never shot a deer

[Paula]

A guy was in gun shop yesterday and was telling my husband about his hunting life. He has seen deer but they just are never close enough and if they are by the time he is ready then shot wont be good enough. He will continue to go out and will never give up. It has been 30 yrs and he has never shot one. I don't know if he bow or shot gun hunts. I don't know how many days he hunts. He just has never given up

[Grouse]

My BIL's father was like that. Hunted all his life and loved it, but never shot a deer. Personally, I think he enjoyed the company of other hunters and being in the camp and cooking, more than he liked killing a deer. He was Italian, loved cooking and eating, didn't drink and was a WWII disabled Vet who landed in Normandy and went all the way to Germany before it was over. I'm convinced he never took a deer because he didn't want to kill one. Nothing wrong with that, but after 50 years of deer hunting? Even a blind squirrel eventually finds a nut.

That being said, I still consider him to be one of the best hunting partners I ever had, God Rest His Soul.

[wdswtr]

My dad has hunted all his life and I think has only taken 3 deer. For him I have to believe its more about being in the woods and enjoying the hunt with his sons. Then I got an friend who wnated to hunt for a long time but never grew up around it and had no idea how to even approach it. Spent time with him prepping and helping show him the way along with another buddy. Opening bow one year he went out with our buddy for the very first hunt of his life. 10 minutes in the stand he places a great shot on an bueatiful 8 pt and get a nice quick recovery. When I went over to his house he said that it was too easy and never hunted again. LOL he wasnt buying the beginers luck stories we were telling him either. I know guys who have hunted 10 plus years and not gotten a deer yet either. The passion is definately there for them and the time in the woods preseason and during the season is put in as well. Things just havent come together for them yet. Took me 6 years to get my first one with a bow and I have been fortunate enough to fill a bow tag almost every year since. Just being in the stand and woods enjoying nature is reward enough, filling a tag and venison steaks on the grill is a big bonus.

[Lawdwaz]

90% of the deer are killed by 10% of the hunters. Might not be a fact I can prove it sure sounds good!

Lots of guys like the ones mentioned in the posts above. We have them in our camps and I know many others. Deer hunting means many things to hunters, killing isn't very high on most lists.

I can appreciate all views on it.

[Paula]

I have been hunting about 12 yrs. The first yr I shot a deer and I then went to fl for hog hunting and got one in 06. Then I shot my last deer in 07. I always had to work off my husbands schedule for hunting. Then I found a place to hunt and stay for opening week and that only worked for 2 yrs. Where I hunt now it kind of fell in my lap and I am surprised its lasted this long. I have been on there for 4 yrs and haven’t shot anything. I also never put any effort into learning anything about the property till it flooded me out. Last season I prayed to the deer gods to put a deer out there for me, I should have specified the field I was in not the one I should have been in. What do I know, LOL. I will continue to go out because I am having so much fun with it. I am learning and seeing and smelling stuff that everyone should experience. When the woods wakes up and comes alive that’s the best thing ever! I think about gutting a deer a deer, can I do it? Now I squirrel hunt and have a dog for rabbit. The one reason I am not out there every day right now is because of the bugs! I hate bugs any kind of bugs they swarm and crawl and land on you.

Its funny how most people wouldn’t go out in the dark but we feel pretty safe being in the woods while it is dark.

Hunt on!

[Lawdwaz]

Spiders, snakes, darkness, ghosts, gremlins, dentists etc..............................they all spook me but I must go on. <grin>

This will be your year Paula! Just make sure you, the deer & God are on the same page come November!

[Suilleabhain]

Took my father 25 tears, he could never hunt openning week and even when he did get a chance he was so tired from working two jobs 6 days a week he slept more times than not. Plus he always had one or two 12 y/o kids with him. There are guys in my club that never shot a deer no matter how much we told them about where, when and what equipment, they stuck to their own methods. City people stalking doesn't work.

