Jimmy,

I think I can relate to your question and I can at least provide you with a response from my experience. I grew up in Rutland County, VT and spent almost every day in the woods as a kid. I hunted very hard, yet only managed to kill 2 bucks in VT out of 5 years hunting by myself and with my dad when I was real young, and a few does during bow season. This was a very good success rate as compared to most people I knew in the area.

At 15 years old, I moved to Bradford County, PA and I have hunted there as well as Huntington County, PA every year since then. The first few years, I shot a buck every year on the first or second day of the season. Once I was 18, I got to be more selective though. My best friend owned about 120 acres of property, and we then began to grow food plots, and practice quality deer management. To shoot a deer, it had to have at least 8 points on it or it had to be a VERY large deer wider than it's ears if there were not 8 points on it. We saw more deer, and every one killed a nice buck but on average only every 2 years or so.

Now I have moved back to New England, and I don't know what I will be doing this year. I will be hunting Rutland County again, but am unsure as to how selective I will be. I have not shot a deer with less than 6 points for quite some time, but I know deer like that are few and far inbetween around Rutland.

With that said, when I was in PA and saw tons of deer (sometimes more than 50 deer on opening day alone) my heart pounded every time just like the first. When I began to see that it wasn't much of a challenge, I upped my standards. I still enjoy watching smaller bucks, and they still make my heart pound to see a spike under my tree, but I like waiting for a bigger buck, plus it gives me more time to be outside and in the woods, which is the part I really like the most anyhow.