A while back someone started a thread here about what everyones goals for the up coming season were. I'd like to know how everyone feels about their season. Rather than having a "yes" or "no", short answer poll, lets hear how you feel.
My goal was to take a 147"+ buck or a clean 10 pointer.
I achieved my goal but there is more to it than that. I am a very optimistic hunter and I never give up. Over the years I have inched up the size of the bucks that I want to take. Through cameras, scouting and shed hunting, this means I'm looking for one of about three bucks that I know about. I know that there others out there, but it's hard to wait for the unknown.
This means that my percentage for success goes down drastically as I wait for that buck to come by me on my postage stamp size properties.
For the three previous seasons I have met my goals, including one season where I blew the shot at one of my target bucks and missed completely. My opportunities came relatively early in the season. Nov. 4th, Nov. 11th and Oct. 30th respectively. I have found that one chance per season is the best I can hope for.
This season was different than my other seasons. My deer sightings including mature bucks were down by 50%. Things started out with a bang early in the season. I was seeing some good rutting activity up until Nov.3rd. This is usually the norm. However, after that things basically came to a stand still. I had an occasional sighting here and there, but not like what I usually saw. I had several sightings of three different resident bucks and one traveler. Where were the other travelers? Where were the older, bigger bucks that usually show up? For that matter, where were the does!!??
My vacation time was shortened by 9days by an out of state moose hunt I went on earlier in the season. I had until Nov. 16th before I had to return to work. By the time Nov. 12th had come and gone, I started to second guess my thoughts on holding out for the buck of my goal. In other words, I was starting to cave in!! [
]I was starting to have arguments in my mind whether to hold out or try for a smaller buck if I got the opportunity. On Nov. 14th I had a chance at one of the 138" bucks I had passed on a couple of times earlier. Man, I almost had myself talked into it! It was tough. It sure was a nice buck anyone would be proud of but the feeling of lowering my goal just didn't sit well with me. I passed. I had committed myself to hold off for my goal. This mean't that I would be hunting evenings after work and weekends. I was mentally gearing up for a long season with the very real possibility of not tagging a buck.I'd been there before. I shot a buck on Christmas morning a couple seasons ago. Some people on here thought that was terrible.
There have been other seasons where my tag went unused and I'm OK with that. It is a very possibile outcome when I play this game, a game where I made the rules!
On the last evening of my vacation things were slow from my stand again. Oh well, I started packing up to leave and suddenly, there he was! [:-]You know the rest. I had only one to thank and I did, repeatedly.
The moral........
Good things come to those who wait and wait and wait.................and wait some more!
This was a great reinforcement that will help me in future hunts. Very valuable.
Lets hear your's.