Lessons learned?

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Autumn Ninja
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Lessons learned?

Unread postby Autumn Ninja » Wed Jan 05, 2011 3:25 am

It seems that every buck that Ive ever hunted has taught me a lesson. I my have to replay the season several times in my head to make the connection but the lesson is always there. It may appear to be odd behavior at first glance, but after closer examination, it ties into the big picture and often relates to every buck I've ever hunted in one form or another.

My question is....Has there ever been a buck that made you rethink how you hunt? What was the lesson you learned? Was this a turning point in the way you hunt?

Thanks!!!


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Re: Lessons learned?

Unread postby 76chevy » Wed Jan 05, 2011 3:38 am

they bed places for a REASON, it is not random

I have hunted bucks that bed out in the wide open in farm land...they can see you coming if you walk in the predictable routes and always have an escape route or several routes in most cases

They get big by finding small pockets and staying there during daylight hours--I have one such pocket right behind my house. No one would think to hunt there.

this guy calls it home--not seen him since mid october during daylight

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Re: Lessons learned?

Unread postby 76chevy » Wed Jan 05, 2011 3:40 am

the lesson I learned is not to hunt the same old funnels over and over and expect a deer to walk down the trail.

I will be honest, I did that this year and it did not work for me.

I am going to focus on bedding areas and getting closer to where the deer are bedding not just hunting the food source edges and obvious funnels
". . . there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun." --Fred Bear
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Black Squirrel
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Re: Lessons learned?

Unread postby Black Squirrel » Wed Jan 05, 2011 5:32 am

I touched this in another post, but will reiterate it again. We (our hunting group) cut our shooting lanes way too wide. We saw a mauture 10 point 3 times this year, and all three times he was with a doe, and he never walked into one of those shooting lanes. The doe went through several of them, he skirted an extra 20 yards into the thicker stuff each time. I think most of us already know this, but I can't convince my hunting partners to tone it down a bit, with all the trimming.
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Re: Lessons learned?

Unread postby 76chevy » Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:02 am

I have heard of some guys who never cut a single shooting lane...seems a bit drastic to me..but definitely would reduce human scent and disturbance in the area

My first time into an area, I rarely cut much but after that initial hunt I will cut some on the way out so it's setup for me the next hunt there.

Black Squirrel wrote:I touched this in another post, but will reiterate it again. We (our hunting group) cut our shooting lanes way too wide. We saw a mauture 10 point 3 times this year, and all three times he was with a doe, and he never walked into one of those shooting lanes. The doe went through several of them, he skirted an extra 20 yards into the thicker stuff each time. I think most of us already know this, but I can't convince my hunting partners to tone it down a bit, with all the trimming.
". . . there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun." --Fred Bear
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Black Squirrel
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Re: Lessons learned?

Unread postby Black Squirrel » Wed Jan 05, 2011 7:59 am

76chevy wrote:I have heard of some guys who never cut a single shooting lane...seems a bit drastic to me..but definitely would reduce human scent and disturbance in the area

My first time into an area, I rarely cut much but after that initial hunt I will cut some on the way out so it's setup for me the next hunt there.

Black Squirrel wrote:I touched this in another post, but will reiterate it again. We (our hunting group) cut our shooting lanes way too wide. We saw a mauture 10 point 3 times this year, and all three times he was with a doe, and he never walked into one of those shooting lanes. The doe went through several of them, he skirted an extra 20 yards into the thicker stuff each time. I think most of us already know this, but I can't convince my hunting partners to tone it down a bit, with all the trimming.

We usually do all the cutting in spring, so I think it's a case of them avoiding areas that are unnautural, or too open for comfort. So, I don't think it's a scent issue, but either way, it's still a problem.
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Re: Lessons learned?

Unread postby BowtechHunting » Wed Jan 05, 2011 10:39 am

I'm not sure what I learned this year, I'm still battling that thought. I hunted 75% of the season during mid-day hours. I figured with all the talk about mid-day hunting and big bucks, I would give it a try this year. Well, probably not going to do that again, plus I wasn't hunting it correctly more than likely. I did see MORE bucks i.e. spikes, spikes, and more lil' guys. So far, I think I'm overthinking bowhunting waaaay to much this year. I've treid to hunt smarter take all precautions and it hasn't got me anywhere. The past 2 years of hunting I seen more deer period, by just hunting and not think about - bedding, food, gonna be here, not gonna be there, not here, blah blah blah. Let's face it, hunting is luck. Yes we can prepare ouselves and educate, but the bottom line is we don't have a clue what a whitetail is going to do. There is one thing I did learn about them- they are unpredictable creatures. Very depressing season for me.
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Re: Lessons learned?

Unread postby dan » Wed Jan 05, 2011 10:48 am

Let's face it, hunting is luck. Yes we can prepare ouselves and educate, but the bottom line is we don't have a clue what a whitetail is going to do.

I couldn't disagree more.
There is a lot more to it than luck... Yes, you can be in the right spot at the right time and the deer just does somthing weird.
But by trying to outsmart the bucks and figure them out we can certainly out hunt those who do not use skill and planning.
I continuasly get nice bucks in a very over hunted marsh near my home where I figure less than 1% succeed. Lucky? Maybe once or twice. Consistantly seeing and shooting big bucks? Thats skill and hard work.
Failure would just push me harder to succeed.
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Re: Lessons learned?

