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What makes you able to compete with the pros?

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 5:55 am
by adrenalin
What is the most important part of your hunting techniques? With most everyone here being a weekend hunter or at least not hunting for a living, their are some that can compete with the pros. It takes a lot better hunter to be able to kill the same quality deer while being in the woods only a fraction of the time. To me their is a big difference between having a property full of big deer and hunting the types of property most of us are faced with. I know most responses will be find buck beds, go shining, trail cams, and scout as much as you can. But what I'm looking for is what detailed things do you do or think about that you feel ups your success with less time in the woods than the pros. Is there something that really impacted your hunting and is now a major role in your success?

Re: What makes you able to compete with the pros?

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 6:01 am
by Casper
I don't consider people on tv "pros". They just happen to have a cameraman with them.

The one thing any hunter can do to improve their odds is to scout and scout some more. Know all your properties public or private and hunt them accordingly.

Re: What makes you able to compete with the pros?

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 6:45 am
by Dewey
The only "Pro's" out there are the whitetails themselves. ;)

Re: What makes you able to compete with the pros?

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 7:10 am
by Zap
There can be no competition unless the partacipant's have the same ground to hunt.

Comparing buck "score's" from differant type's of hunting property's can be very decieving.

Lotsa folk's I know use feeder's and mineral's with camera's to watch those thing's to an unbelievable degree.
These thing's are used on very unpressured property's, and can produce result's with minimal actual "hunting" involved.

Comparing a buck killed under these circumstance's to a pack in hunter's kill on public access ground is a joke.

I believe everyone should hunt by the mean's that is legal and make's them happy, but I also feel that most want to just show off kill pic's/trophy's.
How the animal is found/killed is of no matter.
I am glad I like to do thing's a differant way, and find the enjoyment of the hunt is the hunt not the kill.

It would not bother me a bit if trail cam's were illegal, the same for feeder's/mineral's.

There are alot of hunter's out there that do not have a clue how to find/kill deer without those thing's to help them, I think that is sad.

I would take my chance's against any hunter, pro or joe, on the same ground anyday.
Just another day hunting/learning, so it's all good no matter who shoot's what.

marty

Re: What makes you able to compete with the pros?

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 7:45 am
by adrenalin
Ok, guys maybe I used the wrong wording because this is not at all what I was getting at. So I will give an example to make it easier for you to understand the question. Dan does not hunt full time, but we all know by his trophy bucks and where he killed them that he obviously is very succesful with his hunting methods. So with him spending a whole lot less time hunting than a full time hunter he has to make way more thought out descisions because he can't hunt everyday and has limited oportunities. This means he has to make it count when he gets the chance. So what goes through a guys like his mind that makes him so succesfull? Looking for the details, not just generalize stuff like find buck beds.

Re: What makes you able to compete with the pros?

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 9:32 am
by dan
I don't think there is an easy answer... The "Pro's" generally do better than me. This is basically because of the ground they are hunting. I really think what sets me apart from the "PROs" is that I have to work hard and learn from my mistakes and really take the time to notice the subtle sign, and read the woods... If your on 3000 acres with hundreds of P&Y bucks, even a blind monkey could shoot one.
Don't get me wrong, not nocking them. Most of the people who diss the pro's would jump at the chance to replace them.
Have you ever seen the show where they have a "hit list" of the top bucks they would like to shoot given the chance????
Well, Andrae has a pretty nice managed farm, but its nothing like theres, but Andrae seems to manage to get the one and only buck he has on his hit list almost every year... Why? Cause his roots in hunting go back to starting on public ground, earning his deer and paying his dues.

Re: What makes you able to compete with the pros?

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 12:55 pm
by magicman54494
I have pixie dust! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Seriously, I have hunted many years and never quit trying to learn one more little tidbit that will up my % by even a part of a %. I would say that attention to detail is one key. I'm not afraid to try new tactics. I learned a long time ago that deer don't do what their "supposed" to do.
I just started tracking deer 3 years ago. I can not stress enough the value of following mature tracks. I learned more about mature bucks in a few seasons then the rest combined! Following tracks gets you thinking like a mature buck. Believe me, they will do stuff that you wouldn't believe unless you saw it with your own eyes.
I never give up. My motto is "you only have to win once". When the season isn't going good I remind myself of this.

