uncle matt

What are the chances you ask? Well it would be best to go to Jimmy The Greek for the chances. Unfortunately he is dead. Poached in the night with a spot light.

You are reading way too much into this. Think about it. If someone bags a big bo they are much more likely to post that instead of a 100 lb. doe. So what you see posted is not an accurate reflection of total harvest of our members. I would venture to bet that only a small percentage of members bother to post their harvests.

Oldtimr

Smitrock,while there is no doubt that poaching happens, far too often. However, most times you will not see a picture of a poached deer on the internet or in the newspaper, unless it is when the conservation officers catch the guy and make it public. Instead questioning the actions of successful hunters, you should be questioning, what are they doing that you are not to make them successful. I am not one of them, I am not enamored by large antlers, I hunt for fun, camaraderie and for my freezer. I know guys who chase big bucks, not just in season, they get to know what deer are around pretty much year round or at least from the time they push antlers. They know the deer, they know their patterns, which change and they know the best places to intercept them. They do not always drop the hammer but they sure stand a better chance than the guys who never scout, or rarely scout and who just go out and sit and hope for the best, which quite frankly is most deer hunters. People make their luck, it doesn;t knock on their front door most times. The guys you think are lucky continuously, probably are doing a lot behind the scenes you don't know about. In addition, when a hunter is patterning a trophy class deer, they don't talk about it, not even to their friends.

Bob H in NH

Most often, not poached. 90% of the deer are killed by 10% of the hunters. Unsuccessfull people give up, here in NH, the amount of hunters in the woods at the start of our 4 week gun season is probably 5 times the amount in the woods at the end. Why? It's cold, they gave up for not seeing deer etc.

Habitually successful hunters put in their time, both before, after and during the season.

JagMagMan

Skilled hunters make their own "luck!"
Sure, I've seen the, "I did everything wrong, and a trophy buck walked out under me," stories! It happens, but not consistently! Sure there are poaching incidents. But sadly, many hunters that put in the hard work necessary to consistently take trophy sized animals are accused of poaching!

Buckhunter46755

Like others have mentioned. It's usually going to take scouting if your after a big one. They generally don't fall in your lap except on the rare occasion. You have to know what's in the area you are hunting and the deers habits & patterns. I personally hunt for sustenance & the enjoyment of the outdoors. The majority of people who kill big ones put in a lot of work. Also depends on where a person is hunting. Public land is different than a large piece of land where the owner has managed the herd and put out food plots, placed trail cams, etc. But yes, unfortunately poaching does happen. I never could understand why someone would do that. Then even brag like they took it legally. It's not only senseless but would be meaningless. Sort of like an empty threat or promise.

mcostan

I don't understand this practice. Why would someone want to cut the head off a deer and leave the meat? I assume to mount but that costs money, you can purchase or find a mount if that's all you want.

I can see taking the whole deer, or at least the backstraps, that makes sense. I don't understand the other though. I kind of think those claims are exaggerated. Not saying your're a liar, but I think the rumor mill tends to exaggerate it. Some stories will claim a hunter shot a deer and just took the head and left the rest. At the hunt club I belong to, hardly anyone took the heads, even the big ones. It was all about the meat.

rockport

Clearly you and I have had very different experiences in life because I don't find it hard to believe at all. I find a hunting club where everybody leaves the big antlers behind much harder to believe.

two very different cultures I reckon

iayotehunter

Hunters who successfully kill deer every year hunt completely different than the average hunter. They hang stands in the winter for the next year, they scout during the summer through early fall and sometimes hang more stands. The never hunt stands of it's an iffy wind. They also won't hunt much of it's warm out usually they hunt the First week of the season, then wait only for cold fronts until they start hunting hard again during the rut. They hunt with minimum impact taking the best trail to get to their stand, that rarely means the easiest or fastest.. They put more time in than anybody else. Last year I hunted 60 of the 69 days in the iowa bow season and I was rewarded with a 156.5" buck as my first buck. This year I'm hunting smarter and I've already seen more mature deer. Patience is one of the biggest factors. You have to pass big deer to shoot BIG deer

rockport

Right, I have some different strategies than you. There is not necessarily only 1 right way but you have to be committed.

I don't scout summer or fall by design. I don't think the information outweighs the intrusion in my case because Ive hunted the same property for years and there really isn't much new information and what there is I will find in Oct hunting well ahead of Nov prime time.

I hunt terrain so it really doesn't change and often has very little deer sign. My hunting is based on how bucks travel in the daylight and knowing the terrain is usually way more important than seeing deer sign.

WV Hunter

To consistently kill big bucks, first you have to have em. Location, Location, Location.
Where I live/hunt, I would honestly have a hard time killing a big one every year if I was spotlighting. LOL. But its all good... you have to work with what you have.

I'm sure there are folks that do unethical things on a regular basis, just to show off what they got. Heck there have been several nationally known big names that have gone down for this. BUT... I do believe most folks are law abiding, and work hard for what they get. I have a couple friends that kill big ones every year...but they live where there are quite a few big ones so the odds are more in their favor than other areas.

Oh, and the deer lose their heads all along the roadways around here. I saw 2 like that last week, and the rut isn't even underway yet. I know in some states it is illegal.