163" as a three year old? Good luck next year! A midwest three-year-old look like Arkansas legends. Too many "brown its down" people here. That deer probably would not have made it past two.
Believe me, he's an anomaly even for IL. Most of our 3 year olds will go P&Y but not a whole lot more than that. Hence the reason he got the pass last year. I'm hoping he really blows up this summer. We'll know soon enough!
I focus more on getting access to prime land than I do on gear. I still love new gear and toys as much as the next guy but the bulk of my time and $$$ goes into acquiring and scouting places that hold big deer vs. tinkering with gear or shooting 3D. I think this is the most impactful thing I've changed in the last few years. I also hunt significantly less than I did 5 years ago, but I aim to make every sit have purpose behind it by trying to stack the odds in my favor for things like weather pattern, wind direction, and entrance/exit routes.
Ive learned/changed more than i can type out here over the last 11 years bowhunting. I seem to learn the most from individual deer. My 3 year pursuit of Freak Daddy taught me alot about truly dominant bucks and how they use my farm/sourrounding farms. My current 4 year quest for Hook has taken that knowledge even further, to the point where i could almost garuantee the days i would see him from stand. Ive gone full circle with baiting. From refusing to do it, to doing it HEAVY, back to not doing it at all. Were planting a dozen or more food plots on 3 farms this fall. Ive learned that you cant sit in ladder stands late season. The route a buck takes TO the destination is more important to the destination. Wind direction is EVERYTHING. List goes on. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
There are many things that I have changed over the years. Honestly every year I change a few things in hopes of getting better. Here's a list of things that I can think of that I've changed since I was a teenager. Scout at the end of season and spring. Not August or July. Broadhead tuning. This is something I was never taught by my Dad and Grandpa. If I can shoot a 4 inch group with field points I'm good to go according to them. Hang stands in the spring not in September. Although I do move around a lot during season to make adjustments. Use topo maps to understand the land. Just don't go in blind. Practice several distances and angles. Don't just shoot the same 20 yard shot over and over. I use trailcams now, obviously weren't as available when I was younger. I journalize my hunts on what I see, what wind, weather, etc.
