What are your whitetail harvest expectations for a season?

Do you EXPECT to harvest a deer on an annual basis? Is it a given that you will kill a deer every year. The question isn’t IF, but when, how big and how many. If so, how do you consider if your season was a success or not? If you are in this category and somehow you didn’t harvest a deer, how would you feel? (assuming you put forth the time and effort)? Also, where do you set your goals? Does your standard of a “shooter” change as the season goes on?


If it’s not a given that you harvest a deer every season, what do you base the success of the season on? Do you set your goal as "just to score"? Do you still have set standards on what you will shoot and what you will pass up; even if that means you may not score at all? Or, do you practice “if it’s brown- it’s down” (within reason).

Also, please state if you hunt public or private land.

Very curious about the expected wide range of expectations.

 

A deer? Yes, I expect to kill at least one deer a year. A buck? Depends on how much time I have to hunt. I hunt private ground, never have hunted public land for deer.

 

On the public land I hunted the last two years (bowhunting) I didn't have any expectations but I was very hopeful of getting a doe. I ended up getting two does and a bb the first year. I passed on three 20 yard shots at 120-130" bucks because I had taken a 14 pointer on some private land in Brown Co. I think that kind of spoiled me.

Last year I 'expected' to get my earn-a-buck doe and I got one on my third trip out. (turns out I was really lucky because I only had two more does within range all season) I was hopeful on a buck and as the days turned to weeks... I became less picky and ended up taking a 118" buck when he gave me a shot.
There's some whispers of the place changing the hunt somehow. So now I'm just hopeful that I can still hunt there.

I gun hunt on some public land near here. It's a zoo with all the hunters but somehow I've managed to get a deer on my first trip out there 3 years in a row. (lucky!) With a shotgun, it's any doe or it would have to be a 150" buck.

..anyhow, I would be disappointed if I didn't put at least one deer in the freezer.

 

Yes. I expect to kill a deer each season. If someone put in the time I did and didn't kill a deer, I'd check their pulse. I would consider it an unmet goal if I didn't kill at least one. Do I expect to kill a buck? Not any more. And, it's becoming less important. I have NO standards!....lol If it tickles my fancy....it's getting shot (at).

 

I fully expect to take 4 deer in a season. That is usually 2 with a bow and 2 with a gun. Some years it happens, and others it doesn't.

 

So how would you handle it mentally if you (regardless of the reason) put in your time and didn't kill a deer? Would you leave a sour taste in your mouth all year? Would you give up? Would you just try harder next year? Would you just brush it off as a fluke?

How important is that kill when you expect it?


Oh and be honest. No right or wrong answers. This is not about morals or anything like that. Just merely interested in the diversity of others' expectations.

 

Most years my area Is only a one tag area. Every once In a while we get 2 tags here but hardly does that ever happen. To answer your questions Brad, I'd like to at least harvest a "deer" every year which I've done the last 10 years or so for the most part. For bucks- 130" and up or a 4.5 year old and older has been my standard for many years and by no means do I expect to get one of that caliber every year. I'm just not In an area that has this age class In bucks, no BS about It. Am I pissed If I don't get one each year? No. If I see one or 2 during the season then I at least know I had the chance to get It done but didn't so I can't point the fingers at anyone other then myself. Am I pissed If I don't see any (130" and up)? Yes, that's when I get pissed off!! I know none of us see every buck In the woods were hunting In but If you've hunted an area long enough like I have you get to know the area very well so outside factors can and will have an Impact on my hunting. I've only taken one buck over 130 Inch so It's not something I expect to do every year or even every other year specially In the area I hunt In. Usually I'll harvest myself a doe the last week or so of the season If I'm still buckless which normally Is the case.

If I moved my standards down to strictly 3.5 year olds and up and take "Inches" out of the equation I'd have a much better success record but these are not the size of bucks I'm after. Most 3.5's In my area won't go over 125 Inch. So far my standards haven't changed from the start of the season till the end. 90% of my deer hunting Is done on private ground that I've hunted souly with my brother and sometimes my dad the last 20 years.

 

If I didn't fill all 4 tags then that's not a major deal. I only filled 3 this year.

If I struck out with the bow during a season, then it would start to get to me.

Would it leave a sour taste in my mouth? Yes...I failed at something I set out to do. That's never a good feeling.

Would I give up? Not at all.

