Lessons Learned – Hunting Is A Mental Game with Brandt Smith

 

Show Notes:

Whitetail deer are a ton of fun to hunt. In my experience, when you’re hunting whitetail, anything goes. You can stalk ‘em, hunt ‘em from a stand, rattle ‘em in... There are so many options. My friend Brandt Smith has been hunting whitetail since he was 17, and he’s got a lot of great stories to share. 

 

After some early success with big bucks, Brandt ran into a dry spell that lasted for a few years. During that time, he had to re-evaluate what he was doing, “Yeah, some things are going my way... but what can I do better?”

 

One thing he figured out is that whitetail are really good at noticing the intrusion of a hunter into their area. You may think you’re being quiet and sneaky, but you are educating deer with the things you are doing. You have to be extra careful, not only when getting into your stand, but when leaving it too, because if you stir up animals, even on your way out, they are going to learn to avoid that location.

 

Ultimately, hunting is a game of chess. It’s less about how quickly you can get up the ridge, or how many days you can spend out in the wilderness at a time hunting. It’s a mental game, a battle of wits between you and nature.

 

This comes into play especially when hunting from a tree stand. Keeping your mental game focused when you’re standing on a 2x2 platform for hours is a real challenge, but it’s one you need to master. Brandt also learned that he had better success when he did shorter trips. It’s hard to stay focused for 17 straight days, for example, but two 5 day stretches, one at the beginning of the season, and one near the end? Brandt started doing way better once he adopted this strategy.

 

You also have to be willing to put in the time it takes to learn the land. Brandt says that “time plus location equals success.” It’s the genetics of the area that produce big bucks, and they will make another one if you get the kill.

 

“You gotta hunt smart, and hunt hard. Don’t climb out of the treestand to eat a sandwich... You never know when it’s gonna happen.”

 

What’s Inside:

Whitetail deer: one animal, many methods to hunt

Hunting is more mental than physical

Tips for keeping your focus

You can’t perfectly predict the deer, so you have to always be ready

Time plus location equals success

 

Mentioned in this episode:

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Days In The Wild

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Short Description:We like to think of hunting as a physical activity, but it’s much more a mental game: you versus nature. Whitetail deer expert Brandt Smith shares stories and tips for outsmarting whitetail deer and upping your mental focus on hunts.

 

Tags:

whitetail deer hunting, big game hunting, hunting tips, hunting guide, big buck hunting, hunting stories, white tail, mental focus