I sat in my stand so defeated yesterday PM..For some reason this year has put me in the dumps about my ability to kill mature bucks....I just can't seem to get on em..what really chaps me.....the day ML season started, big bucks were hitting the ground everywhere around me...I don't ML hunt, doesn't interest me, but boy do the big bucks hit the ground magically when the season starts...I came to the conclusion yesterday that Im actually a great "deer" hunter....I kill em every year and even some 100-115" bucks, but when it comes to taking top end bucks around here....Im lost. I have absolutely no idea what Im doing...GMMAT made a great point to me the other day...everything I do is "random" and that ain't gonna cut it...guys Im telling you, there are several mature bucks in my woods, and people take em every year, Im just not one of them, I really just don't understand mature buck behavior enough to take em..got a lot of research and reading and scouting to do...you would think after 20+ yrs of this, it would come to me...but it hasn't.
Landon, you are in a new spot this year. I think this is a good thing for you, it will help you refocus on what you are doing. You have seen 3 nice deer this year and came close to killing one of them a little bit ago. You do know what you are doing, but it is going to take some time to refine your skills on the new property you are hunting. Good luck. You think you have felt bad.....try 18 years without taking a buck at 3.5 years or older. That was me, so don't feel so bad buddy. Also, gun season started on the place I hunt Saturday. There were more nice bucks taken off Quantico in one day by guns than their was the entire 6 weeks of bowseason leading up to Saturday. GOOD luck and enjoy your time afield.
Vabowman, you are a super nice guy but I gotta tell you............. toughen up. I've seen at least three times on here where you state, "I suck at hunting mature bucks", "I'm a pitiful mature buck hunter" etc. As a school teacher you have to know how important confidence is. The level of confidence that you display will never allow you to connect on a mature buck. So suck it up and become more determined. Maybe you should try observing individual deer such as a doe group in a certain area. Watch their movements and how they behave. Really get to know them. While doing so, I'm sure you will also see some bucks, including mature ones. Hopefully, it will help you see the big picture and you will connect on one. Good luck.
VA, I think the hardest thing to ever learn when you start hunting mature bucks is you are not going to kill one every year!!!!! You will go years at times and when you finally get to know that I think you have evolved!! Big mature are not easy to kill and you don't always see them but you know that they are there and that is what makes it so awesome when you kill one. So hang in there and don't ever give up!! Walt
Landon, if you're hunting land new to you, it makes it difficult. Learn the lay of the land, watch the movements during different times of the year. Then set up to take that buck. First season I hunted here, I seemed to be chasing my arse to try and intercept the bucks. Second, was a little better and this year I have seen more mature bucks than you can shake a stick at. Now if I can get one to give me that "perfect" shot! It will happen and that's what you have to keep in mind. Perserverance will pay off for you. Lastly, remember big bucks don't get big by being stupid. They can be very difficult to pattern and they are very skiddish. The recipe for success is 2 parts homework, 1 part persistence, and 1 part luck. Mark
Honest Question...How would you feel about your hunting and success thus far, if you were not involved in an internet forum? How do you stack up against other hunters from your surrounding area?
Hell of a good question Bob!! Excellent!! Good advise also Jeff, Walt, Brett, Mark. Take what Greg said Landon and use It. His thoughts mirrored mine 100%, specially the confidence part and sucking It up part.
I was starting to think I sucked too. But, I'm in my 6th year of bowhunting and have killed 8 deer. 4 each does and bucks. None of the bucks has been over 2 1/2 and only one of those was 2 1/2. This year I'm the only guy in my hunt club that has killed 2 deer. Many don't have any and this includes the rifle guys. When compared with hunters in my area I'm holding my own and its just a matter of time before I drop the string on a mature buck. I've learned this is a game of patience. I may still second guess myself at times, heck thats human nature, but I know I'm doing some things right. As long as I continue to try and learn and take this game seriously I like my odds. It may not happen this season but it WILL happen! Stick it out Landon, you CAN get it done!
