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

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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
Doe season is wide open. Not taking does has been my choice as I chased big bucks I had on camera. As far as small bucks are concerned, I just can’t bring myself to shoot them. I like to see what they grow into. Plus, it’s illegal to shoot bucks under a certain size in Mississippi and most of the smaller bucks I have seen are spikes and fork horns.
 
Doe season is wide open. Not taking does has been my choice as I chased big bucks I had on camera. As far as small bucks are concerned, I just can’t bring myself to shoot them. I like to see what they grow into. Plus, it’s illegal to shoot bucks under a certain size in Mississippi and most of the smaller bucks I have seen are spikes and fork horns.

When you hunt 10-40 acre places, if you don't shoot it, your neighbor will. I just don't worry about horns so long as they're legal. If I was a multi-bazillionaire and could afford a couple hundred acres, might be different. Land goes for $10,000 an acre here.
 
Doe season is wide open. Not taking does has been my choice as I chased big bucks I had on camera. As far as small bucks are concerned, I just can’t bring myself to shoot them. I like to see what they grow into. Plus, it’s illegal to shoot bucks under a certain size in Mississippi and most of the smaller bucks I have seen are spikes and fork horns .

THEN..., fill your freezer with a nice fat doe first..., and early.....then you can take your time and really stalk a large old boy the rest of the whole season.

LD
 
I’ve been hunting for other people for the last several years. This year I’m going to hunt what I want when I want. Outside of close family everybody else can kiss my hindquarters. I’m hunting for me this year. If I want to shoot a spike I will, if I decide to go for a big boy I will, if it’s does and cows then I’m going to hunt does and cows. I’m looking forward to hunting season this year.
 
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.
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It's impossible to shoot deer that aren't there. Trail cams are a valuable tool, but, they only give a small part of the story. Big bucks get smart by two ways. Either they have a deep hole to hide in with little or no access during the hunting season, or they live in an area where their whole home territory, is a place where they are allowed to "walk", until someone deems them worthy of being shot. The home range of a mature buck is much larger than it's core range. It's sanctuary is even smaller than it's core area. Unless the buck is driven out of that area, odds are, if you don't hunt it, you won't see it during most firearm seasons. I have a spot where I see several big mature bucks every year during bow season, Come gun season, my prospects are like yours, small bucks and does. Don't make the season a bust just because I don't take one. The opportunity to take one makes it a success.

While many claim it's their own choice to only take big, mature bucks, most of the time it's peer pressure or ego. Deer management has made for many more opportunities for big bucks, but that don;t mean they are everywhere. You still have to have the access to hunt them where they are. Enjoy the hunt, not just the kill. Relax, sometimes folks try to hard to make something happen and they do more harm than good. When you get old, you'll realize how important just being able to hunt and see deer....any deer, is.
 
I’ve been hunting for other people for the last several years. This year I’m going to hunt what I want when I want. Outside of close family everybody else can kiss my hindquarters. I’m hunting for me this year. If I want to shoot a spike I will, if I decide to go for a big boy I will, if it’s does and cows then I’m going to hunt does and cows. I’m looking forward to hunting season this year.

That’s where I am next yea
It's impossible to shoot deer that aren't there. Trail cams are a valuable tool, but, they only give a small part of the story. Big bucks get smart by two ways. Either they have a deep hole to hide in with little or no access during the hunting season, or they live in an area where their whole home territory, is a place where they are allowed to "walk", until someone deems them worthy of being shot. The home range of a mature buck is much larger than it's core range. It's sanctuary is even smaller than it's core area. Unless the buck is driven out of that area, odds are, if you don't hunt it, you won't see it during most firearm seasons. I have a spot where I see several big mature bucks every year during bow season, Come gun season, my prospects are like yours, small bucks and does. Don't make the season a bust just because I don't take one. The opportunity to take one makes it a success.

While many claim it's their own choice to only take big, mature bucks, most of the time it's peer pressure or ego. Deer management has made for many more opportunities for big bucks, but that don;t mean they are everywhere. You still have to have the access to hunt them where they are. Enjoy the hunt, not just the kill. Relax, sometimes folks try to hard to make something happen and they do more harm than good. When you get old, you'll realize how important just being able to hunt and see deer....any deer, is.

I understand your point, I just don’t care a bit about shooting a small buck. I’ll probably take a few does next year, but honestly, I’m at a point where it’s all about the chase for the next big one.
 
That’s where I am next yea


I understand your point, I just don’t care a bit about shooting a small buck. I’ll probably take a few does next year, but honestly, I’m at a point where it’s all about the chase for the next big one.

For the most part, every deer hunter, on opening day, it's all about the chase for the "next big one". Regardless of what's in the back of the truck at the end of the day, the vision in our head as the sun comes up, is for that elusive "monster" that everyone has been seeing. Trophy hunting only is a stage many hunters progress to during their hunting career. Still, one has to have access to where 'trophys" exist or pay big bucks for the opportunity somewhere else. This is why hunting ranches, outfitters and most guide services exist in the lower 48. Not for the knowledge but for the access.

I have my own standards for what size buck I take. those years I get a good one, the next year's needs to be bigger. period. Many years that next year means a buck tag unfilled. After a lean year or so, I go back to my 16", 8 point or better standard. Works for me. I care less what other do. I may shoot a doe for meat once in a while, but at my age, it's almost more work than it's worth. I let the boys and the grandkids do that. I have got so I'd rather just watch them than put one down. That after 50+ years of hunting them with gun and bow. Like many my age, I've gone full circle on the stages of hunting and have returned to the stage of just enjoying the hunt and not worrying about impressing others or going home empty handed. Some day, I'd wager, you will get there too.
 
I got skunked this year, too -- didn't see a single deer, buck or doe, that I could actually take a shot at. Including the two that I very briefly glimpsed this year, the grand total of bucks I have seen during five seasons of hunting on a private patch in South Carolina now stands at four. I opted out of the group that shares the lease and will try my luck on WMA land next season.
 
I got skunked this year, too -- didn't see a single deer, buck or doe, that I could actually take a shot at. Including the two that I very briefly glimpsed this year, the grand total of bucks I have seen during five seasons of hunting on a private patch in South Carolina now stands at four. I opted out of the group that shares the lease and will try my luck on WMA land next season.

In my earlier post I mentioned shooting 3 deer. I wasn't going to take the first one but he kept putting himself into my shooting lanes. It's like he had a death wish. So I granted it
 
THEN..., fill your freezer with a nice fat doe first..., and early.....then you can take your time and really stalk a large old boy the rest of the whole season.

LD
I agree. If a doe is in the freezer, you won't be pressured. I want to make sure my wife gets a buck. This is my second year passing a buck so she could shoot it.
My any deer tag turned into a doe tag and I don't care.
 
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