Unread postby Autumn Ninja » Wed Jan 05, 2011 10:55 am

dan wrote:
Let's face it, hunting is luck. Yes we can prepare ouselves and educate, but the bottom line is we don't have a clue what a whitetail is going to do.

I couldn't disagree more.
There is a lot more to it than luck... Yes, you can be in the right spot at the right time and the deer just does somthing weird.
But by trying to outsmart the bucks and figure them out we can certainly out hunt those who do not use skill and planning.
Lucky? Maybe once or twice. Consistantly seeing and shooting big bucks? Thats skill and hard work.
Failure would just push me harder to succeed.

X2
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Re: Lessons learned?

Unread postby wmihunter » Wed Jan 05, 2011 12:39 pm

somebody doesn't know what this site is about :)
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Re: Lessons learned?

Unread postby PLB » Wed Jan 05, 2011 1:08 pm

Tough season for me! I passed a 125 inch 8 and missed a high 130's 10 pt. in SW WI. Saw a lot of deer and bucks down there but struggled on public up north for the second season in a row! Too agressive when i should not have been and vice versa! Lots of writing in my journal on improvements for 2011 this offseason! I feel I am a pretty good hunter but I sucked it up this fall. I know I can do better and that will sit with me and fuel me up for 2011!
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Re: Lessons learned?

Unread postby Tadmdad » Wed Jan 05, 2011 1:26 pm

My question is....Has there ever been a buck that made you rethink how you hunt? What was the lesson you learned? Was this a turning point in the way you hunt?

Thanks!!![/quote]

Interesting question...I think there is a lesson learned from every deer that you hunt and kill, not just being in the right place at the right time and ambush, but actually hunt one on one. And yes, one buck that I hunted in the W.U.P. of MI back in the early 80's, his core area was very remote, hunted that buck for 4 season's and never closed the deal, I probably was to agressive with my setups, and he had me patterned instead of the other way around, learned some valuable lessons on that buck, about timing and tactics on a mature buck.
I recognized that once a buck reached 4.5 yo or older, I was hunting a different animal, the same old approach didn't work.
I had 1 maybe 2 chances to kill that buck before he relocated or went nocturnal, once he realized he was being hunted, it was game over. Watch, wait, scout and when the conditions are right make your move, sometimes you suceed, sometimes you don't. But at times you learn more from failure than success.
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Re: Lessons learned?

Unread postby magicman54494 » Wed Jan 05, 2011 1:31 pm

BowtechHunting wrote:I'm not sure what I learned this year, I'm still battling that thought. I hunted 75% of the season during mid-day hours. I figured with all the talk about mid-day hunting and big bucks, I would give it a try this year. Well, probably not going to do that again, plus I wasn't hunting it correctly more than likely. I did see MORE bucks i.e. spikes, spikes, and more lil' guys. So far, I think I'm overthinking bowhunting waaaay to much this year. I've treid to hunt smarter take all precautions and it hasn't got me anywhere. The past 2 years of hunting I seen more deer period, by just hunting and not think about - bedding, food, gonna be here, not gonna be there, not here, blah blah blah. Let's face it, hunting is luck. Yes we can prepare ouselves and educate, but the bottom line is we don't have a clue what a whitetail is going to do. There is one thing I did learn about them- they are unpredictable creatures. Very depressing season for me.

I understand your frustration but you did learn a lot going by what you posted. I have learned more in life when things go wrong then when they go right. Put as much time as you can into spring scouting to learn your woods. This should eliminate some of the unpredictability. Focus on the bedding areas for a better chance at a big one.
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Re: Lessons learned?

Unread postby BackWoodsHunter » Wed Jan 05, 2011 1:45 pm

I learned that no matter how hard I try the deer will always be smarter than me! After tracking a deer for grandpa I found a good new area for rut hunting on our private land and hung my lone wolf in a tiny oak tree during the rut for my morning hunt. I was 75 yards east of a permanent hang on stand I had hunt in an old scotch pine. 10mins after first light I watched a big bodied deer trot past my permanent stand in the distance nose to the ground in bow range. Mid morning I get down and move to the permanent stand thinking that deer was onto something. Not 15 mins on stand I turn and look over my shoulder to the west and the second biggest buck we had on camera this fall walks past and into the woods right past my lone wolf within bow range. Those deer have and will get the best of me. That hunt was just one lesson this fall.
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Re: Lessons learned?

Unread postby DropTyne » Fri Jan 07, 2011 6:56 am

I learned to never second guess my instincts and scouting. Opening day I would have had a great opportunity at a buck that I was hunting. I knew where he would be, but when I found that there was not a single tree to put a set in I decided to sit a permanent stand in the corner of the field. Long story short the big boy came out 70 yards from me like I knew he would and because of my stubborn attitude not to sit the ground I did not harvest the buck. The entire opening day experience is posted in a thread "trust your instincts" if you care to read. Posted mid September. I was fortunate to see the animal two more times, continue to pattern, and harvest him before the rut, but it should have happened sooner.
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