Tag: hunting tips

What will permanent Daylight Saving Time mean to Hunters?

In the last few months, several western states have voted on ending the biannual time change and remaining in Daylight Saving Time (DST) for perpetuity. This essentially means there will be no more “fall back” and “spring forward” time changes each year. Washington and California have already approved bills to remain in DST, and it appears that Oregon will soon be following suit. Idaho, which has the the northern half of its territory in the Pacific Time Zone, has been resistant to recent bills to make the permanent switch. Even if a state votes to secede from Standard Time, Congressional approval is still required before the change can take effect. So the change to permanent DST is not yet guaranteed, but it does look to have strong support from the west coast states. Congress is more likely to allow the states to turn permanently to DST if there is solidarity with all states in the time zone. Nevada (also in the Pacific Time Zone) actually asked Congress to allow individual states to be granted the right to decide whether or not they will stay in Daylight Saving Time back in 2015.

So, what will permanent Daylight Saving Time mean to hunters? Well, let’s start by looking at what will not change:

Hunters will not lose hunting hours. Bear with me, I just want to clear this one up right away as it may seem obvious to some. With permanent DST, the hours of legal light will be shifted forward one hour to reflect DST after the first weekend in November. It will result in legal light arriving one hour later in the morning and ending one hour later in the evening, so the total hunting time will not be changed.

There will be no change for hunting in early March through October. Since the “fall back” time change occurs the first weekend in November each year, the hunting opportunities in September and October will not be affected. So this would typically be archery season for elk, as well as archery and modern firearm seasons for deer. On the spring side of the calendar, there will be no significant change either. The most popular spring hunting seasons (spring bear and turkey) typically kick off around April 15, which is within the current DST period of early March through early November. Most of the change to hunting hours will be for late season big game hunting opportunities, and later bird seasons.

Here are some of the changes that could potentially affect your hunting if DST were to become permanent in your state:

More late sleepers crashing the primo hunting hours. If there is no time shift back one hour in November, this is effectively changing dawn (or the time of legal light) forward one hour. If day break had normally come at 7:15am on November 15, it will now be arriving at 8:15am under permanent DST. Some folks may appreciate that extra hour of rest, but I would prefer an earlier sunrise. Lowering the barrier to entry for the golden hunting hours of dawn twilight is not something I generally support, but it may be a benefit to some.

Shorter mornings and longer evenings. When you lose an hour in the morning, you get it back in the evening. If you have other obligations like family or work that you have been juggling with hunting, permanent DST make create a new challenge (or opportunity) for you. If you had been getting up early to get a half day of hunting in on the weekends, you will be losing one of those hunting hours in the morning. On the other hand, if you had been trying to sneak in a little bird hunting after work every now and then, you will be getting the benefit of an extra hour of legal light in the evenings.

Changes in human activity and animal response. Not everyone hikes miles away from all roads and civilization to get to their favorite haunts. If you hunt an area near roads that see commuter traffic or other human activity, there may be an affect on wildlife and how they respond. Recall that this will be mostly in November and December during later big game seasons and bird seasons. Human activity such as slamming doors, letting the dog out, starting the car, or turning on lights can influence the habits of wildlife. If you give this some consideration before heading out, it may give you an edge to help your success.

Hunting Permit Application Strategy: Are “Points Only” Applications Helping or Hurting You?

I’ve commented before how I think the best permit application strategy is to go all-in each spring, with the realistic expectation you will not get drawn for anything. Don’t fall into the deception that you have enough points to get drawn for a special elk unit permit, so you won’t apply for a special deer or antelope permit because you won’t have time to focus on anything but elk this year. Also, don’t skip application years because you are forecasting conflicts (work, personal, or otherwise) that are going to limit your availability for hunting. We’ve got a finite amount of time on this planet, and the number of good hunting years that you have available is just a fraction of those. You’ve got to take every chance you get.

But now, some states are offering “Points Only” permit applications for some special hunt drawings. They basically work like this: You pay your application fee to be entered into a special permit draw, check the box on your online application for “Points Only” instead of your preferred hunting unit, and your ticket won’t be entered into the hopper for random drawing in the current season’s hunt. Come next year, you will have accumulated your preference or bonus point (depending on which system is used by the state to which you have applied), which will increase your chances of drawing, just as if you had applied the year before and been unsuccessful in the draw.

Why are bonus points a good thing? Well, there are a couple situations that are pretty positive. You might have something scheduled that you know will conflict with your available time for hunting, and you just can’t find a way to slide that conflict down on your priority list without backlash from your conscience, significant other, or maybe karma. Points Only applications will allow you to continue to accrue points for that year, without the risk of being drawn for a hunting opportunity you won’t be available to take. Also, the state is still getting your application fee, which it would not receive if you had chosen not to apply due to fear of being successfully drawn and having to forfeit previously accrued points. Those dollars will go towards funding wildlife management in the state over the next year.

