Deer hunting over rated?
 

Do you think that deer hunting is over rated?? I'm starting to because i spent weeks before the season started scouting, putting out cameras, and putting out food for them. Also spent a day out in the tent a couple times to see how they were movin and saw about 10 deer. Then it comes down to opening day of gun season. Don't see one thing! Then you come on this site and see a ton of people but you with a deer. What do you guys think.... Is it over rated?

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

Hell no. WAY under-rated.

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

Nope.

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

It happens to us all, not every season goes as we want it to. One piece of advice that I can offer...after hunting whitetails over the years I have learned LOCATION is a very important part of hunting. If you are not seeing much or not happy with what your seeing..try something different. Go to doors and obtain permission to hunt more property & larger acres.

I hunt 5 different counties and am still knocking on doors for new ground to hunt. To me you have to have enough places to fall back on but you have to dedicate yourself in the better of those areas. Not every area is gonna be a gold mine yr in and yr out.

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

Absolutely not. I look forward to deer opener more than any other day of the year. I shot my biggest buck this year, and even if I don't shoot a nice buck, there are a few in our group that do. Can't wait for the opener next year!

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

hahaha this is good....

Welcome to hunting bud!!

Ive gone 10+ hunts without seeing SQUAT!

Hang in there and put your time in...one day isnt going to do it.

Have fun and hunt hard!


BHB

Ohh btw....its WAAYY underrated;)

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

Theres no way you can be serious, and if you are, your sure asking a biased group of people. ;)

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

Its always great to shoot a big buck or see lots of deer but thats not always the case. I would love to shoot a monster buck and hope someday I do. The thing I like most about hunting is the time outdoors, spending time with your friends or your family (I got to take my little boy hunting for the first time this year , he is 5 ). Some of the best times I had with my father were spent hunting or shooting, and most of the time we came home empty handed. You cant eat the rack and you cant replace those memories!

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

In my opinion scouting, checking my trail cameras and feeding is half the fun. On opening day in my state I opted to go with friends to public hunting land, giving up the area I had scouted for months and bagged a 10 pt.

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

What do you look for when you go scouting someone else's land. what makes you want to hunt their property?

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

No it's not over rated,I've killed a few pope and young bucks and still looking for that boone and crockett,but I still get excited when any deer is closing the distance to my stand and possibly giving me a shot,I killed a 18inch wide 8pointer wednsday with short tines,but I was as happy to pull the trigger on him as any other deer that I have killed.It's way under rated!!

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

I think too many folks take it way to seriously. Trail cams, scents, scent suits, walkers game etc. Are you kiddng me? My grampa bolted a 1/2 barrel to a tree and crawled up in it and sat in he overalls and flannel, tagged a buck every season. I grew up and pretty good deer country, Illinois. Deer were scarce back in the day, and a doe was gather round occurance. I can still remeber my dad sneaking around with his old double barrel and slugs, but he put meat on the table. I thought back then that deer hunting was really the only reason to live. I moved to Montana many years ago and started hunting other game, and deer hunting took a long back seat. I manage to crack out after some whitetails now and again, but is just not the same. Frankly, it is ridiculously easy. The area I hunt here I have killed 4 bucks and 2 does in 5 hunts, thats 5 hunts not years. I'm I a good deer hunter? No, not really. I just sneak around the forest and glass, then shoot.Other areas I'm sure its more difficult. I think deer hunting is way too hyped with all the videos etc.
At the end of the day, it is just a deer. The real value in deer hunting is the time in the woods with family and friends, the time a camp, and all the stories you accumulate over the successful seasons, and the ones not so successful. I confess that most of our fond memories of camp, do not involve the taking of a deer, but in the scenarios and mishaps that occured. If your focus on deer hunting is to get the "big one", I believe you are missing the best that hunting has to offer, and you won't find that in a 150" buck, on a video, or in any technical goods you tote in the woods. Once in a while, it's good to pull out grampa's old 30/30 open site, and just stalk thru the woods remembering the deer that fell to this rifle. We all grow old, and somedayI won't be able to take those strolls thru the timber, but my memories will carry me back to those hunts, andI doubtI will much care whether or not I saw a deer, only that I was blessed enough to have been there.

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

I do not feel it is over rated and i love it. but i would also love to try hunting Mule deer, Elk, and Moose, but i live in TN

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

No way!! It is the best game out there and it starts the day the season is over. It is not the kill but the hunt that is the primative instinct in us. You must use all your senses in order to be successful and really try to find positives in every hunt. For example, now you know that this field is pressured during the season so go and find one that is not pressured. I start with good aerial photos, then do drive-bys and see if there are good food sources near by. The best tip is hunt the does and think like a big buck that does not want to get shot.
Have fun and read as much as you can when you first start. I only started when I was 18 and have shot 6 bucks over 150, but most of the time I eat my tag because I am trying to better my deer each year. Even though I eat my tag most years(and they taste aweful) I LOVE WHITETAIL hunting.

