R.J. and forum

[Woody Williams]

.........I think if it was easy and you bagged a big buck every year it would not be as addictive as it is. Then again maybe not, Lonewolf and Woody seem to bang them down every fall and make it look easy but they keep coming back?

I can't speak for Lonewolf, but my excuse is that even a blind sow will find an acorn once in awhile..

I've also found out that the harder I hunt the luckier I get..

[LoneWolf]

I've also found out that the harder I hunt the luckier I get..

I agree, same here... The more time you put into it the more luck you'll have, and that includes scouting.

Hunt hard, but hunt smart!.

LW

[GREY OWL]

Hello fellas, been busy with my reno. in basement.

Here's my take on this thread. Putting all my years experience together, I have to say, it doesn't matter how many toys or tools you buy to try out fool the big bucks. Whether its scent bombs, tree stands, blinds, spray on scent, rattling, grunting, etc. etc. etc., that big 12 pointer you've been trying to get for most of the fall and has been out smarting you, will one day be standing right there in the ditch along side the highway, oblivious to traffic. Some of the biggest bucks, and I mean big (190 plus points) were shot just off a trail, right out of a truck.

My point is.................... ya gotta spend tons and tons and tons of hours in the outdoors if you want to catch that elusive monster buck making a critical mistake. Put away all those magazines and get out there, you have to become part of the habitat, live and breath it, and I garrantee your animal instincts will come out, you'll become one. You'll just know how to move, when to move, or where to go. Stalking a big buck is the ultimate reward in hunting.

Grey Owl

[R.J.]

Woody wrote :

R.J. wrote:
.........I think if it was easy and you bagged a big buck every year it would not be as addictive as it is. Then again maybe not, Lonewolf and Woody seem to bang them down every fall and make it look easy but they keep coming back?

nope ... I believe that was Partikle's quote .

Woody wrote :

I've also found out that the harder I hunt the luckier I get..

Lonewolf wrote :

The more time you put into it the more luck you'll have, and that includes scouting.

Greyowl wrote :

hours in the outdoors .... Stalking a big buck is the ultimate reward in hunting.

Pretty common theme's .... time in the feild = lucky hunter !

I can't get over how many guys at work say " you seem to have all the luck " .... when I ask them how often they got out .... they say " 1 or 2 times " .... I'm thinking if you only get out 1 or 2 times and tag a " big boy " ... you are very lucky !

Not to say it can't happen .... I have heard several stories of guys walking into a monster on their first time out ! But generally it's the guys that do their homework / patterning / hunt smart / have great set-up's / and spend lot's of time in the field that consistantly produce every year !

[#16]

R.J.

I have three boys and two very good stands, I will only let them hunt when the wind is perfect for each stand.

We hunted each stand five times this year and shot a 5,8,10 and 11 point so I can see people shooting big bucks by only hunting a couple times a year.

I think most hunters over hunt there stands and once you are picked off by a mature buck your season is done as far as killing him.

Just my thoughts Brad

[R.J.]

#16 wrote :

We hunted each stand five times this year and shot a 5,8,10 and 11 point so I can see people shooting big bucks by only hunting a couple times a year.

Congrat's to you and your sons ! .... Sounds like a beauty spot ! ... Also from my experience it sounds like the exception not the rule , unless you are in some sweeeeeet spot in Ontario with an increased buck to doe ratio !

The only problem I see from what you describe in the areas where we hunt ( which have a much lower buck to doe ratio than what you have encountered ) .... is that If we took a 5,8,10 and 11 point from 2 stands we probably would never get a chance to repeat that feat again .... unless someone released some bucks back into the area !

We hunt several different farms as well as Conservation property .... we move around alot and use climbers .... we do have some stands that pay off every year ( smaller bucks and doe's ) ..... but to consistantly have contacts with big bucks , we have to move around ( you notice I say contact's , since we don't always connect ) ..... The only time I have seen that many huntable bucks in one spot was 2004 when we had what seemed to be a group of deer that yarded up early on a farm I just got permission on .... the farm changed hands last year and the owner has severval guys hunting it now ..... bucks that I passed up hoping would make it to the next season , got picked off by other hunters ...

