I got my deer tag and I am ready to go!

[BE Wild Willy]

Good luck and don't be discouraged. It took me many seasons to bag my first buck.

 

[Moose Guide]

Had my oldest son 20 yds from a 4x5 bull elk tonight(it also had a non-typical point on the 5 side but it was too short to be legal), in this area it must have 6 on one antler! I almost sat and cried but what a great hunt! The moral of the story is keep your head up and don't give up!

 

[jethro224]

We are hunting as greenhorns, for white tail and only alpha males are fair game. It is like playing a game fresh out the box on hard mode when you have only read reviews of the game.
They literaly changed the way they do things around here over night. When the season was not yet open the deer were pretty lax around here. The day the season started they got smart.
I am not going to let this deter me.

You're ahead of the curve. I know guys who have hunted for years and never figgered that out. :thumbsup:
Keep at it and relax. It generally comes when you least expect it.

 

[cynthialee]

The last week has been nice. I have seen more of the property I live on over the last few days than I have seen the entire 4 years I have lived here.
I have gotten more exercise than I have in years.
I have had an oportunity to hang out with a man and not have it be about my tail being chased.

So it has been a nice week, and I am going to miss Matt.
But I still want my deer.

 

[silly goose]

Its supposed to be FUN! Relax, its nothing that can be forced. It took me 10 hard hunting years to get my first deer. I am self taught also. The first one is the hardest. Remember, its supposed to be FUN! The first one is the hardest, then they fall right in your lap.

 

[jamesthomas]

It took me 4 years to get my first deer with my flintlock, passed up a few because they were too small. So don't give up. I shot my deer last year on my last day of hunting before I had to go home.

 

[Sperit de bois]

"Time spent in the wood is the chance to be alone ,,without being lonely"
I have seen more of the property I live on over the last few days than I have seen the entire 4 years
that statement speaks volumes,
now that you have "seen" it go back and "look"at it!!! where are the springs,, animal tracks,,nest, trails..types of birds!!!!
I wonder the woods every time I get a chance...I have even passed on deer during hunting season,just because the woods were so quiet and the it would be a shame to spoil it.
Don't "hunt" enjoy it,take your rifle for a "walk" and the deer will come,as the season gets older there has been more human traffic in the woods and the moon is brighter so the deer can feed at night,now the moon is going away they will change their pattern again,, and the girl thing kicks in.
Like you wrote you have a new friend and have enjoyed the week,,how many can say that!!!!
Good luck,, relax,it will happen,,enjoy!!!

 

[No Deer]

pffftttt.... you have been hunting a week and have not gotten one..... :rotf: cheer up. I started hunting at age 14 in New Hampshire. Most years did not even see a deer, and never killed one. I moved to Michigan when I was about 45. Lots of deer here, got one the first year I tried, but took me about 3 more years to get the next one. So, relax, enjoy the hunt, you will get one.

 

[BrownBear]

But I still want my deer.

Boy do I know that feeling! I'm pretty sure we all do.

In my experience it's kinda perverse though- The more you want it and the harder you push, the harder it gets to find them. The deer almost seem like they can sense your frustration and desperation.

Any time I start feeling like I'm chasing my tail in small circles, I try to back off the pressure. I just wander out and find a nice comfortable spot with a nice view and have a seat. A nap is usually involved, and sometimes I even carry a book to help that along a little.

I don't really subscribe to woo-woo stuff such as "becoming one with nature," but it sure seems to relax the animals if you're relaxed and have been out there quite a while without moving around.

I can't guarantee it will happen to you, but more than once I've awakened from my midday nap to discover deer in plain sight. Even if it doesn't, you get to enjoy a nice rest in a nice place, and with the long quiet, the odds of seeing game go waaaaay up in the evening.

 

[Matt85]

we went out today at 6am and a little after 7am we decided to go back in. its low 20s out here (we arent really prepared for temps this low) and not a single deer in site.

we are pretty sure they have figured us out. we have been going out there for 7 days strait now and in the beginning we saw 5-8 deer a day. this number slowing shrunk down to one and then finally none. im betting the deer have simply changed their patterns and head to a different area too feed/drink.

 

[BrownBear]

we have been going out there for 7 days strait now.... im betting the deer have simply changed their patterns and head to a different area too feed/drink.

Bingo. Time to let that area rest and go looking for their new digs.

