Just got back home from my first "H" experience. I really don't know where to start so I'll start at the beginning. My brother (kp143631) and myself knew we had a great chance to be drawn this year. With that in mind we applied for the hog hunt in January and were fortunate enough to draw for that. This is the first time we ever stepped foot into hagerman. We used this opportunity to start scouting for our deer hunt that we knew one day we would draw. We decided that we would only hunt the areas that would be open for the deer hunt this year. During this time we met some other TBH members which made this trip even better.
Fast forward to this summer when we found out that we drew for Seg B. We knew immediately that we needed to put boots on the ground to have a chance to be successful. We both started researching past post from other "H" hunts to look for any help that we could use. We actually sent pm's to other members that we didn't even know asking them question about the "H". Everyone we asked questions to were more than willing to help. So thank you to them. This is why I enjoy this forum even though I don't post a lot. We eventually made 4-5 more scouting trips before our hunt. We finally decided on an area to hunt if it wasn't to crowded.
The hunt:
Thursday- After orientation we headed for our spot waiting for 9:00 to enter the woods. While waiting we met a few other hunters that were hunting in the same area has us. We all talked about where we would be hunting to make sure everyone had room. Everyone worked together. We had a 4 member hunting group now. Everyone helped each other if they needed it. We got our stands placed and checked out was excited to see what the "H" would offer. While hanging my stand my brother and I walked up on a real nice deer. This made for a long night of sleep
Friday- The weather was hot and windy and I didn't see a deer all day. I hunted daylight to dark. MY brother saw 1 small buck that day. The others in our "group" did not see anything either.
Saturday- The tree rodeo started about 45 min after daylight. The wind was relentless to say the least but my brother and I stayed again daylight to dark. I saw a doe and yearling cone running by at 5:00. He didn't see a deer. We had already decided to stay in our spots all 3 days because of the deer that we had seen during scouting trips. But with only seeing very few deer we were starting to second guess our decision. My brother told me that I was in a great spot and to be patient. Glad I listened!
Sunday- The weather finally turned for the better. At 7:00 I hear a familiar sound behind me. I turned to see a large doe at 15 yds. I'm so focused on her at first that I didn't even notice the 10 pt standing 20 yds behind her. Once i finally saw him i did not worry about the golden ticket I wanted him. She eventually made it to 10 yds from my tree but she isn't why I came to the "H". He provided me with a 25 yd shot and I hit him perfect. He maybe ran 20 yds. I was so proud that I called my brother after I settled down to share with him. He was beyond ecstatic for me. It is the largest deer that I have ever taken. I know he isn't the "H" monster that everyone comes for but to me he is. My brother was correct and our patience payed off. I know some will say I should have held out for a larger one but when a blessing is standing right in front of you it's ok to take it. He posted a pic on the seg b thread for me. Thank you for all the comments.
3 Things I think you need after our first experience:
1.A comfortable tree stand. We both had millenium 150's with 2 sets of hawk helium steps
2. A deer cart.
3. Good boots. We walked a lot
What I learned:
1. Patience (It test you physically but more mentally)
2. You meet great people. I met a TBH member this trip bowpro12. I helped him load his deer and we got to visit for about 30 min. He is a great individual. Got to visit with bloodtrail again. Another great individual who will make you laugh. The men we hunted with I would call my friends now.
3. Scout before your hunt and then scout more.
4. Have fun. Make it your hunt and shoot what makes you happy. Don't feel like you have to measure up to anyone. Enjoy what GOD created for us.
And lastly thank you to my brother for all his help. There is nothing more valuable than time with family. The staff is outstanding at hagerman and thank you for all your help.
Sorry for the long read.
Andy
Fast forward to this summer when we found out that we drew for Seg B. We knew immediately that we needed to put boots on the ground to have a chance to be successful. We both started researching past post from other "H" hunts to look for any help that we could use. We actually sent pm's to other members that we didn't even know asking them question about the "H". Everyone we asked questions to were more than willing to help. So thank you to them. This is why I enjoy this forum even though I don't post a lot. We eventually made 4-5 more scouting trips before our hunt. We finally decided on an area to hunt if it wasn't to crowded.
The hunt:
Thursday- After orientation we headed for our spot waiting for 9:00 to enter the woods. While waiting we met a few other hunters that were hunting in the same area has us. We all talked about where we would be hunting to make sure everyone had room. Everyone worked together. We had a 4 member hunting group now. Everyone helped each other if they needed it. We got our stands placed and checked out was excited to see what the "H" would offer. While hanging my stand my brother and I walked up on a real nice deer. This made for a long night of sleep
Friday- The weather was hot and windy and I didn't see a deer all day. I hunted daylight to dark. MY brother saw 1 small buck that day. The others in our "group" did not see anything either.
Saturday- The tree rodeo started about 45 min after daylight. The wind was relentless to say the least but my brother and I stayed again daylight to dark. I saw a doe and yearling cone running by at 5:00. He didn't see a deer. We had already decided to stay in our spots all 3 days because of the deer that we had seen during scouting trips. But with only seeing very few deer we were starting to second guess our decision. My brother told me that I was in a great spot and to be patient. Glad I listened!
Sunday- The weather finally turned for the better. At 7:00 I hear a familiar sound behind me. I turned to see a large doe at 15 yds. I'm so focused on her at first that I didn't even notice the 10 pt standing 20 yds behind her. Once i finally saw him i did not worry about the golden ticket I wanted him. She eventually made it to 10 yds from my tree but she isn't why I came to the "H". He provided me with a 25 yd shot and I hit him perfect. He maybe ran 20 yds. I was so proud that I called my brother after I settled down to share with him. He was beyond ecstatic for me. It is the largest deer that I have ever taken. I know he isn't the "H" monster that everyone comes for but to me he is. My brother was correct and our patience payed off. I know some will say I should have held out for a larger one but when a blessing is standing right in front of you it's ok to take it. He posted a pic on the seg b thread for me. Thank you for all the comments.
3 Things I think you need after our first experience:
1.A comfortable tree stand. We both had millenium 150's with 2 sets of hawk helium steps
2. A deer cart.
3. Good boots. We walked a lot
What I learned:
1. Patience (It test you physically but more mentally)
2. You meet great people. I met a TBH member this trip bowpro12. I helped him load his deer and we got to visit for about 30 min. He is a great individual. Got to visit with bloodtrail again. Another great individual who will make you laugh. The men we hunted with I would call my friends now.
3. Scout before your hunt and then scout more.
4. Have fun. Make it your hunt and shoot what makes you happy. Don't feel like you have to measure up to anyone. Enjoy what GOD created for us.
And lastly thank you to my brother for all his help. There is nothing more valuable than time with family. The staff is outstanding at hagerman and thank you for all your help.
Sorry for the long read.
Andy
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