I sometimes feel like I am using up hunting time, standing there looking at each tree. I feel like it is sometimes just a waste of time to do it, but that will be when you are two trees off when youdo not do it. One more thing the perfect tree, you can not wish in the right spot or it has limbs to low.

This one will get ya thinking.

Like everyone else pretty much said i think that luck plays a large roll in it.

But i know that ias well asmany other experienced hunters over-analyze situations alot. A lot of time it takes trial and error to find the "honey hole" on a piece of property

Ya can't buy experience![8D]

No, none that I've ever seen.

I do most of my hunting on private ground that I know pretty well. I know where the deer will be in the morning and I know where they be traveling through in the afternoons, but I still need to switch trees just to keep them guessing. Sometimes it works out and other times it doesnt.I also do some hunting on public ground, and Ive had pretty good luck just walking into an area that Ive never scouted before and climb a tree with a climber in an area that looks good and see lots of deer and adjust my stand location accordingly, but I have to admit I saw lots more mature bucks when I hung stands in my earlier years than I do now.

KS,

David Morris in his book "trophy whitetails" talks about this quite a bit and so does Greg Miller in his book bowhunting big woods/forestlands. Anyway both of these guys talk about how often BIG MATURE Bucks hang out in places people would least expect, imagine that...a smart buck hanging out where no was pressuring an area. Along comes the new hunter, really has no care in the world other than hes pumped to be out hunting. Randomly picks a spot and guess what...Mr. bigs been using it a lot since no experienced hunter is around nor have they been. New hunter caps his arse....The old bucks have humans patterend way better than we give them credit for..they do here anyway..they really figureit out in many cases..if it wasnt for the rut mistakes andhuntingmany would die of old age.

You bring up another point. Guy kills a pig in his first year or two...then thinks..this hunting thing isnt so tough...kinda easy actually then go for 10 years without getting another hawg..not to mention not evenconsistently killing anything even close to themature beast he killed in the beginning ... The catch 22 of beginners luck...

I don't know about you, but I killed a button buck when I was 12...then gradually progressed over the years as my goals and what not evolved.....never had a luck monster just show up out of the blue...not one gimme..in 25 years...

Good post interesting topic... forsure..

Sort of a different take……

I just finished up my first full season deer hunting. I’m 42…..and I’ve been mostly an upland and waterfowl hunter since I was 10, or so. I never gave wingshooting TOO MUCH of my extra time. It was a pastime….and I loved it…..but I wasn’t enthralled by the pursuit of birds. Waterfowl hunting was a different story. I studied ducks…..had a really nice duck boat…..got into training my own dog (BIG TIME)……and got consumed by the sport/pastime. Then….I moved from the coast.

Along comes bow/deer hunting. It consumed me MANY TIMES OVER what waterfowl hunting did. I read everything I could get my hands on. I watched every DVD/TV show I could watch. I listened to those I trust. I was at a place in life that I could afford to buy the best equipment……take time off when I needed to……gain access to some good land. I had/have EVERY advantage.

I don’t know how much “experience” I’ve packed into 1.5 yrs. How do you measure it? No. of animals harvested? No. of animals seen? Times on stand? It really doesn’t matter, to me, how anyone else (besides me) measures it. Each situation is unique.

In about 30 hunts (first season)…..I took exactly one shot (clean miss) at one doe on closing day. I went at it even harder (and, admittedly, the first season I was CLUELESS)…..and found the deer. It took me a year to find the deer on my small parcels. Once I found them……I knew I could shoot them….and took 5, last year.

Was I lucky?.....lol…who knows?? I haven’t killed a “big” deer by most people’s standards…..but the last buck I took will hopefully make “book” in our state’s bowhunters’ association. I hope I get luckier and luckier (or more experienced and a better hunter…..I don’t much care).

I’m for everybody getting “lucky” or “more experienced”…..or becoming a “better hunter”. I won’t distinguish. I like it when hard work pays off…….and I hope you all do what it takes to up your odds of becoming “lucky”. I’ll be pulling FOR all of you.

Good luck.

80 Percent of hunting is just showing up. (luck)

I like the thought of newbees being where the big boys are because an experienced hunter would not be there! Good reason

My first thought was, most newbees are hunting with an experienced hunter and gets placed in a good place to make the most of the opportunity. The works done for them, they just need the luck like you and I.

Me either............there are no shortcuts to experience.