Unsuccessful!

[Wisconsinhunter]

Man another year goes bye and I have yet another buck tag unfilled. (I know late season yet). I have been chasing bucks around on public now for 5 years and have yet to punch the tag bow hunting. Don't get me wrong I have my opportunities but always seem to come up short, whether that be I sit one tree off, just out of range, walks by in the only spot I cant shoot. All of that has happened to me this year alone. Had a shooter within 50 yards of me 3 out of 4 sits in a row in two different counties closest encounter was 15 yards without a good shot opportunity. Just always seem to be off by a smidge.

I feel like I do the right thing and pass younger bucks up and then miss out on my opportunity on mature bucks basically every year. Honestly I hunt a decent amount, few times a week at a minimum and still can't seem to get it done. Very frustrating. Anyone else been in a drought and have a great story about how you turned it around? Just frustrated currently.

[TwentyFeetCloser]

I almost posted a similar lament to my own season. Last year no buck. Before that I had a few years off of hunting for life reasons. This year I put all the pieces together from last year and a couple of big mistakes ruined my whole season. That and not enough off season prep/scouting.
Had the biggest buck I ever had an opportunity at come to 20 yards and my arrow was deflected. Then I passed on a young buck after seeing the dominant buck. Next day I hunted the same spot in the morning and left at noon because it was going to be hot the rest of the day. Some guy in jeans with a crossbow killed that buck that day 400 yards from the parking lot.
I was able to get on a couple of decent bucks after that but by that time the rut was winding down and they weren’t making fresh sign or daylighting very much. Last day of PA archery season was Saturday and I sat in my stand until dark and when I packed up and left I found a fresh scrape with a big track in it. Figures.
I don’t like gun season here because it gets crazy. I might put in a couple of days after the orange mob comes through but I’m so wiped out from grinding that now I’m just plotting for next season.
I keep replaying that missed shot in my head from time to time but I can’t get too down on this season because I learned so much from my mistakes and it actually has me so amped up about next season that the thing that bothers me the most is how long it is before spring scouting. I feel like next year I’ll have too many opportunities and I’ll have to choose. I didn’t tag out this year but I had quite a bit of “ah ha” moments… and that’s going to be worth many bucks in the future.

[Rich M]

You talk about "shooters" and letting young bucks walk. Have you ever shot a deer before? If you haven't, time to start stretching the string on some legal bucks. It will help you with stand placement, knowing when to draw, shot placement (between trees, branches, etc.)

I'm deaf, and have had more dry spells than most would believe. Absolutely hate archery hunting due to how close the deer are and the little noises I can't hear. Still have to do it or wait another year just to hunt. Been doing this since 1978 and still aint that good.

[sagDE]

I know the drought feeling! The area that I hunt the most is a huge tract of public land that is less than 10 minutes from home. It sees pretty good pressure but holds a lot of deer. Is a large wooded area dotted with some ag fields. It holds some decent bucks but I’ll be darned if I can figure them out! Like you, my encounters are always just off. Unlike you my freezer is not full enough and my patience not great enough to pass on a smaller buck. It’ll come together, just keep at it.

[Trout]

I'd say that if you're getting that close, that often, that you're on the right track. Don't get frustrated, take those close encounters and look at them like the glass is half full. Most guys never have even the close calls. Whether you have a kill to show for it or not, you're doing the right things to be in the game.

My drought was 15 years long so I know what you're feeling. It's all about having a positive mindset and putting the work in to scout and help make the right decisions about where to hunt. And sometimes a little luck doesnt hurt. Once you have those, it's just a matter of time. Just think of those close calls like they're wins, not losses.

[MartyMoose]

So far I have not tightened the string on my bow. I have had, far more, close encounters with mature bucks in the last 2 years. I will be going into year 3 of this style of hunting and have learned so much. My son also started hunting mobile this year, I may have badgered him to try it, and had a successful year with shooting 2 mature does. He also had close encounters with his first mature bucks. I really enjoyed helping him out, suggesting gear, practicing hanging his stand and sticks in the yard, scouting both off season and in season. Collectively, we only hunted 1 time from a pre-set stand on our lease, otherwise we always scouted in and hang and hunt. I also hunted with him numerous times on public land around us, and found quite a few deer. Looking forward to really hitting hill country next year with him, plus he can drag my deer out for me if I happen to get so lucky! I genuinely want to thank everyone on this forum for the posts, knowledge and patience.

