perfect advice.......looking back i should have lowered my standards as far as does go (shoot more) but bucks i have no desire to kill unless they are big in my eyes which is usually 110+ depending on my mood.

i DEFINITELY will try and find new spots to hunt w/o a doubt. maybe adjoining farms or a totally new area. as soon as i have wheels (legally) im going to try my best to find a new hunting area.

I havn't had time to type out an extended reply until now.I understand the intent of the thread,where I didn't completely before.I don't think about my not killing a buck that meet's my criteria for taking as failure.Do I hold myself responsible for my results,yes I absolutely do,but that burden is not a heavy one! I hunt to enjoy myself and I give it every thing I have for the time I am able to commit to it.My family comes first,my business comes second,and some where maybe fourth or fifth comes my practicing,scouting and hunting time.I hunt for my own enjoyment and satisfaction not to bolster my reputation as a competent hunter or one of my area's best.
I enjoy every aspect of it and am continually fascinated by every aspect of it and as a result I am always learning and looking to improve my effectiveness.
At one point in time it was important to me for my standing in the local hunting community to be succesful every year on better than average bucks.Embarrassing to admit but true at the time.Whether that was part of the maturation process for me as a hunter,I don't know it seems likely it was.When I let go of that and just allowed myself to enjoy every moment of it without the self imposed pressure my successs and enjoyment sky rocketed.
The bottom line for me is that I give it every thing that I have with the time that I have to devote to it,and what ever happens happens and I am loving every minute of it.I may experience dissapointment in not realizing the taking of a particular class of buck but never failure!

No offense, Buckeye.....but this is bull****. I really don't care what someone 3-4 states away thinks about my deer season. I used to.....I just don't any more.

I can legally hunt about 72 days (+/-) in my zone of my state. Given that I have a wife, a child and a career....I hunted many of those, last year. Throw in daylight savings time departure.....and I get to work before daylight and get home after dark for many of those legal hunting days. Still....I scout what little time I have some mornings, before work....sometimes hunt for an hour on those mornings (when daylight allows).

IF a buck is THERE......I'll eventually see him. If he doesn't allow me a shot opportunity.....it'll be because he either simply doesn't.....OR...I don't have the time required to know exactly where he'll be, that particular morning at that particular time.

What you call "excuses" and 'failures".....I call "priorities", "responsibilities" and "life". When it's all said and done.....I'llsleep, just fine.

Touche. Great points. I can't argue with that.

*YAWN*........ I wish I knew everything 2 years into my deer hunting "career" like you do.

*YAWN*..... The "Great One" has spoken.

*Yawn -- I wish you knew how silly it looked for someone from3 or morestates away to pretend to know why everyone is or isn't"successful".I killed tha largest racked buck in my woods, last year. When you do that......come back and talk down your nose to me about "success" and "excuses".

I do have a 162 inch 12 pointer hanging on my wall right next to a couple other P&Y whitetails

How do you know it was the largest racked buck in your woods anyhow? Must be your two years of excellence and know how

Claiming that if "I don't shoot a mature buck it is because there aren't any there" is about the poorest excuse.... especially from someonethat has exclusive permission to a decent amout of acreage.

Buckeye....You live in OHIO. Never lose sight of that fact when you talk to the rest of us about why we're not successful (or your theories about why we don't fit your criteria).

For those of us not living in Ohio......isn't the size of a particular buck relative to the state and even the woods we're hunting? there was a 130" deer killed about 10 miles from me, last year. Besides that deer.....I'm telling you that I didn't see.....either on the hoof or harvested (lots of guys share photos at the bowshop) a bigger racked buck than the one I killed.

I used to liv ein Charleston, SC.....and I fished a lot, there. Do you think you and I want to swap "Big Fish" stories?????

And I never said I wouldn't shoot a mature buck. There ARE mature bucks in my woods. I shot one, last year. If I want to, this year, I will.