An analysis of my season...Am I just bad?

MGH_PA · 11-11-2007, 11:03 AM

As the light faded to night yesterday, I saw my PA archery season close...buck tag empty...again. Now before you get on me about filling tags not being the true measure of success, let me elaborate. Bear with me. If you don't like long posts, this one isn't for you

I started bowhunting when I was 13 (turning 14) so essentially my third season hunting. I'm now 22 (approaching 23 in a week). My first few years of archery were humorous to say the least looking back on it all now. My father is an HTE instructor and avid hunter...just not archery. So I went into this on my own. The first few years I had probably 2-3 nice 6-8points within range but never got a shot off due to some really lousy mistakes (I was dumb, young, and learning). Back then I didn't pay attention to scent, wind direction, entry/escape routes, or even stand placement. I just found a straight tree on our property, and sat my butt in it

It's amazing looking back that I even had so many shot opportunities. Needless to say, it wasn't until my Senior year of High School when I took my first archery buck (a smallish 6 point). That was the last season I was able to go out almost everyday. The past four years I was in college, I hunted when I could get home on the weekends, and I was still seeing deer, and each year saw at least one shooter buck, but never in range.

Fast forward to this year...I graduated in May, moved back home, and landed a teaching position at a local high school (for which I'm ever so grateful). I'm currently living at home and saving for my own land/home for when my high school sweetheart finished pharmacy school. This provided me ample time to hunt every day after work and every weekend. Out of the entire PA season, I missed only three days due mostly to the weather. Granted, I only got out for even sits, but I was in the stand through the heat/humidity, all the way to this more seasonal weather we've been having.

Now, this year I really stepped my game up to a new level. I'm finally taking bowhunting seriously. I place/hunt stands according to the wind, I'm ANAL about scent control...I keep my clothes in a scent tight bag, change from head to toe in the field, and spray Scent Killer before every hunt. I'm having mixed feelings about this season. For one, I'm proud of the fact that I feel like more of an educated hunter because I'm prepared more and approaching it with some thought, and I was rewarded as far as deer sightings are concerned. Out of all of the sits I had this season, I would venture a guess that I sat only 5-6 times without any deer sightings (I'm keeping a log next season). I had numerous deer within bow range (all doe), and took my doe the second week of the season (my 2nd archery deer ever). My best night was an early season hunt where I saw 17 deer within a 2hr period.

You're probably reading this, thinking "where's he going with this?" Let me enlighten you

I saw ZERO that's right ZERO bucks within bow range this season. I saw very little sign that would lead me to believe the rut is in full swing (an occasional run and field edge scrape is it). I didn't see a buck AT ALL until last week when back to back nights I saw a four point, and a decent 6-8point which I tried calling in to no avail. Other than that, it's as if our property just isn't holding the bucks, but I'm refusing to blame my property, it has to be something I'm doing wrong and have been doing wrong for a long time....I just don't know what. This is my 5 season since I last killed a buck (with a bow or rifle), and I feel like I just don't have what it takes, or I'm doing something seriously wrong. So here's a breakdown of my season analysis:

Things I didn't do right or enough of:
-Not enough post-season scouting (Jan-Mar) when it's the best time to be out scouting...I wasn't.
-Relied too much on past season stand locations without considering new areas
-Summer scouting involved glassing fields (saw one 6 point consistently...that was it). He disappeared before the season began and hasn't been seen since.
-Not enough stand locations (I need to buy more stands) for varying winds

Observations of problems I need to fix ASAP:
-Got "stuck" several nights at various stand locations...deer came in and wouldn't leave at last light...forcing me to attempt to find ways of getting out without spooking them
-Finding WHERE the bucks are living on my property..IF they are living on my property (more on that later)
-Attempting to find stand locations that match wind conditions (I've done this) AND have good entry/escape routes (I didn't do this)
-Need to find more consistent travel route stand locations (Although I saw deer many nights, they often weren't coming in from or near the same point every night, so I was sometimes caught off guard)
-Need to move off the field edges more, and get back into the woods...maybe?
-Need to SCOUT hard this year after the seasons are over and get my stands up by late summer.

Things I'm Proud of This Year:
-My scent control was great...I was busted ONCE this year due to scent and it was one of the days it was 80+ degrees after a 400yd hike in from the truck.
-I hunted the wind fairly well, at least I feel I did, and I do need more stand locations for West winds however
-I practiced shooting more this year than ever. I shot 3-4 times a week in the summer and then almost every day from September up to the opening day.
-I parked further from stand sights this year to lower my impact on the areas (most stand sights were at least 400yd+ walk-ins).
-Stuck it out on stand locations (the first year I didn't move stands every other night

). Every single area I hunted, not ONE had any real buck sign, or well patterned deer trails, but I still saw deer consistently)

Now on to the second part of my title...Am I just Bad?