Take it from me. You're not alone. Let me paint a picture for you of my situation. My family property that I hunt is 600 acres of well managed mountain and fields. We manage specifically for big bucks with food and age structure. The 10K some acres that surround our property is off limits to hunting...period. Needless to say, we have a lot of very good bucks on our ground each year. With that in mind. I can tell you that seeing them and putting them on the ground are entirely two different things. I haven't taken a real mature buck in the last 8 years with a bow. Like you, I've taken some decent ones, just not the big boys. I see them, almost every year I have an encounter or two with a couple, but as I said..seeing and grounding one of them are two different things. It's certainly not for lack of trying. Anyone who knows me personally knows that I spend a great deal of time scouting and planning. A couple of years ago...I too was in your position. I was down in the dumps with trying to figure out what it was going to take for me to become the "big buck hunting machine". I came to the conclusion that maybe I'm forgetting whats more important about hunting in the first place. I realized that I was putting so much emphasis on harvesting the monsters, that I put enjoying the hunt behind it. Sure, I love hunting mature bucks and the challenge that comes with it and thats what gets me out of bed every morning. I probably wouldn't hunt if I lost that love for it. Bottom is this. Keep you chin up and keep after. Don't forget to enjoy the hunting experience in itself. Sooner or later your day will come. On a more technical note. If you haven't already, don't be afraid to try something new out there. Sometimes, I think we as hunters get into a "routine" ourselves. We know that this stand or that stand usually produces or has produced good results in past and we end up going to those stands. Sometimes, I've found that mature deer don't like hanging out with other deer, even during the rut. They'll use completely different trails, often out of the way trails to travel from doe bed to doe bed areas. Take a step back and think like a big buck might. Think to yourself..."if I don't want to be seen, and want to travel from there to there, how would I do it?" Look at maps, wait till after the season and tramp those areas and see what you can find. Shed hunting is a real good way of finding a potential candidate for next year and where to start your scouting. As others have said. Once you set your mind to ONLY shooting nice bucks, you have to come to the realization that you won't shoot one every season and will go through droughts. But when you finally connect, its all that much sweeter.
Probably some of the best answers to a thread I've seen in a long time, especially Walt's and Bob's question.
Each and every one of us are constantly striving to become a better hunter and to kill bigger mature deer. It's a testiment to your dedication of becoming a more knowledgable hunter by just being on this site and contributing to the information that is shared here. It shows you realize that you don't know it all and can learn from others that are more experienced and have seen situations that you haven't yet. There are so many things that can affect ones success at killing a mature deer and a big piece of it is luck. Don't beat yourself up over it. Like Greg pointed out modify your focus and hunt the does. At some point during the rut you'll see a mature buck and then it's up to you to close the deal. As in everything, you can do everything right and you still might not be successful. Hang in there and don't get down on yourself or the next thing you know you'll be sleeping in and passing morning hunts and getting to your stand later than you should in the evenings. Be persistant and methodical and you'll get your buck.............sooner or later.
Just some thoughts, as to what type of area are you hunting? Is this private or public that recieves a lot of pressure? You mentioned at the start of ML, big bucks were hitting the ground everwhere around you? Keeping things in perspective, where these big bucks actually hitting the grounds in your immediate hunting area? Or in general, areas around you, as in the whole Co.? The point I'am trying to make, is how many big bucks, do you really have a chance at within your area? Looking at the whole picture after ML, probably paints a different picture, with many big bucks around, although when it comes down to it, probably not that many within any given area? Now factor in your chance, with ML, as most of these bucks were probably put on their feet by hunters moving around.? Whereas when you were bowhunting, these bigger bucks simply don't move that much and are not being pushed. And if your hunting pressured land that even makes it that much worse for the bowhunter, but in the same essense better for the ML hunters. The second point I'am trying to make is, you can't compare your success with the ML hunters, compare it to the bowhunters around your area, are they all knocking down big bucks? It's very natural that MLand gun season will always knock down the majority of big bucks, simply due to the more effective range of the weapon, and more hunters who get these bucks on their feet and make them more visual. Another thing to keep inmind, is the overall effectiveness of the rut that puts big bucks on their feet? IMO, this rut sucked big time, and most of the activity this year went unnoticed under the cover of dark, a big strike for bowhunters. I think we all question our ability when trying to harvest a mature buck, when we end up eatting tags? I know I have eatten my share of tags, and I thinks it's all part of it? One thing to keep inmind, the more pressured areas you hunt, the more tags you'll eat. And location, areas with not that many good bucks around, you'll eat more tags too. I didn't eat my PA tag yet, but it's sitting on my plate.
Jeff is spot on IMO. Hunting in areas that have real, substained gun pressure makes bowhunting VERY difficult. Patterns are almost non existent and it takes a tremendous amount of luck to pull it off. I rarely hunt the same tree twice and I bounce around from property to property and have been doing so for 20 years. I can count on one hand how many 4.5+ bucks I've seen, let alone killed in MS. I suspect VA is similar. That's not to say its impossible b/c its not. I know a handful of guys that consistently kill mature bucks in my area, even during the firearm season. Also, and I hope the midwest guys don't take this the wrong way, but how many guys on this forum that do not live in the midwest consistently kill 4.5 year old bucks? I can only think of one. Don't let the internet fool you into being delusional about your hunting area.