Why are bonus points a bad thing? As mentioned above, major life events involving health conditions and addition or subtraction of family members should usually receive precedence over all other engagements; hunting-oriented or otherwise. But don’t let the minor inconveniences and challenges of life conflate into a roadblock for your hunt of a lifetime. I’ve found that when you challenge your excuses, you usually find your issue isn’t a lack of time, but a lack of creativity. You can always put in some extra hours at work to make your boss happy before you leave for your extended hunting vacay, or you could build some flexibility into your schedule to catch up on engagements when you return, and that baby is going to be delivered regardless of whether or not you are there to witness it. Maybe that last example falls within a gray area, but the fact holds true that things will get done without you present. Points Only applications make it much more convenient to listen to those excuses. You may think that you can strategize your hunts better by “saving up” points for a year when the hunt will be most convenient. But, the reality is that there is no sure thing, no matter how many points you have. Also, many hunters are hoarding those points just like you, so you may not be getting the advantage you think you have. In addition to that, there is potentially a time when many hunters begin cashing in their points, constricting opportunities to only those who have saved up points for their golden years to hunt. And as I alluded to previously, life provides no sure things either. You never know if this is your last opportunity to go on that hunt of a lifetime.

So there are two side to Points Only applications. And if you still think you might check that box, consider this: Every time someone selects “Points Only” on their application, they are leaving an opportunity on the table. They may be planning to hammer the draw with a boatload of hoarded points in the future, but they are leaving the door open for you this year.

A Sportsman’s Goals for 2019

What motivates you to get outside and hunt? Is it the physical and mental challenge, connection with the natural world, or just getting away and enjoying camaraderie with friends and family? Identify your key drivers, and use them to set the basis for your goals. When done right, goalsetting can be one of the most valuable tools to help you perform better and have more fun when going on your next backcountry outing. Setting goals can be useful in many aspects of your life, and let’s be honest, there are tons of articles and books out there on how to set good goals. I’m going to hit on the main elements, and how to help you get some perspective when developing your goals for the next hunting season.

What makes up a good goal? I try to check and make sure my goals are:

  • Realistic – If you make goals too difficult, or if their success requires a large factor of luck, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Failing to meet goals can have a negative effect on your attitude and ability to succeed, so make sure you give yourself a reality check first. If your goal to kill a 400 class bull requires you to get drawn for a specific hunting unit, and requires the bull to walk in front of you on one of the few days you devote to hunting this fall, then it is not very realistic. Don’t expect God, your local Department of Fish and Wildlife, or the roulette wheel to help you achieve your goals. Make a goal you can control.
  • Specific and Measurable – You need to know definitively when you have achieved your goal. Making goals specific enough so you can keep a scorecard of where you are throughout the year, and track your progress.
  • Balanced – Few people can set one imperial goal that drives them through the hunting season without causing detriment to other factors of life. Make sure your goals take into consideration your overall happiness in life for you and your family.
  • Efficient – Make sure you are getting the most bang-for-buck out of your goals. For example, I have no fitness goals this year. I have not been hindered by lack of physical fitness for the last few hunting seasons, and my previous task-based goals have become routine. So, I can realistically say that I am at a level of maintenance. This year I’ll focus on weaker areas that will be more impactful to my hunting success.
  • Task-based – Your goals should be a call to action. Sometimes your goal can be somewhat nebulous, but you should be able to break it down into a goal consisting of actionable items.

For the Hunting category of my goals for this year, I’m choosing to focus on

  1. Increase balance of time with family
  2. Contribute to conservation and sporting community
  3. Woodsman skills
  4. Expand my hunting opportunities

I have long hours and travel a lot for my day job, so it makes it tough to spend time with my two-year-old son that seems to sleep about as many hours per day as a koala bear. If I’m working in the office, I can be gone for work before he is up in the morning, and I sometimes get home after he has already gone to bed in the evening. I’m usually on the road a couple days per week as well. Come hunting season, I feel pretty guilty leaving for a week at a time to chase elk. I’ve realized that I need a goal to make my favorite recreation activity is sustainable and balanced with my family life. This year, instead of taking time to go hunting, I’m going to trade time for hunting. To do this, I am going to track the time I spend away hunting and make sure I pay those hours back to the family, within one month. I’m also going to make a communication plan so my wife and I can prioritize our family schedule, and optimize the time we spend as a family during the hunting season.

To increase my contribution to conservation and the sporting society, there are a lot of organizations out there that have a pretty good structure for volunteer activities and charitable donations. I’m setting my goal for donating $xxx (sorry I’m not going to disclose my actual number with you) towards conservation and sporting stewardship, and volunteer at least 20 hours of my time. To keep things interesting (I like to throw in “wildcard” goals each year), I’m going to read two books with views on hunting and conservation that oppose my opinions. This will hopefully help soften some of the sharp edges of my opinions and help communicate with non-hunters.

Regarding woodsman skills, I like to throw some fun and more easily achievable goals for good measure. Easier goals can provide additional motivation, since so that you can check off goals throughout the year rather than just at the end. Last year I did some backpacking trips in late August, and some hunting in early September that got me into some plants that I was not familiar with. It also made me realize that plant identification was an area that I was lacking. So this year, my goal is to be more proficient at identifying trees, berries, roots and other plants that may be useful to me in the backcountry. I hope to benefit from improving my knowledge of what can be used for food, shelter, and tools, or identifying plants that may indicate a presence of wildlife. My goal is to be able to identify ten tree species, ten berries, and ten flowers/roots/bushes, and understand how they could be significant to wildlife or myself. I’ll achieve this goal by reading two books on the subject, and using field guides on my hiking and scouting trips this summer.

