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View Full Version : Hunting with an iPod (or other MP3 player)?



dan_plus_o
12-17-2006, 08:02 PM
Hello, I have an iPod and I was just wondering if you could use it while hunting. They have some headphones that stop the noise from leeking out, only you can hear them. If I only have one ear phone in and have it at a low volume do you think it would be alright for hunting? I would disconnect one earphone so I can only use one and have my other ear free to hear for them deer. I have a 30GB iPod that plays videos and audio books, so it would be a nice thing to have up in a tree stand.

This may be a funny question to some of you older hunting guys, but I am only 18 and just getting into hunting...... I get bored easy.

30-06
12-17-2006, 08:04 PM
it would be a good idea,i have an ipod to,,i would use it for hunting to,im hoping for getting a tree stand for x-mas so i wouldnt mind useing mine to ,,thanks for the good idea.

dan_plus_o
12-17-2006, 08:07 PM
I am just worried about it scarring the deer away.. I'm new to hunting so I don't know how good of hearing they have.

bsa30-06
12-17-2006, 08:12 PM
WHY?why would you want to listen to music instead of what is going on around you.?If you are new to hunting i suggest leaving the ipod at home and listen carefully (very carefully) to what is going on around you.You will be surprised at how quietly an animal can just appear out of nowhere.

Barracuda
12-17-2006, 08:12 PM
focus focus focus:confused: Isnt the whole idea of getting away from all the crap incentive enough to be out there . If i went hunting with someone that wore an ipod,walkman etc and couldnt be bothered to concentrate on the task at hand that would be the last time i ever went hunting with them.:mad:

Mini_Me
12-17-2006, 08:15 PM
I have a MP3 but i'll never use it during hunts.
Like i want to know what's going on around me.

Marc
12-17-2006, 08:19 PM
The only thing with using an iPod hunting is it's just one more distraction in the woods. You want all your senses working for you and just because people around you can't hear it doesn't mean an animal can't. Remember they've got a wider range of hearing then a human.

Save the iPod for the truck ride or back at camp after the hunt. The whole reason to go hunting is to enjoy the peace, quiet, and tranquility of the woods. You’d be surprised how much you’d miss with just one(ears) of your senses being distracted and even worst, two(eyes and ears).

416
12-17-2006, 08:38 PM
Personally l wouldn't, but if it improves the quality of your hunt, go for it. Obviously, your hearing ability won't be the same if you didn't have the tunes on, but if you can live with that, enjoy.
l have known to bring a book in my pack and have had comments made about it.........but it is our leisure time and ours to enjoy the way we want.

30-06
12-17-2006, 08:53 PM
for sitting in a treestand it would be cool...but i guess you guys are right,,,,,,,,,,,,i love listening to nature and listening to the animals around.

Ron.C
12-17-2006, 08:59 PM
Hey, If it helps keep you on stand longer, go for it. Sure you may not be as alert due to a reduced hearing level, but it is your hunt and you are the only one you need to satisfy, so hunt how you want and bring whatever keeps you in bush. I am sure if the volume is low, I wouldn't think scaring game would not be an issue. Have fun

Beaverhunter
12-17-2006, 10:42 PM
Use it turn it up as loud as possible that was there is more deer for me.
If yo get bored in a tree stand then maybe this isn't the sport for you.

Nails
12-17-2006, 11:54 PM
I would not recommend taking the ipod, Murphys Law you will be playing with it when your big buck comes by and hears an sees you playing with it.
I have a hard enough time hearing with both ears.

5/10/85
12-18-2006, 07:56 AM
Learning how to listen is one of the most valuable skills in life, forget hunting. Attentiveness to the task at hand keeps you focused. I GUARANTEE that if you hunt with an ipod you will come up with all sorts of colorful words as you fumble to get a shot while a trophy buck walks away 'cause you didn't hear him. I've only been hunting for four years, but in the bush I can tell the difference between the falling rain on leaves, leaves falling from the trees, a squirrel, a rabbit, a grouse, a bird, or a deer. It takes a lot of practice listening, but bowhunting requires an inordinate amount of attentiveness because you need to get so close. That being said, if it's pouring rain and STEADILY very windy, take your ipod along, 'cause you won't be able to hear nothin' anyway. But seriously...you can leave the ipod at home...I give you permission.:)

bighornbob
12-18-2006, 10:14 AM
A IPOD would be great. Thats got me thinking, I should get a 12 inch flat screen and hang it next to my tree stand. The screen would be facing up so the deer would not see it and I could camo the back. I would have headphones so the deer could not here a thing.:roll:

If you cant sit on concentrate for a few hours maybe you should get into knitting, you can where your Ipod there.

