Gordo
Senior Member
I'd of just gave him the old 'cock slap'. I guess we all arent that gifted. lol
Sounds like a good day buddy!
Sounds like a good day buddy!
1023's 2013-2014 Hunting Log
- Thread starter bowhunter1023
- Start date
Gordo
Senior Member
Yep. At least up until last weekend. It'll be touch and go from here. Hopefully he lays low, survives all the other dangers, and grows his best rack yet when he's 5.5 years old. I told a few of the other guys this weekend that I kinda don't want to kill him, but wouldn't pass him either due to the history. However his rack is not the same color as it was last year, in fact is looks like a rack that was hanging in a smoke filled bar for years. And as much as I hate to admit it, those guys are right: he is smaller this year than he was last year. I don't want to shoot another 130" deer for my next buck. There will be season where that works for me. But I've been hunting since I was 8, bow hunting since I was 18, and have spent the last 8 season chasing mature bucks only. I have only had one chance at a 150" deer in my entire life and a stray beagle ran him off before I could shoot. I've hunted 160-180" bucks with nothing but pictures to show for it. I NEED to kill something. I'm not letting it consume me like it would have in past seasons, but I'm also prepared to eat some tags and piss, moan, and whine until it happens!
He's a great buck and I'd be a fool to pass a 4 year old deer I've been watching since he grew his first rack. I have 10K pictures of his, have seen him 3 times, and have a shed. That is a trophy all in and of itself, which is why I would shoot him. But he's not at all what I want rack wise and that's a bummer. I tried to convince myself he had grown and would be my largest grossing whitetails. As I see it, he'd only be better than my 2010 buck and that buck had 4 broken tines. That's not what I set out to do regardless of history.
dante322
*Supporting Member*
"shoot what makes you happy' Your words.
if shooting captain jack isnt going to make you happy, don't do it.
just sayin.
if shooting captain jack isnt going to make you happy, don't do it.
just sayin.
Gordo
Senior Member
Its strange how they change year to year. Im convinced that this buck ive been getting pics of for the last three years has less inches of antler this year then the previous 2 years. Interesting stuff.
The wife let me down last night when she turned in to the "whiff". lmao
I've struggled the past few years getting her on deer with the numbers down and the limitations that come with hunting with a 5'5" 130lbs woman! Last night was the first time she's been out other than a short bow hunt in early October. I didn't have to worry about her freezing which was good, and I was fairly confident we'd see deer. We got to the farm at 3 and I set up a short push that resulted in a whole lot of nothing, so we headed for the bottom to overlook the big food plot and the remnants of 1,000lbs of ear corn I fed in November. We picked a spot on the ground about 65 yards from the main trail cutting across the bottom. We settled in there at 3:45 and it was a pretty short wait for the action...
Shortly after 4:15, I heard deer running in the 5 acre sanctuary that's across and down the bottom from where we were stationed. I caught movement not long after and was able to glass a doe fawn. I was watching her and telling Tracie where she would come from when after a couple minutes, I dropped the binos and see a big doe standing at 65 yards in the food plot! I was all excited and said: "Right there! You see her!" At the time, I didn't realize she'd been there for 30 seconds or better!!! lmao She came off the hill in front of the one I was watching through the binos and I never realized it!
She turned and walked towards the corn and I bleated to stop her at 65 yards broadside. Tracie elected to leave the shooting sticks be and was in a good position to shoot "boy scout" style. She's not missed a shot since the very first time she shot at a deer on opening day of the 2003 muzzleloader season. 9 straight dead deer and last night, a big old wifferuski!!! I think she flinched from not shooting the gun before we left. It's been almost 2 years since she has shot the muzzleloader and I think it was in the back of her mind. The good news was she wasn't upset and wants to get back after them this weekend. So the quest will continue!
_______________________
2013 Stats
Antlerless Sightings: 58
Bucks Sightings: 24
Different Bucks: 14
Shooters Seen: 5
Total Sightings: 82
Deer Killed: 1
Arrow'd Squirrels: 2
Morning Hunts: 11
Evening Hunts: 14
All Day Sits: 1
Skunked Hunts: 0
Total Hunts: 26
Hours on Stand: 77.5
Average Time Per Hunt: 3 hours
Deer Seen Per Hour on Stand: 1.06
Stands/Blinds Hunted: 13
Properties Hunted: 4
I've struggled the past few years getting her on deer with the numbers down and the limitations that come with hunting with a 5'5" 130lbs woman! Last night was the first time she's been out other than a short bow hunt in early October. I didn't have to worry about her freezing which was good, and I was fairly confident we'd see deer. We got to the farm at 3 and I set up a short push that resulted in a whole lot of nothing, so we headed for the bottom to overlook the big food plot and the remnants of 1,000lbs of ear corn I fed in November. We picked a spot on the ground about 65 yards from the main trail cutting across the bottom. We settled in there at 3:45 and it was a pretty short wait for the action...
