Biggest factor for being unsuccessful

[tim]

Overhunting an area and not being mobile on EVERY SIT. Another is just plain hunting and burning yourself out...breathe once in a while. In my mind I challenge myself to see how many hours it takes to knock a mature buck down. Give yourself 40 hours in a season to work with...start there. You will use your time more wisely. Change that and your success sky rockets.

Man I wish I could get it done in 40 hours lol. This year once I hit the 209 hour mark I think it was I stopped keeping track of hours on stand. It’s always a grind , at least for me

It took 18 setups this year but got to close to his bed on the first sit of the year. I'm not scared to get close to these animals. I had to take a break the first 7 days of November. That ain't easy for many to do but I hunted hard in October. Killed on November 11th.

I gotta start reading the killzones stories and got through pics I’m so far behind. I’ve read a few. I got it done on nov 14 but I’m still grinding have an open tag from rifle season after Sunday it’s does only

[hunting_dad]

I think not being aggressive enough is a big one. I grew up being taught to stay away from the bedding areas and focus closer to feeding. That was a hard mindset to get away from and do the opposite but after I did, I started seeing more and better bucks. I took my 3 largest bucks in the last 5 years after focusing on bedding and moving in for the kill when the opportunity is there. Wish I knew this stuff 30 years ago when I started! Lol. This sight is a goldmine!

[Crazinamatese]

I have been guilty of not hunting hot sign. And I think spreading myself too thin.

Next season, I'm going to focus solely on a couple of areas. I'll be just scouting them this spring, and getting a gameplan together. I want to get intimate with just these spots, and learn every inch. I know there are are good bucks in them. Very difficult access. And very wet.

Gonna be alot of fun!

This is what I did this year. I used to mark down every section of MFl/FCL, DNR, VPA land in my area. I also used to make plans to hit each section every year. I eventually realized that in doing that I was finding alot of those areas completely useless and that kept me from areas that I should be focusing on. I hunted three or four different sections of land this season mostly because I had some prior history of seeing nice bucks and finding decent fresh sign is never difficult. It did take a handful of season to narrow things down though.

[mheichelbech]

For me it's lack of situational awareness. For example I have been burnt a lot when I go in with a spot in mind and I go in there and there is no sign that indicates it's worth hunting yet I hang my stand and hunt elther old sign or nonexistent sign amd hope for a deer. In those situations i need to keep pushing to find sign worth hunting and run the risk that I may never hang a stand and have my hunt turn into a scouting mission.

This can be a tough call because I have had success many times in areas where the sign was non-existent almost. Especially when it’s dry and the ground is hard.

[hambone]

Finances, or lack thereof, are my biggest factor to overall lack of success. If you've got the money, you can buy your way to success. Meanwhile an update from down here on the bottom: My goal of two 4.5 yr or older bucks for this season, has been miraculously, half way met.

[Killbilly]

I would have to agree with laziness being a huge factor. Also unwillingness to adapt and hunt mobile. I’m 40 years old and have been hunting since I was twelve. I hunted a family farm in southern Mi most of my life until I was 35 when I lost my permission. I had good success killed 14-15 bucks over 100” and 3 140” and I shot and wounded a giant old buck that was 7-8 years old, with a total of over 20 bucks coming from this farm. With that being said I only killed two of those bucks from the same stand location. I had to constantly be observing and moving in on target animals. It was like after hunting one spot for a season no mature deer leftover from previous season would come close enough to bow kill so I would make a move. I would often kill one of the Best Bucks our area offered while the neighbors went with out. I’m now in my first real year of beast hunting and tho I’ve not killed on public yet I did pass 3 opportunities at 2.5 and one giant 9 in Ohio that I missed at 20 yards, so capitalizing on opportunities is ultra important don’t spend all your time and energy just scouting remember to shoot often as well. Getting back to laziness, every time this season I choose the easy button approach to beast hunting it failed and I wasn’t on deer. On the other hand each time I went all in and did the work it paid dividends in shot opportunities and learning experiences. Do the work ,trust in your gut, and have confidence in the info on this site as it’s legitimate and worthwhile. On a side note when I lost permission on the family farm it was very emotional and painful time in my life and I all but quite hunting. This site has basically rejuvenated my spirit and passion. I now realize I love hunting anywhere and everywhere. For that thanks guys. Enjoy you family’s this holiday season.