Second season in a row without taking a deer...

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marksman13

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Deer season ended for me today and it marks the second season that I have hunted fairly hard without killing a deer. I live in a state with a long season, no firearm restrictions and fairly dense deer population. I rifle hunt exclusively and bought several rifles before season with intentions to kill several deer. I can’t really say I didn’t have opportunities, but I think my quest for big, mature bucks has ruined the hunt for me to some degree. I had a ton of opportunities to shoot small bucks. I’ve had several chances to shoot mature does. I just can’t make myself shoot small bucks or does when I have game cam pictures of a big buck in that area.

Next year I think I’m going to book a hunt with a buddy of mine in Missouri to try and kill a big buck. Other than that, I’m not even going to put a trail camera out. I’m just going to get in the woods and shoot anything legal that walks out other than the rut. My freezer can’t stand another season like this one.
 
We rarely have a bragging buck around here. I'll usually take a smaller one if I hunt much, has to have a 13" spread. I've gotten to preferring my crossbow during bow season because in this county, I can legally shoot doe during bow season and shooting deer with a stick is just too cool. :D My right eye is pretty worthless in dim light especially and I never trusted myself to try a shot with my compound bow, but Texas made Xbows legal a while back for bow season and I've bought a couple over the years.

Also, we have pig, LOTS and LOTS of pigs. I do love smoked pig and I like smoking pigs with a good rifle and a green laser spotlight. :D The main hassle is skinning and quartering the things in the dark, but I just do it like ol' Caribou (one of our occasional posters) does it. He lives in NW Alaska. Don't think folks can get along up there without head lamps for part of the year. :D
 
I fell into a rut of only wanting big bucks. I think that mindset will cure itself.
I have killed my share of big bucks, and I got short on wall space and tired of $650 taxidermy bills.

These days I get a thrill out of a nice buck in the freezer, and a home-made skull mount. Tagging out early in the season the last two years has been really fun. I get to sleep in on crappy days. Lol
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I only shoot mature bucks, but I have come to realize that tagging a buck early on, definitely has its advantages.
 
I can relate to what you're saying. In the last two years I've purchased twelve deer tags and filled one. Not that the opportunity wasn't there, trail cameras have shown me bigger ones are out there if you have the patience.

Big bucks don't get big if you shoot them before they mature. It's like eating small green tomatos.....better to let them get bigger and ripen on the vine before picking.
 
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I have the luxury of both archery and firearm tags. If an opportunity presents itself early on....I take advantage of the offering. I can then hunt for big antlers on my other tag.
Lately I have been only taking one deer per year as I have two sons and a daughter in law who also hunt, and put venison in our freezer.
 
I can remember keeping my dad broke and busy during deer season as a high schooler. I think I went on a 7 year streak of limiting out before I left for Iraq in 2005. I didn’t hunt for a little while after that. Killed a couple good bucks when I picked the habit back up in 2010 or so. Quit hunting again from 2012-2014 and haven’t killed more than a couple deer per year since I started hunting again this go ‘round. I think I’m going to find some land to lease before next season in hopes of a better deer population. I really thing pigs and disease have dropped the deer numbers in the areas I’m hunting now. Game cameras seem to support that theory.
 
I can relate to what you're saying. In the last two years I've purchased twelve deer tags and filled one. Not that the opportunity wasn't there, trail cameras have shown me bigger ones are out there if you have the patience.

Big bucks don't get big if you shoot them before they mature. It's like eating small green tomatos.....better to let them get bigger and ripen on the vine before picking.

Have you ever had fried green tomatoes?
 
I can kill (and eat) 3-4 deer every year. My state limit is 5, of which 2 can be does. Does are legal during our archery season, and there are 4 weekends total during muzzle loader and general gun in which does can be taken. So, I try and get a couple of does for meat "up front" and then concentrate on a nice buck- not that I would pass on a shooter buck if the opportunity is there, of course. This year I got a blacktail buck in Ca., and 2 does here in Fl- 1 with muzzle loader, 1 during general gun. So I have about 6 weeks from now to close out my season with a good buck, with the rut kicking in in the next 10 days or so.
 
2017 Son got a Six Point one hour after opening. We split one Deer a year so we were done. 2018 I got an eight pointer on hour before quitting time opening day. This year had six shootable Buck's and three fat Doe on my Trail Camera the night before Opening Day. We shot nothing all week. Sometimes it bee's like that.
 

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Jtwo ov my brothers use yo pass of fmsller bucks andddoed early in the season only to not have anything present it's self the rest of the season.
I have always been in the league if a deer presents a shot it goes in the freezer. The small buck you shot leaves that bigger buck to become bigger next year.

I like big antered deer just as much as the next guy, but antlers don't fill the freezer. I spend $120 for my hunting license, $350 for a round trip airline ticket plus $60 for a checked in bag to and from, I take three weeks off of work $2,400 plus money for food, gas and other stuff. For close to $3,000 I want to harvest something.
Next deer season I.might take another two weeks off and hunt Pennsylvania too. Have to see if the kids can get a little time off to hunt there too.
 
