Decisiveness as a hunting skill

[Panda Bear]

When you are Ivy League educated, it is easier to make a DECISIVE post using the word "certitude".

 

[noharleyyet]

When you are Ivy League educated, it is easier to make a DECISIVE post using the word "certitude".

Mother Texas ISD & State matriculation Panda, the only ivy I'm familiar with requires calamine lotion.

 

[88man]

a lot of people get in the way of themselves by constantly overthinking every move they make.

 

[noharleyyet]

SW Colorado, 2004-5'ish. Set up straddling a tree trunk on a steep decline watching a canyon floor....first elk hunt ever, clueless. I hear something crashing down kicking rocks and brushing trees about twenty feet to my right. Gun up but not aimed til the bull reached the floor..very legal decent 240-260 ish. But I'm gonna hold out for a 300. Analysis paralysis & tag soup. I've shot that bull hundreds of times in my head.

 

[QuazyQuinton]

There is decisiveness that is knowing when to make your move or take the shot and seal the deal. I have been both at times. A duck blind on a foggy morning at the crack of dawn is a great place to find out how decisive you are. Indecisive people get a sore neck from watching gray blurs zip back and forth overhead. Decisive people burn up a lot of shells shooting where the gray blur was 0.78 seconds earlier.

The other side of decisive is decisiveness vs. patience. I used to be a very decisive bowhunter. Every deer I saw was game on immediately, and most were spooked long before I had any kind of opportunity. I've since learned to sit and watch for a while before I make my move. Funny how we have more success now.

QQ

 

[Deleted member 16014]

The one that drives me crazy is spot and stalk on a moving bear. If I wait X minutes he might hold up in a patch of feed. If I go right now based on his current direction I might intercept him. Or he might turn around for no reason and walk the other way into thick timber the minute after I take off.

 

[QuazyQuinton]

The one that drives me crazy is spot and stalk on a moving bear. If I wait X minutes he might hold up in a patch of feed. If I go right now based on his current direction I might intercept him. Or he might turn around for no reason and walk the other way into thick timber the minute after I take off.

Or you'll make a stalk and he'll be gone, so you go back to your vantage point, and he's back out feeding in the same spot. Bears are fun.

QQ

 

[2rocky]

As a young hunter I got chastised somewhat by the veteran hunters in my group for not taking some shots at deer and grouse. Had they been where I was they could have taken a clean shot because of their experience and skill. The reason I didn’t take those shots was surprise, lack of preparation, fumbling, second-guessing, hesitation, and/or lack of resolve.

Skills I have developed over time and practice include muscle memory, confidence, and execution. I also anticipate where I might see animals, and already have a plan for making a play on them when they show up. This last one is a useful skill I think can be intentionally taught to new hunters. When I’m upland hunting I already know which shots I will pass up due to safety, but the safe angles I am on go mode and can take quickly.

Last fall I had a buck angling towards me eye level at close range. I resolved to move only when his eye was obscured and make my shot count at the first available window. I had my sequence all planned out. It took a while, but eventually he stopped and looked over his opposite shoulder for several seconds. I then had my mittens off, and bow drawn, and released the arrow and short time later for a lethal hit. As a younger hunter I would not have been able to put all the pieces together to make it happen.

Yes +1 very much so to the bold above .... That was what I 'm getting at. "if that buck gets to that tree, I'm gonna shoot him. If he reaches the creek, I'm not going to shoot. "

 

[Pucky Freak]

Yes +1 very much so to the bold above .... That was what I 'm getting at. "if that buck gets to that tree, I'm gonna shoot him. If he reaches the creek, I'm not going to shoot. "

Some of it is visualization. I picture the animal moving into space and what the vitals will look like in my sight. When they follow the film reel it’s easy to execute. I also make mental notes of shooting windows in front of the animals path of travel, so I’m ready in advance.

It‘s painful to watch green guest hunters on meateater, OYOA, and especially Elk101. I see the windows and I think “wait...wait...OK that’s it! Shoot!!!” But the hunter isn’t sure and isn’t ready so the animal saunters by and it just kills me. Then it happens again. Sometimes 10-20 good shot angles and nothing. Sometimes no shot is taken and sometimes they get lucky and just chance after chance comes and they finally take a shot.

I learned early on - always take the first good shot you have. As skill increases, I’m more prepared for that 1st good shot.