Overthinking it

[Wlog]

I had a conversation with my brother yesterday and he was telling me about a guy he works with, who just killed a very nice mature buck on the public land near my house. Supposedly the guy couldn't touch his fingers together around the bases of his antlers. It got me thinking...I've scouted this property many times and only seen marginal sign. It is however surrounded by some pretty good private land. I hunt it a couple times every year but don't put a lot of stock in it based on the sign I find.

So is it a fluke? Good luck? Sign is really all we have to go by when you don't have a lot of observation time at a property. Sometimes I think I talk myself out of trusting the sign I find. By putting so much thought and analysis into what we do, are we thinking too much and not just "going for it" enough?

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[hunter_mike]

Great post. I think there is something to that. I know two guys that hunt similar public as me and they are not on this site. They have had similar success as me with a lot less effort. Not saying i am in any way a representation of the type of skill that many of the really good hunters here possess. That takes many years. But what i am saying is that i have observed something similar to what you are describing. When all is said and done, i truly enjoy the way i personally go about things. But i believe there is something to be learned here in this topic.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Hawthorne]

It's early season cover is thicker maybe he was spending time on it before it got really pressured. Leaf fall and hunting pressure might push him on to the private land. Might be a lesson that's it's good early season.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Wlog]

Here is a great buck, living under my nose while I'm traveling an hour away to hunt. I think there is a tendency to think the grass is greener away from home and that's not always the case.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Wlog]

It's early season cover is thicker maybe he was spending time on it before it got really pressured. Leaf fall and hunting pressure might push him on to the private land. Might be a lesson that's it's good early season.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Yeah, I agree with that. There is a big change getting ready to happen here now that the corn and beans are starting to be harvested. It definitely changes things.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Rich M]

Gotta follow our confidence...

[Wlog]

I think this may be where trailcams come into play. I can't afford to own a trailcam for every property I scout though.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Tufrthnails]

Here's what I think about that. Not sure where I heard this but it's not my original thought. It is like the guy that never hunted or the kid that is just getting into it that walks into the woods has no clue about "proper" scouting and says to himself dang this looks deery I'll sit her and he/she smokes a monster deer. Many many times they don't shoot another mature buck for a a very very long time. Some call it beginners luck, but there is something to going against the grain. Maybe it's a buck that has patterned every other hunter in the woods and he/she just caught him slipping because he went against the grain. I have taken a bunch of guys bass fishing and they catch a 4-5lbs bass in the first 30 min and they are hooked, but they never learned the reason why they caught that bass and struggle and eventually quit bass fishing because they don't understand structure and bedding/ feeding habits.

[tcjohnsonjacks]

My boss is a really good poker and blackjack player. I'm not. I can sit down at the table and drop a hundred down and hit it. I might be able to do that 3 out of five hands and get up and leave. I could go and brag about all the money I won and how great I am at blackjack, but he can sit down at any table and play for 2 hours and come out with the same amount of money I made on 3 hands, not because we are equal players, but cuz he's that much better than me. He know the ODDS of every card and every hand. He is a student of the game and in the course of his life will win way more than I will. The odds of the guy that doesn't put in the work and time learning are never as good as the guy that is a student of the game.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[PK_]

Are you certain the buck was killed where it was said?

Lots of guys toss out names of mediocre public land when they kill a big one out of a honey hole.

[headgear]

Are you certain the buck was killed where it was said?

Lots of guys toss out names of mediocre public land when they kill a big one out of a honey hole.

This could be true, also could have been private land hunters after him that chased him to the public. For now I'd chalk it up to randomness unless it happens again. We just have to do the best with the info we have, might we overthink stuff? Oh for sure, plenty of guys just go out and hunt and score but I do agree with whoever posted the odds. Scouting, keeping the pressure low, picking spots to hunt where the wind and thermals aren't going to hurt you will up the odds.

[Wlog]

Are you certain the buck was killed where it was said?

Lots of guys toss out names of mediocre public land when they kill a big one out of a honey hole.

No doubt that happens a lot. Also I have no idea who the guy is, just going off of what my brother told me.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Horizontal Hunter]

Are you certain the buck was killed where it was said?

Lots of guys toss out names of mediocre public land when they kill a big one out of a honey hole.

This all day long. With the exception of a couple really close friends.

Bob

[ Post made via iPad ]

[jlh42581]

If in fact it was killed where it was said to be, with bordering private. Private land is notorious for over hunting. Its quite possible you didnt see sign because it didnt exist and he was bumped.

I found some unreal sign last year in the lull here between archery and rifle season, apparently I wasnt the only one who found it. The place was a zoo but I never heard of a buck coming out, if it did, it was hush hush.