There is power in postive thinking.

[alleyyooper]

If you go hunting with the idea that you will score then more than likely you will. On the other hand if you go out with the idea you are just wasteing your time then that is just what will happen.
When your heart isn;t in it it is done sloppy. That applys to any thing not just hunting.
There is more about hunting than the kill. So much around to enjoy while your waiting for that moment.

Thats how I feel about hunting, it's about being out there.

  Al

[Land_Owner]

I've gotta agree whole heartedly.  When I concentrate on seeing more deer, I see more deer.  When I really want to see a deer to shoot, I ask for it to come and allow me to shoot it and I usually see a shootable deer very soon.  If I set-off the squirrels by slinking through the woods in a hunting/predator posture and forget they are there too, I apologize and ask for them to settle down again, then wait for it.  It usually doesn't take long if you think about it.  Gotta question that needs an answer, ask it mentally, then let it go.  The answer will come in its own time, usually sooner than later.

Call it coincidence, call it intuitive, call it BS, call it what you want.  There is a lot to be said for the "Right Thinking Mind" versus the alternative.

[jpsmith1]

That's what I've been doing wrong...  Not asking the deer to come to me!!!

I'm not trying to be a smarta$$ or anything because I believe that it works, I just need to learn that trick.

[tscott]

The hunting landscape has changed immeasurably since my first deer almost 50 years ago. I turn 60 in a month, and I hunt as hard as ever. When I'm not seeing deer, or worse get fixated on shooting a big buck, I think of those rare days in the 50's and 60's in rural NY, when a spike or 4 point was a treasure. Killing an animal is not about on sight celebrations, and bragging. It is respect, woodsmanship, and the determination to use all of the life taken. Man, do I love hand pounded loin of venison, floured and pan fried, over garlic mashed potatoes, doused with a heated mixture of heavy cream, honey dijon mustard, and pimento. My wife loves her yearly pair of deer driving gloves!!! I hunted all day the other day. Didn't see a thing. That fact did not take away from the experience!!!

[alleyyooper]

For me it would be hard to hunt all day and not see a thing. Yesterday in the morning 4 does came out of the fog to slowly climb the hill and lay in some dog wood bushes along the fallow field. In the afternoon a flock of blue birds were going crazy harvesting berries from another patch of dogwood bushes. Doves sat on a dead limb of a wild cherry tree and coo'd and swooped down to gather some berries them selves.
This morning squirrels got to chaseing each other like crazy kids. then they sat on limbs of different trees and cused each other good. Finally the chickidees came fluttering all over the place gathering a morning meal from the bark of trees. A mouse came burrowing in my blind from under the leavs it sat on, got a shocked look on its face and ran under the leaves and out again. I had to smile over that one.
I also turn 60 in less than a month. We also have came from it being rare to see a buck bigger than a spike during the season to allowing spikes to grow up.
  I fear we are on a swing to the side again where sighting deer out of season will be rare. Unlimited doe permints in past years and so many with the idea of brown it's down.

   Al
 

[Lives2hunt]

I had a great day hunting today on some public land in Okla. Saw 3 doe & 1 snall 4 pointer which I passed on. Its such a thrill to see them and nothing beats a day hunting. Maybe I'll get a nice big buck tomorrow but if it doesn't happen it won't be the first or last time,ha. I also expect to see and harvest a deer each time out but positive thoughts alone won't do it. Its morel about knowing the habitat and where the deer are and where they're headed. Time spent learning their trails, beds & food sources is time invested well. Good luck and hunting to all..

[Redhawk1]

I always go out hunting with a positive attitude. Even when I just see animals while hunting it has made the trip well worth it. Don't get me wrong, I like to take animals, but I find there is just more to it than the kill. 

[victorcharlie]

I always go out hunting with a positive attitude. Even when I just see animals while hunting it has made the trip well worth it. Don't get me wrong, I like to take animals, but I find there is just more to it than the kill. 

I've got to agree with you on this one Redhawk.  Just being in the woods this time of year is great.  Nothing like the smell of fresh leaves on the forest floor on a cool fall morning.

[alleyyooper]

I like to be in the woods any time of the year. Multi colored Leaves filtering the sun light on a indian summer day is nice. Winter snows blanketing the ground and the limbs bending from the weight is high on my list. Summers heat shaded by the leaves, squirrels busy checking the nut crop and birds singing makes summer hard to beat. But best of all is spring, a nice sunny warm day.
Seeing the birds building their nest, the ramps poking thru the ground and the gentile wave of their leaves calling to be harvested. The morels popping up and hideing from the eye that can't see. The meal they can inhance making the taste buds salavate. the spring flowers like Spring Beauties opening in the sun and closeing when it starts to get dark. The Blood Root blooms so big and shiny and white. Look there is a fawn hiding in the huge leaves of the May apples. Yup spring Is high on the list.

  Al