buckeye

How many guys that you know use the excuse "I didn't shoot onethis year because I pass everything under XXX inches"? That seems more like a cop out orexcuse to me more than anything.

What I am saying isif we don't shoot a buck it is because we didn't put ourselves in position to make it happen, no matter the size of buck you are after......or did not execute when the moment arrived...... plain and simple.

Am I crazy for thinking this when I hear people say that line?
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SoggyCereal

I'd bet most people who say that missed one bigger than that.

I don't pass on really any deer except maybe on the first day so I've never used it.

Zdeerslayer

To me its not an excuse, its a goal. This past year was my third year hunting. My first two year I got a 6ptr(1st yr)and a 100 class 8pt(2nd yr)on my wall. Having accomplished these two achievements this early in my hunting career has allowed me more time to pursue larger and more mature whitetails. This past year I set a goal of taking nothing smaller then a nice 8(in this area thats a 80-100class deer) or a large 6 pt in a similar class. I had my chance to fullfil this goal the first saturday of November of this year when I had a nice 6pt come under my stand, but my instincts told me to hold off, he seemed like a younger deer w/ a lot of potential. So I went this year w/o filling my tag, but I managed to enjoy the sight of that nice buck 2 more times during the season. I put myself where the bucks were, but didn't fulfill my goal. This year I will have the same goal as last year, except I plan on taking a doe first.

zubba

Hold on......

Double Creek

The size deer I like to shoot are very few and far between.... I may see 1 or 2 all season, much less get him in range.... High pressure areas like MS are an entirely different ball game...

I've haven't blown a shot at a buck in over 12 years....

Sure, I could probably get an opportunity every year at a shooter if I obsessed over it, but I have neither the time nor the motivation....The best hunters I know are absolutely obsessed with hunting deer.... They live it and breathe it, sometimes to the point of neglecting family, work, etc......That's not my bag baby....

I just enjoy hunting.

buckeye

I could say that I didn't shoot a buck in 05 because I have personal standards of a mature deer in the 140 class...... But it wasn't because Iwaiting on a 140 class buck to "show up", The reason I didn't tag one is because I didn't put myself in position to kill what I was after.

I believe saying that I didn't kill one because I pass everything under "XXX" inches is a way to place the blame elsewhere rather than to fess up andsay I failed at filling my tag because I never put my self in position to accomplish my goal.
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tsoc

I don't know if I understand completely the intent of the topic.That anybody who say's they didn't take a deer because it didn't reach a certain criteria is BSing? Or are you trying to sort between those who are not full of it and those who legitimately did pass on bucks because of self imposed criteria?
I have had years where I didn't see a buck I wanted to shoot so I didn't.I may have seen 15 plus bucks (a lot for the hard hunted area that I bow hunt in) but if it isn't at least an 8 pointer with certain age characteristics I am not going to take it.
Maybe you could go in to a bit more detail.There are a lot of accomplished hunters who eat their tag because of self imposed criteria.

buckeye

I must not be articulating myself very well..... This isn't what I was saying...

I see we just posted within 2 minutes of each other. If my last reply doen't clear up my thoughts let me know and I will attempt to put my thoughts better into words.

Zdeerslayer

I did put myself on a buck, that 6pt was real nice for this part of the state, and would have made for a great season for some people. Other then that there were a lot of spikes and forks that I saw constantly, which hopefully will be shooters in the next 2 years. On my NYS hunting survey that Imail in each year I had 86 deer sightings, granted I'm sure a lot were the same deer on different occasions, but I was seeing deer, and a lot of 'em. The spot I hunt is similar to GMMAT's, its suburban hunting, and there are a lot of deer.

kshunter

I hear that one every once in a while. Since we are on the subject,here are a couple others I hear alot:

"It jumped my string" - Most likely your shot wasn't on target.

"I'd neverspendmuch money on containing my scent"& "The Wind Swirled all the sudden" - I seem to hear those 2 statements in the same story a lot!

Of course there are many times where it's true, butin my experience, way overused as an excuse...