For most of my life, I have primarily hunted Washington, Montana, and Wyoming. But I have begun to wonder why I have overlooked Idaho. It seems pretty odd to think that I have driven across it several times a year in search of game, when Idaho itself has so much to offer. But in reality, there is a finite amount of time and energy to put towards hunting preparation, especially if you are like me and hunt primarily DIY on public land. But again, I have recently found that I will be making several trips to Idaho this year for various obligations, and this will be creating a great opportunity to become much more familiar with the Gem State. My goal is to scout and prepare to hunt Idaho next season. To prepare this season, I will make two dedicated trips to explore and scout an area, read all regulations to become proficient, and utilize my previously planned trips to Idaho by creating time to do some hiking and scouting on each outing.

What will ruin your next hunt?

A quick overview of things to consider in the offseason.

20180513_125309.jpgAlright, GO!  Lack of preparation, lack of skill, misunderstanding the terrain, misunderstanding your quarry, poor woodsmanship, lack of mental toughness, poor physical conditioning, equipment failure, laziness?  How about several of those problems, to some degree. I like to consider it a “smattering” of inefficiencies, and it’s basically my list of focus points.  Maybe this list of issues could simply fall under the heading of “A Lack of Honest to Oneself”.  I have gone into more than one hunting or backcountry situations (or daily life situations, really) feeling totally prepared, at least until I reached the point where I realized I was totally unprepared.  It can have real consequences, too.  I almost missed out on a great bull on my first backcountry solo hunting trip, simply because I had not given enough consideration to my mental conditioning.  Prior to the hunt, a week without human contact or personal interaction was not something that I expected to have any trouble with.  As it turned out, the solitude was miserable, and I chose to end the hunt a couple days early.  I lucked out by filling my tag the morning I had decided to pull out and head for home.  If it weren’t for luck, all those months of preparation for the hunt may not have added up to much more than a very long and drawn out learning experience.  Prior to that hunt, I had considered myself a rather socially independent and stoic person, but I had to immediately reevaluate my condition.

Preparing for a hunt should be fun (mostly).  But what happens when that sensation of enjoyment gives way to feelings of tedium, or futility, or obligation?  There is a lot of talk of “focus” while on the hunt, but I believe most of the focus begins during the summer well before you head out in the fall.  I’m going to hit on some more specific elements in the next couple weeks, but here are a couple overarching thoughts to put in the old brain bank for next time you’re prepping for the early season.

Know yourself, and be honest with yourself.  Not many people realize this little secret, but the beauty of being honest with yourself… is that it doesn’t require you to be honest with others!  You can still talk a big game to your buddies and partake in all the obligatory self-aggrandizing!  Believe me, this is something I know very well.  But all half-joking aside, it is a lot harder to make improvements if you don’t start with a solid understanding of your own limitations.  Sometimes you have to challenge your own beliefs and self-image to improve.  Truly acknowledging your limitations and weaknesses can be tougher than it sounds.

Aim for skilled balance.  We have a finite amount of time each day, so focus on the weak points that will bring you the most improvement.  Don’t fall into a trap of focusing on one thing and honing it down to perfection, while neglecting other areas.  An example would be archery skills.  I know a lot of guys that want to deck out their equipment to the point where they can stand at the range and shoot a golf ball-sized group at 60 yards, when grouping a paper plate at 60 yards is plenty accurate for hunting deer-sized animals or larger.  If you’re trying to reach perfection, you’ve likely reached a point of diminishing returns, and it may be time to look for other areas where you may have more glaring weaknesses.  Maybe focus on draw hold time, quick shots, shooting while winded, shooting on cross-slopes, or put the bow down and pick up your pack for a scouting trip to the woods.  Focus energy on the weaknesses, and you’ll find more success.

What do you hate to work on?  Do that one first.  I kind of alluded to this a couple times above.  If you find something you enjoy, you’re more likely to strengthen it to the point of unbalance.  Everything needs to fall into place for a successful hunt:  Know where the animals are, be fit enough to get after them, understand how they behave, be able to go through all the steps of an ethical harvest, and have the ability to get back home with the meat.  Lacking ability or knowledge in any of those areas will result in a failure.  If there are areas for you to improve, rank them in the order you want to do them, and complete the list from bottom to top.  This will help you touch all the bases, and also motivates you to complete your least favorite tasks in order to get to the ones you enjoy.

Daydreaming with purpose. I prefer the term ‘daydreaming with purpose’ over ‘visualizing’.  Regardless of what you want to call it, this can really help prepare.  Take some time to focus, and walk yourself through a full day of the hunt.  Imagine the steps you’ll be taking in the field, the experiences you’ll be taking in with all five senses, and especially the challenges you will likely face.  Imaging yourself facing a challenge and calmly addressing it with a confident solution.  You’ll find that you’re actually training your brain for success, and will be less prone to frustration and negative thoughts.

 

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