# Times have changed, texting in the tree?



## Uptonongood (Jan 10, 2015)

Okay, I'm an old guy in my mid-60's.  I started hunting at age 7 (shot my first dove) and finished hunting a year ago. I enjoy reading the different threads and comments on this forum, I love the family photos of kids hunting and getting their first whatevers.  

Here's what I don't understand: why do you want to text in the blind or up in the tree?

I sat in blinds and in trees to get away from the human world and to get with the other animals in their worlds.  My focus was being very still, quiet, almost in a "meditative state of mind" place. I don't want to hear about other hunts or the world until we're at Waffle House of Judy's Cafe and we can raze, brag, cry, joke about the day's hunt.

Years back a buddy brought the new Apple Smartphone into the duck blind. I had never seen one before. He started scanning the news and giving us the latest news headlines. I told him to turn the darn thing off, I was in the field so I escape that for a little while.  I told him I couldn't hunt with him if he was going to use it.  

I got a smartphone not long after and I told folks not to call me unless it was an emergency. I didn't text or place calls or search the net while in the blind. I used the phone to monitor weather radar because I prefer picking up a big spread of dekes when it isn't raining.

 I'm not anti-social, I just love the quiet of the field, the peace of being detached and in that special place we hunters find that others never know.

Now, I'm not saying you're wrong to do it, knock yourself out.  I just don't get it. Help me understand it.


----------



## oops1 (Jan 10, 2015)

Different strokes I guess.. I enjoy knowing what my hunting buddies are seeing... It sometimes even motivates me to stay in the stand a bit longer.


----------



## diamondback (Jan 11, 2015)

I'm guilty of texting. I'm 49 and I was thinking about this last week.how did we ever get by in the 80s and 90s without cell phones.  I dont do anything other than text my kids who are grown but hunt with me. It puts my mind at ease to see they are safe in the stand . We keep up with what each other see. Same when I know they are hunting but I'm at work. I guess to me its mostly a safety thing but it is fun to get that text that they got a good one or to be able to text when I get one if my hands stop shaking enough to text.


----------



## doenightmare (Jan 11, 2015)

Uptonongood said:


> and finished hunting a year ago.



So why you finished hunting??


----------



## Dr. Strangelove (Jan 11, 2015)

It's just the way of the world now.  My parents (70 yrs old) are the only folks who actually call me now, everyone else texts.

I was wireless sales when texting first came out and I said, bah, it's a fad, who wants to type when you can talk...

People are connected 24/7 now and that's just the way it is, in some ways it's great and in some ways it's awful.


----------



## Uptonongood (Jan 11, 2015)

doenightmare said:


> So why you finished hunting??



I shot my first animal (a dove) almost sixty years ago.  I've hunted one heck of a lot in six states and four foreign countries.  I've taken a lot of animals including big game, dangerous game, small game, upland birds, waterfowl, varmints.  I guess I just enjoy sitting around the campfire more nowadays, especially listening to others tell of their day's hunt stories.  By the way, the first big game animal I ever shot was a little 4pt on Sapelo Island in 1980, I was 32 years old.

The only hunting I can see myself doing is maybe a dove shoot or sitting in a nice comfortable permanent tree stand to shoot a "meat doe".  I'd also take a kid hunting if he needed an adult with him/her, that would be the best hunt I can imagine.  

I guess that's all  I can say about that.


----------



## RossVegas (Jan 11, 2015)

oops1 said:


> Different strokes I guess.. I enjoy knowing what my hunting buddies are seeing... It sometimes even motivates me to stay in the stand a bit longer.




Same here.  But I'll also admit to surfing while hunting


----------



## ripplerider (Jan 15, 2015)

I dont get it either.I go to the woods in part to get away from the distractions of every day life. Its where I feel closest to God.I enjoy watching birds and animals in their natural settings. Also I hunt on the ground almost exclusively. Fooling with a phone is just too much motion to get by with. With that said, I do take my phone with me and will use it to notify a partner (on the rare occasions I have one) of any change in plans or if Im heading out early or need help dragging. Im not condemning those who stay on ther phones to each his own.


