5mature bucks out of 6 hunts.2 were 3 1/2s, 1 was 5 1/2, 1 was 6 1/2 (killed) and 1 was 7 1/2+.

This was a weird year for me, I've never had one like it. I've never seen so many old mature bucks so early in the season. I only hunted 6 times and I saw all those mature bucks on 3 of those hunts. On 2 of those hunts I saw 3 mature bucks each hunt and 2 of those were 5 1/2 and older. Weird.

What I think happened was that I stumbled on an old doe that was just coming into estrus and the bucks were flocking around to check her out. I got pretty lucky.

Between the 3 spots I hunt in Ill. I usually see between 3-9 different mature bucks per season. In my Wis. spots I see between 0-3 mature bucks per season. The difference between Wis. and Ill. Is that Ill. has a much shorter gun season and one county doesn't have a gun season. So more bucks live to become older. The Ill herds contain more mature bucks than the Wis herds ( so does Ia and Ks).

I can't complain. See avater for pic (I'm at work no access to pics here).

Thanks, Greg. I appreciate those numbers. If I recall, though....didn't you hunt like 74 sits (+/-). last year?????

Down to SIX, this year?????

WOW. Am I incorrect?

You are right. However, I had my chance way earlier in the season last year and muffed it! []

So I paid the price and toughed it out until I got one (12/25), I had the one I got this year 15 yards from my stand last year on 12/5 with no shot! []


DOH!! I shoulda said I was waiting for him to grow a little![8D]

Man.....Greg...How do you go from 70+ sits to 6 and not feel a longing to be out there?

(OK, OK!.....I checked your avatar, again)

Congrats, again.

I've been hunting a lot in WI, up north. I haven't seen a buck that I want in shooting range yet. The numbers of mature bucks are not up there but some day I want to move up there and play with whatever deer live on the land I buy. I love that part of the state.

BTW, I have been having withdrawls!

I have seen 6, missed two of them with my bow, and shot one with my shot gun. I always miss big bucks with my bow. They always get to me, but doe's are almost always no problem for obvious reasons.

I've seen ~6 mature bucks in my 63 trips to the woods so far this season. Thatseems aboutpar at this point in time over the recent years.Here are the two that I killed in November (~3.5 10-ptr, and ~4.5(+?) 9-ptr):
-fsh

i have seen about 15 that are 3.5 and older. I have killed 2 of them and passed up some, and did not get the chance to kill the others.

0/3

I have see 0 this year. I usually average seeing 1 a year, with some years 0.I usually average 5 hours a hunt and have been on stand maybe 20 times this year.