I would say my expectation is to shoot one deer a year. If it isn't a buck that is ok. No one necessarily has the correct idea. Too subjective of an idea and open to every person's beliefs or wants. I understand both of your views. In regards to shooting a buck I would get less picky depending on the last time a buck was shot. I also have a weird feeling when I've been really successful shooting nice deer in the past it will usually be some amount of time before it happens again. I almost expect the wait and don't want to get greedy with the idea I deserve anything. This year I killed a 6 x 6 elk on the first day of hunting out west. Since then I've put more hours in a stand then I have any other year. Still have the feeling I've had my good luck this year and a whitetail buck won't happen. Doesn't mean I won't be giving it my all until I can't hunt legally on Jan 11. I think we need to feel grateful every time we harvest a deer. Feels like most of the people on this site are on that type of thinking for the most part. After all the rambling my decision would change year to year. The drought I dread more than anything is not being able to get out and try. I'm 35 and should have plenty years left, but I see it happening with older hunting buddies. I'm starting to appreciate the little things I'm able to do such as walk or climb a tree stand. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I seem to be going about every other year on a buck I would like to shoot. So much is experience though. Just 3 weeks ago I shot a buck that is 30" smaller than my last two, but I watched him fight and run off two other bucks. He was smaller than one and bigger than one, but he whooped them both! He then passed me at 12 yards. I could not let that morning end with him walking out of my life. I also shoot a doe or two each year to feed the family so the itch does not get too bad.
No drought is acceptable to me. If I sat in a tree for 6 seasons without killing anything, I would feel like an idiot, LOL. I've taken several big bucks, and want more, obviously. I never have a "target buck", and if a decent buck comes by, and I want to shoot, I will. This year I killed a 6 pointer that I doubt will break triple digits, but I enjoyed the hell out of it. I eat a lot of venison, my main goal is to fill tags and my freezer. Wall hangers are just a bonus.
Holy cow, I thought I was the only hunter who felt this way! The older I get the lazier I get. Just the other day I passed what I usually consider a shooter buck because it was last shooting light, I was cold, and honestly, the thought of dragging a deer out in the dark while getting covered in ticks, was less appealing than a hot meal followed by my recliner, a brandy, and a warm blanket. Some friends said if that's how I feel then maybe it's time to hang it up, but I thoroughly enjoyed the hunt, and was totally content with my decision to let a buck to be proud of, walk. Now if it was a real monster, that's another story.
I don't get to hunt very many days for myself anymore, hell I am lucky to get 7 or 8 days total anymore but I am not shooting a buck unless it is very old or going on my wall so I guess my answer is as long as it takes. I have ate a tag plenty of times and plan on eating many more. I will however shoot a doe when I can and enjoy that. Now when I am out with my kids which takes up almost all of my days hunting it really bothers me when I can not get them a buck each year. They are not going with the same ideas of what they want to shoot but they still want to shoot mature bucks. My daughter wants to shoot the first 3 year old that walks in while my son is willing to shoot does and wait for 4 year olds.
It's amazing how your perspective changes as soon as your children get involved. I get way more excited when my children get a deer than I do when I get one.
My goals are two fold when shooting a deer: 1. Meat, this means a doe is just fine as long as she's mature. 2. Mature buck no matter the score, mature meaning 5.5 years old minimum. Now this is easy for me to say because as long as I have time and a mindset to devote to hunting, I'm fairly confident I could accomplish both goals every year. Some years if harvest is poor and late then I'm just not into it and probably don't have time to spare to hunt enough. Hunting these old bucks is a different game though and if a person is going to commit to that age limit then it's more likely than not that you're not going to be filling several tags a year. Now that said and understood, if I have time and dedication to commit to seriously hunting, I'd be depressed if I had to go more than a season without killing a deer. They are thick enough here that I'd feel pretty stupid if I made a serious effort at it and couldn't connect. I made a serious effort this season but could only get out a fraction of the time I'd normally spend in the stand so I'm not too upset about a "drought". We're building our age structure here anyway so things are only going to improve with time. Assuming I'm willing and able to hunt next season, I'll hopefully be reaping benefits of a lackadaisical season this year so it's all good.
I wish that I could see a 5.5 year old deer around here. (or most anywhere for that matter) Even having 350 acres, with neighbors all around that are happy to shoot the first legal buck or doe that comes along, it leaves you in a poor spot, with a negligible chance of even seeing a 3 year old deer.
I don't like not shooting deer period. I love to hunt, the scouting, the quiet of the woods, the smells, etc..but I did not kill a deer this year a bow. First time in 17 years. I went through withdraws. Im over it now, but man it was touch and go for a bit. LOL. Seriously, I hope to kill at least a doe every year with the bow, I thought i was at that stage where killing wasn't the most important thing so i learned to hunt with a recurve and went all trad this year. I missed, I wounded. I decided I am not at that stage. Killing a deer with a bow is still very important to me, so i went back to the compound for now. I can't take a drought. being honest here...
I hear ya, I only have 250 acres here at home and poor neighbors on all sides. Still have mature bucks but they have other local areas they can go with less pressure (coal dumps) so it gets rough to catch them out in daylight here at home. However the ranch I manage is ~2300 acres and better neighbors and coal dump surrounding areas so those older brutes are more common there. A chunk of that ranch has only been under our management for a couple of years now and it previously had some management but also high hunting pressure so the age structure left a lot to be desired when it changed hands. But it's doable and it lies smack in the middle of the ranch so it was a keystone in the deer management to get the high pressure area "fixed" for what we want to do. It's also KS so there's that.
Wait, your talking about it being cold and worried about ticks at the same time. Must be a southern problem. Haha.
I understand this very well. I like to shoot big bucks as much as the next guy, but I aint loosing sleep over it.
Unfortunately we don't even seem to have the genetic support here either. My son shot a 3 year old deer this fall that weighed 182# field dressed, but was only a six pointer with an 18" spread and 3" bases. Sad but it is the biggest deer ever taken off our land. We have all sorts of food plots, have done carefully managed cutting in the woods and still don't see results other than a few more deer.
I passed a 130 class buck one year on the last day of season. 2 years later I killed him and he grossed 173. Eating a tag was well worth the wait on that buck. I've passed a lot of bucks hoping they would get age on them only to be killed by someone else. Hunting big mature buck is what I love to do. When the population was high and you could get doe tags... it was easier to pass decent bucks. Throw in that Britney was hunting and killing a deer every year. I've gone 5 years in between killing a big buck. I have had no regrets. This year things changed. My hunting season got cut very short due to harvest/health issue. Britney hasn't gotten to hunt hardly at all so no deer down for her yet. I just shot the smallest/youngest buck I've ever shot with bow, that I would normally pass on. He is still a decent buck. It was a great hunt. I am very thankful to get the opportunity to kill him. There was no way I wanted to eat a tag this year. Next year I will be back to hunting only mature bucks. Well that is if things don't change... then we play it by ear. Tim
Not at all, he said HE was cold, he didn't say IT was cold out. Either way, you would be surprised how long ticks are out and about.
Last winter I had cabin fever so decided to go do a bit of scouting, despite the fact that it was in the single digits, and had not gotten over 10 degrees in several days. Do you know I still picked several deer ticks off my pants! Here in southeast NY they NEVER go away!
