ORIGINAL: GMMAT
I will only say that young bucksand does are easier to hunt and kill than mature bucks. Example: Put 10 hunters (doesnt matter whether theyre experienced or not) in the woods and tell them to shoot the first deer that walks by them. More times than not theyre all going to shoot a doe, fawn, or young buck, period.
I'll say this logic is flawed if you're trying to draw ONLY the correlation that these deer are easier to kill because they're not as smart as other, MATURE deer. It's flawed because there's simply more OF the deer you reference.
Also....I had a "successful" year, this year. I had a "successful" year last year. They were two VASTLY different year sin terms of harvests, though. Next year I have COMPLETELY different goals.....so this year's "success" will be totally different than last.
As far as bucks go......People seem to somtimes forget that their harvests are in direct correlation to the area(s) they hunt. I killed the largest racked buck in my woods, last year. I can't do any better than that.
I'd like to think that being successful in my future (as far as deer hunting goes).....is being able to put myself into position to take the best deer in my woods MORE OFTEN.
Jeff, you're right that there are less mature bucks in the woods than other deer. This reduces the odds of killing a mature buck, just on numbers alone. The fact that mature bucks are less active during daylightand less tolerant of pressure also reduces the odds of harvesting them. All of these factors come into play in harvesting a mature buck.(I am also aware of the region/area comparisons)
I would also like to comment on your statement of "I killed the largest racked buck in my woods, last year." How can you make that statement? Do you think that you have a trail cam photo of EVERY deerin your woods or those those thatpast through? I just find that very hard to believe.