"Good Tag" Anxiety

[Hunting Wife]

I’ve only had one hard to draw tag, and I did feel some pressure to not waste it on some average or below average bull. I did a ton of scouting and analyzing, because I’m a science nerd and that’s what I do. But I also tried very hard to build realistic expectations for what the unit offered. Then I killed the kind of bull I really wanted opening day and felt much better. I look at him every day and I’m still happy with my decision.

 

[FlatlanderAZ]

This is exactly why I chose at a fairly early age to focus on the hunt and not the harvest. When I drew a primo AZ elk tag that I had waited 12 years for the anticipation felt like it could be suffocating. Instead of obsessing over killing a 3XX” bull I decided I wanted to hunt bulls with my bow during the rut. I refused to draw my bow for 3 days. I ended up hunting 11. The experiences and memories are unlike anything elseI have ever experienced on a hunt. I shot a 315” bull with 3 days to go and I was thrilled to do so, even though I had opportunities at bigger ones it just never came together. And the hunt wasn’t ruined because it wasn’t defined in inches it was defined in experiences. Ever since then I have refused to engage the tape measure. It’s a liberating feeling.

 

[LCH]

Sounds like region A in Wyoming ? Good luck post pics and have fun !

D.. Thanks!

 

[88man]

sheep tag yes anxiety > I think I have done a great job coaching friends who drew great tags to enjoy the hunt and not focus on the end of the hunt kill/score. Really more about the memories with friends and family and the connection with the land and animals than anything else.

 

[npaden]

I've had 2 true "once in a lifetime" tags and for sure had tag anxiety both times.

First was my Wyoming mountain goat in 2014 and then my Alaska Bison hunt last November. Both are true once in a life time tags as you can't ever even apply for them again.

Both are considered to be "easy" hunts as the harvest success rates are 90%+. For me both ended up making me sweat it as my hunt went on past my initial expectations. On both of them I started trying to figure out when or if I would be able to come back and hunt again if I wasn't successful on the current trip that I was on. I tagged out on day 7 with my Mountain Goat and Day 3 on my Bison Hunt but both were stressful. I shot a smaller bison than I intended because I was so focused on just filling the tag rather than holding out for a mature bull.

Both hunts were awesome and I don't regret anything about them really (the younger bull has been excellent table fare where the older bull probably wouldn't have been so good), but there is a much higher level of stress involved for sure.

I don't think the anxiety or stress ever got to the point where the hunts were not enjoyable though. I felt like I really got to hunt both tags and the fact that they weren't a slam dunk "shoot" made it better than if I had filled my tag on opening morning.

But you are kidding yourself if you are thinking that not filling that true once in a lifetime tag isn't a concern at all.

 

[44hunter45]

I put myself through this on every tag, every season. I takes a few days in the field for me to settle in and remember that we are not going to starve if I don't punch a tag.
I went through a few years where I was tagged out by day 2 of the season. I started thinking I was a real hunter and this thing we do is easy.
Year six came and proved me all wrong. It's work, and it should be.

I don't really do out of state hunts any more. If a proficient, ethical fair chase local eats a tag some years, how can a traveling hunter come to the same area and expect a slam dunk?
Even in a high success area. 60% success still means 40% of tags are not filled.

My idea of fair chase includes eating tag soup some years.

 

[406LIFE]

I've only felt anxiety when I know I haven't done my homework; none was on a OIL tag. Preparing for the hunt whether research, training, or gear has built confidence for me that I will be successful in whatever way I've defined it.

Success is when preparation meets opportunity.

 

[MTHunter1321]

I had a deer permit in 2014 that chances are I won’t wind up drawing again. I was excited to hunt a new area and in my scouting I found the biggest mule deer I’ve ever seen on the hoof, all of 200”+. I had my sights set on him. Hunted the area hard all archery season but never could turn him back up. Rifle season came and I was still holding out to come across him. Never happened. One day hunting a different area of the district I passed up the biggest 3pt I’d ever seen in the morning and kept hunting. After not seeing any more deer that AM I talked myself into going back and trying to find that 3pt. On my way back I heard a couple shot from that general area he was in. My heart sank. Ended up spotting a dead deer and the hunter walking up to it and went down to say hi and see what he got. Turns out it wasn’t the big 3 but a solid 4pt. Helped the guy drag it back to his pickup and he ended up telling me about a section of state ground he had seen deer on. The next day I went there and missed on a solid 3x4 at first light but ended up watching him chase does all over the hillside and I decided to not take another crack on him. Kept hiking and came over a ridge to see a buck and doe 70 yards in front of me. Didn’t even hesitate to shoot the buck as soon as I saw his rack. He ended up being 165 but he’s now hanging above my stairs.
To sum it up, didn’t end up shooting the biggest deer I’d seen in the unit but the 30 days and 140+ miles spent hunting/hiking the unit made it be the most memorable fall I’ve had hunting deer. Plus, hopefully the 200” buck lived and bred does so maybe one day i can get lucky enough to draw again and have a chance at one of his great great great great grandsons!