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

I agree with Muley. Way to many people take it too serious. It is not all about the actual taking of game.
It is about being outdoors enjoying all of Gods Great Outdoors and everything he made for us to use. The taking of a animal is just a bonus. Evening seeing them and watching them is great.
I Love just being out in the woods.
As far as some guidance and what to look for to make your odds better. I would say look for a funnel area first. Anywhere that restricts the animal to go thru a pinch point. Be it the woods narrowing down, or a drainage in a hill side, or a saddle. These are all funnels. Next look for numerous trails merging to the same place and creating a hub. Like the center of a bike tire with the spokes all going to the center. The more trails merging the better.
Just a little insight to help you out.
Hope this helps and never forget to enjoy the Hunt no matter what.Be persistent. Andenjoy Gods Great Outdoors!!

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

If seeing deer and shooting deer was easy it would be called killin not huntin. I spent a season and a half before i saw my first deer. after that it took me till my fifth season before I finally killed a deer (doe), and my seventh season before I killed a buck.

I have had several times when I only saw one deer the entire season. In 2002 I saw one deer, a six point, and I was lucky enough to get a shot at it.

Also, while you are out there take the time to notice all the things that non-hunters will never see. enjoy looking at the birds, squirrels, and other critters. You will learn alot about nature.

Hang in there...ur time is commin.

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

If there were no deer hunting, you may as well move to Japan and go fishing.

Deer hunting can't be taken serious enough. [:-]

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

To me deer hunting is about the hunt. I don't invade my good areas like you do. I let them sit undisturbed as much as possible because you leave scent everywhere. Then come hunting season I practice scent control. Wash my gear and myself in scent free soap... I also use a scent killer with fresh earth scent. Then I get to my stand and wait. I usualy see deer. Sometimes out of range but many times in range. I love to watch them and I generaly am a little picky with what I shoot. Why? well because I see deer, sure, but because I like to watch them.

The hunt is it for me. I think I could go out with just a camera and take pics. But the pics don't taste as good. So I take a deer occasionaly.

Stop overworking yourself to get a kill. Just hunt and enjoy it. You not starving to death so relax and enjoy the woods. I think you'll find it comes much easier then.

Good luck.

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

NO IT'S NOT OVER RATED @ ALL, WHAT YOU WENT THROUGH I'VE JUST HAD THE SAME THING HAPPEN TO ME ON MY OPENING WEEKEND OF GUN SEASON IN ALABAMA. I SPEN THE WHOLE OFF SEASON GETTING READY WORKING MY FIELDS CUTTING NEW ATV TRAILS ON SO ON, IT JUST ALL APART OF WHAT GOES ON IN THIS THING WE LOVE CALLED DEER HUNTING. KEEP YOUR BOOTS ON & YOUR GUN LOADED.........

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

you are probly the first person that i have heard say that...... there is no way its overated.. mayb underated. i been weeks without seein anything but still had the love of the game runnin through me and got right back out. dont give up

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

My wife may think so. I still am waking the house up at 4 a.m. and season is over.

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

It's definately under-rated. Most people just think its a bunch of red-necks going into the woods and shooting everything they see. People just don't understand how much fun it is.

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

hell no! believe me your not the only one deerless. I havent even gotten a doe yet, this morning i passed a 6 pt with my bow and a spike both under 30 yds. I JUST WANT A DOE (or a wallhanger would be nice...) Suck it up and get back in the woods-where i've been for some 30 hours this year. This is the reason when you harvest a deer that it's so exciting-it doesn't always happen everyday.

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

I hunt a wide variety of things. I have much more fun stomping brush for rabbits or shooting doves than sitting in a deer stand for 8 hours. But I do enjoy the camaraderie that comes with the whole "deer camp" attitude. To me, deer hunting is just one pretty small component ofan overall hunting, trapping, and fishing lifestyle. So, i often feel that it is over-rated in terms of always being the center of discussion. But that isjust my personal perspective and preferences.

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

your name is nap why dont you bowhunt
oh and when you shoot your next it will be great
when i shot my buck was by far the greatest feeeling in the world it was christmas in november

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

If you have to ask that question - that says a lot.

