ORIGINAL: GMMAT
I would say that if you are targeting a single particular buck your best bet would be to NOT hunt him during the rut because who knows where he will be roaming during that time. In the early season, if your state's season opens early enough, you can catch him on feeding patterns that are more regularly followed and have tipped the odds in your favor for taking him.
By the logic of the initial question, wouldn't hunting him during the rut then be more difficult? If that is the case would you then bench yourself during early season when he is more predictable and then try to hunt his haphazard behavior during the rut to maximize the challenge?
Bry....If you'll go back....somewhere in this thread I mentioned seeing my first mature buck of the year on 10/21 or 10/22 (would have to check my journal).
I feel this EXACT way about him.
I saw him this past Tuesday....about a mile from where I spotted him the first time. He was dogging does. I'd LOVE to know if where I found him the first time was in his regular haunt. And....if that was the case....I'd LOVEto have had another few weeks to hunt him on his mormal pattern/cycle.
That is ALL I've been trying to convey. It's been my very first opportunity to hunt bucks when I've had access to their bedding, feeding and travel routes. Before...I had to hunt the ladies and wait for them to come to me. That worked out fine! But the "challenge", to ME, would be to get one (him?) when he wasn't running willy-nilly through the countryside.
Is shooting THE buck harder during the rut? I think so. Is shooting "A" buck harder? Heck no.
In my woods....I don't have a lot of wall-hangers running around. So....when I find one....I'd like to hunt him....and not rely on him finding me.
Again....that's ALL I've been saying. I meant to ruffle no feathers.
Right, but the essence of Will's original question, if I'm reading it correctly, is that a trophy hunter should want to challenge himself to the greatest extent in the pursuit of his quarry. If that is the case, then wouldn't hunting asingle particular buck during the rut offer the greatest challenge?I would say yes, probably even greater than during theOctober lull.