What makes you the (self-proclaimed) better hunter?

[wolc123]

8 minutes ago, Belo said:

My knees wobble and my heart beast so fast that I fling arrows over the backs of big bucks.

What does that make me?


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Try aiming for low heart rather than center lung.  That way, you might end up with a center lung kill, when they duck your shot.  
 

Most high misses with bows have nothing to do with hunter nervousness.   The deer goes to a state of high alert, when it catches a glimpse of your draw, then “ducks” when it hears the bow dump it’s  energy. 

Another way to eliminate such misses (and high back wounding) during the peak two weeks of the rut in NY’s southern zone, is to switch to a crossbow.   With no need to draw that, with a deer in close, there is no need to shoot at “alert” deer.
 

 That means it will probably be in the same place when your arrow hits, because only “alert” deer jump the string.  

 

[Five Seasons]

I’m going to say something that’s probably unpopular and I’m the kind of guy that agrees that we all hunt for various reasons and that’s all that matters.

But every deer is a trophy is bull shit.

Your first deer regardless of sex or size. Of course.

A deer after a tough year, a drought or in the middle of a tough time in your life? Of course.

Your biggest buck, a book buck? Obviously.

Heck a nice doe at the end of the year to avoid an empty freezer? Sure.

But no, that 2nd doe during rifle or the 3rd 2 year old buck in as many years. No they’re not trophy’s. I thought the vibe of most on this site was that not everybody gets a trophy? And while I agree that a trophy is relative to the hunter, some deer get you fist pumping and freaking out and others don’t otherwise those trophy deer wouldn’t be trophies.

To elaborate a little, it doesn’t mean that every deer isn’t special or meaningful. The first deer I killed in MS on public land from my climber with a mz is still to this day the most excited I’ve ever been and she was just an average doe for that region. Some of the meat doe I’ve shot over the last few years got the heart going and an adrenaline rush but that’s about it.

Everyone’s meter is probably different but think back and think about how many fist pumps you did, how long were you shaking after the shot. How many pictures did you take and how many texts and calls did you make. My guess is that not all your harvests were equal.


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[Five Seasons]

Try aiming for low heart rather than center lung.  That way, you might end up with a center lung kill, when they duck your shot.  
 
Most high misses with bows have nothing to do with hunter nervousness.   The deer goes to a state of high alert, when it catches a glimpse of your draw, then “ducks” when it hears the bow dump it’s  energy. 
Another way to eliminate such misses (and high back wounding) during the peak two weeks of the rut in NY’s southern zone, is to switch to a crossbow.   With no need to draw that, with a deer in close, there is no need to shoot at “alert” deer.
 
 That means it will probably be in the same place when your arrow hits, because only “alert” deer jump the string.  
 

Lol dude I was joking… sort of.


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[GreeneHunter]

3 hours ago, Belo said:

My knees wobble and my heart beats so fast that I fling arrows over the backs of big bucks.

What does that make me?


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A Hunter !

[Buckmaster7600]

Choosing a career and lifestyle that affords me the opportunity to be in the woods everyday for 3+ months straight, persistence and being a decent shot.


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[Four Seasons]

6 hours ago, Belo said:

Lol dude I was joking… sort of.


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You should have asked the one with all the advice how many they have killed with a bow?  

[Four Seasons]

9 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

Choosing a career and lifestyle that affords me to opportunity to be in the woods everyday for 3+ months straight, persistence and being a decent shot.


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It sure helps. 

[Swamp_bucks]

I’m not a great hunter probably well below average.  I am lucky and harvest deer on very tough state land and the only thing I know that helps me is the time I spend scouting is 10x more than the people I hunt with.  

Does it make me a better hunter?

Nope i don’t think so I just have a wife that supports what I love and a job that allows me to spend time in the woods.  So if we all had the same amount of time in the woods I think we would all shoot deer more often.

I would not call myself a better hunter I just have more time to get into the woods allowing me the chance to harvest a deer.

[wolc123]

2 hours ago, Swamp_bucks said:

I’m not a great hunter probably well below average.  I am lucky and harvest deer on very tough state land and the only thing I know that helps me is the time I spend scouting is 10x more than the people I hunt with.  

Does it make me a better hunter?

Nope i don’t think so I just have a wife that supports what I love and a job that allows me to spend time in the woods.  So if we all had the same amount of time in the woods I think we would all shoot deer more often.

I would not call myself a better hunter I just have more time to get into the woods allowing me the chance to harvest a deer.

A supportive wife who’s family has some good hunting land helps out a bit also.  

[ApexerER]

Luck!

[Five Seasons]

5 hours ago, wolc123 said:

A supportive wife who’s family has some good hunting land helps out a bit also.  

Nobody here should ever discount the support of family. If your wife isn't on board with you spending time in the woods it's going to make your pursuit of game that much more difficult. On the same side of the coin, some have difficult family situations with an ex-wife, step kids, kids with disabilities etc.

Life comes down to priorities. I think most of us would agree that family comes first and way before hunting. Some of us are fortunate and we shouldn't take that for granted. 

On the other side of the coin with priorities is where hunter effort comes into question. How devoted are you to off-season prep and work? A few weekends a year or are you out there all the time sacrificing watching a ball game or drinking with buddies? Because I'll dammed if I'm made to feel bad about busting my ass for habitat improvement and herd management resulting in success. I pour way to much time, money and energy into it. More than any sane person should. That's a very liberal way of thinking. This guy puts in all this work and has success and that's not fair, I want it too... except I don't want to do the work. F that. Enjoy your life, and prioritize hunting however you want, there's not a right or wrong answer there. Just don't envy they neighbor if you're not willing to put in the same amount of work as he is.