Re: What makes you able to compete with the pros?

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 1:21 pm
by adrenalin
Good info Magic, never really thought about tracking a big buck, but it sure would be a good education. Probably give you a good idea of there weaknesses also.

Re: What makes you able to compete with the pros?

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 1:55 pm
by Stuart
Dewey is right, that is what keeps us coming back for more!!! :lol:

Re: What makes you able to compete with the pros?

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 5:09 pm
by Swampthing
This may sound a little strange ,but we as humans don,t realize how easy living we have .Everything is a convience ,food,shelter,we do take a lot for granted .If most of us were dropped in the middle of a jungle and really had to survive I think a lot of us humans, myself included might have a heck of a time surviving with our meeger survival skills. I love to hunt ,but I don,t hunt to eat,at least not like a wild animal does.There is no supermarket out in the wild for a wolf,coyote,cougar or whatever.They have no options.They either succesfully hunt or they go hungry and die.I,m not out anything on an unsuccesful hunt ,other than mabey a little disappointment,and pride perhaps.We are,nt coming home to a hungry family waiting for a log awaited meal to be brought home only to come home empty handed and have to explain how eating will at least be another day away.There are a few of us that truely have lived off the land ,I know Dan himself did when he was younger. Dan talked about in his videos about how people rush through the woods and don,t take time to pay attention to all the things they should be.We all do lead very fast -paced lives which is just the way our world works and it,s hard to flip the switch when we enter the woods.I know I use to have a million other things in the back of my mind when I hit the woods.I try now to imagine myself as a predator that has only 1 goal that is too succeed on my hunts and if I don,t I,m going hungry .It,s really hard to do ,but it,s what works for me.I love the big antlers like everyone else.But I get a lot of pride succeding on a hunt even if I don,t pull the trigger,which i have,nt yet this year.But I go through the motions with every deer Big Buck or little doe .Creeping,through the woods or sitting in a stand,pulling back for the shot waiting for that moment when you know you have that deer dead in your sites and he does,nt have a clue that he is as good as dead and you just spared his life.So far this season I only have 1 regret on a hunt. I always stay out till the last possible moment of shooting light ,sometimes even longer just to see if he comes out and my set-up was right on.Just don,t wanta ever have to look back and think I did,nt put all I could into any hunt. I last week i got a little frustrated and tore down my set-up early ,cause I convinced myself with the coyotes in the area that it would be a deerless nite.And with the drive back home empty handed and thinking about tearing down in darkness and a 1/2 mile walk back to the truck,leaving a little early sounded justifiable.So I tore down ,and I,m standing there looking at the ground staring at my bow 5 feet away and my equipment in a pile at my feet .I was feeling a little guilty but man I,ll be getting home early 2 nite.I looked up and 28 yards away is the Big 8 point standing right where the coyote had stood only moments b4.His head was locked in the direction of the coyotes path to the North.Somehow he had,nt seen me standing there ! I knew there was no way I would be able to reach my bow b4 he noticed me and vanished,but I had to try. I took 1 step towards my bow and he turned his head to stare me down.We stood there eyes locked for 30 seconds and he trotted North up the coyotes trail.And he was Gone ! My set-up was right on he came out like I hoped he would ,perfect except for the part where I bailed out early on my hunt.Like Dan says if you don,t have total confidence in your set than you will not hunt or act as you should.I looked down at my watch 7:11 p.m. 3 minutes left of legal shooting time.A very hard lesson learned.

Re: What makes you able to compete with the pros?

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 11:31 pm
by Treejunkie
I too dont believe for a second that these "so-called Pros" are any better hunters than the average Joe on the street who is dedicated to hunting. These guys are hunting prime areas loaded with bucks. Sure it takes skill to setup your stands, but a bunch of these guys/gals are setup by the outfitter. , I could kill a buck too with that kind of help. :lol:

I have learned this year by Dan and Andrae that I only hunt my spots when conditions are perfect or near perfect. I use to think just being out there I was improving my chances at killing a buck. Now I stay out of my prime areas until conditions are either perfect or near perfect. I will go hunt lesser properties (public) when those factors dont exist for the day.