Shortly after 4:15, I heard deer running in the 5 acre sanctuary that's across and down the bottom from where we were stationed. I caught movement not long after and was able to glass a doe fawn. I was watching her and telling Tracie where she would come from when after a couple minutes, I dropped the binos and see a big doe standing at 65 yards in the food plot! I was all excited and said: "Right there! You see her!" At the time, I didn't realize she'd been there for 30 seconds or better!!! lmao She came off the hill in front of the one I was watching through the binos and I never realized it!
She turned and walked towards the corn and I bleated to stop her at 65 yards broadside. Tracie elected to leave the shooting sticks be and was in a good position to shoot "boy scout" style. She's not missed a shot since the very first time she shot at a deer on opening day of the 2003 muzzleloader season. 9 straight dead deer and last night, a big old wifferuski!!! I think she flinched from not shooting the gun before we left. It's been almost 2 years since she has shot the muzzleloader and I think it was in the back of her mind. The good news was she wasn't upset and wants to get back after them this weekend. So the quest will continue!
_______________________
2013 Stats
Antlerless Sightings: 58
Bucks Sightings: 24
Different Bucks: 14
Shooters Seen: 5
Total Sightings: 82
Deer Killed: 1
Arrow'd Squirrels: 2
Morning Hunts: 11
Evening Hunts: 14
All Day Sits: 1
Skunked Hunts: 0
Total Hunts: 26
Hours on Stand: 77.5
Average Time Per Hunt: 3 hours
Deer Seen Per Hour on Stand: 1.06
Stands/Blinds Hunted: 13
Properties Hunted: 4
Gordo
Senior Member
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Big_Holla
Senior Member
Does us all good to whiff now and then!! It humbles us all and I'm sure she learned those shooting sticks come in handy!! Good luck the next time out!!
And with that, I'm done. There is a part of me that honesty thinks I might be all but done deer hunting for a few years outside of a few rut hunts. My heart wasn't in it this year and given the work that it will take to get me on land where I can shoot the caliber of deer I want to shoot, I'm not sure I have the time, desire, or money to do that. I'm going to enjoy the shit out of duck season, get through baseball and see how I feel about this whole deer hunting thing in June. I do plan to get out during muzzleloader with Tracie, but I'm done bowhunting and doubt I carry the muzzy at all.
Nothing like the first skunk of the year to cap things off...
_______________________
2013 Stats
Antlerless Sightings: 58
Bucks Sightings: 24
Different Bucks: 14
Shooters Seen: 5
Total Sightings: 82
Deer Killed: 1
Arrow'd Squirrels: 2
Morning Hunts: 12
Evening Hunts: 15
All Day Sits: 1
Skunked Hunts: 1
Total Hunts: 28
Hours on Stand: 82
Average Time Per Hunt: 2 hours 56 minutes
Deer Seen Per Hour on Stand: 1
Stands/Blinds Hunted: 13
Properties Hunted: 4
Nothing like the first skunk of the year to cap things off...
_______________________
2013 Stats
Antlerless Sightings: 58
Bucks Sightings: 24
Different Bucks: 14
Shooters Seen: 5
Total Sightings: 82
Deer Killed: 1
Arrow'd Squirrels: 2
Morning Hunts: 12
Evening Hunts: 15
All Day Sits: 1
Skunked Hunts: 1
Total Hunts: 28
Hours on Stand: 82
Average Time Per Hunt: 2 hours 56 minutes
Deer Seen Per Hour on Stand: 1
Stands/Blinds Hunted: 13
Properties Hunted: 4
Dang, I hate to hear this. Your passion for hunting is top notch. I truly hope you have a change of heart.
You can't hunt in an area where a 120 inch deer is a quality deer and get upset that your getting shots at 130 inch deer. It doesn't make since to me. In the area we hunt a 130 is a big buck. Maybe not where JD or Joe are hunting. But down here in the hills a 130 is impressive enough. I really think you are missing out on the fun and the thrill of the hunt because you are so caught up in killing a big racked deer. That is not what the sport is about and you are ruining it for yourself. I'll tell you how to get back into it. Put your compound up and grab your stick bow. Practice until you can feel confident out to 15 yards. Then a new challenge has erupted. Killing a deer with it. Then maybe you won't worry so much about what so and so thinks about how many inches of antler that buck you killed had. You can tell them to kiss your ass because you had just as much of a rush andfun killing that 6 point than you would have killing a 150". Deer hunting isn't about the amount of inches on a deers head. Keep that in mind and things may not be so frustrating.
Goodluck.
Goodluck.
I have to ask. Why are you so worried about the score of the deer that you are going to shoot? Who should it matter to? It should matter to you and you only.
It frustrates me to see you on here bitching and whining about passing up 130's and seeing other big bucks when I hunted just as hard as you and I do not think I saw a single buck while hunting that was over 125. Maybe I suck. But I was happy as could be with my 115 buck. Just because they kill studs in 3 days of hunting on tv doesn't mean that we should be obliged to do it here in our part of the state. Stick with it Jesse.
It frustrates me to see you on here bitching and whining about passing up 130's and seeing other big bucks when I hunted just as hard as you and I do not think I saw a single buck while hunting that was over 125. Maybe I suck. But I was happy as could be with my 115 buck. Just because they kill studs in 3 days of hunting on tv doesn't mean that we should be obliged to do it here in our part of the state. Stick with it Jesse.
