Time.....

[Guest Tatonka]

I don't know the age of everyone who visits the forum here, but it appears that there are a lot of younger hunters, which is great. I've been deer hunting all my life....I'm 56, and the one thing I've learned is that to take a mature buck you have to put a lot of time into it....LOTS of time. You can have all of the knowledge and skill in the world, live where the biggest bucks live, etc. but if you don't put the time into it your odds of success are low.

Most hunters who hunt in another state or province are not successful because they just don't have the time to hunt. The biggest bucks are almost always killed by local hunters who have not only the entire season to hunt, but can scout 12 months out of the year. Most hunters who go out of state have a week or so to hunt. That's not much time when you consider that there could be a few days of bad weather to deal with (too warm, too windy, or whatever).

I scout year round.....I'm always looking for deer. I keep my ears open when I'm around other hunters, in sporting goods stores, etc. During the hunting season I hunt every day (I'm semi-retired). I live in an area that has very good deer hunting....no, our bucks don't compare with the biggest bucks that are coming out of the Midwest and Canada, but we have some nice bucks. Despite of all the scouting I do, where I live, etc. I rarely get more than two or three opportunities at a mature buck each year. Sometimes it's less than that. Keep in mind that we have a 5 week archery season followed by a 5 week rifle season. I see a lot of deer, but those old mature bucks are extremely tough to find.

The tv shows are very misleading (understatement of the year). Most hunters spend hours and hours and hours on stand without an opportunity for a shot. The tv shows make it look like killing a big buck is easy (well, I suppose if you have your own deer farm, food plots, etc. it is), but for most of us that is not a reality.

My message is that if you really want to kill a whopper buck, put in the time to get it done. That means you probably won't want to spend a lot of time watching football on TV or doing a lot of other things. The guys I know who consistently kill big bucks don't have a lot of other hobbies.....It also really helps to have an understanding wife and family!!!

[davetucker]

sounds like you really know your stuff.i like to hear stratigies from the old school.if you ever want a new hunting companion make a visit out there i'm your man.lol

[Tominator]

I would agree to a degree, however, in order to kill big deer, you have to be in an area that has big deer.

If you scout your butt off all season, and pattern a huge Booner, but that Booner is on land that you don't have access to, you're not going to kill that deer.

[Guest bowhunter56]

Got ya beat, i am 60:D, but alot of what you say is true, you gotta put the time in, patience is then rewarded usually, i tell folks you can't shoot them in the livingroom..

[buckee]

Very true to a certain extent. It is limited to the land you have access to though. But even if you want to harvest the biggest deer on the land you do have access to, you're going to have to pass up a lot of smaller deer and put in your time.

I'm 54

[wtnhunt]

I would agree to a degree, however, in order to kill big deer, you have to be in an area that has big deer.

If you scout your butt off all season, and pattern a huge Booner, but that Booner is on land that you don't have access to, you're not going to kill that deer.

But even if you want to harvest the biggest deer on the land you do have access to, you're going to have to pass up a lot of smaller deer and put in your time.

Yep and yep, limitations to certain areas may dictate hunters specific goals and they may be no less a hunter than the guy who bags booners or popers every year.

Simply put, if there are not book caliber deer in the area where you hunt, no matter how much time and how many deer you pass you are not going to likely ever take a b & c or p & y deer. You can however set your goals for the best deer in that area or for what you consider a mature deer, or you can chhose to hunt somewhere else that may hold better deer if you can afford it. Around here unfortunately 3.5 year old bucks are extremely far and few between, sad thing is the area has the potential to grow some good deer. Areas where the limits are not so liberal I would suspect you might see more older age class bucks, just not the case here. You have to keep realistic, I mean you cannot expect to hold out for a 160 class deer in a county where the record is a 150 inch deer, the odds are against you.

[Guest Tatonka]

I would agree to a degree, however, in order to kill big deer, you have to be in an area that has big deer.

If you scout your butt off all season, and pattern a huge Booner, but that Booner is on land that you don't have access to, you're not going to kill that deer.

You are correct for the mostpart. Yes, you certainly have to live/hunt in an area where mature bucks exist. You'll find that many people who kill large bucks consistently have either grown up and live where big bucks exist, or they've moved there. The Wensel Brothers grew up in Vermont then moved to Montana. They have since moved to Iowa. I'm sure those moves had nothing to do with hunting big bucks..

In regards to land you don't have access to where big bucks live, lands adjacent to those places are some of the best places to hunt. I killed my buck this year less than 300 yards from property that is posted. As a matter of fact, I watched him cross the fence onto the property I had permission to hunt. I waited a few days for that to happen, but he eventually left....

