Turning over a new leaf.....
 

After 20 yrs of bowhunting and 20 harvest, 10 bucks and 10 does, I need to change. As many of you know, I have taken 5 bucks that range from 95-120' with bow, (Im excluding gun kills).. I truly want to start harvesting better bucks, I hunt land that holds them, Im talking P&Y BUCKS. I feel comfortable with my abilities as a shooter, I feel comfortable with my knowledge of deer, I do however need to bemore familiar with sizing them up before I shoot. I also need to be patient. I will still hammer some does, but Im thinking of letting more bucks walk, I let several small ones walk this year, but I still pulled the trigger on two that went 110-115' Im proud of those, however, I want to move beyond this mark in my career as a bowhunter. Anyone willing to give me advice on hunting P&Y bucks, or just advice on judging them, please feel free!!

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

Your kidding right???? There's about 20 threads on subject as we speak, and I'm sure there will be more... Just wait 5 minutes ;):D:D:D:D:D

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

quit shooting 110 -115 ' bucks Now wasn't that easy.;)

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

You have more experience with taking buck with a bow, so I can't help you there, but I admire your effort to improve your hunting experience. I think you will find, even the small ones will get your blood pumping just to watch them walk past. (Just don't focus on them too much. You never know what is following them!)

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

IF "I" were "you"....and had the ground you have to hunt (based on our previous onversations).....I'd do 2 things:

1 - I would NOT target does in the areas I was thinking were going to be the MOST fruitful for "big" bucks.

2 - I wouldn't even go into the areas mentioned above.....until the rut.

In one of the other threads.....mention is made to targeting big bucks while they're still on their summer feeding patterns. I have no experience with this....as I have no access to ag. crops.

That still osunds like another viable option, though. Seems to be you'd find out pretty quickly (ESPECIALLY since your season doesn't start until Oct.) if this was viable for you (maybe inside the first week or so). If it didn't work out.....no harm done....go back to the above strategy.

That's just what I'd do if I were hunting your woods.....and ALL I wanted to take was a big buck with my bow.

Take it with a grain of salt.....I don't know ****. I'm a beginner!;)

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

My 'judging' system

Cute little guy.
Nice little basket.
Good length and/or width but kinda scrawny.
Good mass, but short and/or narrow.
Close.... but not quite.
That'd look nice on the wall.
OMG!

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

I wish you the best of luck.

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

Dude,
Everyone turns over that leaf in the post season...

Just kidding man. Good luck. I'm in VA also, so I know what that commitment means.

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

Well I wish you luck. I have been revamping a little the past couple of seasons and it has been working out pretty good but I have yet to tag one of the giants I know are there. I am ok with that and I feel like sooner or later a season will come along when the stars will line up, and I don't meanthat in a "I'll get lucky way"what I mean is I hope to have a season soon where my time off, the kids, the weather, the places I have to hunt, and everything else lines up in my favor. I admire guys that consistently harvest big deer and at the same time I don't think they are truly that much different than me as far as their approach to hunting bucks but where they are different is the fact that the level of committment to their goal of harvesting a big, mature buck is higher than mine. I'm ok with that too because priorities are priorities and vary from person to person. Time is a valuable commodity and one that many of us have a limited supply of. I hunt hard when I can, take notes, kill some deer, but above all else I want to be learning something newabout the area/deer every season so that when that season comes along where everthing "lines up" I will have amountain of knowledge to apply to my efforts, which is still no guarantee but it will help tip the scales in my favor a little more.

Not a lot of advice I can give other than pick good spots, hunt your standssmart& with patience, andput in all the time you can the entire year.Tip thescales in your favor and pray to be there the day that big boy runs out of luck.

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

Ha Ha, Thats the same system I use!

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

P.S. Turning over a new leaf is easy during the off season. It's when that pesky little 5 or 6 pointer keeps coming by opening week at like 10 yards, looking directly away broadside. That's when "turning over a new leaf" meets "breaking the ice" and the undisciplined amongst us know how that meetingturns out.(SEE NEW61375 / 07-08 BOW CONTEST ENTRY:D).
Seriously though good luck.

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

I love this system...... no adding and calculating...... just SHOOT!![:-]

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

Vab you got what it takes! Its tough but once you let the 1st few 120 inchers by it comes a little easier after that! What makes it tough is when you see them same bucks hanging in your neighbors tree. Its happened to me countless times but thats what happens when you pass them up. Look at it this way, if you pass up that 120 incher and this same buck runs by your neighbor and he shoots him, you just saved the big guy from getting shot. He's yours now to hunt!

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

Wow, some good encouragement, thanks guys. I will say that this year looking back, I feel good about passing so many young bucks up, it was actually satisfying, I would rather shoot a doe than a small buck, that's just me, not downing anyone who does shoot em. I think I can fight the itch to shoot the basket racks, maybe not the does the first week, but it all depends where I hunt the first day next yr. I will remember these peices of advice, everyone made great statements, except bawana, I never get his stuff, over my head...LOL!!

