Luck in deer hunting
 

I would like to know what percentage of deer hunting do you believe is luck and what percentage do you believe is skill? I believe that it is similar to fishing, 50% skill, 50% luck.
It amazes me at our hunting club that some of what I consider less skilled hunters shoot wall hangers. They do not scout and hunt very little during the season. I live in the woods and I am less successful than them. I do not consider myself an accomplished or highly skilled hunter but I do consider myself very unlucky (at hunting or fishing).

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

LA...Good question. I agree with you about some folks that are more lucky than good. I personally feel that I make my own luck when it comes to hunting. It seems that the harder I work, the luckier I get. That being said, there is absolutely no doubt that luck plays a role in being successful while deer hunting. We all need a certain amount of luck, and 50% is higher than I seem to experience. To be a successful deer hunter a lot of things come into play. Sure, we can be lucky at times but to be consistent, being a good woodsman, having a good knowledge of the game being hunted is far more important than relying on luck....

Also, those who seem to be lucky especially when spending little time in the woods is a personal matter. Some people would rather be lucky than good but I cherish the time I spend each Fall hunting whitetail deer. I would much rather go home empty handed at the end of a long season than get lucky and punch my tag on a nice buck because I was lucky early.

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

Interesting question....
I believe that it is mostly skill and knowledge though I suppose some may have more luck than others. My one brother always gets a good buck, fills his doe tags, and catches the most or biggest fish. My other brother hardly ever gets anything. My uncle D. (known to be a BS'er) is always criticized for his hunting skills and yet he always does well. Another uncle who knows next to nothing about hunting and never spends any time in the woods always comes home the first day with a nice buck - we suspect he hunts at a game farm or something!
Still, you've gotta learn your area, learn about deer, and especially keep quiet and scent-free.......

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

i think it's about you bettering your chances by knowing everything you can and doing everything you can, but luck definately plays a part in the hunt too......lucky the deer walked within range, lucky it came by in the first place, but you knew the chances were good because what you found when scouting....lucky it didnt scent you.....ya'll get what i'm tryin' to say , ;):):D

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

I would also say that luck has something to do with it but for me it’s also intuition. I’ve always had this feeling on where to position my self for the days hunt or how to react to a situation. Some might say it’s skill but for me I react more on the gut feeling I get.

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

Luck can always be a factor but the best way to tag a big buck in my area is to let the smaller bucks walk.The larger bucks are usually taken by the hunters with the most patience.

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

i believe you put your time in in the field and you make your own luck. pattern the does and watch the bucks and you make your own luck. i would say it is still 65 percent skill and 35 percent luck. ya gotta be lucky enough to see them to pattern them to shoot them.

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

i know about those guys with alot of luck. My fiance and i have been after this elusive swamp buck here in Alabama on our hunting land for 3 yrs. We have tried everything and done just about anything to get this buck. Last season a new guy joined our hunting club, he has no experience and just doesn't try at all. He was in a shooting house on a plot just outside the swamp, this buck( by our deer cams) has never to our knowledge been in this plot. The guy was in there drinking a beer and eating sunflower seeds, he got out of the stand and walked behind a tree to relieve himself, and the buck walked in the plot 40 yrds. from him and he shot it. This buck just walked into the plot, the rut wasn't even in yet, he has always stayed in the swamp this time of year. when he broaght it to our house to show us i thought i was going to be sick[X(]. but it's ok, and i told him i was proud of him and his trophy. :(

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

Luck is always a factor whether we admit it or not, horseshoe luck is a totally different matter though and while one might be this type of lucky once in awhile, to be truly successful on a regular basis it takes knowledge and skill. You can always throw in a little dose of luck for good measure. Like trailer I use the gut feelings, I must say most of my gut feelings come directly from knowing the spot when I see it, last fall it happened 3 times I just knew I had to hunt their but also knew I needed the absolute perfect wind to be truly successful. As luck would have it 3 animals were harvested the first day we set up in all 3 spots. 2 were bull elk(1 mine) and 1 whitetail buck. The reason I say luck was I actually got a wind that is not prodominant for the area and time of year, the rest was skill knowing where to sit and what technique to further our chances. So I believe both are required but maybe not for the reason the poster posed this question. To me luck is a variable that can not be controlled but you can control your situation through education/skill. In combo they are deadly!

Sj brings up a good point about patience as well which is a skill. Arguably one of the hardest skills to handle or harness!

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

Luck can play a factor in any single hunt. But to consistently shoot game year in and year out is skill or a really good hunting spot.

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

Luck in hunting is what allows some guy that doesn't have a lot of skill and/or experience to walk into the woods sit on a stump, stone wall or ridge and take an enormous animal.

It's not luck when you have scouted the entire year, factored your scent and wind direction, cover and feeding patterns of the animal you are hunting. Practiced with your weapon of choice till you fire with close to 100% accuracy. To call that person's taking of a nice animal as luck, isn't giving the amount of effort and dedication it's due.

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

There's no luck in it, good or bad.

Things happen. Do you say to yourself, "Boy was I unlucky today", everytime you don't get a deer?