Brush it off? No. If I was just going to brush it off, then how would I learn from my season? Chances are if I didn't take an animal, then whatever I was doing wasn't working.

 

One of the best things that ever happened to me was to go deerless in 2005. I thought I was on the verge of being a succesful "big buck" hunter with my bow. I saw 3 mature bucks that season and had 1 in range, but no kills. I had many smaller bucks and does within range, but passed on all of them in hopes for my first 3.5+ year old buck. It did not happen. That season made me hungry to really learn about the woods. Since then, my learning curve has skyrocketed because I realized that hunting is not magical (even though it feels like that for me sometimes in my love for the woods), but is HARD work, year round. I love it.

I have expectations every year that I will work hard AND smart. I give it my all expect to kill something. If I don't, it is not because I did not work my tail off.

 

Exactly. There is a big difference between "GOALS" and "EXPECTATIONS".

 

I expect to kill deer on the public land I hunt. My standards allow me to kill any deer I want when I want to kill it. If I kill a deer then my season is successful. If I kill more than a deer then my season is more successful. If I don't kill a deer then I was not successful.

 

I expect to kill a 80-100" buck and atleast 2 doe. I mostly hunt public land.

 

I expect to kill 1, 2, possibly 3 does every year.

As for bucks, I wouldn't say that I EXPECT myself to kill one, but I do feel confident that I can get it done. It's just a matter of, will I get it done. I am still somewhat young in the bowhunting game, so my standards for a shooter go up each season. This past season I wanted to shoot a buck that broke one hundred inches. I met that goal and easily surpassed it. Next season, I would just like to shoot a buck that tops the one I took this past year.

Oh, and I hunt private land.

 

A deer yes, a buck is not a given but that is mostly due to standards that I've set for myself. I have had years where I don't take a deer because of poor decisions or making mistakes but I always learn something. To me that is what makes a year a success, if I have a year where I don't learn something I'll probably quit. To me the kill is secondary to the experience of being out in nature. Don't get me wrong, I get as big a rush as the next guy when I close the deal but when I look back at the year its not all about the kill. It is getting out with friends and family, the challenge of getting an animal close and enjoying the great outdoors that keeps me obsessed with bowhunting .

 

Yes I expect at least one Deer every year and I usually do that. Ill take one Doe then its nothing but buck hunting, and I have a Goal of at least 125" or im not shooting UNLESS there is something very unique about it!! I have ate tags many times but Id rather do that than shoot a buck im not happy with. I COULD shoot A buck every year if I was not picky. I consider sucess if you made the most of the season regardless of harvest. There is just to many moments when out there that I cherish even though I dont bring anything home

 

I do expect to kill a deer every season. However, I don't beat myself up if I don't kill one. I usually feel like it is a successful hunt if I see a deer.

My last 4-5 sits this year I didn't see one deer. That was sort of disappointing....but it makes me even more fired up for next fall.

 

I expect to kill at least a couple of does a year. A buck living up to my standards doesn't always come by once a year and although I love the opportunity of harvesting a nice mature buck...I'm not willing to travel to properties that aren't mine to do it. There is just something about harvesting a mature buck that does it for me when it is taken on property that I've managed.

 

2009 was the first season since 2000 that I didn't kill a buck. I can blame weather, standing crops, lack of time, etc.....but bottom line is I didn't get it done. It won't leave a sour taste in my mouth at all. I'll spend more time scouting this year to put myself in a position to kill a buck. Thats really all I can do IMO.

 

To me sometimes the circumstances surrounding a hunt makes the deer i shoot a trophy regardless of the rack on it's head, yes i try for a 130-180 every year and sometimes i come thru and sometimes not.
There is a big difference in how i felt about deer hunting after i killed a deer in the 150's as i no longer feel the burn of i have to get a big deer in my life.
For me i would rather my son get a big deer and do most of my work towards that goal, One day while hunting a buddy stand with my son and a 150 class deer walked right out into the field and my son told me it was not big enough (he was 14) i was pissed i had put a ton of work it the setup and the hunt,we talked about the why's after the hunt and i think the reason he didn't shoot is because he didn't have to work to get the deer,i did it for him and it was not his trophy but mine, kind of hurts till this day but he was right.
To each his own trophy.

 

For the record.....

Anyone who's wondering.....If you set me up on a 150"+....I WILL shoot (at) it.

Back to the thread, now....