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

I gotta agree with the guys above, when a true shooter comes into range, there is no doubt about it. No sizing him up. It's instantly OMG and then immediately tend to the task at hand. If you find yourself questioning how big it is, 99.9% of the time it's not going to end up being what you were truly wanting to harvest when you walk up on him. You need to make a firm commitment to spending day upon day of letting deer walk. Not just one or two, but many.It isn't easy,especially if you live in an area wherebig deer are scarce.If you let a few yearlings go by for a few days but thenbecome impatient and shoot the next bigger buck that walks by, you will end up harvesting a buck that is below the goal that you actually had in mind. Most of us have been there. It may sound like a broken record, but you can't shoot a P&Y buck if you shoot a smaller one first.
Also, the most important piece of the puzzle you are putting together is hunting in an area where those bucks exist and call home. Do your summer scouting. If you are thorough and see no trulybig bucks before the season starts, it may be time for a new/better spot.

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

As most have said when you see one and go oh ^%^& then you know he is your boy. I think the leaf you are turning over is no different then when someone finally decides to stop shooting small bucks. Imagine that feeling when you let that first legal deer go and did not kill anything on that hunt. You go back to camp with a story and not a deer and I think it bruises the ego more than we would like. When you smack that first P&Y it will ease all the pain. As I have stated before I live in GA and we have the same problems that many on here "talk" about and I have a few P&Y on the wall. I also did not kill a buck for almost6 years during one stretch and I am only 28. When I made up my mind to only shoot deer that I would mount I also accepted what may come with that. I can assure you6 years is enough to make a man rethink his tactics, on the same hand the deer that fell first after those years 6 years was a deer we saw off and on for over 3. Good luck with your new found test and best of luck and if you ever get discouraged just think of my dumb@#^ and laugh. One other thing, does make for great stress relief.

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

good luck!;)

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

Welcome to the darkside:D

I love the system also, here is mine

Nope=bow stays on hanger
Holy Mary Mother Of God = pull trigger

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

I wish you good luck in your endeavor's VA...

This is a trick I use when field judging a deer's antler inches quickly.

Start with 90" (if it's a real good buck at least 3.5 yrs.) then add tine length of each tine you see (a rough guess).. next follow it up with the inside spread estimate.

It may sound stupid.. but it's quick.. and usually pretty accurate. If anything.. I'm usually under scoring the buck more than anything. But it's quick and can be done with bino's in well under a minute. For those buck's that don't give you that long.. shoot first and ask questions later.:D

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

Thanks guys for the advice, this is what I wanted to hear, no sugar and no negativity. I want to shoot better deer because they are here and it is a goal I have set for myself. I have only seen one buck with the bow in hand that would go P&Y. I know it is going to test me, it is going to bruise the ego as well, I will admitt to it, but I understand that to truly chase and harvest big bucks with the bow I need to let my ego go. I have had a goal for years now. 3 part goal. 1. kill a wallhanger with a shotgun= done that twice 2. Kill a big deer with the ML= gave up ML hunting all together. 3. Kill a P&Y buck with the bow. I have come close with one deer that I took a few yrs ago, but he wouldn't quite go. I am not a novice at deer hunting, but I know that hunting mature, big bucks can humble a man very quickly. Thanks guys and keep em coming!!

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

I REALLY like this thought process. I get tired of hearing the argument that if I let a small or marginal buck walk, then someone else will just shoot it. Ahhhhhhhh yes, but with Ohio being a one buck state, that lucky hunter then can no longer compete with you getting the big one. I like that! Thanks for some ammo I can use when I have this conversation with my friends! :)

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

Sorry, my post sounded tacky, which i was not trying to do.;)

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

The only way you can shoot big bucks is if you dont shoot smaller bucks. I am kindof in the same shoes you are, I passed on some nice 115-120" deer this year because I wanted at least a 130, after days and days of seeing and passing smaller bucks I finally got an opportunity at a 150" and I blew it, I ended up eating tag soup this year with my bow, but I would rather not kill a buck if I wouldnt be 100% happy with it.

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

Here's a simple and quick method for judging weather or not he's P@Y. If you have at least 19 inches in tine length on one side (G1's, G2's, G3's and so on) you should be in the 125" range and up! Quickest method I think if your unsure on his size!

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

Thanks Schultz, I think I will just wait and see how i REACT to a buck, if it absolutley takes my breath away and comes close to the gun kills I have, then Im shooting.

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

I'm turning a new leaf too! What the hell....

My old system: Any deer that offers a 25 yard or closer broadside shot is DEAD!

My new system: Any DOE that offers a 25 yard broadside or closer shot is DEAD!
Any buck that's "past his ears" that offers a 25 yard broadside shot is DEAD!

Around hear, any rack that's wider than the ears is a trophy....

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

Another angle is that your neighbor is then done hunting, thus reducing the pressure on big boy, and giving you the woods more to yourself.

RE: Turning over a new leaf.....
 

I wish MY neighbors would stop at their limit.