Formula for Succes.

[motorbreaker]

I agree that you have to have mature bucks on a property to kill one. I killed one every year until I moved to Michigan. Haven't killed one in the 3 years since. I have passed some bucks most people would shoot. But I don't get to hunt nearly as much as I did when I lived in Ohio. Its a big disadvantage to have limited time to hunt.
As far as skill goes. I think its worth more then 10%, I have a buddy who hunts with me that has hunted the same property for 8 years now and has never taken a buck. I do everything I can to get him on a buck and he sees them every year but is yet to tag one.

 

[Jackalope]

I agree that you have to have mature bucks on a property to kill one. I killed one every year until I moved to Michigan. Haven't killed one in the 3 years since. I have passed some bucks most people would shoot. But I don't get to hunt nearly as much as I did when I lived in Ohio. Its a big disadvantage to have limited time to hunt.
As far as skill goes. I think its worth more then 10%, I have a buddy who hunts with me that has hunted the same property for 8 years now and has never taken a buck. I do everything I can to get him on a buck and he sees them every year but is yet to tag one.

I think it is a sliding scale. If property quality or available time decreases the more skilled you have to be. But as property quality increases and available time increases the less skilled you actually need to be. I think sometimes when looking at other successful hunters sometimes we confuse skill with a very good property and available time.

For example let's take the Esker brothers in Columbus. Every year they shoot 190+ inch deer. And usually within the first week or two. Now every magazine article that I've read is all about them. But the reality of it is they're no Roger Rothar. They would likely have you believe they are, but in all actuality it is simply the properties they hunt and the time to do it. That's it. They are not some secret deer whisperer with the spirit of Fred bear on speed dial. Too often I see guys with really good property and time on their hands who want everyone to believe it's all about them. Nothing could be further from the truth.

 

[runhunter]

I think it is a sliding scale. If property quality or available time decreases the more skilled you have to be. But as property quality increases and available time increases the less skilled you actually need to be. I think sometimes when looking at other successful hunters sometimes we confuse skill with a very good property and available time.

For example let's take the Esker brothers in Columbus. Every year they shoot 190+ inch deer. And usually within the first week or two. Now every magazine article that I've read is all about them. But the reality of it is they're no Roger Rothar. They would likely have you believe they are, but in all actuality it is simply the properties they hunt and the time to do it. That's it. They are not some secret deer whisperer with the spirit of Fred bear on speed dial. Too often I see guys with really good property and time on their hands who want everyone to believe it's all about them. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I agree with this 100%. If you enough land with enough big deer on it, sooner or later you WILL kill and probably do it repeatedly. May not be bow season, but when it's all said and done, a very nice trophy room will be a pet if the house

 

[Bigcountry40]

I agree with your assessment but property alone won’t cut it. Unpressured deer is what I want. I don’t see incidental human contact as the problem with pressure either. There isn’t a deer alive east of the Mississippi that doesn’t have multiple human contacts throughout the year…all year. What gets the deer on alert is what the people are doing when contact is made. Start creeping around the woods like Rambo, get busted sitting up in a tree, ride a 4 wheeler back in and turn it off instead of the circle you did all summer, pay special attention to a deer once you see him maybe with binoculars or trying for a picture…….now you’ve got a deer on code red. Multiply that by a factor of ten and you’re going to have a nocturnal deer with minimal daytime movement in short order.

This along with what Jesse said about being selfish hit home with the property I hunt. The farm I hunt in Tuscarwaras County is over hunted and should hold much better quality bucks, the owner of the property enjoys fellowship and friendship. He is constantly running four wheelers to bait sites, 4-5 guys hunting during gun seasons, we kill deer, but if he were selfish, he could kill 150's every year I believe.
I have a very successful selfish friend that has 3 b & c's and he will only hunt a stand 3 times (believes its burnt if hunted more), limits his movement to and from the stand (checks cameras during or right before rain). He basically hunts and does everything by himself and uses other people to help or increase his own personal gain. I personally could never be like that, but different strokes for different folks.

 

[Buckmaster]

Years ago, on a forum far, far away, another member (who has since road off in to the sunset) told me that I'd never consistently kill big bucks until I "quit fucking around helping others". His advice, if I was going to be successful on an annual basis, it had to be all about me. No sharing property. No helping others. No filming. No nothing but focusing on me and whatever buck(s) I wanted to kill.

Years later, I'm not successful consistently and when I look at some of the prime examples of those that are, it's apparent his advice was spot on. If it's all about you, you're more likely to succeed.

That's a testament to myself and my hunting property as well. OldHat was spot on (he hunted my place for a couple seasons) and still is but what enjoyment would I have hunting by myself and not sharing with others. My fellow guests kill the 120", 130", 140"s and turn the big boys nocturnal and/or drive them to greener pastures. I guess that's why my buck tag is now looking mighty tasty....because I'm going to eat it in a couple weeks. Being greedy is not where my heart is; my passion for seeing others succeed and sharing the hunt is what its all about.