----------



## 660griz (Jan 15, 2015)

Uptonongood said:


> Okay, I'm an old guy in my mid-60's.  I started hunting at age 7 (shot my first dove) and finished hunting a year ago. I enjoy reading the different threads and comments on this forum, I love the family photos of kids hunting and getting their first whatevers.
> 
> Here's what I don't understand: why do you want to text in the blind or up in the tree?



Texting is a very quiet way to say, "I have a big one down and need help dragging..." or, "Did you shoot? Need help?"


----------



## PappyHoel (Jan 15, 2015)

Drone hunting is next.


----------



## 660griz (Jan 15, 2015)

PappyHoel said:


> Drone hunting is next.



Hunting a drone or hunting using a drone? 

I have seen regulations in some states preventing the use of a drone to hunt with. I guess they knew it was coming.


----------



## GA DAWG (Jan 15, 2015)

I like group texting while huntin. Like. Yall seen any? When yall getting down? Who was that who shot? Where's the dern deer at?  Im cold. Yall? Anybody want to walk my way when they get down? And so on and so on.


----------



## Scrapy (Jan 15, 2015)

I stillhunt very little because I simply don't have the patience for it. I can certainly understand folks texting or doing anything to keep their sanity. I coon hunt mostly and don't even have time to answer the phone.


----------



## Curtis-UGA (Jan 15, 2015)

With my busy schedule I don't get to go to hunt camp or sit around a fire with my hunting buddies. The text helps replace that.


----------



## Sterling (Jan 15, 2015)

I like to hunt for the sport, meat, and excitement, but not so much to get away.  I am a people person and enjoy the camaraderie of the hunt.  My dad may be hunting 2-3 hours away and we can connect during the hunt to encourage each other or celebrate with one another if one of use gets something.  At the same time I connect with other friends who are hunting on their leases.  I guess part of my answer is that we all can't meet up at the Waffle House due to distance, but we can still connect via text to share the experience.  Just my .02cents though.


----------



## Throwback (Jan 15, 2015)

Throwback


----------



## Nerf Warrior (Jan 15, 2015)

Im with you Upton.  I dont know where my phone is half of the time.  I have just got to where I carry it hunting with me just in case I fall from a tree or something.  I do however feel like I will be using it more next season as my son and I will be hunting from different stands for the first time


----------



## specialk (Jan 16, 2015)

sometimes I fall asleep in my stand...the incoming texts help wake me up....


----------



## vin-man (Jan 16, 2015)

I'm with you on the texting and talking on a cell phone while hunting. I don't get it, but to each their own I guess. I personally do not feel the need to know what else is going on in the world while I spend a few hours in the solitude of my deer stand. It seems like people have forgotten how to carry on a conversation any more, when everywhere you go people have their faces buried in their phone and are texting. Maybe I was just born to long ago to understand it all.


----------



## Killdee (Jan 20, 2015)

GA DAWG said:


> I like group texting while huntin. Like. Yall seen any? When yall getting down? Who was that who shot? Where's the dern deer at?  Im cold. Yall? Anybody want to walk my way when they get down? And so on and so on.



Yep we a bunch a old frts group texting like teenagers, helps when it's slow.yall sound just like us


----------



## Son (Jan 20, 2015)

Texting cost me a big buck this past season. Was answering a text, looked up, and saw the buck walking across the trail. Too late, putting phone in pocket, picking up rifle, as i watched his rump disappear into the brush. Believe it was a ten i was hoping to get, sure looked like him. Grunted, he didn't come back. I'm thinking, texting will save some bucks as the years pass.


----------



## elfiii (Jan 28, 2015)

660griz said:


> Texting is a very quiet way to say, "I have a big one down and need help dragging..." or, "Did you shoot? Need help?"



Yep.


----------



## Gaducker (Jan 29, 2015)

I text because it keeps me from having to commit to long drawn out conversation with someone I DONT want to talk to.  Some call it anti social but I call it being efficent.


----------



## Joe Brandon (Apr 23, 2015)

Uptonongood said:


> Okay, I'm an old guy in my mid-60's.  I started hunting at age 7 (shot my first dove) and finished hunting a year ago. I enjoy reading the different threads and comments on this forum, I love the family photos of kids hunting and getting their first whatevers.
> 
> Here's what I don't understand: why do you want to text in the blind or up in the tree?
> 
> ...