[dave6x6]

Had a buddy that worked for the company that supplied us with our meat at work. He lived and breathed hunting and i never saw him without some camo on. During the season it almost got to the point where i would be reluctant to share my hunting success with him because he had been at it for 20 + yrs, bow and gun, without having any harvest. Couple years back he went out to his favorite spot but as dark came, he never returned home. The family went out with some lights and there they found him. Sitting under a big oak tree, gun still in his hands and layed across his lap. He had passed away, just a young guy in his 40's, of heart complications. I often find myself thinking of him during the season when things are slow and in my thoughts i always picture him under that tree. I smile when i wonder if a booner stepped into view just before his heart gave out. RIP Bob..

[MountainHunter]

I feel badly for people who have been at it a while and have not experienced success. (provided that it matters to them).

I have an uncle that had hunted for many years and never killed a deer. I don't believe my father was successful in the last twenty years of his life. It wasn't important to him though. He was more interested in the hunting camp,than the kill.

[Doc]

It took me 7 years to get my first bow-killed deer. Back then the population was in short supply, and the archery equipment that we used was truly primitive (not by choice either .... lol). The Monday morning get-togethers at work always had conversations about the doe that someone saw off in the distance, or the one that got away, or the shot that they almost got, but it was a rare thing when someone had a story about actually getting one. A lot of us took quite a few years to start getting deer with a bow. Nobody got discouraged or dropped out because of it. We just assumed that the next time out would be the charm .... lol. When someone did finally connect, it was a true massive sense of achievement. It was a unique and rare event that caught a whole lot of attention. We all understood that that would be the pay-off eventually, and that kept us going. Things have really changed. Now when someone doesn't connect each year we wonder what went wrong .... ha-ha. We don't care about the doe that someone saw, or the missed shot. The first question asked is "what did it score?".

[NFA-ADK]

Since 1991 I have been the only hunter in my party to get a buck where we hunt. 9pt 2000 165lb, 8pt 2010 207lb. Lost count of all the Doe, spikes and 4 pt or less I have passed on over the years mainly in the catskills and southern zones.

I always like hearing about people who keep at it, especially when the chips are down. Seeing other hunters take deer and not getting anything themselves can be depressing... Funny how my hunting partners always ask me questions on certian issues, one in particular. My friend Greg asked me (sarcasticly) "How come you always get into deer", Not killing yet the ability to get onto the path of a buck. I explain the fact that I read many books and aply that to my hunting skill set along with many years of experence. Plus the luck factor... Not all of it is always good...

With one week in the ADK as our prime time in the woods, more often that not this is the only week the entire hunting party with the exception of my self and may be one other hunter do for the year. I explain this hunting in the area we go is remote and has very few deer in it, I feel lucky I have taken 2 over a 20 plus year period and if anyone was realy interested in taking a deer we need to explore another area. Some of these guys have access to other area's to hunt yet they do not take advantage of it. Being a Deer hunting addict, I just can not comprehend this and feel no remorse for they are not REALY into hunting like I am...

Other than that, hunting is what you make of it. Do I like going home empy handed most of the time, NO. Yet I would not sacrafice a single day in the woods with out a deer for any easy kill with any deer. Hunting is a passion for me, killing is just a means to the end that I will not sacrafice on just any deer. Observing deer behavior is another passion for I feel it gives better insight to my prey. While I do not get to see deer as often as I would like, when I do I make the most out of it and usually killing the deer, even though that is why I am hunting, is the least of my concerns, UNLESS IT"S A MATURE BUCK!!!! IF that is the case my observations changes in an instant to the instincts of a hunter...

I often make the statement to non-hunters,"If hunting was all about Killing, I would have quite a long time ago!"

Counting down the days till September when I can hunt with last years tag in the Northern Zone early bow! Arg 4 months!!!

[Elmo]

I took up hunting 2 years ago. From mid-November till March, I went out every weekend. I might have missed 3 or 4 weekends but made up for it by going twice in one week on several occasions. Though I never hunted for big game during that year, I never actually saw a deer anyway.