 

[bowhunter1023]

That's a testament to myself and my hunting property as well. OldHat was spot on (he hunted my place for a couple seasons) and still is but what enjoyment would I have hunting by myself and not sharing with others. My fellow guests kill the 120", 130", 140"s and turn the big boys nocturnal and/or drive them to greener pastures. I guess that's why my buck tag is now looking mighty tasty....because I'm going to eat it in a couple weeks. Being greedy is not where my heart is; my passion for seeing others succeed and sharing the hunt is what its all about.

I feel the same way Ben. He was not wrong, but he wasn't "right" either. It was solid, sound advice; just wasn't how I wanted to live as a hunter.

 

[Dannmann801]

Ben is "the man".

 

[Dannmann801]

And time - if you're like me and only hunting on the weekends, you're not going to consistently get the bigguns.
If I shoot a big buck, it's probably gonna be the first time I seen him. it is what it is. For now.

 

[aholdren]

Some people are luckier than others, I see it year after year. Some people can see big deer way more than others hunting the same places, I believe it has something to do with their pheromones.
Seriously tho you have to be able to have the available time to hunt and the right property in order to put big ones down consistently.

 

[Fluteman]

I'd venture to say that more successful hunters kill big bucks over corn than they care to admit. If you have good access and the $$$ to run piles and piles of corn, you can find and kill mature deer year in and year out.

 

[Spencie]

I'd venture to say that more successful hunters kill big bucks over corn than they care to admit. If you have good access and the $$$ to run piles and piles of corn, you can find and kill mature deer year in and year out.

My suggestion was going to be hunt areas where the neighbors don't/can't dump corn. I was very successful before corn piles became all the rage. It works...I'm just late to the party.

 

[Fluteman]

My suggestion was going to be hunt areas where the neighbors don't/can't dump corn. I was very successful before corn piles became all the rage. It works...I'm just late to the party.

I saw more quality deer in their natural habitat before corn came along...

 

[Spencie]

I saw more quality deer in their natural habitat before corn came along...

Apparently, you and me are the odd balls. I never had any trouble 10 years ago getting quality bucks in range. Now I'm lucky to see ONE in the distance all season.

 

[Buckmaster]

Ben is "the man".

^^^^^^...the Dude just likes my cooking. :smiley_chinrub::smiley_bbq:

 

[runhunter]

Apparently, you and me are the odd balls. I never had any trouble 10 years ago getting quality bucks in range. Now I'm lucky to see ONE in the distance all season.

I've definitely hunted places where at first, the deer seemed to be "pile dumb" and weren't very shy. Then it becomes normal, and they quickly associate it with some sort of danger, and the gig is up. See ya at 2am hah

 

[Gern186]

I'd venture to say that more successful hunters kill big bucks over corn than they care to admit. If you have good access and the $$$ to run piles and piles of corn, you can find and kill mature deer year in and year out.

Come up to flat open farm country where 80 percent of the ground is corn Greg...and say that. A winter like we are having right now means the deer can go to any field and get food...thousands of acres of available food right there on the ground.

 

[Fluteman]

Come up to flat open farm country where 80 percent of the ground is corn Greg...and say that. A winter like we are having right now means the deer can go to any field and get food...thousands of acres of available food right there on the ground.

And that's how it should be. I would like to see baiting made illegal and see the numbers of "hunters" dwindle. I'm talking about piling corn Chad. We all know there's a huge difference in hunting a cut corn field and hunting over a pile of corn...

 

[jagermeister]

And that's how it should be. I would like to see baiting made illegal and see the numbers of "hunters" dwindle. I'm talking about piling corn Chad. We all know there's a huge difference in hunting a cut corn field and hunting over a pile of corn...

Totally agree with you, Greg.

I'm a NW Ohio flatlander too and a big ass pile of corn works up here just like anywhere else, IMO. Farmers are pretty damn efficient these days. Deer are lazy... They'll go to a pile or a feeder instead of digging through a picked field if they can.

 

[giles]

Combines don't leave much these days and odds are, it's not very nutritious at this point anyways. The freshly dumped out corn is much better.

 

[at1010]

I agree with joe. Its all about access.

why do the DRURY brothers or Lakoskys kill big deer year after year? Time or they have farms in prime areas with large deer numbers?

Its all a numbers game, if you are trying to kill one 150inch deer in thousands of acres, very hard. If you have 25 150in deer on your farm consistently on camera, getting one of them to come by is a much better situation.

I dont knock it, if I could sit over a bean field, and watch 30-40-50+ deer pile into it every night and have multiple good shooters, pass 3.5 year olds, and wait on a 180, I would do it as well.