I agree you can learn from letting them go, BUT there is no substitute for actually killing a deer. Something different happens in the human brain when the switch gets thrown on the "I am gonna draw and shoot this thing" button. I can be cool as all get out on a buck when he is out of range/given a pass, Matt Mickey says it best in a sticky thread on HNI. "When you draw your bow, your mind WILL race."
I forget about these one buck states... I can definitely see how a one buck state almost makes you a mature buck hunter by default. To whomever, I wasn't singling anyone out in my posts. At the end of the day, you have to do what makes you happy. I wouldn't trade my years of experience for anything and I spent a many of them only concerned with shooting a deer, regardless of size. I'm not a mature buck hunter. I'm a nice buck hunter. If he's nice, I'll try 'em. That's how I roll.
I have shot a lot deer and bucks over a 35 years. I really want to hunt 140 class deer and have a great time with the people I hunt with. I could go a very long time.
I did. A small 3 pt..remember the story? I had 2 small bucks come from behind me and one was severly limping and I only knew that one buck was there and A buck steepped out from behind the thicket so I shot him to put him down and when I shot the injured buck limped out of the other side of the thicket and was gone....?? I shot the wrong buck, I was trying to do something humane and it backfired. I never knew there were two bucks in the thicket.
Hunting is personal, hunt however you want. Holding out for a mature buck is on the mind of a lot of hunters, new and experienced. The choice is yours. But think about this.... Factoid: The more deer you kill will increases your chance for a lethal shot and a quick kill and recovery. The reason is this.... Deer are not targets! Deer move! Being a great shot (target wise) helps, but until you experience multiple kills in multiple situations, you are not going see all of an alerted deer's moves until you shoot at some of them. Having killing experience definitely helps you out. Knowing the best shot for any situation, learned from experience. Factoid: You will become more proficient at killing deer by killing deer! It's that simple One way or another, everyone is going to face a less than ideal situation and learn this no matter what. All hunters miss or will miss in their career. One of the best things you can do is to kill a lot of does. You might have to find a place other than your favorite hunting spot to do so. As advice, I'd say....... Get some under your belt. What ever you choose is fine with me because that's your business, not mine. Good luck to all.
Let me add to this... I hunt in two different zones. In one zone you can only take 1 doe. In the other zone I can take up to 5. So, don't make excuses. If you really want fill that freezer you'll find a way.
You'd think so, but I honestly feel that it works just the opposite for a lot of people. Instead of holding out for a mature buck, they'll shoot whatever comes around with bone on its head. It sucks, but that's how it seems to go. I'm lucky enough that our family has been working with some of the people who are landowners around our farm and now have around 300 acres to hunt (exclusive rights), be it bow, gun or muzzleloader, we've started getting pickier as time goes by. By practicing better herd management and taking a few does to have some backstraps, we also know that there are some big boys running around, should they present themselves. The only one in my family that hasn't placed a point restriction on themself (8 or better, not so worried about age...) is my daughter, who guns hunts only, and is in her 2nd season of hunting. She bagged a young doe last year, now she's looking for bone, but isn't going to be picky if it's a 1.5 spike or 12 pt. 6.5 year old. Although I'd like to see her reaction if that one came out. :d
I was thinking this exact same thing. I have a good friend that I used to hunt with. He took up bowhunting about 5 years ago to have more opportunities to hunt and hold out for a big one without the gun pressure. He doesn't hunt a lot but gets out some each year. He still has not killed a deer with his bow. Now he wants to go on an African Bowhunt. I keep telling him he needs to kill a few deer first. He says he's killed a bunch with his gun and doesn't need the meat. Definately not the same thing, not even close. I almost would bet he couldn't draw his bow if the moment ever presented itself.
4 years....................im at 2 going on 3 now, but ive had fun every year and have killed a lot of does which is fine by me
I'll give my view on it. The act of shooting the deer, actually my first three deer (well, big game animals) didn't do much for me. I shot a doe which dropped majorly on the shot and ended up spining her, but I already knew deer can jump the string. Watching her do it, only reinforced what I already knew. It didn't make me a better hunter (I will say it was hard to watch though). On the others, I learned that if you stick an arrow through both lungs, you won't have to follow the red trail long before it is over. I get excited, but never past the point of being nervous. I can keep my cool all the way through the release tripping, I must be in the zone or something. Anyway, it isn't until AFTER I shoot that I come unglued. Which I do on a major scale. I killed my first three big game animals with a bow last year, the first being a near P&Y antelope....and I was JUST fine heading out several states away with bow in hand chasing an animal I coveted more than a 150" whitetail. Color me crazy, but besides the tracking aspect on marginal hits, I see VERY little gained from the act of shooting deer. Maybe my possible 4th - 7th this year will teach me something different. Shoot what makes YOU happy. If you want a 120" deer, and they are there, then wait for him. I finally decided that last year, ANY 8 point would do. Turns out, I was half right. I passed several times on small 8s (including the one I killed) until the right sized one showed up or it happened when it felt "right". And the morning I shot mine, it just felt right. It was much smaller than my "standard" or years past, and I can say I legitimately say I passed on deer its size or even slightly bigger several times before. It finally felt right, and as mentioned earlier I KNEW I wouldn't regret shooting it like I would have before. I'm not sure what it would take this year, but I can say the standard drops slightly if it is all captured on film (for me anyway). As far as a year number, I could honestly go 3+ years at home without killing and not be phased. I still plan to travel and hunt more and more, and if I am not getting it done here or anywhere, rather than shoot just anything, I'll look for better places to get the animal I am after.
I believe that you learned that the hard way on the spined deer. The lesson to be learned from this is to learn how much to compensate for on alarmed deer. There are varying points of hold depending on distance and how alarmed the deer is. There is only one way to learn this and that is to shoot deer.
