In which type of environment do you believe you become a better big buck hunter?

Very true Bry, but if you had that luxury of observing a lot of mature bucks would you really feel the need to put in the extra work to figure them out in that much detail?

 

That is ENTIRELY up to the individual... whether he/she hunts on a farm with low or high buck population.

It works BOTH ways.

 

working backwards here, but last night while I very tired I was gonna post but decided to hit the sack...anyway on this thread and quote Dubs posted... as I feel this is a solid perspective that I tend to agree with..

My question is, what kinds of changes if any do you guys that hunt or have bowhunted target rich big buck enviroments feel you would need to make to be successful at bowhunting mature bucks in a not so target rich environment? Would you need to make changes or would your high numbers of big bucks teach you everything you felt you needed to know in regards to hunting one in a lower #s area that still held a few big bucks here and there?

 

Yes, this is it and I have deleted my post that incorrectly attributed it to someone else. To this I still call BS. Not any Gomer will kill big bucks in a target rich environment even if given unlimited stand time. Some will just never get it. Believe me, I have seen plenty of examples and I live in as target rich of environment as you can find. Some guys just never get it figured out and others just cant seal the deal. Believe me, I have seen it time and again. Some Gomers are destined to forever be a Gomer. Others progress and become very proficient at killing mature deer. I put myself somewhere in the Sophomore year of Gomerism. Some on this site would make the grades in far less time than it is taking me. Others would do well to make it out of the 8th grade. Just the way it is.

 

Admittedly, I have skipped to the end of the thread. I think how someone learns to hunt for deer of any size, depends largely on the attitude of said individual. I can put forth extra effort and learn as much as possible about where I have access to hunt and the bucks/does that reside there and become a great hunter. By comparison, so could someone in the midwest. Your hunting and your hunting education depends on YOU, no matter where you are hunting.

 

I agree with this as well. I live in a target rich archery elk environment ... I have hunted target rich Whitetail environments.. and in both I can give far more examples of the bowhunters that never get it done period.. versus those that can consistently kill the herd bull or magnum bucks for that area..

 

For me, I think my approach would be very similar. Same scouting, probably more scouting obviously. But the biggest difference for me would probably be the patience factor. I am used to seeing bucks nearly every hunt and that keeps the fire going. I would struggle with going days or longer without seeing a buck. Not that I am always seeing a target animal but I am seeing deer. I actually did this years ago when I traveled out of state and was able to harvest some good representive bucks for the area using the same techniques I use here. Now my travels are for other species and I readily admit that I am spoiled and for now just hunt deer at home.

 

I would have to. I'm applying this entirely to my personal situation. If I were to have the luxury of observing a lot of mature bucks it certainly would not be where I live/hunt now so it would be a short-term experience. That's also why I said there is no way I could have a weapon in my hand because there'd be a lot less learning and a lot more shooting. LOL

 

I hear you on patience.. and for me its been just the opposite hunting all over NA and Canada.. I literally can not believe how many deer I see and get close too on a daily basis outside of my home state..its nice to get to see deer... versus what I am used to in the mountains. Here at home its not uncomman to see 0 deer at all because your often hunting A deer in a big area that a few deer overlap into his. I have learned to be ok with it and realize its part of the game. Psycologically over time it can weigh on a person especially if your used to the contrary. Your comments on hunting whitetails at home, elicited a funny memory I have when I offered my Iowa buds whitetails out here. They politely and respectfully passed on hunting whitetails. Imagine that when they have what they have at home. After hunting at their place I dont blame them. They come for elk, I go for whitetails. Its a nice trade off.

 

This I agree with.

 

i put away the rifle and started bow huntin 2 years ago. fortunately the deer are rutting in archery season here and the big boys come out to play. in 12 years of rifle hunting on public land i saw maybe 5 30" bucks. since bow hunting for 2 years now i cant count the number of 30" bucks i have seen on my fingers and toes. now this being said closing the deal on these open country monster mulies hasnt happened yet but i got closer this past season than the previous season. cant wait til next season

 

This is very true. It is difficult for many hunters to get recognition and interpretation because they have so little interaction with mature deer. They can't apply anything of value regarding these animals because they have little experience with them. Learning how they act/react requires interaction.

It's kind of like dating. Your first date was likely a disaster because you didn't know what to do or say or how to act with a girl that you liked. The more interactions you have with girls the better you get and knowing what to do. Mature bucks are that hot cheerleader that made you stick to your sheets in the morning. Attainable? Sure, but you better bring your A-game.

 

After reading this thread again and It had been a good one to read.

Are we talking better buck hunter, or buck killer.

A target rich enviorment will make one for sure a better buck killer, which is not a slam on anyone. I myself need to become a better buck killer. Duke is correct in this sense, if I hunted area with more big bucks I would be a better at killing them.

 

Gary, let's say you got to spend a week or 2 on a managed property with no bow sitting on stand and watching bucks during the day. Then at night you could pick the brains of the guides as to why they placed the stands where they did and applying your observations you made to the maps of the property. You could have big mature deer within bow range and observe what they do, how they act, and where they came from and where they go.

Don't you think this would make you a better hunter when you got home? I think it would. That is why I say the better environment to learn to be a better big buck hunter is a target rich environment.

 

Let's say you were going on an Easter egg hunt. Plot A has 20 eggs on them. Plot B has 4. both of them same in size, terrain, etc.. First of all if you really wanted to find an Easter egg which plot would you want to hunt for them? Obviously Plot A. If you really wanted to learn how to find Easter eggs what plot would you want to hunt for them? The one where there are numerous to be found and you could just stumble on one? Or the one where you had to really look hard and understand the Easter Bunnies reasoning and tactics for hiding the eggs?

Now that is some heavy stuff..... next level kind of stuff.

 

In a lot of places in PA you'd have a better chance of seeing the easter BUNNY than seeing a mature buck!

 

Yeah, but if you wanted to learn the places that Easter eggs are hidden you'd learn more about it from Plot A than Plot B. That way when you go on your next Easter egg hunt on Plot X you'd have a leg up and wouldn't be looking in the wrong spots because you've seen a lot of good places to try to hide an Easter egg.

 

Putting it this way, yes I would learn more.

 

Sitting on the chit pot reading Deer & Deer hunting magazine is not quite the same as being in a target rich environment and actualy getting to watch a mature Buck make a rub, clean a scrape, slip out of a brier patch you wouldn't think a rabbit could get through, work the edge of a wood line along a fields edge, sent check a scrape from 40 yards away, chasing a Doe grunting every other step, the list goes on and on and on, And I think this is the point Duke, Fletch, and some of the others were trying to make. There is nothing like hands on experience. Some hunters will never witness these things in a lifetime.

On the other hand you take someone out of a target rich enironment and put them in a place where mature deer are not measured by square mile, but how many years till the next one comes along and they will either lower their standards or take their game to another level.
You learn to swim or drown, I know because I have swallowed alot of water.

 

Wow Sliver... as if I didn't have enough respect for you already..

.. very eloquently stated.

Your analogy of the swimming is WAY better than mine of the lightbulb.

Man I suck.