Locals dont know how to hunt?

[Stanley]

Great topic lots of interesting answers.

[Stanley]

I can tell you that the locals in my area do everything you should not do if you want to shoot a big buck.

They stumble through the woods, sounds like a freight train at times.

They totally ignore anything to do with the wind, its the same spots EVERY DAY. Dont know if this is due to them thinking they can beat a deers nose or what?

During rifle season they walk through every inch of the property, ten to fifteen guys deep some days then think that some how magically they can hunt a stand in the same area they pushed tomorrow.

Ive seen guys come into an area at 4pm, climb a tree and an hour before dark they are climbing down to leave.

I could probably write a book on this subject.

This pretty much covers the locals in my area. I think its safe to say a great majority of the hunters don't know what they are doing, they are probably just hunting they way they were taught, trying to figure it out on their own, or they just don't care and are happy to get out and shoot whatever happens by. I don't want to make it sound like they are idiots and we are elite hunters. Likely we just care a whole lot more about hunting mature bucks and are willing to learn and do what it takes to get on them. We should be thankful the majority of hunters don't care, sometimes they make life easier for us by not going to extremes to find deer, I know it leaves me a whole lot of public land all to myself. Not to mention a bunch of un-hunted swamps and bedding areas for the taking.

The truth. Hunting means different things to different people.

While I have a passion for it, I'm no "better" than humpty dumpty who sits in the lone homemade box stand he owns day after day. I may be a more proficient hunter as far as killing older bucks and basic hunting knowledge...BUT, everyone has their role. The weekend warriors and the opening day elmer fudds keep this sport alive to a degree as they make up the large % of the hunting population.

I like that answer. Lots of truth in it also. In all walks of life we need grunts. Someone has to haul the garbage to the landfill (no disrespect to the sanitation engineers).

[kenn1320]

Great responses guys, but I guess Im not hearing what the successful guys are doing differently then those of us who arent successful. Every piece of public/private land is going to have a high percentage of incidences like were mentioned above, so maybe the answer lies more in how you hunt given those circumstances versus hunting without them. My point is guys have been pounding the local deer for the better part of the season, likely shutting down most if not all of the daytime movement of mature bucks, then in walks the out of state/town hunter and he manages to harvest a big one. I also hear of mutliple guys from that same out of state/town group bagging big bucks, so they are doing something very different, not just getting lucky. Im not hearing what they are doing that is so different. I think its safe to assume that most of us if turned loose on thousands of acres of non pressured land, could fill a tag during a seasons worth of hunting. How are guys like Dor, Spy, Bucky, etc, just showing up and able to kill big bucks not using Dans method of locating the bucks bed? Think about your favorite spot you hunt every year that is local to you. How many years have you tagged out in your first 5-7 days of hunting it? Ill go out on a limb here and say hardly ever for most of us. Starting to sound like maybe, just maybe there is some pixy dust Dan.

[dan]

I don't think its a matter of "not caring" or not wanting success... I think a big part of the reason people hunt with low odds tactics is they are just not educated in the hunting facts... Ever watch a hunting show on TV? I bet most guys think I hunt open fields just like that, Why ain't I getting big bucks? Most of us here on the beast have been hunting hard our whole lives so its easy to forget how confusing it was when we started...

[phade]

Great responses guys, but I guess Im not hearing what the successful guys are doing differently then those of us who arent successful. Every piece of public/private land is going to have a high percentage of incidences like were mentioned above, so maybe the answer lies more in how you hunt given those circumstances versus hunting without them. My point is guys have been pounding the local deer for the better part of the season, likely shutting down most if not all of the daytime movement of mature bucks, then in walks the out of state/town hunter and he manages to harvest a big one. I also hear of mutliple guys from that same out of state/town group bagging big bucks, so they are doing something very different, not just getting lucky. Im not hearing what they are doing that is so different. I think its safe to assume that most of us if turned loose on thousands of acres of non pressured land, could fill a tag during a seasons worth of hunting. How are guys like Dor, Spy, Bucky, etc, just showing up and able to kill big bucks not using Dans method of locating the bucks bed? Think about your favorite spot you hunt every year that is local to you. How many years have you tagged out in your first 5-7 days of hunting it? Ill go out on a limb here and say hardly ever for most of us. Starting to sound like maybe, just maybe there is some pixy dust Dan.

Most of these guys (I think) are hunting out of state during the various rut phases. That's an apples to oranges comparison (the 5-7 day remark). I bet if these guys stayed local, did not hunt until the typical time they head out of state, they'd score in that 5-7 day period locally just as if they would out of state.

[Southern Man]

I think alot hunters get lazy in their approach to hunting. Alot of talk on this site is about hunting public ground. Around here that's just not the case. Private ground by faar out numbers public. Most of our public is geared for duck hunting, ie swamps. That being said, if you hunt the same farm, or property year after year, you tend to get satisfied with what you think the deer will do. That leads to hunting the same spots or stands every year, and pretty much every time you hunt. I see it alot down here. It's easy to fall into that kind of rut. One of the big things here is deer camp. The comraderie sometimes seems more important than the hunt itself. And if that's what they're into, thats great.

But if you come in from out of town / state I think you're more determined or focused on the task at hand and try to make the most of the hunt. After all, you spent the money to get there, have a short amount of time, and are not in the "rut" of doing the same thing time after time after time.

