Routines are the hardest habits to break, and as hunters, we often find ourselves in the same unproductive routines and have no real desire or motivation to escape them. I know deer hunters who sit in the same tree stand every season hoping for another trophy buck just like the one they shot ten years prior. That is simply not a good method to hunt. Don’t be ‘that guy’ who is too jaded to escape being in a rut. If you do find yourself stuck in an unchanging circumstance, you need to mix things up. Here are a couple of tips that will help you avoid being a hunting zombie.
Network. With the incredible vastness of today’s internet, there is no excuse not to constantly learn and to educate yourself in all areas of interest. This is also the greatest time in history to meet other people and share ideas and thoughts with the advent of social networking sites.
I have found many hunting opportunities by simply meeting people in forums and various websites and you can too. If you don’t feel like going out of state, try to find someone local that you can maybe swap hunts with or someone that you can maybe combine efforts with to hunt new places. The potential situations are endless, so stop sitting in that one tree and talk to others. Networking can also snap you out of your rut by simply being around and talking to others about your hunting knowledge.
Explore. If hunting is slow, take an afternoon and go knock on some doors asking for hunting permission. I have had success doing this by sticking to one simple rule; ask to hunt on small properties. Large hunting lands are often tied in leases, but small strategic locations that are not considered large enough to lease are often wide open. Take advantage of those small places and hunt them.
Another way to explore is to get a map and look at public land. Most hunters think that public land sucks for hunting due to its availability, and that might be mostly true, but think beyond the normal and look for small pockets of hard to get to areas of public land. Most people are lazy and you can take advantage of that and head to nasty spots that will guarantee you no hunting interruptions. Quit looking at the big picture and focus on the small ones.
Don’t be a zombie. Want better for yourself and do whatever it takes to get out of your rut.