This past year, I took up big game hunting. Again, went pretty much every weekend from start of bow to end of muzzleloader. Saw deer twice. First was a yearling during archery when I was heading back to my car with my tree stand on back. Had the trunk open when he walked by maybe 15-20 yards from me. Stopped, looked a me for a second, and kept on walking. A lot of people said I should have dropped the tree stand and try to get a quick shot in. Believe me, it did cross my mind. But I figured by my sudden movement, he would have started running and I would be shooting a bow at a running deer so instead, I just watched him walk away.

Second time during rifle season, saw two does I think I might have called in but spooked. Eventhough they were slowly zipzagging broadside up the side of a mountain, it would still have been a 200+ yard shot at a moving target so I decided to pass.

During the season, a lot of non-hunters would make fun of me because they always know some one (like a cousin of an uncle or a friend of a co-worker, etc.) who hunts and brings home several deer every year so that means I'm just a horrible hunter who doesn't know what he's doing. They picture me fumbling around in the woods like an idiot. When you read nothing but success threads, you start to doubt yourself. I know I only have one real season to go by but still, for people like me who came from absolutely zero exposure, hearing the failures of true, established, experienced hunters encourages me to keep going at it.

[Doc]

I know a lot of people will disagree with me, but if deer hunting were easy, I wouldn't be interested at all in it. Honestly, if someone came up with some super weapon, or super tactic that hacked the challenge out of it all, I would take up something else. While everyone is frantically searching for that "edge", I love the challenge (and often the frustration) of limitations. The rewards are so much more worthwhile. That's why guaranteed or guided hunts, and game preserve hunts have absolutely no appeal for me. If I could develop a property that was highly managed for large quantities of trophy bucks, all the interest in hunting would disappear.

So, I have gotten plenty of deer over the years, but I am not the guy who gets his buck every year ....... and that's the way I like it. I'll bet there are other people who have the same idea of hunting, and probably quite a few that take that idea a lot farther than I do.

[Paula]

I have friends and family that hunt (some who don’t) fills the tags they get every year. I have a brother who lives out of state and tries to help or tell me what to do. That is annoying. Some tease me but its ok because I don't give up. I have the best time getting up early and going out and seeing what ever there is to see. I might be discouraged at the end and say I’m selling all my guns and never going back out, but who am I kidding I love it and will do it as long as I can.

Elmo, if you have at least 1 hunting story to share with anyone at the end of the season then you were successful.

Edited May 29, 2012 by paula

[NFA-ADK]

Persistance pays off! The more you get involved in hunting the more things seem to come together. Reading sign, tracking, scouting, back woods hiking, perfecting your weapon and its trajectory and becoming a woodsman/woman all help us become a better hunter. Even and especial in the Catskills I stay out in the woods for the day. Most hunters I know go back to the tent/cabin/house for lunch, not me. When the weather is cold freezing rain/snow I stay in the woods!!! I left the woods 2 times early that I remember, one time to replace the scoped rifle w/open sights and the other time it was almost 70 deg with no anticipated movement forseen...

I have a couple of guys who spend at most 2-3 hours hunting per day close to trails, another in the catskills that is back at the cabin by 9:30 am then hunts the last hour of sunlight. Again to each his own, I never force anyone to hunt like me or expect it.

Stick with it Elmo and Paula your persistance will pay off for sure. The more time you put in the better your chances and the better chance you will have success!!! Extra time in the woods = more experience plain and simple...

I agree with you Doc, I have 2 friends who invited me on a boar hunt in Penn. It was a fenced hunt, what is the challenge? I declined. They said it was for the meat... Guided hunts or any type of fenced hunt is not hunting to me. Like you said if it was easy it would loose it's apeal...

Success is in the eyes of the beholder, I always proclaim success when everyone returns home safely and state everything else is just details. If you enjoyed the experience it was worth it and hopefully the details are long and many!!! For me personaly seeing deer is success and usually all that is needed for a perfect day/week hoping the daily sightings are prevelant.

Persistance is a word I see in many hunting books and is probably the leading cause of deer mortality in my opinion.