[gsquared23]

I hunted 7 straight years on public and did not even SEE a mature buck until this year when I finally ended the streak and killed a good one. That was October 9th. I then proceeded to go 4 hunts in a row without seeing a single deer, and have not seen a good buck since then on public (I saw one on private). The streak has reset, so only another 6 years until I get on a good one again. With your multiple buck encounters, I think you should quit whining and consider yourself lucky. It’s not as easy as it looks on youtube.

[szwampdonkey]

If it makes you feel better realize most guys, as in everyone out there hunting, don’t kill a mature buck every year. Me, i average about every three years over the last 3+ decades. The best killers out there don’t kill a good one every single year they hunt. Youtubers and social media give people a skewed view on hunting success imo. My father in law hunted his whole life and has one mature buck, ONE!

You are seeing em which means you’re in the game and that’s better than most of the average run of the mill hunters out there on public i guarantee it.

[Caveman]

You’re getting out, seeing deer, and learning so you can be a better hunter. You may not be punching tags, but that doesn’t sound like you are unsuccessful to me.

[Moose]

Sounds like your doing more right than wrong. Your on them and that's a big win! Most folks don't see mature bucks. Keep after it, your time is coming soon!

[PK_]

If everyone limited themselves to mature bucks, on public land, with a bow, there would be a lot of empty freezers.

Understand that what you are doing is the pinnacle.

Having that many close encounters with truly mature bucks on public is top 1% type of success. It’s like making it to the Olympics or the NBA, NFL, MLB… killing and recovering that buck is like winning the Gold or the championship, it’s not going to happen everytime, for anyone.

As far as keeping positive, understand that ‘luck’ seems to snowball in either direction. I have seen this myself and with lots of other great hunters. You go thru a stretch where you can’t seem to close the deal no matter how many opportunities you get and then it’s like the tide shifts and anything that gets in range ends up in the truck.

Just from the info you gave, one thing you might want to ponder is tree selection. When I stopped selecting trees to shoot to the majority of the deer movement and more to the specific spots I felt a mature buck would walk is when my success started to go way up. This might not be your issue this is just unsolicited advice from afar.

Another thing is you said you hunt quite a bit. I would look back and see what your % is as far as how many days of hunting per encounter and see if you can figure out how to trim out some unproductive days. This may seem counterintuitive and not what you hear preached by many about ‘time on stand’. But one trap we fall into when pursuing these animals hard is that we need to be out there all the time. For me if you sit those unproductive days it just wears you out and makes you less sharp on those better days, or worse you can’t even get out on the best days because you have burned your PTO or family time on low odds days. When I started hunting less it made me focus more and appreciate my time in the field more. It brought my success rate up and I killed more bucks in less time. Again, idk if any of this applies to your situation, just some thoughts…

Anyways, good luck.

[CJ14]

I would echo the comments here too. I fell into the trap of “only shoot big bucks” my first year ever bow hunting. I passed lots of does, fawns, and younger bucks. I realized after that season it was a mistake as I had never shot a deer before. My second season I ended up shooting a very respectable 2 year old buck on very pressured public and that really made me realize my expectations were unreasonable the year before. I will mention this is all public land hunting as well and no private. The learning curve is even steeper just to get on to deer so I understand your situation very well. If you have killed deer and have bucks under your belt chase that goal and keep after it. If not, it is freeing to just be out there and hunt any deer. This season I shot my biggest buck but sadly did not recover. He survived but now in the late season I am having way more fun just hunting deer. If you are hunting wisconsin dont give up on this season yet. There is still time.

[Brokenarrow1980]

Sometimes you have to set realistic goals. I have alot going against me so I tell myself if he's in the top 50% in size I'm touching one off. I may get a monster, I might get a solid 2 1/2 year old that scores 110 inches. Both senerios are wins for me and I'm just oh so very thankful I can still chase them. Your in the game and hunting the king of the woods and are getting close. I'd chalk that up as a win, if you need some confidence take a few smaller buck and work back up to it.

[Uncle Lou]

I haven't ever shot a big buck (anything near pope and young) in about 32 years of deer hunting. I occupy myself and stay out of a total drought though by shooting nearly anything that gets in front of me that I have a tag in my pocket for. I will keep doing it until I can't, and maybe luck will put a big un in front of me someday. If not, oh well.

[Brad]

This is my 4th season hunting deer, and it's the first season I have not killed an antlered buck (so far, there are a few weeks left...) I took a shot at a stud on opening day (sept 15th, and I'm still convinced it hit, but can't prove it), and since then have not been able to take a shot on one. But on the bright side, I have been close to way more decent bucks than I have in any other season. Each season I've hunted, the number of nice buck encounters has increased, and some of my encounters have been pretty amazing. I did tag one doe so far, and if this seasoin ends with no more tags filled, it will still feel like a huge success.