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

I wait all year for the season to start, cant wait to start planing and getting things ready for the next year. i think as hunters we all try to get every thing juusst right, the wind , the type of cover scent, wash the clothes in no stink soap, every thing else we do to put pressure on our selves. this year i said if i kill some deer ok but im not going to go throug all the extreams i did last year. opening day of muzzle loader Ikilled a doe on from a tree at 0835,i climed in to at 0730. 2 days later i killed another sitting in a folding camping chair on the shady side of an oak tree because i didnt feel like using the climber. 3 days later i came home frome work late threw my cloths on grabed my 7 yo boyto go for the first time with me 40 minuts later at the edge of a field i shot a 6point 140# buck.then i made the mistake of 7 daysoff not including 2 saterdays to hunt and tried to get it all right. nothing happened!! and i was doing it all right as i know it.worked for a couple days thenwant outlast saterday put my climer in a tree 11 feet of the ground. i was still setting up the upperplatform when a very lage doe came walking down the hill. i shot her at 0633. i cleaned her and placed her under a pine tree(it was 20 deg that morn.) got back up in the climber alittle stinkyer than the first time. at 0955 i shot a 150# 5 pnt buck. mosthunters would say "you shouldnt have been able to do it.. the wind was all wrong... you were smelly. i just tell them I stopped sweating it all, I just get out there and hunt!

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

Tell me it's over-rated when you are drawing back at an animal you consider to be a trophy! That feeling causes us more time, energy, money, and frustration! It's an addiction.

Sounds like you need to find some better hunting ground! If more guys put the time and money into property that they do into worthless gadgets - they would see and kill better animals!

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

wow.....

overrated? NO!!!

Frustrating? HELL YES!!!

We all go through it man, I am having a down right frustrating season when it comes to connecting on a good buck. I have passed up many and seen the shooters but still havent taken a shot ata buck. Yes its frustrating but thats when you got to step back and realize why you do it. I had to just last week as it was eating at me, I have set at least 3 to 4 days a week for the last 2 and half months(3 weeks elk hunting). I have passed on a lot of deer, searching for the monster. My levels of frustration were sky high. But then i realized i just need to relax and enjoy it.

I love being outdoors, i love to scout, set up cameras, make food plots, look for new properties and put up new stand sites, and i also love the hours in the woods. Take a step back and breathe. Your there to have fun, and if your not having fun at all, maybe its not for you.

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

I think you may have to reassess your expectations. How many deer licenses are issued in your state and how many deer are harvested. Of those, how many are bucks and of them, how many do you think are 8 points or more. I would love to bag a big one but I also love the woods and taking on mother nature. There is nothing like being toasty warm and comfortable in sub zero temps.

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

Like Okiegunnut said, hunting is not just about shooting something; it's about spending time in the woods, preferably with family and friends. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to do this until I was 43; and I all got on that trip was a fairly small hog (70 lbs).

However, by the next hunting season I had convinced my son, who was 15 at the time, to take his Hunting Safety class and to go to my next hunting trip with me. Since then we’ve taken one hunting trip together a year (for the last 4 years) and even though he has not harvested anything yet, he still looks forward to it. We've also introduced a couple of friends to hunting, both his friends and mine, whom we have brought along with us on these trips.

That’s what hunting is all about.

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

It would not be hunting/sport if it was easy.

Ilikenhunting to poker...you could be the best most prepared player at the table but sometimes the cards just work against you and you lose...but understand in the long run your skill/preparation will pay off and you willconsistentlywin the game or put yourself in situations where you score the big animal. Also do not make the mistake to think you know everything about hunting...time spent in the woods equals education. There is definitely an element of luck in hunting, great preparation can increase your chances but it is no guarantee.

btw...I think it is underrated...people do not appreciate how much work a days hunt takes.

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

Overrated?

Everytime I put a good shot on a deer, buck or doe,and watch it go down(which is not nearly as frequent as Id like), the 1st thing I say to myself is, " I cant believe only 10% of the population does this'' Honestly, there is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, I' d rather do in life , than be in my stand waiting for a deer to show up.

When I die, I want to be in the woods, with my 100 year old hands clenching the rack of a giant whitetail I just killed.

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

Better than sitting at home reading this site (no offense boyos)about it, kicking my self saying jeeze oh Pete I should be out there!

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

Overrated? Definitely not. It's still way too much fun for me to call it overrated. Plus it's the one thing that my Dad, brother, brother-in-law and I all have in common.

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

Its not overrated, its underrated. but if you feel that way, send me a list of what gear you own and I will be glad to take it off your hands and put it to good use. :D

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

Not at all. My best day was when my oldest son took his first deer. It took him 4 years but I was there every year till he got him. It's not just about the "kill". We hunters experience more that most will ever get to see. That is what hunting is all about for me. Not what I put up on my wall. That is just a plus.

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

HELL NO! Hunt or die! Only two seasons in my book! Hunting season and waiting for hunting season!

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

Asking that question on this site is like asking a crowd of fat people if doughnuts are overrated....ok that was a little mean [&:]

RE: Deer hunting over rated?
 

hell no its fun and its better than working plus i love sitting in the woods even when i dont see anything just gives you some time to think and enjoy life.