[WNYTRPR]

6 minutes ago, Belo said:

Nobody here should ever discount the support of family. If your wife isn't on board with you spending time in the woods it's going to make your pursuit of game that much more difficult. On the same side of the coin, some have difficult family situations with an ex-wife, step kids, kids with disabilities etc.

Life comes down to priorities. I think most of us would agree that family comes first and way before hunting. Some of us are fortunate and we shouldn't take that for granted. 

On the other side of the coin with priorities is where hunter effort comes into question. How devoted are you to off-season prep and work? A few weekends a year or are you out there all the time sacrificing watching a ball game or drinking with buddies? Because I'll dammed if I'm made to feel bad about busting my ass for habitat improvement and herd management resulting in success. I pour way to much time, money and energy into it. More than any sane person should. That's a very liberal way of thinking. This guy puts in all this work and has success and that's not fair, I want it too... except I don't want to do the work. F that. Enjoy your life, and prioritize hunting however you want, there's not a right or wrong answer there. Just don't envy they neighbor if you're not willing to put in the same amount of work as he is.

I would never envy somebody over the size of antlers they harvest .Period .I’d be happy for them ,never envious .

[Five Seasons]

14 minutes ago, WNYTRPR said:

I would never envy somebody over the size of antlers they harvest .Period .I’d be happy for them ,never envious .

I feel the same. I'd be a liar if there wasn't the occasionally year that I was jealous or wanted to be that guy when I wasn't.

I also think society in general is full of those who are envious and jealous. More so than those who are not. Spend a minute on social media or watching the news for confirmation. 

[WNYTRPR]

9 minutes ago, Belo said:

I feel the same. I'd be a liar if there wasn't the occasionally year that I was jealous or wanted to be that guy when I wasn't.

I also think society in general is full of those who are envious and jealous. More so than those who are not. Spend a minute on social media or watching the news for confirmation. 

Like the idiots that shot the Bucks in Tonawanda,then tagged them as if they legally harvested them ?And then plastered it on social media ?lol .They need more than antlers in their life ,something else is missing .

[Four Seasons]

48 minutes ago, Belo said:

Nobody here should ever discount the support of family. If your wife isn't on board with you spending time in the woods it's going to make your pursuit of game that much more difficult. On the same side of the coin, some have difficult family situations with an ex-wife, step kids, kids with disabilities etc.

Life comes down to priorities. I think most of us would agree that family comes first and way before hunting. Some of us are fortunate and we shouldn't take that for granted. 

On the other side of the coin with priorities is where hunter effort comes into question. How devoted are you to off-season prep and work? A few weekends a year or are you out there all the time sacrificing watching a ball game or drinking with buddies? Because I'll dammed if I'm made to feel bad about busting my ass for habitat improvement and herd management resulting in success. I pour way to much time, money and energy into it. More than any sane person should. That's a very liberal way of thinking. This guy puts in all this work and has success and that's not fair, I want it too... except I don't want to do the work. F that. Enjoy your life, and prioritize hunting however you want, there's not a right or wrong answer there. Just don't envy they neighbor if you're not willing to put in the same amount of work as he is.

Just the way my hunting life has been for 25 years now. It turned into an obsession at an early age and I ended up quitting my job as a mechanic and make my living off the very animal that started my obsession. Hence the farm name four seasons. It was that way for me long before I started raising them. I have been lucky enough to have the best of both worlds. But I have always had family behind me even though they are not so much hunters. 

[Trial153]

Every spike is trophy, even a broken one horned one, and even if its your 17th spike and you been hunting for the last 30 plus years....


The every deer is a trophy crowd are type of people that think every kid should make the travel team, even if their kids sucks.


You want to be a better hunter, then succeed consistently in a variety of locations, conditions and topography. Not just on the same piece of ground you been hunting for the last twenty years.

[WNYTRPR]

Equivalent to a spikes age in the animal work ,spike bucks gotta be one of the dumbest creatures out there .

Edited January 31, 2022 by WNYTRPR

[Trial153]

Equivalent to a spikes age in the animal work ,spike bucks gotta be one of the dumbest creatures out there .

Only surpassed by button bucks.

[WNYTRPR]

Just now, Trial153 said:

Only surpassed by button bucks.

That was a given automatically lol

[WNYTRPR]

I still remember a few years back ,I was stalking a doe in the thick stuff ,I was pressed up against a tree trying not to move .I had a spike walk down the trail I was on ,and I stayed completely still .He actually walked by me ,literally rubbed his body up against my broadhead and continued on .Just a dumb spike story lol

If I was truly starving or hard up for food ,I’d shoot one .if it was my kids first deer ,I’d let them shoot it ,me myself would never shoot a spike again .And I have no issue with someone filling their tags with one either .That’s  just my personal outlook on it .

Edited January 31, 2022 by WNYTRPR

[Paula]

1 hour ago, Four Seasons said:

Just the way my hunting life has been for 25 years now. It turned into an obsession at an early age and I ended up quitting my job as a mechanic and make my living off the very animal that started my obsession. Hence the farm name four seasons. It was that way for me long before I started raising them. I have been lucky enough to have the best of both worlds. But I have always had family behind me even though they are not so much hunters. 

Your lucky to do what you love

[Five Seasons]

38 minutes ago, Trial153 said:

Every spike is trophy, even a broken one horned one, and even if its your 17th spike and you been hunting for the last 30 plus years....


The every deer is a trophy crowd are type of people that think every kid should make the travel team, even if their kids sucks.


You want to be a better hunter, then succeed consistently in a variety of locations, conditions and topography. Not just on the same piece of ground you been hunting for the last twenty years.

out of likes. completely agree.

 

edit, that's another thing I'd change on this forum lol

Edited January 31, 2022 by Belo