BHB

4pointer91
12-18-2006, 10:55 AM
Personnally I use my ears as much as my eyes during hunting especially if I'm sitting. Any other noises other than ones that animals make in the bush are not what I'm focussed on. But, like someone else mentioned if it keeps you in the stand longer go for it ...most likely the deer wont hear anything you just may miss the "big one".

phoenix
12-18-2006, 11:35 AM
Hello, I have an iPod and I was just wondering if you could use it while hunting. They have some headphones that stop the noise from leeking out, only you can hear them. If I only have one ear phone in and have it at a low volume do you think it would be alright for hunting? I would disconnect one earphone so I can only use one and have my other ear free to hear for them deer. I have a 30GB iPod that plays videos and audio books, so it would be a nice thing to have up in a tree stand.

This may be a funny question to some of you older hunting guys, but I am only 18 and just getting into hunting...... I get bored easy.

As much as I would never compromise my hearing while hunting, if that's the way you want to hunt it's entirely up to you. As to the animals hearing it, try it in a quiet place with a friend wearing the headset as you would wear it, at the same volume and see how audible it is to you standing right beside him and a couple of feet away. If you can hear it there then an animal can probably hear it quite a ways away (50-100yds)
Kim

416
12-18-2006, 12:26 PM
If you can hear it there then an animal can probably hear it quite a ways away (50-100yds)


I agree with phoenix......a personal memory: l once shot a moose that was with a cow about 130-140 yards out in a cut block. The cow obviously knew there was danger when l shot, but didn't see or hear me as l was up on the backside of tree which had its root bulb ripped out, and it covered my body well. At that time in my life l was smoking and had laid my lite cigarette on one of the root branches while l shot. Afterwards l picked my smoke up and watched the cow trying to locate me. She was still well over 100 yards away with her ears working like rotating radar, twisting every which way. When l took a drag on my smoke there was the tiniest of a small suction sound of inhaling which was more then enough for her to zero in on my position immediately!! And this was with the cow walking on snow that had a crust on it. It sure re-vamped my thinking of how good an animals sense of hearing can be.
Still with that being said, if a little music makes your outing more enjoyable..go for it, its your recreational time and although we all have our opinions, you are the one that determines what makes a good memory, not others.....your hearing may be impaired a bit, but so what?

greybark
12-19-2006, 12:36 PM
8-) Hey Dan- , I would think that some of the sounds that come from your ear phones may not be heard by you but would be a screamer to animals. You know like those dog whistles that you can`t hear but the dogs sure can . Just a thought .


REMEMBER -- Keep Your Fingertab On --

dan_plus_o
12-19-2006, 12:49 PM
yeah, it was just a thought. I probably won't take it hunting, or I will and if there is a deer I don't want to shoot I will test it out on him/her to see if the deer can hear it.

dawn2dusk
12-19-2006, 03:11 PM
Do you really want to handicapp yourself? I think it is just another distraction. I know after i have spent the time and money getting out to the hunting grounds there is no way I am going to waste my time. I work it hard when I am hunting and wish I could sharpen my senses more, no way I would want to hamper my crappy hearing anymore than it already is.

I do know some guys that read a book in a tree stand during the quiet times. And I sometimes fall asleep stand hunting, but have been woken by a snap of a twig etc. So each to their own.

The Hermit
12-21-2006, 09:10 AM
Ha! Dude I'd be taping my foot and singing along couldn't do it. Keep it i the truck.

Iron-Head
12-21-2006, 10:16 AM
I would never use my i Pod while hunting, I do however use it while I am fishing for Salmon / Steelies ect.