newguy23

I have been fortunate enough to collect some trophies over the last few years.

My hints
1) LET THE SMALL ONES WALK... If you fill your tag with a 6-pointer you won't have the opportunity at getting something bigger. I get disappointed with all the "Large 7-pointer" topics on this web site. That is a 1.5 year old deer ussually, you should be more proud to take a large doe. This includes managing your property (QDMA).
2) Control your scent (Be CRAZY about scent control).
3) Hunt where you see the most deer, don't get obsessed with buck sign. Food sources or "pinch-points" are my favorite areas.
4) Hunt smarter - ALWAYS hunt the first and last 2 hours of daylight. Try to hunt as much of the pre-rut and rut as possible. I hate hunting the post-rut, too hard to predict.
5) Hunt harder - you have to put your time in... More time in stand ussually equals success, especially during the rut.

Bullet Hole Bailey

GregH!

newguy23

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bigangrychicken

I've taken one over 130, 7 of the last 10 years. Alot of it is luck. I spend alot of time in the woods--scouting and hunting. The most important thing is just spending alot of time where the big ones live. I've started hunting the midwest every year for the last 5---that helps a ton.

sngehl01

you have some nice deer hanging there newguy, very nice.

Here are some suggestions I have, i'm only 22, killed one "mounter," but I think I understand HOW to kill big deer. Knowledge is only part of it, application is the bigger part (and here lies my problem, ha ha). Others have probably already said everything I have to say, but here it comes.

First off, rack size/quality depends a lot on where you hunt. I believe you said you hunt in KY, on a large farm, so quality deer being around shouldn't be a problem for you.

* scent control. Make sure you go to GREAT extents to keep your scent to a minimum. You will never eliminate it, but you can take many precautions to make sure it stays at a minimum. Wash in scent free detergent, AIR DRY (if you can), if not use machine with several fresh-earth scented dryer sheets (your wife will probably hate you for this). Take it straight from the dryer to a scent free bag or tote. Pack it with some Fresh Earth scent wafers, or make a mixture of your own (pack a large sock full of earth from where you hunt, put everything from acorns to berries to topsoil with leaves and etc in it). This is to help mask whatever scents you will have on you, as well as help the clothes absorb the earth scent. Scent free wash before you go hunting, every time. Don't wear scented deodorant, wear no deodorant or scent free. Every time you store your clothes, store them back in the scent free container, not in your bedroom or living room, etc etc. DON'T walk behind your truck or fourwheeler if you have to get out to open a gate or anything. Don't contaminate your clothes with the exhaust smell. You can read more about scent free on here, but this will help get you started.

* be silent when entering the woods. Don't go tromping around, know where you're gonna go and get there. Plan out on how you're going to get there where you won't be going through bedding areas or even close to them. I would suggest hunting from a stand if you don't already. If you put up ladder stands, put them up EARLY. Don't do it a week before season. I would suggest putting them up two months before you start hunting. I just leave mine up all year round, and just check them to make sure they are safe every fall.

* spend lots of time in the woods, but don't hunt the same spot more than a couple times a week. The more you stomp through an area, the more chances you have of spooking deer from there. Have several spots to hunt throughout the season.

* stay awake in your stand. Some may laugh, but I know A LOT of people who sleep in their stand and simply figure that deer walking or w/e will wake them up. It's about 50/50 on whether I hear or see the deer first. You can't just have your ears open, you have to have your eyes open and scouring the woods. Be attentive, and stay quiet in your stand. Don't be playing a Gameboy or reading a magazine. If you go out in the woods to hunt, then hunt. (Personally, I do read a book in my stand. I check often to see if I see deer, but I also don't really care if I shoot a deer sometimes. Sometimes I just like the tranquility in the woods. If I am going to give my best effort at shooting a deer, I leave the book at home.) It's all about where your priorities lie.