If you look over all of the above things I mentioned, you can see I'm taking this bowhunting pretty serious this year (don't worry it's not like a job to me, I still enjoy it), however, I'm just not able to but a buck down. How do you guys on here who get bucks year after year after year do it? What could I be doing wrong? Is it possible, I'm just not a good hunter, and I only think I'm doing the above things right, and I'm truly not? Just to mention a few of you on here: Rob, Germ, GMMAT, Rick James, GregH, MichaelHunsker, and many more of you guys I may have missed, I simply respect your skills as hunters, and I almost EXPECT you guys to put one down every year (btw, I've actually been on this board longer than 2005, I was a memeber long before this screen name, so I've followed your success on here for a while). How do you do it? I put some serious time in the stand, and come up empty, while I know of a few guys around my area who get out on the occasional weekend, and still manage to put one down every other year or so. It's frustrating to say the least. So, I'm not looking to be consoled, be honest, and brutal if you have to...Am I just bad?

Now before you think I'm whining or crying, here are the positives:

-I believe I grew to love simply shooting target this year so much that I will shoot even more this year, and I want to start learning to install/work on my bow myself this year.
-I love bowhunting and being out at this time of year
-I love walking out of the woods into my fields the evening as the moon is out and it's the last bit of light (one of my favorite tims of the day)
-I'm grateful to be able to hunt everyday and be able to LIVE on my hunting ground...I can never let my self take that for granted.
-I was able to see deer regularly this season, saw two bucks sparring (even though they were the only two I saw all
-I'm still alive and healthly (I didn't fall out of my treestand)
-I think I want to try to take my first turkey this season....with my bow. I've never taken a turkey before, nor have I hunted them much, but I want to try...and I know it would be amazing to get my first with a bow.

As far as corrections, they are starting once the season is over. This big one is scouting. I'm going to be doing a "digital" scouting thread and walk everyone on the board through my scouting regimen with pictures to match up with arial maps, and get everyone's opinon on new locations, etc (so stay tuned). I'm going to use my trail cam more throughout the year to monitor new locations trying to establish travel routes, and hopefully locate some buck bedding areas.

Sorry for the long winded post, but I just wanted to get all of that out there and see what everyone thinks...again please dont' take this as a WHINE post, I'm just looking at things with some a critical point of view for once. I really know I can be SO much better than I am, but I think right now I might just be WORSE than I think I am.

Predator19 · 11-11-2007, 11:44 AM

I just started reading...be back in an hour

MGH_PA · 11-11-2007, 12:50 PM

I know it's long...but there's a lot I had to get across...reading is good, so I'm helping everyone here

Predator19 · 11-11-2007, 02:49 PM

It kinda sounds like the same probs I had when i aquired the current propoerty that i hunt. Basically I was hunting certain areas(field edges)because i was seeing large numbers of does there. It took me almost3 years to figure out where the bucks were coming from and how to get there without scaring all of creation. Try and get deep enough into the woodsto seewhere you can pick off the bucks before it gets dark. Somebucks just are not gonna show themsleves b4 dark unto the pre-rut.The best time to scout and find bedding areas in late winter/early spring when shed hunting. Sheds will also give you valuable information. Trail cameras can be very useful also. Keep at it and good luck!

IAhuntr · 11-11-2007, 03:45 PM

Your problem could beyour hunting grounds. Unless you have specifically patterned a buck, the big boys are hard to come by until the rut kicks in. Then it's a whole different ballgame. The last few years, I generally don't hunt nearly as much until I know the rut is close. Plenty of big bucks are taken early, but nothing like the amount of big ones taken as the rut kicks into highgear. If you are hunting just one smallish property, it is entirely possible that it is mainly doe habitat and the bucks won't show up until they are ready. Early season hunting transition areas to food plots is the key. Do you have any plots or ag fields on or near your property?

moose1915 · 11-11-2007, 03:47 PM

sometimes it happens, and sometimes it does not.

stick with it. some years i trip over deer, some years i hunt 7 days a week just to get one shot off.

good luck
moose

MGH_PA · 11-11-2007, 04:05 PM

Above is the arial of my hunting area. Here are my thoughts on some issues. I agree with the above poster (potentially) that our property may really only hold does for the most part throughout the early season. My food plot is a mixture of Brasicas, clover, buckwheat, and rye. This plot took off once we planted in late august after getting some rain. The deer have NOT touched it during the daytime. AT ALL. There's sign that indicates they are in there so I'm assuming it's at dark. The stand just to the north of the food plot was hunted by me about 6 times throughout the season (sat there two nights in a row). Each sit yielded 0 sightings. The stand to the South is my morning stand, and I actually passed a group of does opening morning of archery this year, drew back on another a week later (but my peep twisted), and then proceeded to hunt it off and on throughout the season with about a 75/25 ratio of seeing/not seeing deer during sits. I KNOW for a fact the bedding area to the immediate west holds does year round, and figured this would be a hotspot during the rut (which I still don't think is happening quite yet), but I never saw a buck out of this stand. The stand in the bottom right of the screen is where I saw the 4point and 6-8 point. They were both in the field to the east (off my property) and with two does, then fighting...I couldn't call them in. The stand up in the upper left in between the two bedding areas is a nice reliable stand for seeing deer. This is where I shot my doe this year, and saw deer repeatedly (there was 3 sits total when I didn't see anything). This stand was hunted the hardest, yet yielded little buck sign, and I did not see one buck in here. The other problem with this location is twofold:

I can't predict where the doe will come out of the thick stuff and I also tended to get stuck in my stand in this location. I would move deeper in, but as you see, I would be off the property line, and I also wouldn't have a good exit route once it is dark.

