When you botch a buck what is your mindset?

[Stanley]

Just wonder how you handle your emotions or what your mindset is when the big one slips you. Could be a miss, or just plain make a mistake.

[BigHunt]

well stan thats all apart of the game of the hunt ....your not going to learn anything by not messing up......

when i mess up i dont get mad it just focuse me better for the next encounter....like i said i learn more wacthing them than shooting them

[Edcyclopedia]

I can't remember it's been a long time

Well in 2009 and all my hard work of locating 4-big bucks went down the tubes (with one of them anyways) when I busted the bad boy on an island within 15-yards of him. It took me 2-hours to walk 200 yards through this swamp with nothing but the middle finger (whitetail) waving goodbye. Didn't have the heart to take a running shot with a muzzleloader otherwise I would likely have a different avatar

[G3s]

I start planning on how I am going to get back on him to kill him....but yea I do get mad at myself if I missed!

[Spysar]

Get back in the tree, and start over. Hopefully smarter than you were before.

Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.

[dan]

A wise Man once said: Whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger...

It don't frustrate or ruin me anymore... To me, the hunt for an individual buck is much like a chess game. When he makes a good move, I just smile and say: Well played sir! Well played!
To me, its actually a little sad when I do get one that I have been "playing with" a while.

[Stanley]

Get back in the tree, and start over. Hopefully smarter than you were before.

Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.

I like that.

[BigHunt]

Get back in the tree, and start over. Hopefully smarter than you were before.

Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.

I like that.

yes well said spy

[Edcyclopedia]

Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.

So TRUE

[Stanley]

A wise Man once said: Whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger...

It don't frustrate or ruin me anymore... To me, the hunt for an individual buck is much like a chess game. When he makes a good move, I just smile and say: Well played sir! Well played!
To me, its actually a little sad when I do get one that I have been "playing with" a while.

Plus you have to deal with a gut pile.

[BigHunt]

A wise Man once said: Whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger...

It don't frustrate or ruin me anymore... To me, the hunt for an individual buck is much like a chess game. When he makes a good move, I just smile and say: Well played sir! Well played!
To me, its actually a little sad when I do get one that I have been "playing with" a while.

Plus you have to deal with a gut pile.

thats the victory to me stan a big steamy gut pile

[Indianahunter]

I am in the same category with Spysar and Dan. There may be a moment of disheartening emotion, but it is quickly replaced usually with a nod of the head and a small internal laugh for the cunning abilities of my prey. It just doesn't bother me like it used to. It is going to vary between hunters but the deciding factor of how one deals with this boils down to Why? Why do you hunt? Well if it is simply to be the guy that everyone talks about all the big bucks you kill, you will most like be really disgusted. If you are the guy who determines your success or ability as a hunter based on big bone on the ground then you will be disgusted. If it is because you love the game then you will simply evaluate the circumstances and get back on your horse tomorrow a little wiser and a little more determined because you love the game. I bet if you asked the guys like Dan, Andre, Adam Hayes, or others who consistently kill the largest deer you will find that it is the love of the hunt not the love of the antlers that gives them their drive and opportunities. They may have their eyes on a 160"-200" giant but I bet you will find they hunt them for the challenge (the game) not for the inches. Deer that get that big are survival masters, the pinnacle in difficulty to hunt and it just stands to reason that mature deer typically have the larger racks. I bet if the hardest bucks to kill were actually the 1 1/2 year olds Dan would have a wall full of those.
I came to Dan Infalt looking for tactics that would help me kill big deer. What I ended up walking away with is a love for the hunt on a level that I had never known. Looking back I wouldn't even consider myself a "Hunter" in years past. I had a singular focus....I wanted to kill big dear. I read the articles that said this is the best time to be in the woods to kill a big deer. I bought the products that celebrity hunters promoted that said this is what you need to put big deer in front of you. I went through all the scent eliminating rituals to the extreme. I worked really hard at all the wrong things. I would get really upset if I wasn't seeing the caliber of deer I wanted. I got mad at every little thing that went wrong. I started my beast journey with the wrong focus. I came here with the deer equivalent of a "How to get rich quick" scheme.
I came here a killer, I am now a hunter. I enjoy my time in the woods so much more now. My experiences are deeper and more meaningful. My successes are much sweeter. My failures are building blocks. And my passion for the sport is greater then it has ever been.
Every opportunity I get to mentor someone I will attempt to instill a love for the hunt, not a love for antlers and consequentially I think they will end up with better bucks then if I simply tried it with the other way around. When they ask why we pass the little bucks...well my answer won't be so we can have bigger antlers....it will be because mature deer are better hunting.

[Stanley]

I am in the same category with Spysar and Dan. There may be a moment of disheartening emotion, but it is quickly replaced usually with a nod of the head and a small internal laugh for the cunning abilities of my prey. It just doesn't bother me like it used to. It is going to vary between hunters but the deciding factor of how one deals with this boils down to Why? Why do you hunt? Well if it is simply to be the guy that everyone talks about all the big bucks you kill, you will most like be really disgusted. If you are the guy who determines your success or ability as a hunter based on big bone on the ground then you will be disgusted. If it is because you love the game then you will simply evaluate the circumstances and get back on your horse tomorrow a little wiser and a little more determined because you love the game. I bet if you asked the guys like Dan, Andre, Adam Hayes, or others who consistently kill the largest deer you will find that it is the love of the hunt not the love of the antlers that gives them their drive and opportunities. They may have their eyes on a 160"-200" giant but I bet you will find they hunt them for the challenge (the game) not for the inches. Deer that get that big are survival masters, the pinnacle in difficulty to hunt and it just stands to reason that mature deer typically have the larger racks. I bet if the hardest bucks to kill were actually the 1 1/2 year olds Dan would have a wall full of those.
I came to Dan Infalt looking for tactics that would help me kill big deer. What I ended up walking away with is a love for the hunt on a level that I had never known. Looking back I wouldn't even consider myself a "Hunter" in years past. I had a singular focus....I wanted to kill big dear. I read the articles that said this is the best time to be in the woods to kill a big deer. I bought the products that celebrity hunters promoted that said this is what you need to put big deer in front of you. I went through all the scent eliminating rituals to the extreme. I worked really hard at all the wrong things. I would get really upset if I wasn't seeing the caliber of deer I wanted. I got mad at every little thing that went wrong. I started my beast journey with the wrong focus. I came here with the deer equivalent of a "How to get rich quick" scheme.
I came here a killer, I am now a hunter. I enjoy my time in the woods so much more now. My experiences are deeper and more meaningful. My successes are much sweeter. My failures are building blocks. And my passion for the sport is greater then it has ever been.
Every opportunity I get to mentor someone I will attempt to instill a love for the hunt, not a love for antlers and consequentially I think they will end up with better bucks then if I simply tried it with the other way around. When they ask why we pass the little bucks...well my answer won't be so we can have bigger antlers....it will be because mature deer are better hunting.

Great post and greater message.

[headgear]

Great post Indiana! Like you said love of the hunt. I might get pissed at myself if I make a mistake but the feeling is short lived and the excitedment of the encounter soon replaces any negative feelings. I would much rather see a nice buck and horribly mess up then not see one at all.

[Stanley]

Lot of good responses.