Sir I'm really with you 100%. There's no telling how many deer I have possibly not seen due to the fact that I was distracted by having my phone with me. Your right the woods should be my place of solitude, and I've gotten away from that. I've already made a commitment to keep my phone off while in the woods this year, take no pictures, and also to hunt more by myself and less with friends. I think hunting is one of the few sports that one does better by himself then in the company of others. The fewer the better.


----------



## NCHillbilly (Apr 24, 2015)

I mostly agree with you. One of the main reasons I hunt to start with is to get out in the woods by myself and enjoy watching everything going on around me. I've always said that if folks get really bored in a deer stand, they need to learn to appreciate the woods a little more, there's always something interesting to watch or see. 

With that said, when I hear my buddy shoot, I'm usually shooting him a text to see what it was or if he needs help; and that kind of thing. It's also nice when the guy who loves to hang around camp and cook and shoot the bull and such but don't hunt texts and asks what time to have breakfast ready.


----------



## huntfish (Apr 25, 2015)

Texting = no deer in the woods....


----------



## Paddle (Apr 25, 2015)

I'm 50 and love my Droid and having google, text and Facebook righ tin your hand. Technology is great!!!! I wonder how many people stopped driving when they moved the bright/dimmer switch from the floor to the sterring column???? LOL!!!!! 

 GET OFF MY LAWN!!!!!!!


----------



## cramer (Apr 26, 2015)

I don't care for texting in the woods unless the message is for help, getting down, bbd, etc.
You can text each other when you get back to camp - sitting side by side
I spose it comes in handy when you get the " scatter - here comes the property owner"


----------



## Gun Guru (Apr 28, 2015)

I will text SOME while I'm in the stand. Not much. I have a buddy with a bad foot and this past year, when I heard him shoot, I asked him if he needed help. He texted me back and said yes. Another time a guy was in the stand below me and I sent him a message telling him there was a buck about 200 yards down below him. The phones work good for stuff like that. Plus!! my hearing is going away. Sometimes I can hear but the conversation is garbled. I can still read a text tho.


----------



## Chum (Apr 28, 2015)

Gaducker said:


> I text because it keeps me from having to commit to long drawn out conversation with someone I DONT want to talk to.  Some call it anti social but I call it being efficent.



Perfect explanation!  Cell phones are more than just communication tools these days...so many uses that add to the hunting experience in my opinion.  GPS, weather, hot babes, answers...when I want/need that "meditation state", I power off and get it.


----------



## oops1 (Apr 28, 2015)

Gun Guru said:


> I will text SOME while I'm in the stand. Not much. I have a buddy with a bad foot and this past year, when I heard him shoot, I asked him if he needed help. He texted me back and said yes. Another time a guy was in the stand below me and I sent him a message telling him there was a buck about 200 yards down below him. The phones work good for stuff like that. Plus!! my hearing is going away. Sometimes I can hear but the conversation is garbled. I can still read a text tho.



 I think it's illegal to text someone a deer is coming... Never heard any story's about it being enforced around here but have a friend in Kansas have his booner taken by dnr because a cb was used. Somethin to think about.


----------



## Milkman (Apr 28, 2015)

The phone is for using for whatever it is capable of IMO.  I use mine for calls, text, internet, email, etc.  I don't hesitate to do either while hunting if I want to. If I didn't intend to use it I would just leave it in the truck. 

If I am off work on leave I do turn off the work email.


----------



## emusmacker (Apr 28, 2015)

I like to use my cell phone to keep up with what others are doing.  for example.  My son was hunting with my uncle this past deer season and I was in another stand, I got the text that Eli had shot a big 8 point along with the picture.  That was awesome.  Also there was a buck that was questionable and I could text and ask the president if he wanted it culled.  texting is alot better than picking up the phone and saying, "hey there's this weird looking 6 pointer here, want me to cull him".  the deer would have heard that and ran off.

I also like the silent mode on a phone, cause when I want to I can check my messages.

1 more reason I like a cell phone is i can carry on a conversation without everyone hearing me. Ain't nobody else's bizzniss what or who I talk to or about.


