightings of the animal you are hunting, you don’t need to worry. I have also been on many hunts where the first couple of days were very dry, and it seemed like we were hunting in the off-season, but then the last day of the hunt was so lucrative that the whole trip became worth it.
Therefore, you shouldn’t lose morale or question the guide no matter how deep into the hunt you go without success. Sometimes, bad days happen, but if you stay consistent, and keep your senses sharp, you will surely leave the field with some meat and trophies.
To sum it all up, planning a hunting trip is a tedious and demanding task, and if you aren’t able to do it right, or you get to the field with a compromised mindset, the entire trip that you have waited for the whole year can be ruined. Therefore, I have mentioned some common mistakes that are responsible for this, and by avoiding them and being careful, you can ensure that you have the perfect hunting trip this season.