Are small bucks stringing you along?

Discuss deer hunting tactics, Deer behavior. Post your Hunting Stories, Pictures, and Questions/Answers.
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Tadmdad
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Re: Are small bucks stringing you along?

Unread postby Tadmdad » Sat Jun 30, 2012 8:44 am

kenn1320 wrote:
Public Land Beast wrote:Im used to many deerless sits in a row in bigwoods country, so beast style was just a natural progression for me. I am always focused and patient. I just enjoy the thrill of the chase more than anything :D It is a mindset change no doubt. You have to get away from all the sign and heavy trails made by young deer. It aint easy to do that's for sure! In my experience where I hunt, young deer are definately more visible. That's where the hunter sign will be too. Hardwood ridges and easy to reach spots. Avoid these!! Big deer are in the thick, nasty stuff that nobody messes with. It's easy to fall into the trap of seeing a pile of immature deer each sit and thinking well heck eventually a big one will show up. It rarely works that way. Big deer make you work for them!! It is not easy but that's why I'm here and that is what drives me!!


Wow do I feel stupid. While I dont hunt the same tree's(I use a LW) I do hunt the same general area's on the private land I hunt year after year. I scout the entire property and never find any big buck rubs. I set up where I find the most deer sign, then transition towards scrapes in the woods that show up in the brushy areas as they appear. I can get on 1.5yr old bucks and does anytime I want, and keep thinking why arent I at least seeing a mature buck, even if out of range? Im never on the field edge, and if I can see the field edge, its rare. [glow=red]I know there are plenty of guys that dont sit[/glow] [glow=red]the beds(beast style) on this site that are successful regularly. What the heck am I doing wrong?[/[/glow]

Kenn, I know you have been on the forum for quite some time now, and have been absorbing alot of information. (And sure your skin has gotten thicker in the process. :mrgreen:) But I think that's the point of this thread.

If your goal is shooting better bucks, and your not satisfied with your current situation, "What are you doing wrong?"

What's the plan? What are you going to do different? Do you have to see deer on a sit to feel successful? Are you getting strung along, having to see deer? Do they exist where you are hunting? If not, Why? What can you do to attract the bucks your after? Do you need to change your approach and/or tactics? Do you need to change locations?

I also crossed the same path and I assume many others on the forum have also. It becomes a conscience decision, if you don't like something, pay the price and change it.


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Re: Are small bucks stringing you along?

Unread postby gjs4 » Sat Jun 30, 2012 9:53 am

It sure makes a more entertaining sit to see deer...and confidence comes from success.....thinking this is like the right of passage or "evolution of a beast" thread. I have had a few amazing ideas leave fruitless whereas some last minute gut instincts paid huge....after a few weeks of hunting the mental edge can erode...
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Re: Are small bucks stringing you along?

Unread postby Milk Weed Seed » Mon Jul 02, 2012 3:48 am

I hunted 13 days straight without seeing a deer when I shot my 300# buck. I agree there is a need for a different mind set to hunting mature deer. The mature bucks are reclusive and for the most part isolate them selves IMO.

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Re: Are small bucks stringing you along?

Unread postby moondoondude » Mon Jul 02, 2012 8:31 am

There are so many deer here that it is almost impossible to not see them. There are places on public that you can get away from deer, and there are some places where I could relate. Overall, it is about finding areas where an old buck will feel comfortable moving in daylight. It just so happens that those areas are usually close to their beds, especially in pressured areas. There are exceptions, but you always need to be able to adjust according tothe buck you are after. The best hunters are those that admit that they are wrong most of the time, or a lot of the time. Unless your success rate is 100%, you are doing something wrong. My success rate is like 2%, and I do better than anyone I personally know, year after year. Out here if you aren't seeing deer, you are probably doing something wrong, even at a beginner's level.

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Re: Are small bucks stringing you along?

Unread postby dan » Thu Feb 28, 2013 10:55 am

Czabs wrote:This is the the 1st year I'm solely gonna be doing it beast style. I'm gonna do it to the last freakin day less deer numbers or not. I just hope half way through the season I don't start doubting myself. I know I have some good spots and there are big bucks around, I just hope I see some target bucks, or something to increase my confidence level.

Soooo... How did that season go? :mrgreen:
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Re: Are small bucks stringing you along?

Unread postby PLB » Thu Feb 28, 2013 11:04 am

dan wrote:
Czabs wrote:This is the the 1st year I'm solely gonna be doing it beast style. I'm gonna do it to the last freakin day less deer numbers or not. I just hope half way through the season I don't start doubting myself. I know I have some good spots and there are big bucks around, I just hope I see some target bucks, or something to increase my confidence level.

