Jesse's 2015 Season Journal
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Gordo
Senior Member
Sum a biotch.
There's gotta be a booner with your name on it. An old pig who dodges TC's like its his job, but still has a taste for tail..... STAY AFTER IT
There's gotta be a booner with your name on it. An old pig who dodges TC's like its his job, but still has a taste for tail..... STAY AFTER IT
Ok, you got me...I can't think of anything nice to say. Get some kittens to torture or something?
Big_Holla
Senior Member
Sorry man. Better than the 2 160 class deer I had running around on camera that simply vanished last season I guess. At least you know where they went. Keep your head up. With the does you have been seeing, it is a matter of butt in the tree stand. There will be other pigs replace them. How many similar sized deer have been pushed from their core areas by neighboring Dipshits or simply left to chase tail? How many are going to show up in your plots seeking does? They will be there.
Don't settle for a 3yr old with good potential if that isn't what you want. You will be happy for a day or two then kick yourself later.
Don't settle for a 3yr old with good potential if that isn't what you want. You will be happy for a day or two then kick yourself later.
rsmith
Member
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Talk about a swift kick in both testicles from Bruce Lee.. It's a lot different when it is happening to you apposed to someone else so all I can say is just try and keep your head up. Anything can happen at any moment. But just pray those bucks were able to breed as many does as they could to pass the genetics around. Sorry to hear man
Sucks , but it happens regularly. If you aren't sharing a property with other hunters then someone is hunting the neighbors . It sucks no doubt but its just part of hunting . It will all work out in the end .
I guess I shouldn't be surprised by the events of yesterday. After all, I knew in my gut from the moment I got pics of DD this year that I'd fail to kill him in the same way I failed with Deuce, Moe, Jack, etc. So when I got the text from Matt (lessor for NC) at 11 yesterday saying he'd shot a buck and may need to track him on us, my gut sank. I knew it was DD before he ever sent me the pic. After confirming it was DD, I climbed down and headed over to see him in person. He was everything I thought he'd be: 161 3/4" with a 30" neck and a good 250 lbs. dressed. Just a truly magnificent whitetail. In talking with Matt and his hunting partner Harvey, Matt has 15 years of hard work in killing a whitetail this size, so he's certainly put in his time. IMO, it's different cause that time wasn't put directly in to DD, but it's time and effort nonetheless. I got to meet all 4 guys on the lease in the last week and while I'm still not a huge fan of seeing deer ride back to NC, these guys make good temporary neighbors and I'd rather they kill one of the bucks I get to know more than a car, disease, coyotes, poachers or some of my asshole neighbors.
So where does this leave me? If I hear "that's what happens on small parcels" or "get back out there" or "you never know what will stroll by in the rut" one more time, I might punch the mailman. At the risk of sounding incredibly narcissistic and childish, very few (if any) understand what it is to have walked in my shoes right now. To invest 10 years, 1,500 treestand hours, thousands of dollars, your heart and soul in to fulfilling one dream: building history with one buck and sealing the deal all on the family farm, making for a story for the ages... all to consistently end in failure; not to many people know that disappointment. I'm trying to do something more than JUST kill a big buck. And maybe I bit off more than I can chew...
We all hunt for different reasons and most of us preach not pushing those reasons on others, so while I appreciate the moral support, understand it's just not a simple as "get back in the saddle again" for some. What I enjoy, why I hunt, is the pursuit of that one deer that I've built a story with. That's what puts my ass in a seat. Shooting 130" deer or some random deer, doesn't appeal to me in the same way it does others. I want the story. That's why I'm hunting and a good story has layers. Chapters. I'm running out of ink on this story and I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to keep working on it.
It was a fun ride big boy...
So where does this leave me? If I hear "that's what happens on small parcels" or "get back out there" or "you never know what will stroll by in the rut" one more time, I might punch the mailman. At the risk of sounding incredibly narcissistic and childish, very few (if any) understand what it is to have walked in my shoes right now. To invest 10 years, 1,500 treestand hours, thousands of dollars, your heart and soul in to fulfilling one dream: building history with one buck and sealing the deal all on the family farm, making for a story for the ages... all to consistently end in failure; not to many people know that disappointment. I'm trying to do something more than JUST kill a big buck. And maybe I bit off more than I can chew...
We all hunt for different reasons and most of us preach not pushing those reasons on others, so while I appreciate the moral support, understand it's just not a simple as "get back in the saddle again" for some. What I enjoy, why I hunt, is the pursuit of that one deer that I've built a story with. That's what puts my ass in a seat. Shooting 130" deer or some random deer, doesn't appeal to me in the same way it does others. I want the story. That's why I'm hunting and a good story has layers. Chapters. I'm running out of ink on this story and I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to keep working on it.
It was a fun ride big boy...
Despite the bad day, I can't really complain about the one thing I enjoy most: seeing deer. Been a pretty good year for that.
