pjhunts

I've been reading some of the "heated" posts that were made recently which got me wondering. Why do most hunters believe that there is a special "cure all" for their lack of tagging big bucks. I know much has been said about a few books lately and from responses, I gathered that some of the responders expected a step by step, hand holding guide to tagging the big one. I guess i would blame "the industry" for this. You can turn on the tv and see p&y's getting shot everyday and there are numerous mags. With picture after picture of successful hunters. I'm not saying that one should not read articles, books or watch shows to help hone their skills because not being willing to learn more is foolish and the best way to staying unsuccessful. I just think that one should take what he/she has learned and apply it to their areas and situations.
the expectation that tagging the big one should be easy leads to so many used and abused excuses. I get so tired of hearing or reading that there aren't very many good bucks where I live. Truth is there are P&Y deer almost everywhere. I believe that there are some bucks that live their whole lives and never get seen after they are 3 yrs old. Or this one "I only have public ground to hunt" This is probably my fav. excuse. I too hunt a lot of public ground and generally see better deer there than on the private ground I hunt. I also see several other hunters. This doesn't bother me. Makes me hunt harder and I put more effort into finding that overlooked spot. It just seems to me that most want a surefire method or call or scent that will ensure them filling that tag, when the truth of the matter is that it takes a ton of effort, (scouting, running trail cams, hunting in inclimate weather, etc) discipline,(you HAVE to pass on the smaller ones in order to shoot a bigger one, you HAVE to put a lot of hours in), and most importantly a positive attitude. If you go into the woods thinking that you are not going to get a shot at big buck, most likely you won't. If you expect to , you keep your senses much sharper and are not startled or stunned when the big guy comes strolling along. Also if you go in and axpect to get one, odds are, you've done the proper "homework" and are well prepared.

Hoytteen

let the show begin

i think there are goin to be alota differant views on this

mobow

Yeah, I'll guess you'll run into that from time to time.

MichaelHunsucker

I agree with you that there are a lot of big deer around and it does take a lot of HARD work (and good luck) to shoot big deer. Dedication is one thing that is very important. Of course your also going to have hunters who do all this stuff and put more time in the woods then most and still come home empty handed. Its part of hunting, but you cant get your head down. Just keep puttin in the time and effort and hopefully it will pay off

davidmil

I agree, there are probably P& Y bucks everywhere, it's just that some places have a lot more of them. The proof of that is "The Books of records". That's why people from the TV shows flock to Iowa, Missouri, Illinois etc every year. It's why they don't flock to places like NY, Md etc. Your chances are considerably better in some places. It's not the hunters, it's genetics, hunting pressure or lack there of, etc. You know the old saying, "you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear". Well there are sows ears. How many big buck, big rack hunting shows do you see from Florida, or Md, or WVa. Check the books of some of these states. In decades they haven't scored the bucks some of these states produce in a year. So you can say there are book bucks everywhere(Florida would tell you you nuts) but in many states they only come along very rarely and then of lesser quality than the average in other places. So you can be as outspoken as you want about people crying no big bucks, but unless you've hunted these places you don't understand. Yes you hunt public land just like many of us do. If you're run over or seeing book bucks every year consider yourself fortunate. It's not that you're a better hunter than a lot of people, you're just fortunate to live in a big buck country.

MN/Kyle

well, i don't think it matters what others excuses are as long as you know why YOU yourself didn't see or harvest that big buck. Everyone has opinions on what went wrong and why they didn't get their deer this fall, i just concentrate on what i did wrong and work to get better for next season. just my opinioin. thanks, KP

davidmil

Me too outdoor. I hunt for the fun of it, but I do have to speak up when I see someone talking down to others from on a perch in one of the big buck states. I get my share of decent bucks but have yet to measure one. It's not important to me. I usually saw them off and feed squirrels in the yard or tack them up on a plaque in the basement or hang them from a nail somewhere. I don't do trail cams and all that. I walk the woods, find a few spots and hunt.

txjourneyman

Coming from someone in central Il. I can almost understand your point.I hear there are a lot of big deer up there.I challenge you to hunt my lease for one season. I'll pay the $500 fee. If you can show me a P&Y I'll kiss your butt on Main St. and give you an hour to draw a crowd.

passthru79

I havent killed a P&Y buck in two years, I have no excuses. I hunt 775 private acres in west central Illinois. The only reason I havent killed a P&Y in the last two years is because I decided not to shoot anything that wasnt at least 150inches. I had several opertunities at that size deer, just didnt work out for one reason or another. I am blessed to be able to hunt smack dab in the middle of some of the best big buckarea you can find. I will tell you one thing though, I dont care where you hunt it isnt ever easy. Bucks dont get big by being dumb, regardless of what state they're from. I personaly think they should make a hunting movie about all the guides and outfitters that put in all the time and effort patterning the big bucks they kill in the movies. It makes it alot easier when your paying someone else to do all the work for you and all you have to do is go sit in a tree.

Outdoor writer

I agree that you are right on the money with your thoughts. People seem to be looking for that magic gadget or tactic that will fill there walls with big bucks. Funny thing about this topic is that just today I finished up a new article for North American Whitetail on what I believe sets apart those successful hunters from the rest of the pack. I wont get into the details of that article and cant tell you for sure which issue it will be in but probably not before September and maybe much later. Anyway, that one magic ingredient in my mind anyway is DESIRE. Hunters with a burning desire to tag monster bucks don't make excuses, they take action.

As for favorite excuses, mine is that a buck is "nocturnal". That is the excuse that a lot of hunters use for not being able to lay eyes on a big buck that they know is there. The fact is the buck probably is nocturnal in the places they are hunting; that is, if he is using those areas he is likely doing it after dark. Sure there are bucks that move very little during the daylight and they move even less in daylight around most hunters stands but if you get a stand on the edge of his bedding area and hunt it smart you have a chance to kill most mature bucks. It just blows my mind that guys spend so much time and effort hunting feeding areas and planting foodplots to hunt over. Think about it, lets say there are 12 hours of daylight in a single day. How many of those 12 hours is a buck going to be in that feeding area? Probably less than 15 minutes. How many of those 12 hours is he going to be in his bedding area? More than 11! So why are guys hunting field edges and foodplots and feeding areas???? Because they see does and little bucks and havent accepted the fact that a mature buck is a different animal. Sure they have heard it a hundred times and may even say that they realize it but yet they still try to kill them by hunting him as if he acted like a doe.

As for the hunting industry, I agree with your thoughts on that as well. That is why I try to represent real world deer hunters hunting real world deer with my writing. THAT is how I try to set myself apart from the other writers. And for the record, there are some other writers out there that are excellent hunters and get it done in "the real world".