 

[rwc101]

I have a better than average (at least I think) type 1 lope tag. I don't care about score, but I would like to find a nice specimen to have mounted for my first pronghorn buck. I try not to think about it since it's putting the cart before the horse.

 

[QuazyQuinton]

My experience was having my 13-year-old daughter draw a 1 in 1700 premium buck tag here in Oregon. Some would say the best single draw tag in the state. We had some friends of a friend out with us for a day saying, "Don't shoot a buck unless it looks like...." The stress was probably much higher because it was my daughter instead of me. We did chase one buck that I think was quite large, but then a 160" buck with long tines walked by at 30 yards. Getting an easy shot and watching that buck go down before it got out of sight was the perfect antidote to all that anxiety. We don't regret shooting a smaller buck but having it work out so well.

QQ

 

[nontyp]

I’ve definitely got some tag anxiety this year. I want to do my tags justice and harvest mature animals, but also just want to have fun and ultimately harvest something. Hoping I don’t hold out too long and get skunked.

 

[fish_hunt_ski]

I’ve definitely developed some of this in the last week. A good friend of mine drew an amazing bighorn sheep tag in eastern Montana. The three of us going all used to guide elk and antelope together.
all of a sudden it’s almost go time and I’m getting a little anxious.I’m excited to reunite with old friends and do a new hunt but this tag has some weight on it.
people I know who elk hunt the area have been reluctant to point me in the direction of sheep for fear of giving up elk spots.
At the end of the day we’ve got two weeks to hunt and I think we will find the caliber of ram he wants, but there’s always that nagging feeling in the back of your head.

 

[Jape]

For me, there has definitely been some pre-hunt anxiety (how could there not be), but it has been very similar to playing ball. Once the game starts, the anxiety leaves and it’s go time doing something I love. How could that not be enjoyable? Granted, the more preparation there is the more enjoyable it will be, but it’s still hunting and that is something to always be excited about.

 

[EYJONAS!]

I've got a couple right now and I'm shittin my britches .......... one of them has let me down 4 years running and the other well we'll see come December 1.

 

[JohnCushman]

I've had a couple of tags donated, that are in good hunting areas. I don't really have anxiety about them, but more of wanting to do justice to the tags and make it worth the generosity of the donors. My antelope muzzleloader tag I'm looking forward to getting a nice buck. After archery hunting my unit every year and pulling out 2 P&Y bucks, I would like to get a nice representative buck of the area, knowing what's there. My deer tag I snagged as a leftover I'm really looking forward to because I've hunted the unit before and took a nice buck. Also, by then I should be living in the unit and can spend a lot of time hunting, so I'm a little anxious to beat my last buck.

 

[LCH]

@JohnCushman Does that mean no move to Tennessee? Also good luck on the deer tag.

 

[Mallardsx2]

WIth any tag never pass up an animal on the first day that you would be happy with on the last lol

 

[JohnCushman]

@JohnCushman Does that mean no move to Tennessee? Also good luck on the deer tag.

I got rid of the chick that wanted to move there

 

[QuazyQuinton]

WIth any tag never pass up an animal on the first day that you would be happy with on the last lol

I've heard/read this many times, and it doesn't make any more sense to me now than it did the first time. Why can't I pass up a little one in the first day or two even if I would shoot it on the last day? I think the real issue is knowing that any time you pass up a small one, it may be the last one you see, and you may go home with nothing. Been there, done that. Don't regret it.

QQ

 

[2rocky]

WIth any tag never pass up an animal on the first day that you would be happy with on the last lol

It is easy to say that. Twice now I've killed smaller animals than I saw on opening day with my best tags. But looking back the circumstances of the kills (the way the hunt went) was actually more rewarding than if I had killed 15 minutes into opening day, and Evening of opening day. But at the time, it felt a lot less fun...

I think the most rewarding "script " is to see the biggest animal of your trip early on and not spook him out of the area, and be able to keep hunting him for a couple days.
Making a good stalk and a clean kill is definitely more important to me than the size of the trophy. But my best hunt memories were animals I'd seen early on and figured out how to kill them.

I do know the disappointment of killing a descent animal (the best you saw) and then running into someone who knows there is a bigger one in the area that you never laid eyes on. Rather than being disappointed in your trophy's size though it is that you feel like you didn't really see what the unit had to offer.