In the Rockies we hunt 1500 acres of private land with no other hunters. And we let it rest two or three days after each day of hunting.

 

[James Stella]

Two days left. If you can, hunt somewhere else tomorrow (Saturday). If you see deer there go back Sunday. If not try and think of the most likely place to see deer on your property and hunt there Sunday after the place has rested a day. Longer would be nice but you do not have the time.

Hunt each day like it is the first. Be patient. You will run into the deer when you least expect it.

I agree with Brown Bear, “The deer almost seem like they can sense your frustration and desperation.”

I usually run into animals after I have decided there are none there and start relaxing some. Sometime I get careless and spook them before I can get a shot, so that is why I say hunt like it is the first day. Even if you do not think they are there.

I took my wife hunting with me for the first time this year. She said she did not realize it was so emotionally draining. It can be but what a great sport. That is why people who do not hunt will never understand it.

Have fun and thanks for sharing this experience with all of us.

 

[cynthialee]

Matt is loading up to go home. The deer weighed in at 114 pounds field dressed.
We split the meat 60/40.

This morning after traipsing around the back property we came back to the house. Matt talked me into shooting his gun and he shot mine. By the time we got all set up I was so cold (I had changed out of my cold weather gear as soon as I got home.) I was shaking in my boots and couldn't hold a rifle on target. To add insult to injury Matt shot my rifle and hit a dead on bullseye on his only shot with my rifle. When I shot his rifle it bearly hit paper in the 5 area. Then he talked me into shooting again, this time with our own guns. By then I was practicaly quaking in my socks, shivering was not the way to describe it. I have no clue where that bullet hit. Matt hit the 10 ring with his rifle just an inch from the shot he hit bullseye with my rifle. (at least I have my rifle properly loaded?)
:redface:
I figured I would rat on myself before he had an opportunity to tease me publicly. :surrender:

 

[Rev_William]

LMAO nothing to be ashamed of you just been had is all. Next time stay in your warm clothes so you don't shake. To make things even you shoulda flashed him just as he squoze the trigger bet he wouldn't have even hit paper :grin:

 

[cynthialee]

:rotf:

He decided he didn't want the hide but he did want the horns. So I have a hide I need to salt up now.
:grin:

 

[Spikebuck]

Hunting pressure definitely changes deer behavior and movements. One thing I have done is to pull up Google Earth and look at my area. Where have I been? Where have I noticed other hunters?? Where is the thickest, nastiest manure that no one has been in? On several occasions I have then sneaked very quietly to that area and killed deer.

It's never over until it's over. I've killed more than one deer in the fading moments of the last day. Stick it out to the end and if you've done your best, you'll feel great about it even if the game bag is empty...because the memories will still be full.

 

[cynthialee]

Day 7
Nope.

I did sneak up on a 3 point buck. I decided to take a walk down the road along the property and see what I could see. I haven't been down there yet. Sure enough I saw some antlers. I took about 15 minutes sneaking up on him but when I counted his points I was disapointed. As I figured there was nothing better to do I continued to see how close I could get to him before he spooked. Dumb buck turns out. When he finaly saw me he did that snort thing they do and he "ran away" about 20 yards just to turn around and look at me giving me a perfect window. Then I told him he was retarded and he decided to get anouther 10 yards away rather slowly when he heard my voice and he watched me walk away more with curiosity than anything else. I swear he knew I wasn't going to do anything.



Oh and Matt.... when you read this:
You left yourself logged in on my laptop...I considered zinging you for it but I decided to give you a break and pass up this golden oportunity to mess with you. :haha:

 

[Matt85]

Oh and Matt.... when you read this:
You left yourself logged in on my laptop...I considered zinging you for it but I decided to give you a break and pass up this golden oportunity to mess with you. :haha:

if ya did that id be forced to post a pic of the target we shot at. :wink:

i had a ton of fun at Cynthia's place! she has a great set up there... a good wife, good pets, good land, and good neighbors. she is a lucky gal!

i hope to be able to hunt or even just go shooting with ya again someday Cynthia. :hatsoff:

 

[cynthialee]

I hope we can get togather for next years hunt.

 

[roundball]

And don't forget that you jumped into this with an extremely steep learning curve compressed into a short amount of time...by next season you'll have had more time to learn, tweak some more things, practice, etc.
And to be honest, IMO a lot of the enjoyment of this hobby is in the planning, learning, preparing...then when you punch that deer tag it's icing on the cake