Superstitions!!

Do you have any?

I start every hunt with a glance to the early morning sky-before the sun come up. The day will be grand providing I see the constellation Orion. Moreover, every hunt must start with a prayer...

Let's hear your superstitions.

it's bad luck to be superstitious.

My brother is opposite with Orion.
If he sees it, the day is over before it starts.

I have a lucky hat (floppy) it has served me well over the last 12 years, I'm in for a bit of a hick up as I had to order a new one....I'm extremely superstitious, it varies with me, sometimes I go through hair growth and beard growth up to the point that I almost look like a baboon glaring through a tire.....

Apart from that the little eccentricities that we all have makes it interesting...sometimes however you do realize that your being a but darft!.... but that gives you time to laugh at yourself.

My best always.

I have one, and I am not even sure it is superstitious.
If I go into the woods without a gun in the hunting season, I feel 99.9% sure I will get a 100% chance on an animal I want to shoot.
This has been confirmed so many times that it has started to make me a believer of it.

Originally Posted by Norwegianwoods

I have one, and I am not even sure it is superstitious.
If I go into the woods without a gun in the hunting season, I feel 99.9% sure I will get a 100% chance on an animal I want to shoot.
This has been confirmed so many times that it has started to make me a believer of it.

I must agree 100% - it has happended too often with me as well!

I MUST have a cigar in my left breast pocket, no you don't understand - i MUST!!!
Before i even get my hunting gear packed - i purchase a couple of cigars and place it in the side pocket of my riflebag - every morning even before coffee - cigar to left breast pocket - done & ready! Twice i did not, first time i wounded a Oryx and spent more than a quarter of the day tracking it, the second time i missed a 75 yrd headshot at a huge kudu bull - don't care what you say or think, but my hunting just go 'peachy' when i have my superstition covered.

PS: It statred when i was still a novice hunting with my late dad - i used to carry his cigar untill he shot his buck. The 'apple and tree' story comes to mind.

Don't really have any superstitions/traditions myself, but, along the same lines as Norwegianwoods, I am confident that if my arse does not get out of bed and get into the woods there is a 100% chance I will not get a shot at anything.

Pretty simple for me, I make sure and say a prayer during every hunt. Some before, some after, some during, but I never forget.

nd

Originally Posted by rphguy

it's bad luck to be superstitious.

Ha! That's my sense of humor.

As to superstitions, you bet. Mine are a combination of OCD and superstition. I like to have my broadheads perfectly lined up with fletchings (better flight and looks), my release buckle for compound has to be just tight enough but not tight (I can fiddle with it for minutes), and I start everyday hunting with a major positive attitude (without it, you will fail).

Good stuff...keep 'em coming!

While Bird shooting I will align the markings on the shells bases so the printing is right side up. Of course this is in the over and under. If I have not seen them I will open my gun and check.
As Tom says a lovely start to OCD.
Can't figure out how to do it in the semi auto.

I believe my luck comes from the spirit of my dad (Clayton) and my youngest son (Paul). I have so many good memories of past hunts with both of them. I believe their spirits follow me and bring me luck.

Being a novice hunter, I really can't say I have any superstitions per se.
Stretch and I listen to the radio on our way out to hunt. There are certain songs I listen for, if I hear them I know Paul's spirit is with me that day and it will be a good day. Also, when I am sitting in my stand, if I hear an owl or see a hawk or eagle, I know Paul is with me and I know I will see something (I may not get a shot, but I will see something).

Taking a woman hunting with you greatly reduces your chances of success. However it also increases hers equally so I guess that one works out. Yet somehow once a critter is down I still end up being the one doing all the work??? hows that for luck?

Diamond, +1 I seem to be superstitious and OCD and my wife seems to reap the rewards how does that work??, but must admit enjoy it when she hunts.

My best.

Stretch and I hunt together and he often sees more than me. He also shoots more than me. The one deer I have shot since starting bow hunting in 2010, 15 minutes after I started, we both tracked and took out. When he shot a nice buck later that year, again we both tracked and took him out (which was a challenge due to where he was in the woods). The only thing that he does, because I am not allowed to use sharp objects (have a bad habit of cutting myself), is gut the deer and cut it up. When it comes to making it into hamburger, again we work together.

Being a former baseball player yes I am superstitous! I was way worse when I played ball, but a few things in hunting. I never used to carry a shooting stick with me on my way to my stand. Then I wounded a deer that took me half a day to find. Now I won't leave without it. The one time I did....saw a buck on the way to my stand. It was a long shot and if I had the stick he would be on my wall. Being that in Ohio we only use shotgun. I will open 3-4 boxes of ammo and only pick the 3 with the clearest printing on the shell....don't ask why cause that's what I do. I then let my kids pick a shell and put their initials on it. They get to keep the case after I shoot. Did the same thing when I went to Africa. Last his my hat. I had one from when I was a kid that I retired two years ago. But I have a new one now that has to be worn at all times. No excuses.

Diamond,

That happens to me too whenever I take anybody hunting. It is especially true with kids and women...

I think it's good Karma though. I still believe "giving" is four times more important than "taking".

Isn't it amazing how little eccentricities can trigger and influence behavior?

When I was a boy our best Black Labrador Retriever and favorite hunting companion "Cork", taught me to turn around three times before laying down for a nap.

In regards to African superstitions...
When I return you can bet your bottom dollar I'll make sure the bed I'm sleeping in is raised up off the ground because I DO believe in TOKOLOSHE!

LOL Thomas...you are in a heap of trouble. Did you excite a witch doctor somewhere? I'm not sure how high you must raise the bed, but do sleep with one eye on your feet! Tokoloshes are known to nibble toes.

Good luck with that one!