No shooters known in your area. . . What do you do?

[hickslawns]

I'm in a position this year. I have one 4 or 5 year old I would shoot. He will measure 120"? Maybe? But he is mature. That is a trophy to me. I have one 140ish 10pt on camera. I'm on the fence whether he is 3.5 or 4.5. I don't want to shoot a 3yr old. I'm not boasting. I have been very fortunate over the years. I generally have 2-4 bonafide shooters I'm after. This is a true blessing most years and I know it is not normal. Please don't take this thread as me complaining. It is ground zero for me right now. I'm okay with that.

What do YOU do in this situation? I know what I'm doing. I'm just curious what you would do. I think this could be a great thread for stimulating our minds and hopefully some strategies will come out which will help others. I'll post what I'm doing after we see some replies.

 

[triple_duece]

All depends. If your a score/trophy slut, you hope for a neighbors big buck to come looking for your does.

If your about killing a mature deer, you shoot the oldest buck that scores 120.

If your in between those two, you kill the buck that makes your heart race.

Most important is to enjoy what you do, and live with your decisions and not worry about what others might think of the buck you shoot.

Be very fortunate that you have a choice to hunt any deer of your liking.

 

[brock ratcliff]

I don’t have a single deer on camera that gets me excited this year. Then again I’ve only been maintaining one camera regularly and it’s not even on a property I hunt regularly. Doesn’t make any difference to me really. Hopefully I’ll see something that will charge my battery and if given the chance, I’ll shoot it.

 

[jagermeister]

Me, personally, I keep looking until I find one. Scout hard on multiple properties in multiple counties. Private and public. Up here you usually don't have to go too far to find at least one shooter. That being said, I don't hang my entire season on shooting a big deer either. I like to at least have a close encounter or two with a big buck, sure. But my main focus is on enjoying myself and putting some meat in the freezer.

 

[Lucky]

Like Jim and the raginCajun said. Enjoy your 2019 rut! Every year the one area i hunt most, its the same. Not sering but one definate shooter, a couple maybes and rite about the point u get discouraged, start questioning your thoughts and thinking about changing your plan up... A good shooter youve never seen walks rite into your area like it was supposed to happen.....id find a good area and have patients and faith. Some like to move if not much happening. If im in an area that has historically had good bucks thru there.... Ill stay put and more often then not, just about the time u say fuck it and think grass is greener elsewhere ....you get rewarded with a shooter ....id stay put and when ruts on. Something will come by. And you never know what could show up. Hope whatever u do , its enjoyable and rewarding

 

[giles]

Just go to the stand for you, the rest will fall into place.

 

[hickslawns]

I appreciate the input. It was meant to be more of a thought provoking discussion than anything. I know what plan I am implementing.

No public close unless you count the properties with a 10 acre woods and 6 guys hunting them. That option is out. Good thought though Jim. I have had some success in these wood lots by hunting the hunters.

Currently, I am trying to stay out of my areas. I am doing a lot of road scouting and glassing fields. I am seeing does. I am not seeing bucks. They are there. They didn't all get shot last year. They will show up. What I did was go thru trail camera pics from the end of 2018 and into early 2019. I made some folders of bucks to study. I intend on having a decent idea if a buck is a shooter or not when I see him. I'd like to avoid younger deer. TC pic refresher seemed like the best plan. This way if an old friend strolls by I will know if he is 3,4,5yr old. There is always the chance of a random buck showing up that gets your heart racing too. That wouldn't break my heart. On days I hunt I intend of swapping cards frequently. During the rut a shooter can show up out of nowhere but might only be in your area a few days. Or cruise thru and keep on cruising if no available does. Otherwise, I will sit in pinch points and heavily traveled corridors and enjoy being in the woods.

Sorry Giles. It isn't that easy. Takes lots of time glassing year round. Takes lots of thinking out a plan. When it is time to implement the plan, it takes the discipline to stick it out and be patient. Wandering all over the woods doesn't work. Got to sit and wait. Hear that Kevin? Patience my friend. Stay put. Trust in your plan. And shoot the deer. lol

I'd love to hear other thoughts. Like I said, just trying to get some people in the mind set. This is when serious pre-rut and cruising should be happening.

 

[Jamie]

go hunting is what I do.

never mattered a bit to me because I don't care to use trail cameras for hunting. I usually know if there is a good buck around even if I don't see him, but I'm probably going to see him, eventually. and I can count on cruiser non-residents to come around by mid November looking for love. I like not knowing. I've never really been a head hunter, anyway. I hunt because I like doing it. I choose to limit myself in other ways besides the size of buck I will shoot.