My fourth season in a row without road killing a deer. If they would only let me predict them I wouldn't have had over $6,000 in vehicle damages in the last five years.

When I find the secret of what deer are going to do I will patent this and sell it to the auto insurance companies.
 
We all have our own philosophy as far as hunting goes. Some folks just want to fill the freezer and some are only after trophy bucks. As long as an animal isn't wasted, I don't see anything wrong with either mindset.

I fall somewhere in the middle. I let several does and small bucks walk this season, holding out for a big one. I got lucky this year and got my biggest buck to date.
After that, I didn't see much, but if I would have I would have stacked does up like cordwood (until my tags ran out) in order to fill my freezer.

I like big bucks and I cannot lie.......but I also like eating venison and if I haven't gotten an opportunity for a good buck in the firs 2-3 weeks, I'll start laying the ladies down.
 
Unless you own and absolutely control a ton of land, passing those smaller bucks to wait on a bigger one often means passing the smaller bucks to a neighbor who is less choosey to wait for bigger ones that aren’t coming because a neighbor already shot them.

also bow hunting vastly increases your chances at bigger deer because there is less competition.
 
Deer season ended for me today and it marks the second season that I have hunted fairly hard without killing a deer. I live in a state with a long season, no firearm restrictions and fairly dense deer population. I rifle hunt exclusively and bought several rifles before season with intentions to kill several deer. I can’t really say I didn’t have opportunities, but I think my quest for big, mature bucks has ruined the hunt for me to some degree. I had a ton of opportunities to shoot small bucks. I’ve had several chances to shoot mature does. I just can’t make myself shoot small bucks or does when I have game cam pictures of a big buck in that area.

Next year I think I’m going to book a hunt with a buddy of mine in Missouri to try and kill a big buck. Other than that, I’m not even going to put a trail camera out. I’m just going to get in the woods and shoot anything legal that walks out other than the rut. My freezer can’t stand another season like this one.

Sorry about your season. There is more to success than getting the biggest one out there. Being out in nature is one measure of success.

I think that many hunters are preoccupied with the size of the animal. Bragging g rights don't fill your freezer. I've hunted many years and only shot 2 real good bucks one was this season, and he wasn't the biggest or best. I shot 3 this season and was just as happy with the young doe as the 7 point.

Last season I didn't get anything because I didn't like the shots that were presented to me. Rather not take a risky shot.

Next season I suggest that you shoot an earlier deer to break the ice and take off the pressure of getting the biggest or best. That way at least you can eat venison.
 
Sorry you didn't get a big buck.

In my 65+ years of hunting i've taken three outstanding bucks that scored over 190 B&C. All were killed in the 1960s. Since then i've just hunted deer, mostly with muzzleloaders since 2000. This year i killed five deer, a decent buck, a small buck and three does, four with muzzleloaders. All were given to friends. For me getting out in nature is more important than harvesting a B&C monster.

Now i'm back to hunting and trapping hogs. i shoot or hunt hogs at least one day per week, year around.

Get yourself a muzzleloader and do some serious stalking, it's very satisfying.
 
Sounds like you have a good plan. I used to chase trophy deer, and tagged a couple that were unfortunately lost in a house fire. This was back in that time between being in high school and trying college for a few years, then buckling down and finding a real job. I was young and full of energy, and used to paddle my canoe far into the backwaters of a dammed river in central WI and spend the full day archery hunting and chasing waterfowl. I had the time and energy (at the expense of my studies) to cover a lot of country and wait out the big one. They were always un-pressured, as I went where men fear to tread. Firearms season was still a meat hunt, and with liberal doe harvest, filling a freezer was never a problem there so I had that to hedge my bets.

After a stint overseas in the country formerly known as Yugoslavia, my outlook changed. I came back, bought a house, got a grown up job, and had to start my hunting from scratch. I tried archery still, but didn't have access to real trophy deer area, so I reverted to my roots, and got back into small parcel drive hunting in firearms season. It was a lot of fun, but you weren't picky if you wanted to punch a tag. Trophy hunting in my part of the state is pretty much a land ownership game. Sure, some really nice bucks are taken on public every year, but you can spend years chasing them and eating tag soup. If I want another P&Y deer, I'll pay to play at this stage in my life on somebody else's expensive managed deer. For the freezer, if it's a legal deer, I shoot it, and spend the rest of the season chasing late flight waterfowl or cutting wood, visiting other camps, and getting some youth hunters out in the field for a chance at their first. I do still prefer harvesting a doe to taking a smaller buck and letting him grow, but this is not a hard rule for me. I'm much happier for this type of hunting.

I did pick up the bow again this year, but more as an excuse to get out in the woods early now that trails and stands are getting under control on my land. Was ready, willing and able to tag a small doe with the bow, but never got the opportunity.
 
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This would have been my 3rd year without a deer except I got one with my new Savage 220 bolt action 20 gauge that I bought for deer hunting.

I had a great piece of land and shot some giants with my bow but lost the ability to hunt it this year. It was however on the decline in the last few years and being an hour away made it easier to give up. But I got a decade out of it so I can't complain. You can't ride the dragon forever.