In todays world patience is a virtue and lost art. For me it's the only way I will hunt. If it means watching a mature buck while I sit 50 yds away because of wind, so be it. I would look how everyone is hunting around you, try to do different sits then them. I pretty much sit until 11:00 AM after the time change and then back out by 12:30 PM. If you look around my area everyone leaves around 9:00 AM. I would take a huge look at how you are entering and exit your stands. This is huge and it's one steps that has made me succesful IMO. Like anything, it's going to take time and you have to remember location of where you hunt in your state plays a big role. You can be doing everything right and folks around you could screw you up. Learning to deal with this, without pulling your hair out is hard to do. Hunting is one of those rare hobbies where doing everything right is not going to gurantee success. I can tell you for me it was a progression, I first got lucky to score my first one. Then I tried to repeat the luck and I did'nt at first. What happen is I started to see more mature bucks, and then I started to get closer, until I started getting my self close enough to shoot. I consider it a success if I put my self in position to kill a mature whitetail in MI. I may not fling an arrow, but with a little luck I could have. BTW I do not believe anyone on this board(maybe the king) is a great hunter, I believe there is no such thing. There are hunters who work hard and put themselves in positions to score. Hunting has to many varibles in hunting to consider any one thing we do that cause us to kill a mature buck. There are no great hunters, just hunts that were great!!! Hunting mature deer in the real world is an excersie of failure. I have failed 99% of time I have a sit. The trick is to get your self in position to captialize on that less then 1% you get your shot.
Landon, I think you're trying too hard and are consumed with the idea that you need to kill a "big mature" buck. Give it a break! Take your time and effort and apply it to a different species-maybe two. Plan a hog hunt to Texas or perhaps a caribou hunt somewhere (make no excuses). With each of these species success is highly likely. Such hunts will take your mind off "the need to kill a mature buck". Moreover, you will gather more information to apply to your hunting down the road. You don't suck, but you do lack experience. Start filling your hand with better cards. Honestly, you're just getting frustrated where you are. What do you have to lose if you change it up a little?
Here's the formula I've found to be effective in seeing and possibly harvesting mature bucks: Hunt where multiple big bucks are known to live (takes time and effort, but the key component of equation) + passing up immature bucks (hardest part of equation to follow initially) + properly utilizing stand sites without over hunting them (an often disregarded key to success imho) = decent chance at harvesting a mature buck if you follow all the regularly accepted practices of scent control and stand placement.
I feel the same way about killing "deer". I learned a long time ago how to hunt and kill deer, then I moved on to bucks, and then "shooter bucks" (almost anything over 1.5 yr. olds). With the antler restrictions in Pa. it's only been a few years that I've been hunting mature bucks, and I don't consider myself very good at it. I didn't score this year (yet), but I don't feel down in the least bit. I'm as excited as all hell, and can't wait to get after them again. If I don't put one down this year, I will next year. For me, it's all about the challenge.
IMHO if you are here and trying to do the right things you can't be a bad hunter. Watching the doe patterns is great advise, if you set up on does the bucks will be there. I was down this year because I wasn't seeing the kind of bucks I've been looking for. I was pondering what I was doing wrong literally minutes if not seconds before a 152" chased a doe and a smaller buck under my stand. To me its scouting, scent control, set up and HOURS in the stand. Keep your head up, it will come together.
Their are 2 kinds of hunters in this world. Those who think they deserve it.. And those who know deserve ain't got nothing to do with it. I used to be the guy who thought I deserved it Landon. I used to believe that sooner or later some luck would come my way. I thought that was what hunting with a bow was. I was dead wrong. My attitude changed in 2005 when I began a brand new chapter in my bowhunting. I no longer was contempt to watch bucks far out of range.. I wanted them dead within range. What I learned that year were some of the most important lessons for my bowhunting. I learned that bowhunting was WORK. And a LOT of it. It wasn't about having or deserving luck.. it was about making it. See.. the "great" deer hunters of the world have certain inalienable truths in common. -When they have a shooter in range.. because they understand it may be the only 1 chance this year.. THEY MAKE THE SHOT. No ifs.. ands.. or buts.... It's a dead animal. -They don't care about seeing whitetail.. which is easier said then done. Because lets face it.. it can get boring quick when you ain't seeing squat. They're looking for 1 shot.. and only 1 animal. Seeing non-shooters is exactly that. And they want to see shooters. -When they hang a stand.. it has 1 purpose.. to kill. Not to watch from.. to kill from. To get that broadside shot at 20 yards and make it happen. EVERYTIME. -They let go quickly of past failure. To them it was a lesson.. not a motion to sit down and think about it. It was a lesson they will remember and they get back on that horse.. NOW. -They understand land. How its used by the whitetail and if its worthy of even hunting. Or when its even worthy of hunting. Sign means very little when its being made after dark. -THEY UNDERSTAND LOCATION. NOT know it.. UNDERSTAND IT. Being in the right state is simply not good enough. Being on the right 5 acres is what it takes. -They UNDERSTAND that to kill a buck of this caliber means he has to be on his feet. Hunting a spot they may get to by nightfall is just not a option. Because 5 minutes after shooting light could be that one blown chance. -They know the importance of scouting. For every 1 hour they spend in a tree.. they've likely put 4 more on the ground. These are the differences I see between the 2 Landon. I have the pleasure of talking to these guys.. and believe me.. there's a difference. A lot of great comments in this thread. But don't beat yourself up over bowhunting a mature buck. Get back in there and keep telling yourself you are going to do it.
