I saw more deer from stand this year than I have in any other year in my short bowhunting career. I had one shot opportunity at a doe and missed. I had another opportunity at another doe and my release grenaded while drawing. Thats it. No other shot opportunities. Most of the deer sightings I had came in the past 3 weeks. I finally found a good spot to set up on the new lease. I guess getting on the new place 2 weeks before archery season started didn't help. I really didn't have time to scout. I also had to be careful with in season scouting since other guys were out hunting. I didn't want to screw things up for them. I don't think I'll get a chance to hunt again because of my work schedule over the next few weeks. If I do go it will be to take my nephew when he visits over Christmas, and he'll be the one hunting. I'll just be sitting with him making sure he abides by the antler restrictions. Doe season ended on November 16th in the county I'm hunting in and bucks are minimum 13" inside spread or at least one unbranched antler. I saw a bunch of fork horns and basket racks. I hope they are around next year when they might be legal! Learning how to hunt big woods hasn't been easy. I really have high hopes for next year though. At least I found where the does are hanging out, too late to do any good this year but I found them.
hey man, dont get down on yourself! lots of us have had seasons like this one u speak of. look at it like you said... u found were the does are at! you are learning how to hunt the big woods, and u had a few opportunities. take that build for next yr and get PISSED that you didnt scout like you wanted. next yr make a promise to yourself that you will never have a yr like last and will put time in and bust ur butt scouting early. just like you say..."it all about the journey"
I keep telling myself "That's why it's called hunting and not killing". Although it doesn't really make me feel better, at least I'm trying. :D Don't worry so much about it, it's been a tough year for a lot of people. If nothing else at least you had the opportunity to get out and enjoy yourself in the woods, and learn some things along the way. This year in particular, even though I haven't harvested a buck yet, has been my best year for learning. To be honest, there's still a month of season left and I'm already looking forward to shed season and next fall.
Amen there, brutha! That's the problem with setting high standards for yourself! :D Cool thing about it Greg is that you got a lot of hunting in and learned a bunch. You're a leg up on next year!
Pretty much same exact story. I'm heading up this weekend and I will have one more weekend after that to give it a go. I still have a doe tag and I can shoot anything with antlers so I am ALL GO when it comes to deer selection.
id just be happy to get a good shot at 1. iv seen fewer deer this year than ever before. granted before i have had access to 450,000 square acres and this year only 600, but its the best 600 of the whole 450,000. more oaks and hickory than anywhere else that i know about. but nobody in my area has seen the deer. deer kill way down from last year. i dnt get it. i mean the rut never happened that anybody knows about
This season has definitely been strange. I've seen a few good bucks, one shot during shotgun season that grossed around 200", a 160, and a 150. While many may consider it a good season just to see these deer, I am usually fortunate enough to at least get a shot off on one. My sighting of these deer were no more than two times a piece. I also saw some medium sized deer that have a lot of potential if they made it through shotgun season. Unfortunately, I still haven't seen nearly as many deer as I'm used to seeing. The does have started to herd up, and around my land I usually see a group of does with a few bucks mixed in with around 20 deer in them. This year so far the biggest herd I've seen together was only 7. I'm sure the deer are still around somewhere, but I have no idea where they're at. I've still got a month of bow hunting ahead of me, and I plan to hunt almost every day during my x-mas break. Hopefully I can salvage the season and still kill a nice mature buck. I've set my limits to nothing below 135" which has greatly decreased my odds, but I do still have a doe tag and fully intend to fill it.