I will say that freezer doe shot with a gun was just as satisfying as a monster buck with a bow which was a surprise.

I did buy a new bow and muzzleloader this year that I wasn't able to shoot a deer with yet and just this week a SW 629 revolver in .44 mag that I also want to get a deer with. Welp, there's always next year.
 
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I hunted a ranch near Uvalde, Texas last year that had multiple MLD permit tags. We had 6 tags to fill between me and my hunting partner and we filled 'em in 2 days. :D Had to be small bucks or doe, nothing trophy material. One BIG doe was feeding while I watched. A nice buck came out, was in front of her, but I was in a tower blind. I shot over his back and tagged the doe at about 100 yards. Now, I COULD have had the nice trophy, so that sort of satisfied my trophy lust. I came away with a nice freezer filler. :D

This season, the only hunt I made was for a cow elk and a nice bull was feeding when the cows came out of the woods, same deal, shot a big cow. :D Heck, I woulda needed a 12 foot ceiling to mount that bull on the wall. :rofl: Good thing I didn't hunt most of the year. I barely had enough available freezer space for the meat I had left over from the MLD hunt plus that cow. :D I gotta start eating.
 
I got shut out last year. The quantity of deer (seen) was down compared to previous years but population surveys indicated an increase. Who knows why. Bottom line for me last year was I kept waiting for something bigger and nothing ever showed. I should have taken a doe on the last day but my thoughts at that point were on packing up and making the 6 hour drive home and I talked myself out of it.

This year I decided I was going to kill early, either a shootable buck or doe, then relax and wait. That's exactly what I did. Ended up taking a pretty nice 9 point on the first hunt of the first day. Pressure was off and I could be more leisurely. I think there's some merit to that strategy.

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I was so relaxed in fact that I almost sleep in the next morning but at the last minute decided to just go sit in a stand and see what came out. Saw some does and a decent 8. I just sat and watched. A couple of hours go buy and out walks a nice 12 point.

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I guess the moral to my story is you never know what you're going to see, you can't kill a deer laying in the bunk, bird in the hand > two in the bush, patience is always virtue, there's always next year. In other words, that's just hunting.
 
Hunting is such an individual thing. It’s important to evaluate goals every year. If your goals never change and you love doing what you’ve always done then it’s easy. Sometimes you have to sacrifice one thing for another to accomplish something else. Sometimes that sacrifice stops being worth it and it becomes time to shift gears again

I think your plan is good. You want to shoot big bucks, you also want meat. Having the ability of multiple tags and the ability to book a hunt where you can focus on big bucks seems great. Make the best plan you can to achieve the goals you want to achieve, and then relax and enjoy the challenge and the hunts
 
Once I stopped trophy hunting and started meat hunting, hunting became a lot more enjoyable.

Exactly my experience.

I was on a 6600 acre lease for 23 years where the club rules only allowed bucks with antlers that gross-scored 115 B&C to be shot without a healthy fine. We hunted with binoculars and had to be real good judges of antler size. After a only shooting 4 "score-able" bucks in 12 years I started duck hunting there in the mornings and shooting an occasional doe in the afternoon. Seeing bucks and does was not a problem but I felt like it wasn't hunting. It was like judging cows at the county fair.

I then duck hunted exclusively for several years but went back to deer hunting public land. Hunting hard I managed to kill a deer most years. It was much more satisfying being challenged and still succeeding. The only bad part was running out of venison every now and then.

Everyone has to do "his thing". As long as it's legal and he enjoys it, have at it.
 
I chased bucks for years and still like to shoot good bucks but I am a doe killing fool. I've been caught by them so many times that it is only fair to pull the trigger on an old long nosed snorter. We have a long season here and can take 6 deer if taken in different zones. Luckily I got in on some culling on a big farm with bonus permits. Never pulled the trigger on a buck this year, but tagged several does.

I guess it is up to you if you want to starve and hunt bucks or help the herd and cull a few does. Heck, you can't eat horns.
 
Next year I think I’m going to book a hunt with a buddy of mine in Missouri to try and kill a big buck. Other than that, I’m not even going to put a trail camera out. I’m just going to get in the woods and shoot anything legal that walks out other than the rut. My freezer can’t stand another season like this one .

Are you in a buck only area, or one where the doe season is severely limited?

IF you want a nice trophy buck, by all means that's your choice, but on the other hand, the really really big-racked-bucks got that way by being rather cunning in their movements, right?

You mentioned your freezer, so you are also interested in venison, yes? I wonder if with all of the lesser bucks that you saw, you hit on your problem...., perhaps the "old boy" which you were after has been busy fending off the youngsters..., so he's just too dang tuckered out to come out except after dark, his having been sparring with them all night ?? By not taking a smaller one.., you are sustaining the reason he hides all day long ???

I bet if you thin out them youngsters this coming season, and perhaps the next, that in 2022, a big-un will show up when you least expect it. :thumbup:

I just take what is put in front of me. But I'm out with a flintlock and iron sights, and I don't use game cameras...and I normally leave the really big one alone....he likes to keep his youngsters on the land where I hunt, so I usually get does, but my freezer is full.

LD
 
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