As long as the animal is appreciated and utilized to the fullest it is a trophy no matter what the size!!!

[GreeneHunter]

I've been very lucky (blessed maybe?) and have almost always scored every year ... but the best point of hunting is just being out there ! When I dont bag one I still love being out there . A buddy returned from Iraq two years ago and he wasnt able to obtain his Doe permit so I shot one with my permit and handed him the meat ... again just being out there is what matters !

[nyantler]

Took me 9 years to kill my first buck... I have respect for those that stick with deer hunting even though they don't get the bonus of killing one... it shows that its the experience for them... and we all know how much more excitement it is when you finally put your first tag on one... maybe even more exciting for a guy that has waited 30 years to do so...

Edited May 31, 2012 by nyantler

[wdswtr]

I have heard other hunters poking fun at guys who havent taken a deer yet myself. I have to chuckle, there are so many variables that play into the role of harvesting a deer. I have hunted with guys once that I will never even consider hunting with again but yet they fill tags regularly and dont put alot of time in the woods in the off season or in season. They just have a great hunting area. I used to be jealous of those guys with the big bucks taken every year and filled tags all the time, but Im with DOC on this one. I would be bored of hunting deer if it was that easy and I bagged bruisers every year. For me its not a bragging right of what I get, its on a much more personal level of the joy I get out of being one with nature. I have seen hunters struggle with coming to grips with their buddys tagging and bragging and getting them down. But once they got past the mental pressure and started enjoying just hunting they too started bringing venison home. I think alot get wrapped up in the mental part of it and trying to wow everyone, once that stage is over success starts to come into play. Not harvesting a deer doesnt make you a bad hunter in any way. I think it makes you stronger, keeps you learning and makes everyone tagged that more rewarding. Keep the faith your time will come just enjoy every minute of the journey.

[deerpassion]

i gotta say i started out hunting ducks, father never hunted a day in his life.... my brother in law got me into waterfowl when i was 12 n i was hooked... had never even thought of big game, turkey etc... but once i had called in and killed my first turkey(osceola nun the less) it was all over.. i realized that the challenge and realization of desire, hard work, failure and the euphoria of success has ruined me for life... it is a passion that burns inside of me all day everyday whether looking up new gear, reading articles, watching video, scouting on foot or via computer,checkin trail cams, or dreaming about the possibilities of opening day... it took me two years to have a dear walk in range, to shoot my first deer, and shoot my first buck... all in one hunt i killed my first deer and buck needless to say with a bow.... can't get any better than that.... something i still think about all the time and keeps me motivated for next season as to what im gonna see or harvest.... i love to talk to those tree huggin sob's that walk into publix n walk straight to the meat section n think there better than us... i'll post a comment on a photo i had on facebook in the why i love hunting thread if i can find it and you'll see why its bs!!!!!!!!!!

[deerpassion]

i gotta say i started out hunting ducks, father never hunted a day in his life.... my brother in law got me into waterfowl when i was 12 n i was hooked... had never even thought of big game, turkey etc... but once i had called in and killed my first turkey(osceola nun the less) it was all over.. i realized that the challenge and realization of desire, hard work, failure and the euphoria of success has ruined me for life... it is a passion that burns inside of me all day everyday whether looking up new gear, reading articles, watching video, scouting on foot or via computer,checkin trail cams, or dreaming about the possibilities of opening day... it took me two years to have a dear walk in range, to shoot my first deer, and shoot my first buck... all in one hunt i killed my first deer and buck needless to say with a bow.... can't get any better than that.... something i still think about all the time and keeps me motivated for next season as to what im gonna see or harvest.... i love to talk to those tree huggin sob's that walk into publix n walk straight to the meat section n think there better than us... i'll post a comment on a photo i had on facebook in the why i love hunting thread if i can find it and you'll see why its bs!!!!!!!!!!