 

[Cogz]

Come to your area.

 

[Fluteman]

Hunt like you always would. The best time of year is here. You never know what may show up. Take a camera, and if nothing else, enjoy yourself. And there's always new deer relocating during late season. Put out food in January and shoot one with your muzzy.

I'm in the same boat this year. Not a single deer over 130". Heard tell of some nice deer running around, I just haven't seen them. Regardless, I will be hunting the 7th-21st hoping to see something new and enjoy the experience.

 

[OhioWhiteTails]

Anything could roam into the area. That giant 5x5 from Sunday was new to the immediate farm. Get in the seat as much as you can.

 

[Sgt Fury]

Shoot whatever makes you happy...it’s your memories. If mature deer are what you want, shoot the 120. If you’ve got plenty of 140’s on the wall, and are unsure of the ten point is 4.5 years old, let him go. Hopefully the pressure isn’t too great and he will make it to next season. And there’s always a chance that a bigger buck will come cruising during the rut. For me, a 140’s buck would be hard to pass...unless I knew there were a couple of 150’s or better hanging around. A few years ago I passed on a 120ish 8 point. The next year I got him...scored 146 as an 8 point. When I went through my trailcam pics, I could see the racks were identical, except for the length and mass he put on. Sounds to me like you’ve chosen to take the mature buck. When you walk up to your trophy, you want to feel proud of your decision, not regretting harvesting a deer that you didn’t really want. Enjoy the moment!

 

["J"]

Shoot the damn deer, Phil.... Just shoot it

 

[Bowhunter57]

If I were that set on shooting a bigger buck than what I already have on the wall and there wasn't one in the area...and I didn't have another area to hunt, I'd go kill some coyotes. There are always some "clean up" to do with those varmints and it might change the deer's patterns enough to put that buck you're looking for, in your area.

I'll only hold out so long and then I'm going to shoot a buck, as opposed to eating "tag soup". I've never killed a deer past the Deer Gun Season, so I start getting itchy the closer it gets to that time.

Bowhunter57

 

[Tipmoose]

This will probably be unpopular...but its what Ive seen.

The only thing Ive seen happen over the last ten years of TDM being preached religiously is that it has sucked all the enjoyment out of hunting for lots of folks. Suddenly its not enough to just go out and sit and enjoy being in the stand. Now you have to worry about age classes, point restrictions, body weight, whats on your trail cams, whats not on your trail cams. Gotta put out minerals. But you can't bump em out of their bedding. Oh...gotta do lots of hinge cutting...but...but...but....Oh look, my neighbor just shot a 2.5 year old eight point that bastard.

Just shoot the damn deer. All the attempts at 'management' do is make work out of what should be play. Be happy with what the good Lord gave you to hunt. Shoot what you see and get back to the basics of what drew you into the sport in the first place. Unless you've got 1K acres of high fenced land you're not really managing anything anyway.

Just shoot the deer.

 

[Mike]

Go out and hunt. No expectations, no one will judge you. Have fun, with no pressure. Relax Philly.

 

[Big_Holla]

I've always said some of the big boys somehow know how to avoid the camera. The rut is the rut, anything can show up at the blink of an eye. With that I would be hunting those great pinch points deer would use to move through your place from others. The next week or so hunt the does and their bedding as that is where the big boys should be skirting and scent checking. When it all comes to a head, shoot the one that puts you over the edge in excitement. I killed a really cool 2 1/2 year old I swore I wouldn't shoot several years ago simply because of the show he put on and how it all happened. No regrets either.

 

[Gern186]

Lots of good points made here Phil. This is the time of year where a slob could follow a hot doe in from 3 to 5 miles away and right past your stand. I wouldn't put much weight into what your cameras have been showing you up to this point. Its almost go time on the big boys. Put time in the stand and shoot whatever buck makes your pecker stiff.

 

[cotty16]

Cameras suck for this very reason. I haven't had one show up on camera in a couple years that made me think "OH YEAH"! They sure can suck the fun out of hunting because they make your spots seem hopeless. Just remember, there's a lot the camera doesn't catch and, like the others said, ya just never know.
I'm hunting my usual spots regardless of what shows up on camera because they are proven spots and something new always seems to wander by at some point.

 

[Big_Holla]

Keep in mind this is also the time of year a lot of good ones completely relocate. Just as an example of big boys moving, Diablo sent me pics just the other day of one of my big one's we both have had history with as he showed up at their feed site about 1 1/2 miles away. From the 20th. Oct. on into November is when this happened every year on a buck we were calling Pointdexter for over 6 years before they found him dead. He locked up with another giant that showed up the same way for them.