silentassassin

OK here is my question. Have you noticed, and I am not referring to anyone here on the forum, that the best hunters are not the best shots and definetly not the most knowledgeable about equipment. I have. I fancy myself a good hunter and I think my track record speaks for itself. However, I know several hunters in my area that are not only more dedicated but also consistenly kill more deer and bigger deer than I do. None of these guys buy into the you got a have a new bow and it has to be this brand etc. etc. stuff. Most of these guys know that you take your bow to the shop and they "tune it" and that's about it. Most of the really really good hunters that I know spend very little time talking about equipment and know very little about KE but they know a whole lot about getting close to critters and they spend the majority of their time practicing it. I know some good hunters that are techies but I don't know any really really good hunters that are techies so are the two mutually exclusive and have you found this to be true also?

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ewolf

Hunting comes down to 3 things time, money and knowledge. Some people have better property to hunt then others. I hunted 5 years on my 300 acre farm, i killed one 8 pointer. I have hunted property i bought 2 years ago and have killed 2 "Big" deer. I'm not that much better of a hunter, i just have a better place to go. I would never kill a deer that big on the old property.

I could kill 3 Pope and Young deer a year if i had the CASH. Anyone can, size doesn't matter to me, the effort, experience, and story behind the kill counts.

I would never enter an animal into the Pope and Young record books. If i was making a living shotting and hunting i would to get my name out. If you are a hunter and your dream is to shot a Pope and Young animal just to get you name in the books, you need to take a deep look at your self. Why are you hunting to impress other people? Spend about 200 bucks to just to see your name in a book. It does not make my animals any less impressive because they are not in the record book.

I don't believe in the scoring system either. Buddy of my doesn't have the biggest bow kill in Ohio(typical) because his deer has to be scored as a non typical or take a 30+ inch deduction as a typical. A point off of a point because the tine doesn't come off the the top of the main beem. I have a less impressive deer that scores higher because of this. He told P&Y to shove it.

Sorry for going on and on.. i know some won't agree and thats fine just the way i see it.

Just because they can't shot quarters at 40 yards doesn't mean they can't kill big deer. Who has killed a buck past 30 yards? I have one Whitetail kill past 30 and that was 36 yards.

silentassassin

ewolf,

Paying to go where big deer are and then killing them is not how I would measure a really really good hunter. A really really good hunter is the guy who consistently kills P&Y deer in an area where there are low numbers of P&Y deer. Of course that doesnt' make you less of a hunter if you consistently kill them in higher percentage areas, that just makes you fortunate to be able to hunt areasa like that. But, the hunters that I am talking about are consistely killing P&Y deer on public ground in Arkansas which is not exactly known for trophy bucks. I could talk circles around most of these guys in a tech conversation but they have the horns to back up their lack of technical knowledge. One case in point is a guy a hunted with a few times last year. This guy has been absolutely slaying big deer in my area for the last 10 years. He was shooting a PSE dual cam (forget which model) at like 88 lbs the bow has a 6 5/8 braceheight and he is shooting 2215s with it. He is way underspined but had no idea. All he knew was that he could hit with the bow and the shop had set him up so he thought he was shooting the best setup and he was and is slaying deer. He trusted the shop had set him up correctly and knew he could hit with his equipment and the rest of his time he spent figuring out these public land deer he was hunting. This is just an example. I realize that it is possible to be both and I don't really think they are mutually exclusive but I wonder if this is true for other people in other parts of the country. Think about the 5 best hunters that you have ever personally known. Are they or were they "techies"?

Double Creek

The 5 best hunters I have ever known had these things in common:

1. They wore old camo, old boots, etc
2. Were definitely not techies, very old equipment
3. Most importantly, hunted EVERY chance they got. They all seem to have jobs that allow them to spend atleast twice as much time in the woods as the average weekend hunter. BUT, it was not just the time they put in, they really understand the whitetail. They no which areas to hunt and what time of the year to do it. It's really quite amazing to me. I truly believe some guys are just more in "tune" with deer than the average. They look a piece of land and see something totally different than the average guy.

I am talking about hunters that consistently kill larger deer than what is expected for their area.

silentassassin

I would definetly agree with those two!

WV Hunter

First thing SA....no one shooting a PSE could kill a big deer, ....or at least that's what I've been told

Now to your point...I'd say that that is probably more true than not, but I wouldn't say mutually exclusive. However, I know a couple guys that kill big deer regularly....and are very techie.

Rack-attack

I agree - many big buck slayers don't know their []ss from their elbow when it comes to tech.

Its really all so meaningless - this tech stuff...........but its fun

Trushot_archer

Not always exclusive but usually I'd say.

Some of the older guys that kill monsters every year...I smoke on the range. Not great shots even. But they consistently spot, pattern and hunt mature whitetails and won't take a small buck...doe for the freezer the last week.

One guy I met last year at the club was a rock star shooter. Won a couple of 3D's and was a 600 shooter indoors ; flubbed a shot @ 12 yards on opening day. Twice and by a mile! "Doe Fever"!LOL!

A good shot does not make a good hunter.
Eqipment does not make a good hunter (although I think it can give the mediocre hunter an edge...I spend a lot of money on that belief)
Seem like most I know are hunters first and just have the weapons as tools.

whitetails & muskies

Yep, the techie stuff has alot hype behind it. I'm certainly "not" techie. I've had my current bow for about 4 years, same rifle for many more and love the sport to no end. I have taken several quality animals of various species and don't get all wrapped up in KE, tournaments, etc. I am by no stretch saying that I am Joe The Hunter, I just love the sport and do okay at it. I do know a few good old boys that are up near my place in far northern WI that have taken some incredible whitetails...big racks and really big bodies. The one guy in particular who I have know for years (and my Dad knew him for many years, then I hooked up with him) has several brutes that have never seen a tape on the rack...and a few of them would no doubt be well into the B/C book. He could really care less. The guy is so mellow and knows the woods like the back of his hand (big big woods mind you) I truely look up to him and others who handle themselves the same way.

This is a really good topic....