What is most important?

[G-Man]

OK, there are a lot of "good" hunters out there. the question is if your consistantly sucessful what is the key to your sucess? Mine is definatly time spent afield. I know a lot of better shots than myself, more patient people who can sit all day in any weather. But give me a week and i will get my deer every time. A lot of guys and girls i know that don't see/ get their deer only hunt 2-5 days a season, and they are the loudest to complain there are no deer. Hunters i know that get their deer every year or multiple deer seem to hunt for weeks using up vacation and personal days from work. Same goes for the professional hunters on tv. they hunt every day for months to get 4 or 5 deer for their shows. What do you think?

[Culvercreek hunt club]

#1 I think is time afield too...unless you have a really good view from the couch...lol

[mbucks27]

I agree with you. but its definitely putting in time in the right spots!!

John

[GreeneHunter]

Time afield is the key I believe to knowing whats in your area ! I spend enough time looking for Scrapes/Rubs/Tracks to know if what I'm after is actually there .

[growalot]

I can not agree more...and add that you need to know the deer in your hunting area

Yes all deer can display the same types of behaviors..BUT...I have personally seen a huge difference in deer herds from here at home and down at camp...different herd dynamics...feeding patterns...and reactions to pressure from humans and vehicles...smells and noise...and not noise from ppl but animals...crows...squirrel turkey...Feet on ground and knowing the animals you hunt....

[BizCT]

Time afield, but the proper way. Little no movement,scent-free, and in a decent deer location. Guys can spend 12 hours a day in the woods for weeks and not see a deer if they are constantly moving around.

[biggamefish]

Time spent afield is a huge factor in the equation. But you could sit in the wrong spot all season and see nothing or deer that are just not close enough for the shot. So I think there is a little skill involved in picking the right spot.

[Doewhacker]

Time afield, we scout during the season instead of disturbing things ahead of time. We also still hunt a fair amount, helps to find deer you won't by sitting still most times. And of course playing the wind is maybe the most important thing, don't do the scent free stuff or trial cam's, just keep it simple.

[phade]

OK, there are a lot of "good" hunters out there. the question is if your consistantly sucessful what is the key to your sucess? Mine is definatly time spent afield. I know a lot of better shots than myself, more patient people who can sit all day in any weather. But give me a week and i will get my deer every time. A lot of guys and girls i know that don't see/ get their deer only hunt 2-5 days a season, and they are the loudest to complain there are no deer. Hunters i know that get their deer every year or multiple deer seem to hunt for weeks using up vacation and personal days from work. Same goes for the professional hunters on tv. they hunt every day for months to get 4 or 5 deer for their shows. What do you think?

Great hunting ground will make even the shoddiest of hunters look better than they really are. Seat time can be a great calculator...but great ground is the mitigator.

[nybuckboy]

I agree with all of the posts and knowing the deer in your area is important but... knowing your land that you hunt and how the bucks and does typically travel the land is the key. Proof is killing a really big buck that you never saw in person or on camera. Put in your time, play the wind and a little luck will bag you your deer every time.

[WesternNY]

Time afeild, playing the wind, setting up on the outer edges of your property between known bedding and food sources. Then it comes down to the right place at the right time.

[Cabin Fever]

I'm with phade on this one... great ground/good deer #'s make all the difference! You can hunt your ass off putting in your time, but if the deer aren't there, you're SOL! Or, if the deer have gone nocturnal. I had 5 cams out last fall and they were on fire until Nov. 1st. I never got a "daytime" pic from Nov. 1st until late December. I don't have many deer in my area anyway, and when the few that I do have go nocturnal, I feel like the area is void of life or I'm on another planet! There's ag fields bordering the thickets, so the deer don't have to travel in between, just step in and step out. They don't have to leave their beds early to "travel" to a distant food source to arrive at dark, nor is there much (if any) opportunity to catch them after they leave the ag fields, as they just step back into the thicket and bed by daylight. October has always been the best opportunity for me to fill tags, while they are moving around and before they go nocturnal.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Cabin...let me in the ticket...guarantee they come out...lol

[fasteddie]

Patience . I sit most of the day when I hunt and make it an all day affair . I may swap stands depending on the wind but try to give the stand an all day sit . I used to walk almost a mile to the back of the woods when other hunters were on adjacent property but havn't seen much activity there in a few years plus the woods and been partially under water as the land doesn't drain . I drive just over 50 miles to the property so I might hunt it every other day which gives me time to rest .

I noticed on the trail cams that the deer are traveling closer to my SIL's house and barn so I put up a stand and will try that out this bow season .

Each year I pass on the spikes , fork horns and 5 points . This may be the year that passing goes down the drain . I would just as soon shoot a doe rather than anything under 6 points .

Anyway , having patience to stay out the whole day is key to my success . Years ago during gun season and when there were more hunters I used to get a deer around 9:30 - 10 am when guys would get antsy and start to move around or go back to their vehicle to get coffee , etc ..

Patience .............

[WNYBuckHunter]

Time afield, but the proper way. Little no movement,scent-free, and in a decent deer location. Guys can spend 12 hours a day in the woods for weeks and not see a deer if they are constantly moving around.

I agree except the scent thing. Play the wind and you could smell like a french cat house and still be successful.

Also, if you are stationary hunting, being still helps, but one of the most effective ways to hunt is a drive, not far behind that is still hunting.

[growalot]

I would just as soon shoot a doe rather than anything under 6 points .