[Bucky]

My out of state or public hunts = 75% of guys set up within 1/2-3/4 mile of access - Why? Cause most have never been in and out in the dark

Another 15% will hunt some of the better deeper stuff as long as it is not "work" to get to = crossing water, climbing monster hills, treking a mile + without a nice hiking trail/logging road, or crossing cattails/marsh

Then there is the 10%, that will scout ahead of time and keep at it, go anywhere regardless of obstacles, get in earlier and leave later.... these are the guys that you don't want showing up at your favorite hunting grounds

[headgear]

I don't think its a matter of "not caring" or not wanting success... I think a big part of the reason people hunt with low odds tactics is they are just not educated in the hunting facts... Ever watch a hunting show on TV? I bet most guys think I hunt open fields just like that, Why ain't I getting big bucks? Most of us here on the beast have been hunting hard our whole lives so its easy to forget how confusing it was when we started...

Think of it this way Dan, if they cared enough to go above and beyond to get a big buck eventually they would seek out that education need to shoot one. I come from a long line of dumb local hunters, thay all want to shoot a big buck but other than 10 days a year they put orange on they don't really put in the effort.

[dan]

Great responses guys, but I guess Im not hearing what the successful guys are doing differently then those of us who arent successful. Every piece of public/private land is going to have a high percentage of incidences like were mentioned above, so maybe the answer lies more in how you hunt given those circumstances versus hunting without them. My point is guys have been pounding the local deer for the better part of the season, likely shutting down most if not all of the daytime movement of mature bucks, then in walks the out of state/town hunter and he manages to harvest a big one. I also hear of mutliple guys from that same out of state/town group bagging big bucks, so they are doing something very different, not just getting lucky. Im not hearing what they are doing that is so different. I think its safe to assume that most of us if turned loose on thousands of acres of non pressured land, could fill a tag during a seasons worth of hunting. How are guys like Dor, Spy, Bucky, etc, just showing up and able to kill big bucks not using Dans method of locating the bucks bed? Think about your favorite spot you hunt every year that is local to you. How many years have you tagged out in your first 5-7 days of hunting it? Ill go out on a limb here and say hardly ever for most of us. Starting to sound like maybe, just maybe there is some pixy dust Dan.

I think I answered this already:

I guess what I have noticed the "locals" doing on most of my trips to "easy" areas, is setting up over field edges, and on deer sign, rather than in the classic funnels between bedding, and rather than near bedding areas. Most of my out of state hunts result with me never hunting the same tree twice, but the local guys sets seem to have a beaten down trail to the stand from the hunter using it lover and over...

Im hunting fresh sits, Im not hunting the same stand over and over, Im hunting remote spots, Im hunting rut funnels, etc...

[jlh42581]

The other thing about guys like us is that we want to work out every detail down to the last drop. We pick a place, we find a map, we take a stab at that map before we ever step foot on that land. We go to the land, forumulate a plan based on what the wind is doing that day, what crops might be in the field, where the pressure might come from. Its all in the details for guys like us. We likely are the same guys who dont like flying by the seat of our pants day to day. Everything has a rhythm and we want that rhythm to be in sync.

Others are content to hand over $5000 and let someone else do the thinking.

[Kodiakman]

I don't think its a matter of "not caring" or not wanting success... I think a big part of the reason people hunt with low odds tactics is they are just not educated in the hunting facts... Ever watch a hunting show on TV? I bet most guys think I hunt open fields just like that, Why ain't I getting big bucks? Most of us here on the beast have been hunting hard our whole lives so its easy to forget how confusing it was when we started...

That and lazy. I have done it. Guilty. Stared getting sloppy and took the easy way more than once.

[Stanley]

Great responses guys, but I guess Im not hearing what the successful guys are doing differently then those of us who arent successful. Every piece of public/private land is going to have a high percentage of incidences like were mentioned above, so maybe the answer lies more in how you hunt given those circumstances versus hunting without them. My point is guys have been pounding the local deer for the better part of the season, likely shutting down most if not all of the daytime movement of mature bucks, then in walks the out of state/town hunter and he manages to harvest a big one. I also hear of mutliple guys from that same out of state/town group bagging big bucks, so they are doing something very different, not just getting lucky. Im not hearing what they are doing that is so different. I think its safe to assume that most of us if turned loose on thousands of acres of non pressured land, could fill a tag during a seasons worth of hunting. How are guys like Dor, Spy, Bucky, etc, just showing up and able to kill big bucks not using Dans method of locating the bucks bed? Think about your favorite spot you hunt every year that is local to you. How many years have you tagged out in your first 5-7 days of hunting it? Ill go out on a limb here and say hardly ever for most of us. Starting to sound like maybe, just maybe there is some pixy dust Dan.

There can be a fine line sometimes from success to failure. It may be buck fever, poor approach to the stand, shooting skill, hunting all day as compared to hunting twice a day, peeing out of the stand, roaming the timber instead of hunting. I have put guys in my stands and they couldn't get the job done. So sometimes the little things that guys do better are what puts Mr. big on the wall.

[PLB]

I think alot hunters get lazy in their approach to hunting. Alot of talk on this site is about hunting public ground. Around here that's just not the case. Private ground by faar out numbers public. Most of our public is geared for duck hunting, ie swamps. That being said, if you hunt the same farm, or property year after year, you tend to get satisfied with what you think the deer will do. That leads to hunting the same spots or stands every year, and pretty much every time you hunt. I see it alot down here. It's easy to fall into that kind of rut. One of the big things here is deer camp. The comraderie sometimes seems more important than the hunt itself. And if that's what they're into, thats great.

But if you come in from out of town / state I think you're more determined or focused on the task at hand and try to make the most of the hunt. After all, you spent the money to get there, have a short amount of time, and are not in the "rut" of doing the same thing time after time after time.

Great post!! I agree!

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