The vast majority of the Milk River Valley where I hunt is off limits to hunting.... A lot of it is leased out to outfitters, much of it is closed to hunting because the ranchers have cattle in the valley this time of year, etc. A person can drive the backroads in the evenings and see some nice bucks, but it does little good because you can't get access to hunt them. It can be very frustrating, however, if you hunt the fringes of these areas (where you can get access) you can find some nice bucks at time....You don't see near the bucks you do in the valley....numbers are much lower, but if you work at it you can usually kill a nice buck....not always, of course, but I've had good luck doing that.

[Airman312]

I don't know the age of everyone who visits the forum here, but it appears that there are a lot of younger hunters, which is great. I've been deer hunting all my life....I'm 56, and the one thing I've learned is that to take a mature buck you have to put a lot of time into it....LOTS of time. You can have all of the knowledge and skill in the world, live where the biggest bucks live, etc. but if you don't put the time into it your odds of success are low.

Most hunters who hunt in another state or province are not successful because they just don't have the time to hunt. The biggest bucks are almost always killed by local hunters who have not only the entire season to hunt, but can scout 12 months out of the year. Most hunters who go out of state have a week or so to hunt. That's not much time when you consider that there could be a few days of bad weather to deal with (too warm, too windy, or whatever).

I scout year round.....I'm always looking for deer. I keep my ears open when I'm around other hunters, in sporting goods stores, etc. During the hunting season I hunt every day (I'm semi-retired). I live in an area that has very good deer hunting....no, our bucks don't compare with the biggest bucks that are coming out of the Midwest and Canada, but we have some nice bucks. Despite of all the scouting I do, where I live, etc. I rarely get more than two or three opportunities at a mature buck each year. Sometimes it's less than that. Keep in mind that we have a 5 week archery season followed by a 5 week rifle season. I see a lot of deer, but those old mature bucks are extremely tough to find.

The tv shows are very misleading (understatement of the year). Most hunters spend hours and hours and hours on stand without an opportunity for a shot. The tv shows make it look like killing a big buck is easy (well, I suppose if you have your own deer farm, food plots, etc. it is), but for most of us that is not a reality.

My message is that if you really want to kill a whopper buck, put in the time to get it done. That means you probably won't want to spend a lot of time watching football on TV or doing a lot of other things. The guys I know who consistently kill big bucks don't have a lot of other hobbies.....It also really helps to have an understanding wife and family!!!

Well said...Iv'e often wondered why people let football get in the way of hunting:confused:

[Dogg6]

I agree to a point. I am 35 and put in many hours in the tree. I know where the big boys are unfortunately if you do not have the ability to get to those areas, you do what you can with what you have. I have a property owner the has 500 acres of river bottoms and swamps. I have seen a lot of big bucks in there, but the landowner doesn't allow anyone in. So we hunt the edges that are available to hunt and hope for the best. I have learn a lot over my 25 yrs of hunting and the only thing that is for sure with hunting is- You can't get anything sitting in the house.

[Guest Tatonka]

I agree to a point. I am 35 and put in many hours in the tree. I know where the big boys are unfortunately if you do not have the ability to get to those areas, you do what you can with what you have. I have a property owner the has 500 acres of river bottoms and swamps. I have seen a lot of big bucks in there, but the landowner doesn't allow anyone in. So we hunt the edges that are available to hunt and hope for the best. I have learn a lot over my 25 yrs of hunting and the only thing that is for sure with hunting is- You can't get anything sitting in the house.

Another aspect of hunting is that you have to know when to pick up and move and when not to. I used to have access to one of the best places in this area....really heavy cover adjacent to great feeding areas. The land changed ownership and I lost access to it. I tried hunting the fringes of this area, but it was no dice. The cover was just to big and too good....if the bucks ever left it, I never saw them. So, I had to bite the bullet and just kiss that spot good bye and find a different place to hunt. It was very hard to do.....I knew this place like that back of my hand and had hunted it for years...

Relating this back to the topic of time, it comes down to not only spending a lot of time in pursuit of big bucks, but it's also knowing where to spend that time.......It doesn't do much good knowing where the big boys are if there is no chance to take one of them.

[arrow32]

Put in the time and you can do it if you can pattern a big buck on your property. I'm in an area where big bucks are rare and you have to have years of not killing a buck to get one. I hunt hard every year and get a decent buck for our area. This year it payed off and I got a very nice buck getting him mounted.

Finding and scoutin them is a huge key. Hunting is my life and everyone understands that when not hunting I'm doing something to to help me with hunting.