I'm not worried about what so and so thinks. The reason I want to kill a big buck (140+) is because that's what I want to do. I got over impressing others two seasons ago. Our county will produce the caliber of deer I'm after, hell the properties I'm on have done it in the past. However with numbers down, the amount of big deer are also down. I need to find new spots that have better numbers in areas with rich genetics to kill what I'm after. I will not deny that a 130" is a good deer. But that is not what I want to shoot right now.
As for the stick bow, I'm not feeling it man. I don't have that gene in me apparently. Or the balls. But I can live with that...
The thought of shooting a small buck just to shoot it because I have a stick in my hands does not even remotely appeal to me. Shooting does is another thing and that could very well be happy. But I'm not shooting little, immature bucks again regardless of weapon.
Because I want to kill a big buck. Can't a guy just want to do that without the ridicule? :smiley_blackeye:
Look, I know I'm blessed to have the time, access, and I'd like to think the ability to get myself on P&Y caliber deer every fall. However I'm no longer happy just shooting a P&Y caliber deer. For nearly a decade I've wanted to kill an OBB qualifier and it has continually eluded me. I'm after that rush that comes with shooting a truly big deer. Last year's buck just fueled that fire even more at 139"; so close I could almost taste it. I want to shoot something big for me because I feel I've paid my dues and I deserve it. If I keep shooting 130" deer, I'll never kill something big.
You know what frustrates me? Seeing guys kill deer of a lifetime that I could hunt circles around. That you could hunt circles around. I don't have that kind of luck or access apparently. Every year I see people simply bumble fuck themselves into the caliber of deer I'm after and that drives me friggin' insane! I shouldn't let it and you shouldn't let it frustrate you that I'm bitching and whining. You should know me well enough to know that I like to bitch and moan from time to time! Neither one of us should be letting something someone else does, says, or has done bother us unless it directly impacts us.
I can't explain what, but something has changed in me regarding my drive to bow hunt. My take is that a decade of busting my ass with little to show for it, combined with a new perspective as a father, is responsible for that. Add in the new found love of waterfowl that now provides me with excitement, drive, new challenges, and camaraderie that I have been looking for and my deer hunting really is starting to take a back seat. I only have so many resources and I see me moving those towards the waterfowl and becoming a causal deer hunter. The days of me embodying a diehard bow hunter are most likely over...
Meh, I agree with most of what Taylor says.
If you only want huge bucks but don't have the properties that you can find them on....get the properties or hang it up.
No reason to invest the time and not enjoy it.
If you only want huge bucks but don't have the properties that you can find them on....get the properties or hang it up.
No reason to invest the time and not enjoy it.
That's the whole point of what I was saying. Either I will find the time, energy, and money to put in to getting better properties, or I'll just hunt causally and live with the outcome. If the deer herd continues to dwindle and have to hunt my ass off just to see a deer, I'll get a new hobby. I like hunting squirrels and rabbits, but don't do it to keep the pressure off the deer. Fall turkey is something I have never done. We are in talks on splitting the cost of a boat for waterfowl and a WV hunting license would let me hunt ducks during the rut. I can find other outdoor endeavors that get me in the woods enjoying nature without the headache that has become deer hunting.
I had a good season by many measures and generally speaking, I enjoyed every hunt. The whole idea here is to take the time, energy, money and passion I have had for bow hunting and apply it elsewhere so that I can enjoy other pursuits. I may very well change my mind if I can find a property that gives me hope. I'm a busy dude with many irons constantly in the fire; it might be time to change some of those irons however...
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You're burned out. Invest your time elsewhere until you get burned out on that pursuit. I do it every year; I fish untill I'm tired of that, then I hunt till I'm tired of that, then its time to fish.... 
. If I screwed around with cameras and food plots year 'round, I'd be sick of deer before November ever rolled around too. Been there, aint going back.
. If I screwed around with cameras and food plots year 'round, I'd be sick of deer before November ever rolled around too. Been there, aint going back.
You touched on another consideration of mine and that is doing away with the cameras and food plots. The amount of money I have spent on those two pursuits alone, combined with the corn costs for pics, in the last 5-6 years is staggering. I'd estimate that number to be north of $10K! Then consider that time. All resources that could be spent elsewhere.
The hard part of that is I love trail cameras! And I love to plant food plots. However neither have had a discernible direct impact on the quality of my hunting. In fact, the cameras have undoubtedly caused me more heartache than excitement and fulfillment. I'm searching for balance in my life right now and bow hunting has been a HUGE part of my life for the past decade, so it will take some work to figure out how to sway the scales one way or another, but maintain a healthy balance in my life.
The hard part of that is I love trail cameras! And I love to plant food plots. However neither have had a discernible direct impact on the quality of my hunting. In fact, the cameras have undoubtedly caused me more heartache than excitement and fulfillment. I'm searching for balance in my life right now and bow hunting has been a HUGE part of my life for the past decade, so it will take some work to figure out how to sway the scales one way or another, but maintain a healthy balance in my life.
I had a camera over a small plot for the last 3 weeks. 78 pictures, mostly turkey and coon. I'm done with plots.