[nygooseduster26]

I guess i am just a lucky hunter. My first hour ever deer hunting when i was bowhunting at 14 i shot a 7 point. My first day ever hunting with a shotgun when i was sixteen i shot a big doe. My first time ever taking out the rifle i shot a big doe at 17 yrs old. Same applied to turkey hunting. First time ever, longbeard came in strutting, got the whole thing on film and i got him at 20 yards. So far in my 5 years that i have hunted i have successfully taken 13 deer and i have lost one buck. A nice eight point i shot with my bow at 16 years old and the landowner would not allow me to retreive it from the property it crossed onto. (talk about heart break. would've been my biggest buck to date.) My largest buck to date is a big 7 point with half of his left main beam broken off. 16" wide. Biggest doe is 120 lbs field dressed.

[Nomad]

So many nice posts on this thread,like Doc's very much ! Thats the thing about hunting,one can make it what they want,set there own rules,then still not pull the trigger if they choose.

The big factors in my opinon are where you hunt and how often.I have lots of time and a good spot. Got a buck my first year of bow hunting '88 I think and have taken 1 to 4 a year since ( doe and buck). Now I set limits on the size buck I'll shoot.

But thats me, I'd be happy to hunt with anyone who's a decent guy and call him a fellow hunter,whether or not he kills a deer .I guess thats why its called hunting not killing .

[Uncle Nicky]

As a boy, I used to hunt with my father and uncle....my uncle never killed a deer, I don't think he ever even shot at one. To this day, I really don't think he ever cared if he got one or not, he quit hunting 20 years ago, but is still a fishing fanatic. Some guys are just happy getting away from the wife & work for a week, LOL.

[defrazzle]

I started hunting at age 14 with a single shot .22. In 1967, at the ripe old age of 17 I bought my new Remington 700BDL 30-06 with my hard earned part time job money for $153. My Dad took me along on a PA deer hunt and I shot my first deer that year. The rest is history.

At 18 I joined the military and everywhere I was stationed, except South East Asia, I hunted. I learned many new skills from Germans, Spaniards, Swedes and Nebraska Corn Huskers (LOL), Kentucky ridge runners and even Florida flat country "red necks". Here in New York I finally settled in and hunt the remote section of the Adirondacks. Do I shoot a deer every year? No, but for me the thrill is the hunt not the pulling of the trigger. Once I do that, the season is over.

Thinking about people who haven't shot a deer in years brings back my experience with one person. One weekend I invited him to hunt with me behind my camp. He kept telling me how he has not shot a deer in 10 years! He was some what too anxious! Well, we did not shoot anything that weekend. I went up to his remote camp and hung out with his son and brother.

The next weekend he asked me to hunt with him, his son and his brother, but I decided to hunt by myself in my area. Well, that afternoon, while he was sitting in a tree stand, he shot his brother directly in middle of his chest. He was dead before he hit the ground. It was a bad day for all of us! The moral here is take your time, don't get anxious, ALWAYS identify your target! If you don't shoot anything, there is always the next day! After that weekend I am now very cautious when and if I ever see another unknown hunter while hunting. I always wonder how "anxious" they are. Luckily, it is a rare day when I see a stranger.

[apoallo]

I have been hunting for a few years and Have taken many doe. I have only taken 1 spike and am waiting on that swamp donkey to cross my path. The last 3 seasons I havnt taken anything at all. It is very frustrating however I will never give up. I love the sport way too much. I usually have multiple opportunities to take a doe but usually save them till the end of the season. Last season I passed on what I thought was a spike chasing a doe, as he was runnign toward me i was aiming through my scope and saw only 1 point on one side. so I figured it was a spike. and passed on it. 30 seconds after he ran past me my brother in law shot him and as my luck would have it. he was a 5 point. 3 small points on one side and the side i saw had 1 large point and 1 very small point you could only really make out if you were 2 feet from it....... This season I have a few new spots that are readyt for me to come in and harvest however I now have a new born and since I dont go into work untill 3pm I will be the babysitter. My wife leaves the house by 7am so I dont really know how this season will turn out. I really like hunting during the week when everyone else is at work.