you are going to see a buck worthy of taking when you head to stand? What makes you think you will get a shot on him?
I am an optimist in the woods. I have gone months between buck sightings some seasons, so I have to stay confident. I cannot let my guard down b/c when the crunch crunch crunch crunch starts getting louder, I have to be ready!
Does it matter when? If it's prior to late October, I pretty much don't think I am going to see one worthy of shooting. (but sometimes I get a nice surprise) If it's late October on...most times I still don't think I am going to see a shooter, but I know that's the best time to do so. As far as thinking if I'll get a shot, that's where the confidence in my set up comes in, that I'll get teh shot as well as the sighting
Proper scouting and game camera pics. I know our property along with surrounding properties hold mature deer. I haven't shot a mature buck since 2006 but I've seen them and have pics to prove it. Hopefully this year is different!
Dangit!! I gotta get some of those.:D Virginia, I hear ya bud. I hear ya. Confidence goes a long way in determining if I will even go to the stand that day. That said, I go a lot of days relying on past sightings and hoping for plain old good luck.
I don't have game cams and I am not able to glass crop fields because there are none where I hunt. I am constantly trying to adjust my set-ups to increase my odds;playing the wind, hunting specific topo features, hunting areas only at certain times, not overhunting areas, etc. At the end of the season I know I will have tried my best. If a nice buck comes a long, fantastic, if not then I know it wasn't because I was lazy or stupid (well maybe a little).
It can be, but the more I have thought about it over the years, the more I realize it is ME most of the time. I have to get better. I try not to make any excuses but dang it, it can be tough sometimes.
Half the time I don't! It all depends on the exact stand location, and what I feel/know the bucks are doing on the property I am hunting. I scouted a batch of 3 different bucks this summer, watched where they came from, looked over the maps, and hunted accordingly when the season opened...didn't even make it out until the 4th or 5th day of season, but my first sit on stand I had HIM at 30 yards, the foliage was too thick for a shot though. I KNEW (that 6th sense feeling) I would see one of those bucks, because I did my homework and got lucky with sightings before season to know what they were doing. During October, I RARELY think I will see the buck I want to see from stand, just not confident with my ability/setups during this time. When rut swings in, i know it is a gamble, but I literally expect to kill a buck on every single sit...rarely happens, but the setups are right and they are in the area.
Because I scout a lot and only hunt spots that I know hold (or held) a big buck. Randomly hunting and hoping for a big one is about as likely as winning the lottery. Now that's the hard part. Just because he's there doesn't guarantee a shot op. I finally confirmed that one big one from last year is still alive. Now the game of cat and mouse is on. I hunt public land and these deer learn fast to be nocturnal to survive. I've hunted this spot twice and I could hear small game hunters shooting both times. I know one area he beds in and I have found at least one trail he uses to leave this area. I will hang tight to his bedding area and hope he moves early some day. I have to believe I will get a shot or I wouldn't go hunting.
Why would I get out of a warm bed at 4:50am to head into the dark cold if I didn't have confidence. It's like any other sport, some are gifted, and some work their butts off to stay competitive. Some make a career in the minors or riding the bench. Some reach deeper.