I'm with ya on that Eddie...but the last few years ...I've caught myself passing on them as well and even a few 8's...Which I thought I'd never do ...but man I have seen some bruisers at a distance...and a couple up close but running doe 40mph...lol Can't help but wish...but a huge bodied 6 would still hit the dirt if he got close

Speaking of cover/nocturnal..Mr B and I took the back roads home from camp...there was a piece of land heavy trees and brush 30yrds by 10-15 yards where 3 roads connected forming a bit of a triangle...I glanced over and there he stood on the very edge of one road a huge (thick) racked buck...even in velvet...you could see he had massive bases...

I couldn't even get the words out of my mouth but Mr B. saw the look on my face...he stopped at the intersection and I told him, so we circled around ...of course he had retreated...but we saw his path and he was still in there...That buck found the perfect place to live and hide...No one could go in there undetected Town or county land...nor shoot with out risking going over the road or hitting a vehicle and there was a house less than 200 ft away...and a steep gulley across one of the roads...how smart is that!!...His own little island...until some doe becomes his demise...lol

[Nomad]

1. Where you hunt,the ground whatever you call it. I know a guy who killed a buck every opening day for 23 years. For years I never even knew he hunted! When I did talk hunting with him,well he knew very little, but where to sit and smoke and drink coffee opening AM. Tons of deer even he scored

2. time afield

3.knowing your land

I'm no great hunter but i got a very good spot that I've hunted for 25 years and LOTS of time to hunt. Have not been skunked since sometime in the '80's

Just by knowing the woods here is how it happened last year. First time out in bow took a doe. Opening morning of gun took a nice buck,that afternoon put a friend in a stand he took a nice buck. Second morning of gun took a doe for a friend.

I don't own scent loc,can't tell a thing by looking at a deers teeth,don't know phases of the rut, could not rattle in a buck, blowing in a call sounds like a duck if i do it,could not ell you what scent to use when. I just know where the deer are.

[BrianNY]

Any of you guys use all the commercial sent control stuff? The laundry detergent, soaps, sprays, etc? How well does it actually work? I was gonna pick up a couple kits before the season, but, not sure if it will just be a waste of money or if its actually worth it.

Thanks,

Brian

[bubba]

1 shooting before and after legal hours

2 never wearing orange

3 baiting

4 using others tags

5 trespassing

6 night lights

7 I AM SO SERIOULSY KIDDING

[bubba]

Seriously

1 time in the woods and patterning deer

2 trail cams to help with scouting

3 having a healthy herd

4 enjoying myself

[Paula]

1 shooting before and after legal hours

2 never wearing orange

3 baiting

4 using others tags

5 trespassing

6 night lights

7 I AM SO SERIOULSY KIDDING

HA HA

[MountainHunter]

1) Time

2) The right area's

3) Capitalizing on the opportunity

[Four Season Whitetail's]

I would have to ask if you mean any deer or a mature deer? Two total different animals. I have been lucky enough to take a buck with my bow now for 9 years runnin and 3 book bucks. . I also must say that i have some great land up here in the north to hunt but all 3 bucks came out of the tier and anyone that knows me knows where they came from....State Land.. To kill any buck i would say good land,good weather and being able to put your time in. To kill a mature buck you need to know what they are going to do and where they are going to do that. That takes a huge investment of time learning the whitetail deer,For me..About 40 years. When it comes to bucks a 3yr old plus buck is and acts nothing like a 1 or 2 year old. When it comes to gun hunting things are a little more on your side when it comes to taking a mature deer just because you can reach out to them but you still need to know the animal and have the place and time on your side!

Edited September 8, 2012 by Four Season Whitetails

[New York Hillbilly]

1. Being proficient with your choice of weapon, which means practice, practice, practice in the off season.

2. Knowing your (and equipment) limitations and not pushing beyond them no matter how excited or tempting.

3. Lots of time afield studying your game, their ways and patterns so you can create opportunities.

4. An incredible amount of patience.

5. Enough respect for the animal you pull the trigger on or release an arrow at, to put in as much time, and your best efforts, to recover the game you shoot.

[nyantler]

I am probably the odd man out here... my hunting style is a little unorthidox in todays hunting world... I never sit.. I rarely wear any scentcontrol anymore I totally rely on playing the wind... although I'm not a great marksman when it comes to shooting at targets, I rarely miss when I have an opportunity at a whitetail... I never wait for deer to come to me.. I go to the deer... I spend much of my bow season in search of a big buck to hunt... once I find sign or get a look at a decent buck.. I hunt that buck until I kill him...

9 times out of 10 it ends up being on snow... where I can find his track and dog him until I get a good shot... in the 18 years that I've hunted this way I've taken 12 bucks that score between 115 and 155. Each killed in a different location around the State and on public land except for the 155 buck which I tracked and killed behind my own home.

I must also say that time in the field is a great advantage thats why I choose not to waste time waiting for bucks to come to me.

From 16 yrs old to when I started hunting this way (19years) I killed mostly does and maybe a half dozen or more yearling bucks.. didn't kill my first deer until I was 25.. many years I didn't even see a buck (and I hunted a lot!)

Although I agree time in the field is important and helps with increasing success.. I am a believer that waiting is far less effective than actively pursuing deer... I even hunt this way on small tracts of land and have been successful.

I only hunt doe during the late muzzleloader with patch and ball... the same style I hunt bucks.. in 18 years I have taken at least one doe every year and two when I've drawn two tags... I donate half the meat every year from all those does to the Venison Donation drive to feed the hungry... probably my favorite time to hunt and most rewarding.

Edited September 9, 2012 by nyantler