----------



## T.P. (Apr 29, 2015)

GA DAWG said:


> I like group texting while huntin. Like. Yall seen any? When yall getting down? Who was that who shot? Where's the dern deer at?  Im cold. Yall? Anybody want to walk my way when they get down? And so on and so on.





specialk said:


> sometimes I fall asleep in my stand...the incoming texts help wake me up....





Killdee said:


> Yep we a bunch a old frts group texting like teenagers, helps when it's slow.yall sound just like us



I just pm'd y'all my phone number. I wanna join y'alls text club.


----------



## Gun Guru (Apr 29, 2015)

oops1 said:


> I think it's illegal to text someone a deer is coming... Never heard any story's about it being enforced around here but have a friend in Kansas have his booner taken by dnr because a cb was used. Somethin to think about.





Didn't realize that was illegal. I WON'T do that again. I guess I'm getting stupider as I get older. I reckon the good news is that it was a spike and we both passed on it.


----------



## Lilly001 (Apr 30, 2015)

specialk said:


> sometimes I fall asleep in my stand...the incoming texts help wake me up....



^^^^^x2


----------



## Lilly001 (Apr 30, 2015)

Chum said:


> Perfect explanation!  Cell phones are more than just communication tools these days...so many uses that add to the hunting experience in my opinion.  GPS, weather, hot babes, answers...when I want/need that "meditation state", I power off and get it.



When I'm at hunt camp the wife has strict orders to only text me.


----------



## RUGERWARRIOR (Apr 30, 2015)

All the stuff on the phone is great. But when I'm in the woods, and im usually alone, I don't want to hear or feel my phone going off. That being said, there was a group text a few years ago with a pic that said top that boys. 30 minutes later I sent a pic and said " I just did". I carry it for the safety issue. Other than that I can do with out.


----------



## SakoL61R (May 1, 2015)

Son said:


> Texting cost me a big buck this past season. Was answering a text, looked up, and saw the buck walking across the trail. Too late, putting phone in pocket, picking up rifle, as i watched his rump disappear into the brush. Believe it was a ten i was hoping to get, sure looked like him. Grunted, he didn't come back. I'm thinking, texting will save some bucks as the years pass.



Sounds just about like my experience on Veteran's Day, 2013 around 1:45 in the afternoon.  
He was The One.  
I stillmyself.
Immediately started thinking about why and how I hunted for the past 48 years as well as what it all meant to me.  Then got really, really mad at myself because I allowed a gadget to taint what I love to do.  

And I knew better. 

There are those that have done it and those that will do it.  Since then, the only apps I run while hunting are my 5 senses plus spidey.  

The phone stays in my pocket.


----------



## oops1 (May 1, 2015)

Gun Guru said:


> Didn't realize that was illegal. I WON'T do that again. I guess I'm getting stupider as I get older. I reckon the good news is that it was a spike and we both passed on it.




I was not trying to call you out... Nor was I implying anything.. I've done it numerous times.. Just letting you know that it is illegal . I'll continue to text my buddies.. I just won't post about it.


----------



## The Longhunter (May 10, 2015)

Uptonongood said:


> Okay, I'm an old guy in my mid-60's.  I started hunting at age 7 (shot my first dove) and finished hunting a year ago. I enjoy reading the different threads and comments on this forum, I love the family photos of kids hunting and getting their first whatevers.
> 
> Here's what I don't understand: why do you want to text in the blind or up in the tree?
> 
> ...



I'm with you.  We are about the same age, and the only reason I take my phone with me is because is for safety.  I used to take a whistle for the same reason.

I will admit that late in the deer season when the weather is "changeable" I'll look at the radar on my phone -- but I used to go sit in the truck and listen to the radio to do the same thing.

I go hunting to get away from everything, not to take everything with me.


----------



## JBHugerOutdoors (May 15, 2015)

Thats why I don't have a smart phone. Its so cheap its a dagum pain to text. So i don't even bother!


----------



## bfriendly (May 16, 2015)

I'm sure to taake my phone with me always.............I am concerned with safety more these days

But Please dont let it ring.............It will be on silent and I hope it stays that way...........I too love to just sit in the woods and watch, listen, join them


----------

