Lessons learned 2015

[Jackson Marsh]

Once you are onto a buck you think you would like to kill.....stay on him, don't come back a month later and "hope" he is still around.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Kraftd]

-You see way more big bucks when the wind is right for them and you figure out a way to play it. This was true for both bucks I killed this year (1.5 and 3.5) and the two 4.5 plus I had in range but could not seal the deal on. Never saw a decent buck when the wind was great for me. Looking back into some of my past notes and sits, I am becoming more and more convinced in many areas this is THE key. As is often discussed on here, bedding and/or exit from bedding in certain terrain is so often wind based. If you only plan to hunt a bed or spot when the wind is iron-clad in your favor, more often than not, the deer will be bedded somewhere else or moving a different direction. I know Dan talks about deer leaving beds wind to the back in the marsh often. In particular in the cedar swamps I hunt in central WI, my experience has been a little different, but I'm pretty new at this. My success has been improving substantially the more I think about this concept. This is probably old-hat to most of the folks here, but letting it sink in completely for me ion the last two years has really helped me.
-Make a plan, trust it, and give it a run, then scout afterwards if need be and refine.
-Think about everything. There is no such thing as over-analyzing or over planning. The more you understand the better off you will be.

[cedarsavage]

1. I learned a lot of confidence in my spots and setups without the beast I would have never been confident setting up so low in trees and would've hunted for trees rather than deer. I killed 3 deer on public in Michigan one at 20 ft up, one at ground level on a tree stand and one at eight feet Iast season I would have never sat in the last two spots. 2. Lie about where you're hunting; nobody else needs to know if you killed something on public regardless of how small the deer is any deer killed on public ground in pressured areas will attract attention.
3. Scout more than you hunt; I have at least a dozen spots I never got an opportunity to hunt so I kept getting to play new cards.
4. Spend as much time on the beast and watching dans videos I'm just scratching the surface on this type of hunting.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Zona]

1. Find more beds for rare winds. We had a lot of East and south winds during the season and I didn't have enough of those beds to keep things fresh.
2. A steady 10-20mph wind can be your friend. Saving hard to get to set ups for windy days helped me get setup quietly in a couple spots that I would of had no chance in on a calm day.
3. Water holes near doe bedding during the rut are golden. My trail cams got to shoot a few good bucks this year. I did not. lol
4. When you least expect a good buck to show up......expect it. Focus....focus.....focus. Don't spend all your time on stand posting on the "Live from the stand thread."
5. If it's 80 degrees the first week of November in the north, go to work and take the following week off when the temps drop.
6. Scout...scout...scout....hunt.....scout....scout......scout.....hunt. Repeat as needed.

[WSalzNC]

1. The more I learn about hunting mature bucks, the more I realize how much I have left to learn. Also, luck still plays a small role in seeing and killing mature deer, and there are many factors (other people, weather, predators, randomness, etc.) that I can't control. I have to work hard to optimize the factors I can control, but also accept that stuff is not always going to go my way. When I do this well, I leave the woods grateful for the experience and the lessons regardless of what happens.

2. I don't have to live and hunt by anyone else's standards on HB, on the W2H podcast, etc. even though I use all those things to get better, and even though I strive to be a mature buck aficianado. If I want meat for 2016, then I'm going to have to kill some non-P&Y deer over the next 2 weeks, and I'm not going to feel bad about or apologize for it!

3. You will drive yourself crazy posting a detailed, proposed strategy with topos and notes, then hitting the refresh button on the HB site all day at work waiting for a reply...

[msailor]

Where you think you are most likely to get a crack at a big buck may not be where you end up getting a crack at one. Do not under estimate any hunt because he can walk in when you least expect it. In ten seconds you can have the biggest buck of your life dead.

[ Post made via Android ]

I'd add to this; don't expect a mature buck to give you that perfect broadside shot as he stands like a statue in your buick-sized shooting lanes. Be ready to kill the buck the instant you have an ethical shot. Focus on the "micro" shot-picture.