I'm getting smarter each year I deer hunt

[john keyes]

yep, all the hard lessons I am forced to learn from my own mistakes.... I must be the smartest SOB here.....

shoulda waited
no, shoulda shot
no shoulda waited
no, shoulda shot

shoulda been out here yesterday
nope, tomorrow its ON!
uh, oh....shoulda used one of them other guns

wrong tree buddy, if you were in THAT tree over there, you coulda got em

 

[dukkillr]

There is no other way to learn. 

[john keyes]

I hear ya buddy

many times I feel like the guy who could have won the superbowl with a chip shot field goal......then watched it sail wide right.....

but hey, at least I was there.   

[dukkillr]

At least you were there.  The overwhelming majority of the internet "hunting" community was not.  I finally filled my second quality tag with a good buck after logging 25-30 days in the field.  Last year I ate my Missouri rifle tag, this year I got redemption from the same area where I hunted more than half the days in the 2008 season. 

The world is full of deer hunting "experts" who kill a nice buck once in a while.  The truth is that an idiot with a lethal instrument can occasionally get lucky.  I proved it growing up!  The true experts are the ones who do it year in, and year out.  Managment, food plots, self discipline, shed hunting, scouting, stand placements, shooting, physical fitness, and more all play a role in your success... but if you're not out there working at it, none of those skills will improve.

Being a good deer hunter is not a 7 days in November thing, it's a commitment, just like being good at anything else in life is.  Sounds like you're more than on your way.

[od green]

an idiot with a lethal instrument can occasionally get lucky

Man that's me all over !!! Normally I hunt doe's over a field in a box blind. This year a really nice 6 pt happened to try to cut across a corner and happened into my 100 yrd circle of death . What could I do ? Dressed out at 175 lbs small rack but a body from heck . Had a 13 3/4 outside spread but was aged at 4 1/2 years . I have in the past let a lot of deer pass cause there ( in my mind) will be a bigger one following .

[theoldarcher]

Hunting whitetails is a constant learning experience.  They certainly know how to humble you.  Saw something this year as evidence: from a tree stand, I could see across a field on the farm I hunt and see a fence row on another farm.  This fence row was 2 fields away.  Through my bincoulars I picked up a buck moving along the far fence row and sort of disappear as it lay down in the fence row--not much junk for cover, but that was what it chose.  Later I saw two orange-clad hunters walk parallel to the fence row, right by where I saw the buck lay down, and keep on walking toward the road.  The buck, from the best I could tell from that distance, just lay out flat and let them walk by.  I love hunting deer--they will improve your education!   

Arch

[Land_Owner]

Good topic...I had the privilege this season to help my son take his first deer.  A beautiful doe at a distance of 150 yards.  DRT.  Not 20 minutes later a nice 6-point provided an even better broadside shot at a distance of 110 yards.  It humbled the boy when I asked why he didn't kill that deer and he said, "I killed it six times already!"  Only then did he remember to take the SAFETY OFF on the rifle.  He is still grousing about that "mistake".

[shot1]

Little things I have learned over the years.
1.  Always keep your variable power scope set on the lowest power. You always have time to turn up the power you never have time to turn it down when that big one trots by.
2.  Sit still.
3.  Use red fox urine as a cover sent.
4. Many deer when shot that run off usually fade to the right of the direction you saw them run.
5. Unless you know your yardage keep the cross hairs within the hair. Most people will over shoot more than under shoot.
6. Shoot for the front shoulder. It saves a lot of tracking. 

[hillbill]

dont worry bout the shudda shots! i rarely ever regret holding fire on a questionable shot but have regretted pulling the trigger on a questionable shot.

[efremtags]

We're not getting smarter, the deer are just getting dumber.

[jaybird]

It seems like the more I learn about deer hunting, the less I know. Just when you start getting a little cocky and think you can predict what a deer will do, he does just the opposite. I think that's what makes hunting so much fun.

[spikehorn]

My son got a good lesson in sitting still this year, he saw about seven deer in the next field over from the tree stand he was in. It was getting late in the day about 4:30 pm. The field he was sitting on rolled so he figured he would get down out of the stand and try to cut the distance. He took two steps out into the field and a buck jumped out of the same hedgerow he was in just twenty yards up from his tree stand. You just never know and you can tear yourself up second guessing your dicissions,

[Zeeks]

I second that for sure.  quit & go into the house and 15 minutes later the deer are there.....

[Hunter Fishman]

It seems like the more I learn about deer hunting, the less I know. Just when you start getting a little cocky and think you can predict what a deer will do, he does just the opposite. I think that's what makes hunting so much fun.

Word for word.
My thoughts exactly.
I learned that lesson this last deer season.
I'll get him next year.

The true experts are the ones who do it year in, and year out.  Managment, food plots, self discipline, shed hunting, scouting, stand placements, shooting, physical fitness, and more all play a role in your success... but if you're not out there working at it, none of those skills will improve.

Being a good deer hunter is not a 7 days in November thing, it's a commitment, just like being good at anything else in life is.

There hasnt been a single day gone by in the past 3 years that I havent thought about deer hunting, I live for it.
I hunt deer year round, I harvest them durring the season.

Theres so much more to the deer hunting experience than most people can understand.
weekend worriors have no idea whats realy going on out in the timber.
Shed hunting has tought me the most, It lets me know what deer I have to look forward to for the next season, It has taken me to new places every week, allowed me to get comfortable & familiar with the areas & has been a weekly work out for me for a few years now.