am i a bad hunter
 

The is my third season hunting. My first year I got myself a button buck. Last year was a horrible year. A few deer did come by my stand never got a good shot at one. This year I am seeing more deer. I could have had a few good shots, but have had a few foul ups with my bow or a deer stoping right in front of a branch. How come many hunters seem to get a deer every season? I try and do everything right scouting, make sure I am scent free, put out lures, etc. The area I hunt has a lot of deer. So I know thats not the problem. So far this season I have had 4 does and a small 4 pointer pass within 10 yards of my stand.

RE: am i a bad hunter
 

Doesn' t sound like you are terrible at all - it is a rough sport. The people who connect year after year usually have been doing this for a long time. Be patient:)

Are you hunting out of the same stand or the same area or do you have multiple stands set up?

Maybe try to lay of the scent lures - they can be funny thing those lures, and your presentation and timing has to be perfect to fool a deers best defense.

Good Luck

RE: am i a bad hunter
 

Thats why they call it hunting and not grocery shopping. Gee I have seen deer everyday in the pas t5 days and spent 40 hours in the stand and have not gotten anything yet. Just keep trying

RE: am i a bad hunter
 

Deerhunter1224,

In a word " Yes" . You are a bad hunter.

Only kidding. It is called hunting for a reason. I wouldn' t worry about getting that buck of a lifetime. I would only worry about you getting what you are looking for out of the woods. I mean make sure you are going to the woods for the right reasons. If you are only after that monster rack then I don' t think you should complain because for as many pictures as we see of a hunter with a huge rack there are a thousand times more hunters out there with nothing on the wall and nothing in the freezer. It is rare indeed to take a huge deer. However if you are looking to get the most out of the woods by taking in all the experiences and hunting for the love of hunting, then I think you are being awfully hard on your self. Just remember why you hunt and then re-evaluate your skill as a hunter.

RE: am i a bad hunter
 

I am not looking for the huge deer of a life time. yes would be nice it wont happen. heck i dont have a problem taking a doe. i do enjoy sitting there watching nature.

RE: am i a bad hunter
 

i have bowhunted for four years, and rifled hunted for two of those, i still have not got one. i don' t consider myself a bad hunter, just a really unlucky one! i have had a few shots at deer, only hit one, but couldn' t find a drop of blood. sometimes i feel like a bad hunter, but i think of " that guy" who has hunted for years and hasnt gotten one in who knows how long

RE: am i a bad hunter
 

Agree with all the responses. It all comes down to time in the woods. It' s unpredictable - that' s what keeps us going back out again and again. If lots of shooting opportunities at big bucks is the only thing that makes us happy, then we wouldn' t be at this for very long. That is, unless you' re on your own TV show. :)

RE: am i a bad hunter
 

All I can say is success comes with experience. I went two years before ever shooting my first with a bow. I now will always get at least one with my bow each year. It also depends on conditions, when you get to hunt, and the herd in your area. My first two years were poor because I hunted land that was not very advantagious for bow hunting. I now have land that is great for bow hunting.

I guess what Im saying is success rate doesnt depend on the quality of the hunter, but on a gambit of factors.



Keep hunting, Keep practicing, Keep learning, and most of all Keep on hunting.

RE: am i a bad hunter
 

Thats what makes a good hunter. If you enjoy nature and enjoy setting and observing you have half the battle won.

RE: am i a bad hunter
 

As long as you keep your quote in mind. You' ll get better.

RE: am i a bad hunter
 

You are not a bad hunter, but you need to DEMAND RESPECT of your own self first. Perhaps you would want to go sit in a stand & refuse to come down until you take a deer of your liking. One time I went out & I shot free throws on the dirt court before I made out for the woods. I knew this would relax me & it was sure to DEMAND RESPECT as I hit 20 of 20 in a row.

RE: am i a bad hunter
 

this sport is not for the weak of heart. Stick with it....once you get your first deer you will think all of the troubles were worth it

RE: am i a bad hunter
 

I' m in my third year bowhunting myself, and have yet to take one.
I think that if you' re seeing deer, not getting busted, and not missing them all the time or wounding them and not being able to recover them, then you' re doing ok.