There are some spots I need to scout and try to hunt next year. The hollow with hemlocks/pines HAS been hunted by my dad, his friend, and also by me off and on, and no one has seen a whole lot, but I KNOW deer are down in there (but again they might be down past our property line). The potential stand sight is the most obvious funnel on the page, and a lot of people on here recommended I try hunting it. I put a trailcam up in the area and got plenty of does on cam but no bucks. I returned to the area this morning to scout around and found two scrapes, that was it.

Finally you'll see my driveway running up at a diagonal in the lower center of the picture. Draw a straight line across the road from where I have "bedding area" labeled, and this is my next area of attack. This is a drainage ditch where the water runs off from the underground spring up near my uncles house. When we aren't in drought, there is a decent trickle down there. The area is THICK and overgrown, but has water, a ditch that at times is almost 8ft down and 8ft across, apple trees, and cover. My dad shot a 9point out of there one year in the late muzzleloader season, so it has produced, although it isn't hunted much.

Now my other issue. Do you notice the property to the east of my border (the one with the field that I said I saw the bucks in)? This is a 120acre tract of land that sees NO HUNTERS...and it's been this way for almost 50 years. It's an older couple who do not allow hunting, although we've struck up a great relationship with them over the years (we cut their firewood, plow there driveway, mow the fields, etc), but could many of the bucks be living on this property simply due to lack of pressue and known sanctuary? This place has it all, thick pines/hemlocks, hay fields, ridges,oak flats, etc. It's large and like I said, unhunted. Could this be affecting my deer sightings? By the way, I'm considering trying to buy this tract someday as they've asked us if they ever sold it if we would be interested.

Ben / PA · 11-11-2007, 05:21 PM

Matt, I know its hard but you are doing the right things and continue to move in the right direction. As someone above mentioned, trail cameras and more scouting (at the right times) will up the success rate. Its hardtake sometimes, this year I had a very similiar year to you I think. I took my devotion togreater levels and spendalot more timeand money in the woods (alot) before the season and hunted every minute that I could. I as you do, have my buck tag in my pocket. Ihad 3 legal bucks in range, but my goals areto take a 3.5 year old deer or better. I knowyour situtation. I haven yet to take a buck withmy bow yet. I have only shot a doe. Mybowhunting history mirrors yours,the silly learning years as a teen, college and now. I have passed 2.5 year olds up for three years now as I am trying to get the age class of my bucks up. Its hardbecause of trigger happy neighbors, but they don't have a chance to miss if I shot them so I will keep getting trail camera footage,planting food plots, and scouting like crazy.It sure is a blessing to enjoy what we have here in PA. Let me know if you need help with anything.

MGH_PA · 11-11-2007, 05:38 PM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: bowtechben

Matt, I know its hard but you are doing the right things and continue to move in the right direction. As someone above mentioned, trail cameras and more scouting (at the right times) will up the success rate. Its hardtake sometimes, this year I had a very similiar year to you I think. I took my devotion togreater levels and spendalot more timeand money in the woods (alot) before the season and hunted every minute that I could. I as you do, have my buck tag in my pocket. Ihad 3 legal bucks in range, but my goals areto take a 3.5 year old deer or better. I knowyour situtation. I haven yet to take a buck withmy bow yet. I have only shot a doe. Mybowhunting history mirrors yours,the silly learning years as a teen, college and now. I have passed 2.5 year olds up for three years now as I am trying to get the age class of my bucks up. Its hardbecause of trigger happy neighbors, but they don't have a chance to miss if I shot them so I will keep getting trail camera footage,planting food plots, and scouting like crazy.It sure is a blessing to enjoy what we have here in PA. Let me know if you need help with anything.

Thanks Ben. I would love to have had the opportunity to have ANY legal buck within range

I think that's my biggest issue. I hear and read about all the 1.5 and 2.5 yr olds people see throughout the season and pass (or shoot), but I really don't. I really think my first priority is to get out and scout more, and find out where and IF the bucks are living on my property, and go from there. I just think that the does/bucks are using totally different areas of the property during the early season, and I'm not hunting near or in ANY of them. Do you go to any local shoots in the offseason? I would love to go to one and meet up with someone who actually is as enthusiastic about this sport as I am. Most of our club members start shooting their bows in September[&:]

Ben / PA · 11-11-2007, 05:44 PM

Last year I shot as an alternate in the winter in a video league it was a blast. I want to try to get a team around, but I cant get anybody to commit one hour one night a week. I have literally been doing as much as can year round for two years now. I would also like to organize some kind of walk through shoot on my land for a bunch of guys at some point.