Do you get bored while stand hunting whitetails?

[jonsimoneau]

I was recently talking to this guy who has access to some way above average hunting land around here and who has taken some really good deer. I asked him how deer season was going this year and he said "I'm not hunting this year." He said he was bored with sitting in a treestand. I gotta admit it really "didn't compute" I mean this dude has a really good area to hunt that most people would kill for containing deer that are way above average for the area. I thought about it all morning while I was hunting today. I'm 38 years old but I can remember when I was younger getting bored while sitting in a stand. Honestly these days I don't get bored in the stand very often anymore. It might be because my hunting time is greatly diminished from when I was younger and I appreciate it more...but I don't think so. I have a pretty good area to hunt during the rut on vacation but the majority of my hunting time is spent hunting a few tiny wood lots around home where it's normal to hunt 5 or 6 times without seeing a deer.  I'm still not bored.  The reason is when I take a stand now....I expect results....even though it rarely happens. I'm confident that my stands are placed correctly and I'm only hunting them when I feel my chances are best even though most of the time my chances at shooting ANY deer are not great. Point is I think boredom while stand hunting is mostly a result of poor preparation. Scouting hard and often when you
can in the offseason breeds confidence. Even if you are wrong you are still confidence and that facilitates the ability to sit as a predator in anticipation of taking full advantage of whatever your hunting area is capable of producing. I recently saw a post where Uncle Barry was talking about his bootcamp that he does at his place in Iowa. I attended that. It was excellent. It was well received by us all. But therr were a couple of guys who kind of wrote the whole thing off as "Well, if I could hunt this land I'd kill big deer too".  I even asked a guy if he was regularly getting shots at the best bucks in his area...no matter what that size was. Those few really missed out on learning something. Most years I won't kill a good deer in my area because of numerous factors. But some years I do. The point is...if I don't...it's no longer because of lack of effort. I enjoy the effort. The effort is better spent in the offseason it seems. The offseason is where the hunting actually takes place. Sitting in the stand and getting the deer is reaping the results of those efforts. For this reason....I rarely get bored on stand anymore. Even when I know there are very very few deer in my area that I want to take. Every so often there is one and even if I screw it up (happens often) I sleep better at night knowing I earned it. Just some random rambling.

[Ranger B]

I don't think it's uncommon. I am an author and my publisher said most folks will not read a book larger than 90K words because they are so accustomed to getting the headline quickly via the Internet. Those same folks want a deer in 1 hour or they go to the truck.

I remember the days when we hunted all week from a camp and if one person saw tracks we all left camp to go see them. There were very few deer in the 70s.  Today, I kill 6-9 per year and see deer almost every hunt. Like everyone else, i'm spoiled.  Still, I love the smell and colors of autumn. I love witnessing the forest come to life at dawn.

[Trenton G.]

I never get bored on stand. I'm always thinking that it could happen at any second. In my mind there are big bucks behind every tree and I just need to wait for them to step out. Also, there's always something interesting in the woods. Last week I had a big barred owl come sit on a branch 10 yards away from me for about twenty minutes. It's stuff like that that keeps me interested and excited. I've taken a few buddies from school hunting with me on occasion, but they usually get bored quickly. I don't quite get it.

[ChuckC]

I am excited all the time, but still, after hours of sitting, every moment of which could be "the moment", and not seeing a deer, it gets frustrating and , yes, boring, unless something else fills the time.  When birds and other critters are out and about it is easier to deal with.  Dark to dark during the rut or bear hunting is the worst.  My area is not the best and it is public, which has its own set of issues.

Even with the best of places, what gets normal for him may NOT be normal for me, but it could still get boring sitting, especially if all you are there about is that one deer and not "mother nature".

[Archie]

Yes, I do.  I like being out in the woods, but being on stand can get pretty boring when you're not seeing any deer, which is often the case in the places I have had the opportunity to hunt.

I think I get frustrated more than bored. If I am hunting in an area that I know has critters, but sit very many times without seeing any, it aggravates me.

