Boogieman1 wrote:From time to time I tend to get whitetail questions dropped on me. Usually fishing guys who hunt 5 or 6 times a year and just can't quite seem to wrap there tag on a buck. What am I doing wrong is by far the most popular question. First off not claiming to be the next Michael Waddell here, especially as my season has gone thus far. But think I have a diff outlook that someone starting out might take to heart.
First off, how come when someone doesn't kill a giant they assume they did something wrong! Now a lot of folks (atleast in my state do indeed do a lot of stuff wrong, and baffles me how they even think they have a chance). But chances are if you made the effort to read through this site then u don't fall into the typical praying for a miracle Hunter category.
IMO you can do every single detail right and that doesn't guarantee u squat. We are dealing with a wild animal here with free will. The slightest thing can capture his interest and pull him off course or cause him not to move. We scout, play odds, study wind, plan entrances etc.... All this for a long shot as far as odds go. What increases ones odds is continually putting yourself in high odds situations based off of effort. Now high odds is nowhere near guarantee infact you have much greater chance of not seeing squat even after all that homework.
So simple answer is if you are out there doing your best and making an effort you aren't doing nothing wrong. It just hasn't happened yet!
Just rambling here as I'm bored stuck at home with a sick kiddo. But just had a guy ask me this question so I got a bit enthusiastic! Give it your all (if it's important to you) and see where the chips fall.
Whitetail Wishes
Boogieman Out!
Just a few thoughts and things I ran across. In john eberhart's book "hunting pressured whitetails" he breaks down some statistics on the odds of shooting a p&y and Boone & Crockett bucks. For example the odds of shooting such a buck In Florida are about zero, where as the odds of shooting one in Canada say BC are much greater like 1 out of 100. In ohio the odds are about 1 out of 1200.
So there are things we can do to put ourselves in the right areas. We can find the big bucks with scouting, cameras, buddies, knowledge, ect. It's how much you are willing to commit and sacrafice in order to get close to these bucks.
Even with all the knowledge and preparation there are no guarantees he will be there in a given moment. Then if he does show, being able to make the shot and successfully finding this buck if it's a not so perfect shot.
Basically we are playing an odds game. We need to do as much as we possibly can to give us as high of odds we can get. Then when you have that, pray for some luck too!
Where I live in ohio and the time I am able to dedicate I will tell anyone I am lucky to get 1-2 opportunities a year. Alot of guys I talk to have never seen a trophy buck during season let alone kill one. I know there are guys that do much better than me, they have the harvests to prove it. But given my circumstances, time, and properties I have I feel I'm doing good. I want to get better but I also know this takes time. Just when you think you know a thing or two the deer woods throw us a curve ball. I have alot of respect for hunters who shoot mature bucks consistantly, these are the guys to learn something from!
