Rack size = successful hunter?
12-30-2009, 03:39 PM
#22
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 1,304
Success should be defined by each individual (lawful) hunter. I think it can change from hunt to hunt and season to season. Hunting isn't a means to an end, it IS the goal in many ways. To alot of people, getting out into the field and sucking in a breath of fresh air is success all on its own.
iSnipe
01-01-2010, 11:15 AM
#23
Fork Horn
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 114
I have killed the 2 biggest deer of my life this year, an 8 and a 14. Both were on private land with no pressure. The best hunt this year was going to Bath Co. with my dad hunting the George Washington National Forest. I didn't get there untill 1000 hrs and had a 2 mile hike to get to where I wanted to be. I scouted around a thicket and found a hot trail. I had to walk another mile to get around it without disturbing the area and get to the other side so the wind would be right. I got set up by 1500 hrs and waited. Got to see 4 does but it wasn't an either sex day. They STILL scented where I walked 3 hours earlier but didn't spook. Public land deer are hard to fool!
01-02-2010, 08:47 AM
#24
Spike
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: iowa
Posts: 4
IMO which ain't worth 2 cents except to me I think that if you get the animal you're after you're successful. For example I usually eat a buck tag each year because I start hunting a particular buck. I don't recommend this insanity to anyone. The year before last I hunted the same buck for 6 weeks before it finally came together. Now that was an awesome feeling of accomplishment. I also shot a doe one year after tracking her across several ravines. That was great. I snuck up on a bedded doe one year and harvested her with one shot (Muzzy). That was fantastic. So the answer to a great hunting season is, "Have you accomplished the goal you have set for yourself?" My greatest hunt? When my son stalked a doe in the rain and took his first deer at 75 yards. 2nd greatest hunt? 2nd son's first deer. 3rd greatest hunt? When 2nd son arrowed his first buck which was a great nine point. 4th greatest hunt. When my wife got her 1st deer, a doe. 5th greatest hunt when my friend got his first deer with a muzzy. Then there's the day my wife got a double, and the day we both got one. I taught them, I guided them, and I have greater joy at those hunts than any others. Now I'm waiting for my grandson to get old enough. The joy for me is in the hunt not in the score. So maybe the only goal we really need is to be hunting?
01-02-2010, 10:58 AM
#27
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Port Neches, Texas
Posts: 5,514
The competition is between you and the deer!
In today's world ANYONE can buy a big buck! Some of these people wouldn't know the difference between a muzzle and the breech!
Also, different areas produce different size deer. Having fun and enjoying the outdoors is success! A freezer full of venison is success! And as far as "trophies" go, a buck that is above average for the area that you hunt is as good as it gets!
01-02-2010, 03:55 PM
#29
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 221
A successful hunter is one who achieved what he set out to do.
To some it is not necessarily a big Antlered deer.
There are times that we see a particular deer and we determine that it will be the deer we will take for that area and that year.
Sometimes myself I set out to just take a video of a certain deer and when I do, I count it a success.
Certain times I set out to take a lesser doe out of group and when I do I count it a success.
The best part of hunting is when you are just out for the sake of hunting and then the unexpected trophy(in your own estimation)appears.You might not take him then, but to me it is still a successful hunt.
To some it is not necessarily a big Antlered deer.
There are times that we see a particular deer and we determine that it will be the deer we will take for that area and that year.
Sometimes myself I set out to just take a video of a certain deer and when I do, I count it a success.
Certain times I set out to take a lesser doe out of group and when I do I count it a success.
The best part of hunting is when you are just out for the sake of hunting and then the unexpected trophy(in your own estimation)appears.You might not take him then, but to me it is still a successful hunt.
