Late Season Blues

By Samantha Andrews

 

This year, was the year that I would take one of the big bucks we had been seeing. I saved my vacation time in order to put more time in the stand. We put more food plots in and moved stands to new locations. We used cover scents and played the wind to our advantage. We passed on the small bucks in order to grow the herd and never educated the does. Sometimes, when you do everything right, everything is against you. 

Here in Minnesota, the archery season lasts from the middle of September to the last day of December. From the moment last season ended, I had been looking forward to getting back out and sitting in a stand. The private property that we hunt is a mixture of farm crops, woods, river bottom, and swamp. 

 

The season started off all wrong. Hot, humid and the mosquitoes had never been thicker. I think even the deer were looking for lounge chairs by the pool. Okay, that might have been where my mind had been wandering while I was sweating my camo off and a bit light headed from being a quart low on my own blood supply. I couldn’t wait for the temp to drop and a hard frost to happen. With my Thermacell packed and ready to go, I still went out. I saw plenty of small bucks and does with fawns in tow but wanted to see them grow. I grew frustrated as the weeks went by without as much as seeing more than forked horn. Time for a change up! Duck hunting opened and I’m able to not think about the tall ten I have been dreaming about. I was able to switch gears and still enjoy the outdoors while filling the freezer. After a couple weeks of successful of duck hunting, I was ready to get back to archery before rifle hunting began. 

Another little snag happened shortly before the rifle opened. My husband discovered that three of our ladder stands and two trail cameras had been stolen from the property. I was heartbroken and felt as though someone came into my home and stole from me. All that time I had spent in those stands and the deer that we saw on those cameras, it was gone. After a police report was filed, my husband and I hunted elsewhere and tried to hold our heads up high. During the time, residents that surrounded the acreage that we hunted tagged out on three of the bucks that we saw on the cameras. Another kick to the gut. Although it’s better seeing a neighbor take them rather than road kill, it still hurts. It was prime time and we had nothing to show for the hours spent out in the stand.

After a Thanksgiving trip to western Minnesota, we were re-energized and ready to get back out there. Tyler wanted to get out for a quick hunt when we got back home. On the night that I decided to stay home, I get the text from him saying, “BUCK DOWN”. Finally! He took a nice eight pointer and we have meat in the freezer. 

There is something about archery hunting that I just don’t understand. When I don’t see anything after a long sit in the stand, the walk back to the truck is frustrating. I consider selling my all my equipment to take up some other crazy hobby like underwater basket weaving. As I drive away from the property, I wonder where I should sit the next day. Even though it’s a good possibility that I might be eating tag soup this season, I can’t give up. When life doesn’t go your way, you look at life and say, it all works out in the end. It’s been a cold winter so far and ice fishing has started. It will be a great way to close out archery season.

Hunting Together

By ProStaff Bailey Jones
Originally posted on Bailey's blog: baileyfett.blogspot.com

As I sat and thought about what topic I would write my first blog entry on, there was one topic that instantly came to mind: Hunting with your significant other. I thought about my girlfriends who hunt, as well as, other members of my Huntress View Pro Staff team and realized that a majority of us all started a real passion for hunting after being introduced or reintroduced by our significant other. I also have several male friends and family who will not take their significant other hunting with them because they think it will take away from their alone time or they aren’t interested in being with a woman who hunts. I’d like to share a couple reasons why I feel it can be beneficial to your relationship to share in the sport of hunting.

A Good Way to Spend Quality Time

As life continues to bring more work and responsibility to your plate, you may find you aren't setting aside quality time to spend with your significant other. When hunting season comes around, you know you are going to be out in the duck blind or up in the tree stand. So, why not bring her along? Spending quality time together can help strengthen the bond you share and in turn strengthen your relationship/marriage. There is nothing more rewarding than sharing in an amazing hunting experience with your other half.

Aarika Feathers and her boyfriend, Mike

                                               You Always Have A Hunting Buddy

Some people may prefer to hunt alone. This may be feasible when it comes to hunting deer or other game, but when it comes to waterfowl I do not know anyone who wants to setup their entire decoy spread by themselves. Not only would that be extremely tiring, but it would take much more time which means the later you can get setup in your blind and start looking for birds. Not only does having a hunting partner help with setup and take down, but you know it is always nice to have someone to share in your experience and take pictures of you and all of the rewards you hope to bring home :). Friends can back out at the last second, but you always know you have someone who is willing to get up and go when you need a buddy. No cancelled hunting trips in our house!

Huntress View ProStaff Kaitlyn Harris and her fiance Aristotle

You Can Learn From One Another
There is always something new to learn with hunting. For example, a new shot or a new decoy pattern. There is always room for improvement and advancement. If both of you share in the passion, you can bring what both of you have learned or heard to the table and help each other grow in to better hunters. Talk about it and teach each other. Increase the knowledge you both possess. I have loved being able to grow and improve with my fiancé and I know he has enjoyed being my teacher. It can bring a feeling of accomplishment to both of you. Whoever taught will feel they have done well and so will the one who successfully executed a new tactic.

Me and my fiance Kyle

You Have Someone to Talk to Without Being Judged
It's easy to get embarrassed if you miss a shot or come home empty handed, even though there is never a guarantee when it comes to hunting. Having a person who you can talk out your frustration with is important. Let's face it, you don't want to talk to someone you think will judge you as a "bad hunter" or "lousy shot". I've read articles where it states that you may actually end up blaming one another for your miss or bad luck. I have never personally had this problem. We are a team when we hunt together, if he misses...I miss. We pout for about five seconds and then prepare ourselves for the next flock.

One More Thing You Have In Common
If you don't have anything in common with one another, you are never going to actually enjoy doing things together. (Not both of you at the same time anyways.) One person might have a good time, while the other is compromising and just trying to get through it because he/she knows it makes the other one happy. Don't get me wrong... There is nothing wrong with doing something you might not be a huge fan of just to keep your other half happy. However, if she wants to go hunting with you, why not? It can be one more thing you have in common. What's better than doing something you both want to do and enjoy? Nothing in my opinion. Sure you can have other things in common that you enjoy doing with one another, but having one more common interest is never a bad thing.

These are just some of the many reasons why I feel hunting with your significant other can really nurture your relationship.  Now guys, this is not to say that if you introduce your other half to hunting that you are never going to be able to enjoy another hunt without her again. I feel it is important to go on your own hunts, as well as, your joint hunts. This goes for both men and women. My fiancé and I hunt together and apart. We have our hunts, but he also has his “guy hunts” and I have my “girl hunts”. So next time your other half asks if she can go hunting with you, don’t shoot her down without thinking about how it can benefit the both of you.