Don' t get impatient and take a bad shot.
I' m proud to say that I' ve passed on 3 shot opportunities because they were poor angles, too much stuff in the way, or the deer was aware of me and would likely jump the string.

Ted Nugent said it best:
Don' t be afraid to let your bow down and let him walk.
The perfect moment will come.

RE: am i a bad hunter
 

Nobody who has posted on this thread is a bad hunter. It can take years or even a lifetime to slowly build up knowledge of deer behaviors, and to take big deer. Read all you can, observe and learn, and hunt hard. Good Luck to everybody this season!
Mark
http://www.buckhuntersecrets.com

RE: am i a bad hunter
 

AMEN to that

Sometimes hunting success is from hard work, sometimes its from luck. But I promise you.... the harder you work, the luckier you' ll get!

RE: am i a bad hunter
 

I agree with all of these posts. My father is a wonderful hunter and a wonderful person moreover. he has been hunting more than 30 years and has never even seen a deer with an 8 pt rack or bigger while hunting. we hunt on good land and he hunts hard. sometimes you just dont see the deer, then it becomes very hard to shoot them.

RE: am i a bad hunter
 

Very true. Luck is simply when preperation meets opportunity.

RE: am i a bad hunter
 

Well it is one or more of the following things:

1. Dumb luck
2. Experience
3. Persaverance

I wish I had the dumb luck portion, but I don' t, I have 40 seasons under my belt so #2 helps, but #3 is what gets me deer. If I didn' t love the outdoors so much I would trade the #3 for the #1!:D

RE: am i a bad hunter
 

Have faith and keep at it. Sometimes it is the simple things that count. When I find myself in a funk sometimes it is time to get back to the basics. Check your weapon make sure it will not let you down when the time comes. Practice make sure you are confident that you can make the shot. Sometimes you got to forget about all that technology and just hunt. Think like a deer. learn all you can about thier habits. What time of the season is it? What are the deer thinking about? Food or water or does or what? Then put yourself in the path of whatever they want. Know your area like the back of your hand. Scout during the off season so you know where the deer go all year around. This helps when you can' t find them during season. All of this stuff takes time and patience and you sound like you are using both wisely. Stick to it and it will come around. Think like a deer and forget about all those calls and lures. They have thier place but there are many more deer shot each year without them than with. Basics, Basics, Basics. Bedding ground, food, water, does. Deer are alot like men alittle of each of these and we are happy. put yourself in the right spot and it will seem easy.

RE: am i a bad hunter
 

Its been my observation that the people who seem to connect every year are the ones that hunt over a feeder. Which isnt hunting, in my humble opinion.
You' re doing fine. Its the dry spells that make the eventual success all the sweeter.
SC in LR

RE: am i a bad hunter
 

There have been many seasons where I have gone home empty handed. Sometimes the bucks show up and sometimes they don' t. However, I have learned a lot of what to do and what not to do during those seasons. It is frusterating not to take a buck when you put in so much time effort and money but, the biggest educator of all is patience. It will come, just give it time. Your not a bad hunter, your just like everyone in here.

RE: am i a bad hunter
 

Experience does really go a long way...and it' s not just how many years you have been hunting, it' s how many times you' ve been out there, how long you stay out, and how many different hunting situations you get into and allow yourself to learn from.
Not to get mushy, but my quick morning prayer includes something like " If today is not my day to harvest, then please, take this opportunity to teach me something."
I try to take a small lesson home with me every time.
-Sometimes it' s something simple like when hunting on the ground, remember to clear the leaves and sticks away from your feet so you don' t make noise when repositioning them for a shot.
-Other times I get to watch deer and become more familiar with the rhythm of their movements and keeness of their senses.
...but there is always something if you' re open to the idea that there is more to learn.

RE: am i a bad hunter
 

That may be true in some cases, but I assure you not everyone who is succesful year after year is hunting over feeders. The ones who hunt the hardest and put the most time in are the ones that consistently connect. Not everyone has the time or the desire to make it happen every year, and that is fine. As long as you enjoy the experience and work towards reaching your personal goals, you are doing great! Tagging an animal is not the only measure of success.