When I say near perfect conditions, I mean wind directions. I have a couple of spots that lend themselves to a wind that deer bedded there use to their advantage. One example. I have a stand that if the wind is blowing perfectly south, you would never think of hunting there because the wind is blowing directly into their bedding area. If the wind is ever so slighly SW, this stand rocks.

Using my milkweeds years ago, I noticed that a SW wind will actually not blow my scent into their bedding area. The terrain of the land will actually make my milkweed pods go east about 60-70 yards downwind of my stand. With the bedding area no where as thick NE of me, deer do not bed there, hence those deer on a SW wind think they are using the wind to their advantage when they are walking towards me & have no idea I am in my stand. 8-)

Re: What makes you able to compete with the pros?

Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 3:05 am
by publiclandhunter
Great topic and some good responses so far!

I would never consider myself a true "Pro" and personally would never believe that I have the moxy to compete with the best of them. Here's why....
Most of the self-proclaimed "Pros" believe that they are in that realm by acquiring huge dollar sponsors and having a TV/Cable show that shows them doing what they love best - hunting or fishing. There are some very knowledgeable folks in that industry and others that frankly, shouldn't even be on camera, they tend to hurt the sport more than help promote it. A high number of the same folks don't utilize any "skill" and are simply plopping down some cash and hunting managed areas and sitting in a stand someone else hung for them. maybe they enjoy that, but it is not my cup of tea.
I feel the real "Pros" are the folks on this website (members) who get it done fairly regularly in regular/tough conditions and never garner any fame for it - Magicman, Publiclandbeast, Dan, Singing Bridge, etc, etc (I could go on with probably twenty or so names but you know who you are.

A few more real "pros" I would like to add are Larry Benoit, Gene & Barry Wensel, Andrae D'Acquisto, Noble Carlson, Hal Blood, Myles Keller, Paul Brunner and the rest of the Benoit clan. They were all getting it done before it was popular. I have learned a ton from them as well as the folks on this site.
I believe that those who open their minds and try to learn continually, exercise common-sense and patience, put in the "hard-work" and never give up, will continually outshine those who believe that a magic shortcut exists. My secret....do all I have mentioned and have fun in the process and enjoy the process. The day I quit enjoying the process and only focus on the end result, I will take up photography and antique collecting.

Strive for big goals and enjoy the path you walk...don't ever judge your success by looking at someone who wears a different pair of shoes than you.

PLH

Re: What makes you able to compete with the pros?

Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 4:44 am
by dan
Very well said PLH 8-)

Re: What makes you able to compete with the pros?

Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:32 am
by Schultzy
It seems when you mention the word pros some people get touchy. To me some of these pros hunt on awesome land so the chances of them getting It done are good while other pros get It done no matter the land their hunting on.

As for myself I have to have my animals very close being I shoot a recurve. Anything over 20 yards and It's usually getting a pass so I really have to concentrate on finding the perfect set up. It's not an easy thing to do, my room for error Is very minimum. I love the fact that Andrea Is a compound shooter but yet he won't take shots past 20 yards. He likes his shots close which to me Is what bowhunting Is all about. Up and close hunting.

Re: What makes you able to compete with the pros?

Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 11:22 am
by adrenalin
Good responses guys. Ya I guess pros was a bad choice of words, I was actually refuring to skilled hunters who can hunt everyday. The whole idea that got me thinking was from fishing tournaments on Lake Michigan and how this relates to hunting. There are a lot of full time charter captains that fish these tournaments fishing twice a day 7 days a week, but somehow there are a few of us weekend guys that really give them a run for their money and often winning. We spend far less time on the water, but pay that much more attention to all the details to produce. I know alot of the guys on this site are the same way with hunting so the more you can learn from them the farther ahead you will be. Alot of times it is one key thing that will really get the ball rolling to make you start thinking like they do. Being able to sift through all the information you are gathering and weeding out the irrelavent stuff is a skill. I guess when I've been sitting in the tree lately instead of just waiting for the big buck to come out I have been trying to really go over how the deer use the land I"m hunting and why. It's not always as easy when your not right their looking at it, so the light bulb has gone on a few times lately.