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

I dont belive in luck either I think it has to do with the law of averages. The longer and the more you hunt the better the chance you have .

So stay long and go every chance you can there is your luck.

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

True "Just" you can't catch a fish without a line in the water. Same for hunting spend the time and you will be rewarded. However, there are some of those rare days when the deer are everywhere and you have to calm your nerves to pick one. Luck may play a role there. Couple of years ago I sat in a stand (oxymoron huh?) where I counted 7 does 12 hogs in the am. Took a nice fat doe before I got picked up. Went back in the pm saw 4 nice bucks took a nice 7 pointer and called it a day. Now that was more luck cause the rut was up and these deer where just moving around. At one point I had three bucks in the scope so that is like hitting a 300 yd drive in golf on a day when you shoot a 110. It keeps you coming back.

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

Sacohuntress, tell the truth, I'll bet you are either from Needmore Blue's Old Stand or Sandfield..................

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

I think, as said above, you make your own "luck". If you know your area, pay attention to scent, keep your eyes on the constant lookout and pay attention to the weather cues and sign in your are you can get "lucky".
That said, there are those guys who buy a new gun, have hunting clothes that smell like K-mart, and walk out an are done at 8:00 am with a 10 point.....kinda rare though.

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

Mostly luck and sometimes in order to be lucky you must pay your dues and go and go and go!
I for one enjoy paying the dues and getting to go hunting more. i get alot enjoyment just seeing deer. and thus guys that hunt with me always say "boy you have all the luck" NO i just stay after it.

When they say the weather is going to be bad this weekend and don't go i'm there! i love bad weather hunting cause there ain't no yo yo hunters to get the deer into hide mode.

Is that luck or skill?:eek:

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

Let me clarify what I consider luck in my hunting club.
I hunt with 8 other guys and we have 10 box stands set up overlooking food plots on 1,000 acres and we shoot 6 point or better. I have two climbing stands set up in the woods that I like to hunt because it is more enjoyable to me hunting from them. I will consider wind direction, location, lunar tables, and deer sightings to make my decision on what stand to hunt each day. I will hunt 4 or 5 times or longer to see deer (either in a box or woods stand). A few other individuals will just pick a box to hunt from without any reason and take a deer from them after an hour or two (some see and take bucks with this same method). This in itself is not amazing, but to do it on a fairly consistant basis is. I call what they have luck.

ps I do very much enjoy my time in the woods and consider my lucky to have a place to hunt, relax, and bring my child to go hunting. The property we lease is some of the prettiest property I have ever seen (rolling hills with hardwood bottoms).

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

I agree with those who say that the harder you work and the more you learn, the better your chances are. That said, there is always a bit of good or bad luck involved. Hunting and fishing.

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

that is what i was trying to say , lol......

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

I think that James B summed it up pretty well.

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

I look at it from the long-term, consistency viewpoint. There is good luck and bad luck in just about all of life's ventures. Stuff happens for whatever reason, nobody can predict. Put the effort into any endeavor and over the long haul you will become a consistent winner. Those who really do well in the stock market, for example, put in the time and effort to learn the market, invest in a timely manner when a choice seems to be correct and then grow your portfolio with a long-term determination. Same with hunting and fishing, the more you know about your game, over the long haul, you will be a CONSISTENT WINNER and not just a lucky SOB.

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

some guys its basically 100% luck.......like the guys that are lucky to shoot once a year......dont scout........and really dont hunt much.......what i like to call weekend warriors...hunting weekends and opening day.........them guys luck is most of the hunt.......but for myself the only luck involved is me being there when the deer are.......i scout all year.....hours and hours and hours......some spots( like me and dads honey hole) we scouted for a few years before finding the perfect spot to hunt these deer....we are up to....near 10 deer from the same spot in 4 years....weve seen tons and tons more while hunting that spot.......opening morning lastr year we seen over 20 by 9am.....dad took a doe adn i took a doe then a 6pt.....all by 9am........could seen more and filled all our tags taking bigger bucks if we wanted to wait.....that spot took us a while to find.....lots of scouting and finding where the deer went.....i also shoot all year.......my deer rifle i dont shoot TONS but i shot a few boxes from it each year.....but im constanly shooting and practicing from diffrent HUNTING style positions and everything.....so for me i dont think luck plays a big part at all......if i mess up its my fault.......its a funnel so soon as the deer start moving they are coming by us.......when the guys start moving we really start to see the deer.....but usually first light we have atleast one down.....they are always moving through our spot......only bad thing is its 2 miles back in the woods....but its well worth it....so it depends how you hunt to make a luck ratio.........my other style of hunting after the first few days is getting together with my buddies and doing giant drives.....covering most of a township in a day......drives lasting over an hour.......not much luck there either.....we got guys MAKING the deer move.....and shooters set up covering all the exit routes the deer take........took the drive leader a while to get them to work......but they do now.....and we killed about 20 out there last year alone......some drives we had to do alot of work to get the deer to go by the shooters......positioning them in diffrent spots and driving from diffrent places......they work now.....all we gota do is get some more shooters that can shoot straight!

RE: Luck in deer hunting
 

i vote 50 50