rituals

[stevewills]

does anyone have any rituals you do on your way to to the stand or driving there.heres mine i listen to some tool or perfect circle and get amped up so i dont fall asleep in the stand.so whats yours

[Buckeye Trad Hunter]

I generally sleep through the alarm then fall over everything in the house trying to be quiet so as not to wake the wife and son while trying to hurry at the same time    .  Then I generally arrive just in time and hope that mother nature doesn't call since I didn't have time to answer her earlier.  :eek:

[Eugene Slagle]

Night before:
my gear is in the truck, cloths hung outside to air out.
Shoot one of my other bows in the basement a few.

Morning breakfast, coffee, shower, get dressed.
During the drive to my destination I let the silence sooth me & maybe have some Bach or Beethoven on the radio.
Arival & out the truck, I'll pray for a good day regardless if I get anything or not, string my bow & draw it some.

Then off into the woods.

[No-sage]

I usually break a bunch of twigs and branches as I stumble around in the dark.

Sometimes I even fall down.

[mwosborn]

I am with buckeye.  Just add "accidently" hit the alarm button on my pickup remote as I begin my walk in!       Seriously it has happened!

[adeeden]

On the way to the stand, actually when I first get in the woods I only go 20 yards or so and find a quite spot. Then I just sit there with my eyes closed for 10-15 minutes allowing myself to get in tune with the woods.

This allows me to get past the hurrry up stage and lets me move slower and quiter as I make my way to my stand/blind.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Hurry up and wait!

I always remember what I forgot once at my stand. I usually hope I can hunt without it.

[Bowwild]

I get everything ready the night before-bow, pack, clothes I'll be wearing.

Awake and shower, skip breakfast, and head out for a 3-minute drive to my parking spot (sometimes I just walk). I can leave the house at 6:10 and be in the stand, glove and hood on, bow on the hook at 6:30. Get's light in 30 minutes.

Too often I leave a bit of dried mud on the kitchen floor from putting on my boots.

[rolltidehunter]

i have a hard time sitting in the stand for a long time. by 10:00 i am so wound up i cant sit still. a alwayse get hungry too. so i alwyase play a game with my self i bring a sandwich and bottled water with me and i make my slef sit there till 10:00 before i eat my sandwich. then at 11:00 i usually eat some candy. after i eat my candy then i can leave if there is no deer movement. and go back to the cabin for lunch.

but before i get down i alwayse shoot a arrow in one of my shootting lanes. i pick out a leaf and shoot at it. those are my rituals while i hunt. i do it everytime

About 25 years ago, the night before opening morning, in north east Iowa, I had a dream.  A large bodied 8 pointer was walking along.  I had my new 85 pound bamboo longbow in hand that I made myself.  I checked my broadhead, it was sharp so I was ready to shoot.  The deer came broadside, my fingers were on the string, I felt the rush and the buck fever.  Then right as I began my draw, the buck turned towards me and said in a deep voice, "What do you think you're doin'".
  My ritual is, I do not go to sleep until 10:00 to 11:30 A.M. of opening morning, usually out in the woods somewhere.  That is when the sleep depredation catches up to me and it is sleep or die time.

[bornagainbowhunter]

When I climb into the stand, I pray for safety and a clean shot if presented.  That is the only common thread to all of my hunts.

[wisconsinteacher]

After I get into my stand I give Mother Nature a gift of tobacco for the tree to sit in and the animals to watch and harvest, and then say thanks to God for allowing me to hunt and be healthy, and ask my Grandpa in Heaven to make a drive for me.

[butler]

Like Adeeden stated above, I like to get in the woods a few yards and sit or stand until I hear a bird, squirrel in the leaves, or some other forest noise that lets me know I have shifted gears from the noisy hurried routine of day to day living and am ready to hunt. Sometimes 5 minutes other times it takes longer.

[joe skipp]

My ritual takes place before I leave the house. Roger Norris sent me a beautiful 8x10 of Fred Bear drawing back his Super Kodiak.

After warming up in the shop with a few arrows, I touch the photo for good luck before heading out. So far its been working pretty well the past few years...so why change.

[Wulomac]

I have everything ready the night before.  Get up and have something to eat, or get something on the way.  Sneak into the woods, get situated quickly and quietly, then take a nap to let the woods settle down (learned that from my dad).  After the woods calms down, I take a nap to calm myself down.  Then I go home and tell my bride what a hard day it was in the woods and that I need a nap!

[Randy Koleno]

I also stand at the edge of the woods until I feel my head and soul slow down and get in time with the woods.

[stik&string]

Like said by a few before I sit in the woods to slow myself down a bit... but I also listen to Nugent's "Fred Bear" at some point during the drive to the woods.