If you take your hunting seriously, you know the time spent in the treestand hunting deer can be an emotional roller coaster. You can literally go from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows in a matter of seconds. It can be brutal. That’s why it can be the seemingly little things that tend to set us off and get our blood boiling while in the tree. With that said, here’s a look at 10 things that’ll make you wanna cuss in the treestand.
Not Tying Your Haul Line to Your Weapon
There will be days when you are simply off your game. That’s when this one creeps in. It comes in various forms. From completely failing to tie the line to your weapon, not tying it securely enough, or tying it to your weapon but not to you as you climb the tree. The bottom line is, you climb into your stand, get everything setup and in place, and then realize you are not connected to your bow or gun. This mistake will make you feel like an idiot.
Don’t forget to tie on your haul line.
When You Drop Your Release from the Treestand
If there’s anything worse than not tying the haul line to your bow, it’s dropping your release from the treestand after you’ve climbed in and got everything set up. It recently happened to Bowhunting.com boss, Todd Graf. It’ll happen to you as well sooner or later. When it does, it will make you mad. If you don’t have a backup release in your pack, it’ll make you wanna cuss.
Do you have a backup release, or do you climb down and get it?
When You Gotta Pee but You Have Six Layers of Clothes On
Be careful here. The key is to plan ahead. Allow plenty of time to work things out ahead of time before you find yourself in a bad situation. Don’t procrastinate. Those that do will find themselves in a mad scramble that’ll be as bad as any other thing on this list.
Don’t wait ’til it’s too late!
Confusing Your Pee Bottle for Your Sqwincher Bottle
This mix up tends to come in low light situations or when your focus is not where it needs to be. You’ll only make this mistake once. Don’t ask me how I know. Just keep the fluids that go in, and those that come out, separated. Any mix up here and you’ll find yourself wanting to cuss…a lot.
You’ll only make this mistake once.
When You Look Up from Your Phone and Realize a Big Buck Got By You
The smartphone can be one of the handiest tools the hunter could ever have. It’s also the tool that causes us to miss a lot of the action when sitting in the treestand. Scrolling through social media, texting your buddies, and looking at photos – they are all culprits when it comes to distracting us from the task at hand. When you look up from your phone and realize a good buck just walked in and out of your life, you just might just find yourself wanting to cuss.
Not keeping your focus on the task at hand can cost you big time.
When a Buck is Leaving and You’re Trying to Dig a Call out of Your Pack
Few things will send you into a frenzy like when a big buck walks into your life and then begins to leave. If we’re properly prepared, we have all our tools at the ready. But there are times when we don’t have all our stuff together and this moment sends us scrambling into our backpack to find a grunt call, can call, rattling antlers – anything! You’ve been there before. The chaos makes the simplest takes seem difficult. You know the call is in there, but blindly digging and grabbing yield zero results. It’ll make you wanna cuss.
The frantic digging for your calls when a buck is slipping away will make you wanna cuss.
When Another Hunter Walks Up on You
Sooner or later, it will happen to you. Especially if you’re hunting public land. Another hunter strolls up into your business while you’re in the treestand trying to kill a deer. When they see you from a distance, offer an apologetic wave, and move on – no big deal. It happens. But when that other goofball walks up into bow range without seeing you wave, hearing you whistle and no clue you’re in the world, you’ll have to refrain from offering the choice words that first pop into your head.
How do you handle the situation when another hunter walks in on you?
When You Somehow Manage to Have 2 Left-Hand Gloves in Your Pack
How does this even happen? It’s like when you have one wool sock disappear in the wash. It must be of the devil. But if it’s cold enough out, and you’re like most other hunters, you’ll try to wear the extra left-glove on the right hand anyway. You’ll find that it’s not great, but it’s better than nothing.
Mismatched gloves seems to happen far too often.
When the Coffee Kicks in and the Bowels Start Slippin’
To poop, or not to poop – that is the question. While some sticklers might carry a Ziploc bag, others prefer the free-fall method. The choice is obviously yours. Either way, it’s a hassle when you feel the tug in your guts. For many, it’s just enough to make you wanna cuss.
Work it out in the treestand, or climb down and take care of business?
When You Miss the Same Deer…Twice
Miss once, no big deal. You take a mulligan and move on with your life. But miss the same deer twice, and you’ll be feeling like you’ve hit rock bottom. It happens to even the best hunters, and when it does, you’ll want to spit, cuss and carry on with all kind of excuses. This one hurts particularly bad.
Missing twice hurts bad.
Have you suffered from any of the issues mentioned above yet this season? If not, you can bet it’s coming. Comment below and let us know which one you hate the most.
