Luck and Hunting
12-14-2004, 06:54 PM
#1
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Flora, IL
Posts: 165
Luck and Hunting
I know everybody will get mad at me for posting this one...but I truely believe it is true. I hunt hard every chance I can go...and the only thing I have come up with is does. One of my buddies has shot a 14 pionter and an 8 pionter in the same year, both scoring over 130. I'm not saying luck is a major factor in hunting, but i swear if there was one deer in a woods, he would shoot it,
What does everybody else think ?
What does everybody else think ?
12-14-2004, 09:28 PM
#5
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Columbus, OH
Posts: 380
RE: Luck and Hunting
ORIGINAL: xeniabuck
One of my buddies has shot a 14 pionter and an 8 pionter in the same year, both scoring over 130.
One of my buddies has shot a 14 pionter and an 8 pionter in the same year, both scoring over 130.
That aside, of course, luck is a part of everything.
12-14-2004, 11:02 PM
#6
Typical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Rockaway,NJ.
Posts: 621
RE: Luck and Hunting
Luck has a lot to do with it but I agree you can better your luck by doing the right things! Sometimes luck is against you no matter how perfect you plan and carry out your hunt! Other times luck throws you a bone when your doing everything wrong! One time while driving a piece of property with my old club a group of deer with 3 bucks came from behind the drivers and ran right into our drive! The club on the next piece over was driving also and sent thier deer into our drive! Thats luck! I once shot a doe while sitting on the tailgate of my truck eating lunch! Thats luck! I once stalked a 5 point for over 3 hours trying to get around him and get a clean shot. I got myself within 15 yards of him and he was looking for me in the opposite direction. There was some skill in that one but I saw him before I even got out of my truck! Thats luck! LOL! My buddy Mike is a buck magnet! We would do the same drive 2 or 3 times a year. Mike would always post in the same spot and always kill a buck! I had the same spot for a few of those drives and never shot a buck! Mike who is now in the spot I usually stand and see nothing kills another buck! Karma!!!!!!!!!!
12-15-2004, 07:50 AM
#8
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,445
RE: Luck and Hunting
No such thing as luck.
A deer that comes your way because others bumped it is a fortunate coincidence. A bullet or arrow deflected by an unseen twig is an unfortunate coincidence. How about beginner's luck? A novice that kills a large buck often just goes out without a lot of pre-conceived notions about what's right and wrong. He simply goes hunting, maybe looks for sign, maybe thinks about the wind, maybe has some ideas about deer behavior. Fact is, this guy approaches hunting differently than the "experts", and those are the guys that the deer have pretty well patterned.
As hunters, we often overthink it, trying to establish "rules" for what deer do and don't do. We plan our hunts according to these rules, and think we are unlucky when we don't see or kill deer. The only rule that holds true is that deer break the rules whenver it suits them.
Some of the best (not luckiest) hunters I know are self-taught, based on their own experiences in the woods. These guys don't read the books or magazines and don't watch the videos. They just hunt using the style they have developed. One guy is a tracker in northern NH. He cuts a good track and then runs that deer down, even if it takes a couple days. Another guy does almost no standing, he just slips through good cover until he sees a deer before it sees him.
The more you do anything, the better you should become at it. The notion of luck or Karma is, in my mind, a crutch.
A deer that comes your way because others bumped it is a fortunate coincidence. A bullet or arrow deflected by an unseen twig is an unfortunate coincidence. How about beginner's luck? A novice that kills a large buck often just goes out without a lot of pre-conceived notions about what's right and wrong. He simply goes hunting, maybe looks for sign, maybe thinks about the wind, maybe has some ideas about deer behavior. Fact is, this guy approaches hunting differently than the "experts", and those are the guys that the deer have pretty well patterned.
As hunters, we often overthink it, trying to establish "rules" for what deer do and don't do. We plan our hunts according to these rules, and think we are unlucky when we don't see or kill deer. The only rule that holds true is that deer break the rules whenver it suits them.
Some of the best (not luckiest) hunters I know are self-taught, based on their own experiences in the woods. These guys don't read the books or magazines and don't watch the videos. They just hunt using the style they have developed. One guy is a tracker in northern NH. He cuts a good track and then runs that deer down, even if it takes a couple days. Another guy does almost no standing, he just slips through good cover until he sees a deer before it sees him.
The more you do anything, the better you should become at it. The notion of luck or Karma is, in my mind, a crutch.
12-15-2004, 04:45 PM
#9
Typical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 590
RE: Luck and Hunting
Actually, hunting is all about luck. Luck, and how you respond when luck provides an opportunity. Now, take a novice hunter and a bona fide hunting expert. They are hunting at entirely different levels of luck, but it's still luck. Take the rolling of a couple of dice, say one guy wins only if he throws snake eyes (he represents your novice hunter), and another guy wins by rolling a 7 (here's your expert). They are both counting on luck, but obviously the guy rolling for 7s is going to get lucky more often.
So, how do you maximize your chance of getting lucky? Simple, roll the dice a lot! In other words, hunt harder and hunt longer. Eventually, the effort will pay off. Then as a bonus, the more time you spend out there, the more you learn, and the higher level of luck you play with.
So, how do you maximize your chance of getting lucky? Simple, roll the dice a lot! In other words, hunt harder and hunt longer. Eventually, the effort will pay off. Then as a bonus, the more time you spend out there, the more you learn, and the higher level of luck you play with.
12-15-2004, 05:35 PM
#10
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Mt.Laurel N.J.
Posts: 500
RE: Luck and Hunting
As my grandfather always said"You gotta be in the right place at the right time".Talk about obvious!
I think it`s 50/50.
As many years that I`ve been deer hunting[about 24],it never siezes to amaze me,the situations I mean.
I`ve been on a week hunting trip,back to back years in the ADKS,N.Y.,during rifle season[in `97&`98],and the first year, hunted in an area for 6 days in a row without seeing a deer.I decided to move to different spot in this piece of woods for an evening stand,seen 2 doe and a 6 ptr within 25 minutes[tagged out].The same thing happened the following year,but that was 5 days of seeing nothing.
I think it`s 50/50.
As many years that I`ve been deer hunting[about 24],it never siezes to amaze me,the situations I mean.
I`ve been on a week hunting trip,back to back years in the ADKS,N.Y.,during rifle season[in `97&`98],and the first year, hunted in an area for 6 days in a row without seeing a deer.I decided to move to different spot in this piece of woods for an evening stand,seen 2 doe and a 6 ptr within 25 minutes[tagged out].The same thing happened the following year,but that was 5 days of seeing nothing.
THAT WAS LUCK
Now that I learned more about ADK deer hunting,It has made me a more successful, knowledgeable,patient deer hunter.I bring this back home to Jersey, and these poor deer down here dont have a chance when I string up my laces.But dont get me wrong---I`m still learning!You could know more about deer than God,but that does`nt mean that you`ll be successful every time out.SKILL DOESN`T HURT
No matter how young or old you are,You`ll still get lucky once in a couple years.And thats where all the good,sometimes funny stories come from.