In the end though .... we are basically meat hunters .... we enjoy the challenge of getting out and trying to harvest a nice buck ... but we still put our time in filling our doe tags as well !

In summary .... my experience has been that the guys that produce large mature bucks every year in our area are the guys that spend lots of time in the field , and that is still no gaurantee !

I'm no expert .... I just get out as much as I can , and get lucky every once in awhile !

Anyway .... sounds like you guy's have a plan that works for you ! So good luck to you in 2006 .... Post some pictures of the deer and areas you hunt .... it's always cool to see other guys set up's and hunting spot's !

Just my thoughts R.J.

[LoneWolf]

R.J.

I remembered that #16 had posted the pics of the nice looking bucks they took. So I did a search and found #16's thread on the bucks he's talking about that he and his boys harvested.

I think, or I should say for sure the bait piles and hunting over them played a major part in drawing them big bucks out. As you know they have to put their weight they lost back on so they're gonna be out looking for feed. Not to mention they're gonna hang around where the does are cause of the second rut, and there's always does at bait piles... Very nice looking bucks non the less!...

I did a search and found one of #16's thread about them hunts and them bucks he's talking about.

http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/phpBB2 ... ht=#102972

LW

[Partikle]

I've hunted over bait piles many times and it is by no means a sure thing. Once the snow is on the ground I've had lots of does and fawns under me eating but mature bucks stayed away. It's as if they knew it was not safe during daylight hours?

Partikle

[LoneWolf]

I don't know what to say Partikle. Maybe they are very nocturnal, maybe they have you patterned and pegged and they are doing circles around you, getting downwind of you without you knowing it. It's hard to say, but they obviously know you are there.

First off, don't get me wrong I have nothing against feeding. I do it myself including a little food plot, but I don't hunt right over the bait. I've seen how the bucks react when they're approaching the feed area so I put my stands up at least 100 yards on the trails leading to and from the feed area. I like to keep the feeding area as a safe place for them.

Once again, I've watched a couple of mature buck's reaction on two different occasions when I was hunting one trail and they came down another trail about 60 yards from me as they were approaching the feed area, anyway it took the buck with the Y G-2's about an hour to go 50 yards as he approached the feed area. Same with a big 8 pointer, same thing he took his sweet time listening to every sound with their eyes right fixed on that feeding area, smelling the air and very alert to say the least. That's why I choose to hunt the trails and cut them off at the pass.

LW

[#16]

Guys I by no means want to start a war on this thread.

This is the way I hunt and when you have three boys under the age of 17 spam that want to kill ever buck they see it's hard. The young lads see a lot of spikes and fork horns but pass them up.I'm trying to teach them some self contol and it seems to be working.


I have guided both bear and deer hunter in the past ,my father and grandfather
ran an outfitting service in the 1970s and 1980s.

I was alway taught the KISS approach (KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID) was best.

My dad said it best many moons ago.YOU HAVE TO BE SMARTER THAN THE ANIMAL YOUR HUNTING.

Yours in the outdoors Brad

[LoneWolf]

As I said, #16. I don't have a problem with hunters who feed and hunt deer over bait. Like I said, once again I feed them myself to lure in the big bucks during the late season, and it works!... You're right, do whatever you can to bring 'em in!... Sorry if I came across the wrong way. No need to be getting defensive, I'm by no means trying to start a war either... I'm on your side.

LW

[#16]

LW
Maybe I was a bit harsh on my last reply,(sorry about that) I don't want to offend anyone on this forum.

R.J
I would post a picture of the areas I hunt but you would not see much as it is thicker than hair on a dog.
There is no farm land here just bush and lots of it. I try and locate my stands on the edges of big swamps (300 acres or more).
This gives the bucks the cover they need to feel safe and I can get to the stands through higher ground without making to much noise.Even then everything( the wind and thermals currents) has to be in my favor or I don't hunt the stand.

This is really hard on the boys but they each shot there biggest bucks this year and when we found them they realized that dad might know what he is doing after all.

Brad

[LoneWolf]

LW
Maybe I was a bit harsh on my last reply,(sorry about that)

Don't worry about it!