___________________________
2015 Stats
Antlerless Sightings: 60
Bucks Sightings: 14
Different Bucks: 9
Sub 120: 6
120+ 3
Shooters Seen: 0
Total Sightings: 74
Deer Killed: 1
Morning Hunts: 7
Evening Hunts: 8
All Day Sits: 2
Skunked Hunts: 0
Total Hunts: 17
Hours on Stand: 63
Average Time Per Hunt: 3 Hours 42 Minutes
Deer Seen Per Hour on Stand: >1
Stands/Blinds Hunted: 10
Properties Hunted: 2
___________________________
2015 Stats
Antlerless Sightings: 60
Bucks Sightings: 14
Different Bucks: 9
Sub 120: 6
120+ 3
Shooters Seen: 0
Total Sightings: 74
Deer Killed: 1
Morning Hunts: 7
Evening Hunts: 8
All Day Sits: 2
Skunked Hunts: 0
Total Hunts: 17
Hours on Stand: 63
Average Time Per Hunt: 3 Hours 42 Minutes
Deer Seen Per Hour on Stand: >1
Stands/Blinds Hunted: 10
Properties Hunted: 2
Good for you man, glad you got together with the deer. You know what you have to do now… Best of luck with adventures to come. This has brought up another question for me that I'm gonna start a thread about "trail cams for good or bad"
"time heals everything"
"time heals everything"
Gordo
Senior Member
Very nicely put. Your write up gave it great perspective. Very few have walked that road.
Not trying to get the mail man knocked out so i'll stop there..... Lmfao.
Not trying to get the mail man knocked out so i'll stop there..... Lmfao.
bigten05
*Supporting Member*
damn jesse your having the same luck i am the big drop tine buck i was after fell to another hunter, turns out i was the only one to have pics and know about that deer until the day he shot him, i shook his hand and told him congrats, its part of it even tho its tough to swallow. im back to square one on coming up with a plan i think i might just wing it and just pick a spot to sit and not care whats on camera where and when it will be more enjoyable that way i think.
That sucks Josh. This whole thing is definitely making me reevaluate what, how and why I'm doing what I'm doing. One thing is for sure, the day my daughter takes over the shooter's seat can't get here soon enough! When I can stop hunting for me and start hunting for her, that's when things will be good again!
Joel
Senior Member
I had to shoot that little one lol. I'm going to have to wait until I retire to chase one specific buck. Now that there's no buck tag in my pocket I've actually been going to work and even getting stuff done around the house. A big buck hunter I am not. Too obsessive over it to accomplish anything else.
Jesse I know this has been said but at least you're not chasing a ghost. You could have easily spent the entire season waiting for that deer to come by and meanwhile he's hanging out in someone's freezer.
Jesse I know this has been said but at least you're not chasing a ghost. You could have easily spent the entire season waiting for that deer to come by and meanwhile he's hanging out in someone's freezer.
Honestly, I wish I lived closer because I’d be over in a minute with boxing gloves and mouth guards after work. You need a punching bag to get your head straight man. The fact you think guys/brothers are saying this is because we don’t understand what it is like in your shoes at this moment is absolute bullshit. Not because we can’t relate, but because you’re wrong. 99% of us are telling you that because we don’t want your head or lofty high goals/success measurement system to get in the way of what hunting should be.
For most of us, it’s fun, it’s an adventure, and it’s more than a trophy on the wall and a notch in the belt. If you only hunt for trophies and a story of a single target buck that is fine, but understand with that glory comes a WHOLE LOT OF RISK. Either accept the risk or quit seeking the glory. You can’t have it both ways. You are shooting for the highest goal of any trophy whitetail hunter, do you expect to be successful all the time? There are a LOT of hunters out there who have put 30+yrs in the woods and have never killed anything over 150". I can count more than I have fingers just on the folks I know.
I’m glad you got to harvest a doe for meat this year. I hope Tracie can capitalize on the old girl still wandering around on the farm. I can’t wait to see pictures of K holding her first deer. I don’t want to see you hang up the bow and not hunt anymore, but if you choose to that’s perfectly fine and I could care less. If someone wants to keep pestering you about not hunting anymore or why the duck hunting wagon is being touted so much the remainder of the year, then you can push back on your reasons for lofty goals and then say they don’t understand. Until then, accept the comments just as we should accept your excitement during pursuit.
How you proceed is up to you. If the reason you hunt is because what you have stated above, then your year is over. If not, there is another reason for you to be in that stand. Recognize what it is, embrace it and realize that if this is a goal, then it’s not going to come easy or quick. Maybe a better question is how many 160”+ deer do you want/plan to shoot before you die?
Always remember:
“Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.”
“If you accept defeat, that is exactly what you’ll get.”
I hope you read this as if I was standing there talking to you in person. If you're pissed, give me a call.
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Hortontoter
Senior Member
I hated to read what I just read Jesse. I understand your disappointments. But, it is the reality of hunting THE buck you really want. You are a young man and have many seasons ahead of you. Have faith, hunt hard and your day will come. We all have different goals. Remember the higher the goal the more likely we will suffer defeats. But, when your day comes you will know that all your efforts will be rewarded in the highest degree.
I doubt that you bit off more than you can chew. I, for one, have faith in you. So take another big bite of life, chew a bit, and pursue the goal you want so much to achieve.
I doubt that you bit off more than you can chew. I, for one, have faith in you. So take another big bite of life, chew a bit, and pursue the goal you want so much to achieve.