Bisch

[fnshtr]

I'll admit it, I'm spoiled! This iPhone is addicting. Yep, I've been known to check in here (tradgang) while on stand. Heck, I've even snapped a pic of a deer feeding below me and sent it to Widow Sax (Darren) in PA along with a short text!

I'm up to 30 hours on stand without seeing a deer... A guy's got to do something!

[damascusdave]

I never get bored on stand because I am never on stand...I love to still hunt even though I am unsuccessful...unless you call getting within 20 yards of at least one deer on the ground every year a success...I am off to do it again tomorrow and maybe that will be the day I finally get the drop on one for an ethical shot and a clean kill...the only way to get better at still hunting is to do more of it, ie. time in a tree stand is wasted for me

DDave

[tradrookie93]

When I was little my dad always had a silent  20 questions game in his backpack I would play sometimes. Like stated above that was when I was a kid and had more time to hunt. Now that I'm older my hunting is limited so I rarely get bored.

The 20 questions game and ones like it are great for kids.

[fireball31]

I get bored and I blame it on the internet. After listening to Gritty Bowmen, TWB podcast, and full draw full time I hear about the western hunts. The glassing and stalks and calling. It makes sitting on my butt in a tree for hours on end seem very mundane at times.

[TIM B]

Nope...I am really lucky to have a flexible job and get to hunt almost every day...I've been thinking about what stand or blind I'm going to tonight since I opened my eyes....can't wait to get there....every night....
Tim

[Tajue17]

I don't get bored but now that I'm older I notice with a lot of my stands not built for comfort I get really sore either my butt, my back or my shoulders after sitting for 3 or 4 hrs its hard to sit still any longer.

when it gets into the single digits sometimes I lose interest and think its just cause its so cold but I will all of a sudden say screw this and just leave and head home,,, especially when its real late in the season with below zero wind chills and I know I'm the only nut out there.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Being Bored is a  choice people make.  It is easier to be bored than to engage your brain with what is going on.

In today's society people are used to having answers immediately. The hunting industry is flooded with gadgets that guarantee success immediately. I think once people buy all that crap, lug it to the woods and realize they've been chumped, they quickly divert their attention to the couch and other activities they can pursue at which point boredom sets in (by choice)

If ever I start feeling bored while hunting (which is very, very seldom), its because I dont want to be there.  I do one of two things, I choose to stop being  bored and engage myself back into the hunt or I leave.

[Sam McMichael]

I am much like Bisch in that I get frustrated when the deer don't show up. There are numerous deer on my place, but they don't always come to the correct stand. However, as I get older, I get sleepier, which is a sure cure for boredom.

[dbd870]

Depends; if the woods are active, even if the deer sightings are horrible then I am fine. I hate it when everything is dead and nothing of any kind is out there moving.

[adkmountainken]

the very little time that I get to hunt I NEVER get bored, after working 50-70 hours a week depending on time of the year a 6 hour sit in a tree stand is most welcome!

[Roger Norris]

I would be a liar if I said I never got bored.....I do. I have a farm where deer activity is often constant. Sometimes (I'm spoiled) if I sit more than 90 minutes without seeing a deer I get a little antsy...

[ron w]

Originally posted by dbd870:
Depends; if the woods are active, even if the deer sightings are horrible then I am fine. I hate it when everything is dead and nothing of any kind is out there moving.

Same here......if things are active, birds, squirrels, turkey, hawks, owls or anything else I'm just taking it all in. If the woods are dead [like this year] I have a hard time staying focused and sitting still. It's better when I still hunt and keep moving.......slowly!!

[Kevin Dill]

I don't get bored when I am actually stand hunting. After many decades of hunting deer via treestands I can honestly say I'm simply bored by it in general. I've come to understand I'm not wired the same as many folks I know. I grow bored with any repetitive hunting (meaning same animal, same exact place, same technique) year after year, no matter how successful. I admire those guys who can sit in stands for 50+ years and hunt deer...I just know it's not for me.

[bow loving man]

I don't get as bored as I often get the fidgets and just can't sit still....