The last buck I killed with a bow was Oct 27 of 2012. Almost 5 years to the day. I have next 3 days off, hoping for a chance. What is your longest drought?
I did lose a buck last year on a bad shot...he was quartering to me more than I thought. My eyes are going on me. But he is the only one I have had a shot at..Or at least the only one I wanted to shoot at. Passed on some smaller ones but nothing that i wanted to shoot in range accept that one. Oh well, I don't lose sleep over it, but it would be nice to tag one decent soon.
Last buck I killed with a bow was Oct 16 2012 so I got you beat! Lol. It’s not for lack of effort or lack of opportunity. I’ve passed on a few 125-135” ers. I was holding out to try to beat my 152” which has been my biggest BOW kill. But..... I’m sorta thinking of loosening my standards a little. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I had a 7 year drought broke it this year but my standards were over a 160". Elite 35 80# Easton FMJ's CBE Tek Hybrid Pro Dead Ringer Freak Extreme
I killed one in early October 1995 and didn't kill my next buck until 11/4/04. I shot some does along the way but that was a long buck drought.
I feel ya...in my opinion, it's much harder just to find a 150+ buck...than it is to figure him out, set-up on him and kill him once you know he exists.
When I was living in South Africa I was after a specific Bushbuck for 4 years. Finally after much frustration and many hours of preparation, I managed to end the bad luck on year 5. Hopefully your luck changes and you make it happen this season! Best of luck!
My longest drought was the first 7 years that I hunted. I am currently in a 5 year drought and it's extremely painful because there for a few years I killed 2 deer in the same year.
3 years was my longest drought so far. Not for lack of opportunity though - I just couldn't get the job done. Last year was the first year in a long, long time when I didn't let an arrow fly at a buck. And I'm off to a horrible start so far this year. It's almost November and I've only seen one buck, and it was a 1.5 year old at that.
Better than me JZ. I’ve only seen 3 red squirrels a woodpecker and a raccoon. One of those squirrels was a booner though! Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
That's true, some of the years in my current drought were my own doing because I passed deer. The first 7 year drought I went without firing a shot/arrow.
I feel like if you are holding out for a certain size buck, or passing on above average sized bucks that just aren't giants then that doesn't count as a drought. My drought is going on 33 years, but I don't shoot anything under 200 inches.
Lets put it this way. I started my bowhunting addiction way back in 1986. Some of you guys and gals weren't even born!! Hunted all the time on state land all over NY. Never harvested a deer. Got married, had kids, out the bow down from 1995 till 2011. Started killing deer with my bow finally, 2012 I killed a nice 9 and a nice 8 within a month of each other. Not big deer, but for me, they are trophies. Last time I killed a buck was 2012. Plenty of does, but bucks, not so lucky!!
Let's see, I think I started bow hunting in 2009 and I have yet to take a buck. I know I will be mounting my first buck, and I have been pretty picky. That has been a curse for me, as I have had some regretful hunts where I didn't shoot a buck when I had the chance, mostly due to me being too damn picky. I have a picture in my head of the buck I want to take as my first, and you know, you only get one time to take your first one. This year has been rough, I now have 2 kids under 5, work a full time job as well as building a lawn care business from the ground up. I have yet to get in a stand this year, but Sunday looks to be the day I will have the time to get out. Cold front moving in, 0 pressure on the deer where I will be hunting, you never know Sunday could be the day. The reason for me being so picky is I have a friend who hunts a property that buts up the one I hunt and he has taken 2 deer over 200 inches in the past 5 years. Obviously I know holding out for one that would come even close to that is delusional, but I also try to let the little guys grow. Keep your head up man, the true gift of hunting is being out there undetected watching nature play out in front of our eyes. Taking a deer is only icing on the cake ( that's what i keep telling myself but man I am really sick of not having any icing on my cake). Best of luck to all of you.