Soooo... How did that season go? :mrgreen:

LOL!!!! Good one!!

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Re: Are small bucks stringing you along?

Unread postby whitetail007 » Thu Feb 28, 2013 11:12 am

he stuck to his game plan and got it done.
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Re: Are small bucks stringing you along?

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Thu Feb 28, 2013 2:59 pm

Bucky wrote:"Part of the maturation process is understanding the difference between, deer hunting, buck hunting, mature buck hunting, and hunting a specific deer. Each has it's own approach, but without success it's normal to question your tactics. It isn't until you prove to yourself that what you are doing is the right thing for you, but when the day comes when you have outwitted a buck that you were after, and been humbled by the experience and appreciate the gift that you were given, then it no longer matters if you see a deer or eat a tag, you have nothing more to prove. We call it "joining the big boys club".

I agree 110%



I wanna join the big boys club :lol:

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Re: Are small bucks stringing you along?

Unread postby DEERSLAYER » Thu Feb 28, 2013 8:33 pm

I LOVE seeing deer regularly, but it's been many years since I have seen a lot of deer because I have a hard time getting myself to hunt someplace that I know is highly unlikely to hold a mature buck. It gets very discouraging at times. When I used to hunt the northwoods where the deer numbers were low, I might hunt hard for all but a few days of the gun season sitting, tracking, scouting and only see 5-7 during the whole season (9 would be a good year), but out of those half would be bucks and 1 or 2 would be good ones. If I spent that much time hunting about 80 miles further south I would have seen at least 100 deer and probably more like 200 deer.
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Re: Are small bucks stringing you along?

Unread postby Edcyclopedia » Fri Mar 01, 2013 12:29 am

Bucky wrote:"Part of the maturation process is understanding the difference between, deer hunting, buck hunting, mature buck hunting, and hunting a specific deer. Each has it's own approach, but without success it's normal to question your tactics. It isn't until you prove to yourself that what you are doing is the right thing for you, but when the day comes when you have outwitted a buck that you were after, and been humbled by the experience and appreciate the gift that you were given, then it no longer matters if you see a deer or eat a tag, you have nothing more to prove. We call it "joining the big boys club".

I agree 110%



Well put and I'm caught between here and there...
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Re: Are small bucks stringing you along?

Unread postby Schubox1265 » Fri Mar 01, 2013 2:50 am

Czabs wrote:This is the the 1st year I'm solely gonna be doing it beast style.


Spit coffee all over my monitor when I read this. :lol:

Good topic.
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Re: Are small bucks stringing you along?

Unread postby magicman54494 » Fri Mar 01, 2013 3:22 am

It's natural to want to see "deer" when you go hunting. I've found that in order to kill a big one I had to hunt different and that also meant that I saw even fewer deer. That can be real hard to deal with. It's hard to know if your method works if you don't see deer. I think many people do the right things but give up too soon. They get frustrated and go back to old methods that produce deer sightings. Success early on is important.
When I made the change from deer hunter to trophy hunter I used logic to help me stick to my new methods. My old methods were not producing trophy deer so I reasoned that I had to do things differently. I tried new things and refused to go back to old ways because they proved not to work. We all know the definition of insanity, doing the same thing and expecting different results.
If you try something new and it doesn't produce right away just remember that neithor did your old ways. Give it a good chance.
My stats this season:
I spent about 35 days in the woods. I really feel like I know what I'm doing and am putting myself in a position to kill every time out. I killed 2 good bucks this season. My methods produced a buck once in 17 trips out or less than 6% success rate. I'm excited to be at 6%. My old methods produced at 0%. :lol:
I don't know the exact numbers but I bet I saw less than 12 deer the entire season.
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Re: Are small bucks stringing you along?

Unread postby wmahunter » Fri Mar 01, 2013 3:44 am

Good topic.
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Re: Are small bucks stringing you along?

Unread postby moog5050 » Fri Mar 01, 2013 5:28 am

This is a very encouraging thread. I suspect it will come to mind at some point this next season. I am hoping to focus on quality over quantity this season.
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Re: Are small bucks stringing you along?

Unread postby Treeshark » Sun Mar 03, 2013 12:23 pm

Heck yes small bucks (and deer sightings in general) have been stringing me along. Until I started reading some of the stuff on here and in Eberhart's books, I didn't know any better. I figured that seeing more deer meant I was getting "closer." In reality, while I was getting better and better at finding spots with lots of deer, I was really getting farther and farther from what I was really after.

This is the first off-season of scouting that I am looking for completely different things (and actually finding them, on occasion;). The upcoming season will be very exciting!


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