* don't shoot the first deer you see. Especially don't shoot the first buck. I have been hunting many times and seen a small buck or some does followed by more deer 10-15 minutes later. Once there was a very nice buck walk out, but I had already used my buck tag[:@]. If you want a shoot a mounter, then don't bother shooting a buck you wouldn't mount. If you aren't seeing anything other than scrub bucks (as in, not seeing does either) and want meat, by all means shoot one, but try to wait until late in the season to do this, or wait until you won't be able to hunt anymore. You want your buck tag available, always, just incase. If you have the choice between a doe and a scrub buck, shoot the doe. How can a small buck grow into a big buck if he's dead? Some deer are 2-1/2 years old and have nice 8 point racks, but it's still a young deer that will GROW! That nice 8 at 2-1/2 will be a hog when he matures, or when he's about 4-1/2 to 5-1/2 years old. If you shoot a doe, don't stop hunting, especially if the rut is on. When the rut is on, bucks will run right up to her, dead on the ground.

* hunt with dedication. Don't go out 15 minutes before daylight. Get out there an hour and a half before daylight or so (depending on your local law regulations). Get out AS EARLY as possible. Make sure you hunt the first few hours of daylight and last few hours of daylight. These are the times where I see the most deer activity. I'd say two hours after sun up and two hours before sun down. Someone mentioned this earlier, and I have to agree.

This is about as much as I can think to offer right now. I wish you luck in your hunting, especially this weekend (I believe this is KY's last weekend of muzzleloader season?). Hopefully you bag a nice one.

Here is the one I shot this year. I did NOTHING that I suggested in this post, I just got lucky. Sometimes that's all it takes. He's not the biggest deer ever, but the biggest I have had the opportunity to take.



Good luck!

Rory/MO

Who the hell are you to decide what others should be proud of [:'(]

newguy23

Be proud of what you wish. But I subscribe to quality deer management. This is a SCIENTIFIC approach to maintaining a healthy deer herd. Within QDMA the harvesting of immature bucks is heavily discouraged.

My concern is people passing on does to harvest immature bucks. There is no logic behind that. We should be agressively harvesting does to keep the deer herd in check. A doe will fill your freezer just as well as an immature buck. And keep the doe-to-buck ratio in ballance. A ballanced doe-to-buck ratio is one way in determining the quality of your deer herd.

Go to www.qdma.com for more information.

bowmanaj

Man, people hunt for many reasons, its not always about trophy racks, and not everyone has their own land/enough land to practice qdm.. I only have 15 acres, and Ive passed on little guys, but who's to say the farmer down the road didnt kill him..People should be proud of EVERYTHING they shoot.

DJ2065

I agree with the post above........I'm in a similar situation. I've been hunting the same 80 acre tract for the last 10 yrs. I've only taken 2 bucks that I consider big. Around my neck of the woods, anything over 17" is big. There's always an occasional 20 incher taken in my county. I've let bunches of small bucks walk.....heck, I even let the does walk. My family won't eat over 2 deer a year so I see no need in taking any more. Besides, on all the property around me it goes like this.....if it's brown, it goes down. Hopefully some of the does I let walk will hang around my area and drag something big in during the rut. To those of you who kill big bucks every year, I tip my hat to ya. Consider yourselves fortunate to have quality land and deer with quality genetics. There's some good genetics in my area but the little bucks rarely survive long enough to reach trophy size. Those guys on Whitetail Freaks have thousands of acres to hunt with adjoining properties that practice trophy management. We could all take 180+ bucks every year if we had that type of set up.

newguy23

I don't want to get in a fight... Hunting philosophy is like arguing religion. But let's look at this from a scientific standpoint. SCIENTIFICALLY speaking genetics play a VERY small role in the overall quality of a deer's antlers. If you let a deer get to 3.5 years old in most parts of the country, it will have at least a 120-inch rack.

Whether you agree with the philosophy of QDMA. I would hope as hunters you can understand the idea of deer herd management. A doe-to-buck ratio of 1-to-1 is what we should strive for.

I also detest the argument "If I don't shoot it my neighbor will". This is an easy-out for most people to convince themselves to take immature bucks. I can guarantee you one thing. If you shoot a 1.5 or 2.5 year old buck, it is never going to have the chance to reach full maturity and maximum antler growth. These are quality benefits of a well managed deer herd.