A question for you successful trophy hunters

[Truelife]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-01-13 AT 03:59PM (MST)[p]I've got a question for you hunters that are successful in hunting the really big bucks. Not just the guys that have been lucky enough to get one, but for those who have gotten multiple BIG bucks.

Is it.........

A - total dedication of time and $$$$
B - A whole lot of luck
C - Access to private property
D - A combination of these
D - Other

I would be really curious to hear responses as I'm sure others would as well.

 

[huntinguy]

Very good question and thread idea. I've allocated a whole lot of time and a pretty good amount of $ on gas money alone only to be unsuccessful in harvesting mature deer on several occasions. For me I think its a combination of know how as in technique and skill plus a combination of the rest of the items you listed. Let's face it, some people just flat out know how to hunt and most of them that do will never speak up on this and other sites. They keep info to themselves and simply get the job done year in and year out. Access to private doesn't hurt. I know of a family that has lots of acreage up on Cedar Mountain in Southern Utah and although I suspect they are dedicated, decent hunters the private land definitely helps. It's never a question of whether their going to get mature bucks.

 

[muleywhisperer]

G- Genetics
H- Homework
I- Investment (time)
J- Judgment
K- Knowledge
L- Luck
M- Maturity (Deer)
N- Not settling
O- Opportunity
P- Practice
Q- Quit killing the little ones and let them grow!
To sum it up, you can say O.M.G. OR J/K are important but M.I.L.K. does a trophy room good!

 

[Truelife]

I agree with what you say huntinguy. I have spent a whole lot of time and money myself. While I have five 160 class bucks under my belt these are not the really good bucks.

Of course you have to hunt where the big bucks are. I think having private land not only gives more opportunity to tag mature bucks, it also allows a guy to let a buck go knowing that he's not going to get shot around the next tree. All of my "big" bucks would have been a whole lot better if they lived another couple of years.

I do think more dedication of time and money play is also. I have football games, and swim meets, choir concerts and church meetings. All of those nights could be spent looking for, or at big bucks.

Luck never hurts anybody in any situation.




Good fieldcare leads to great mounts

 

[Truelife]

>G- Genetics
>H- Homework
>I- Investment (time)
>J- Judgment
>K- Knowledge
>L- Luck
>M- Maturity (Deer)
>N- Not settling
>O- Opportunity
>P- Practice
>Q- Quit killing the little ones
>and let them grow!
> To sum it up, you
>can say O.M.G. OR J/K
>are important but M.I.L.K. does
>a trophy room good!




I would have had to write that down six times to come up with that! VERY NICE!







Good fieldcare leads to great mounts

 

[bonepicker]

I wouldn't consider myself an elite trophy hunting expert or anything, I have killed one good buck and I know several people that have killed huge bucks. I think it is pretty clear that you have to have a combination of factors to harvest big bucks consistently. Obviously money will get you almost anything you want when it comes to deer or elk (Denny Austad comes to mind). Luck can also strike anyone at random. I saw a monster buck last year taken by a bumbling road hunter that had never killed more than a forkie and this brute buck was just in the wrong place at the wrong time (or right place at the right time) and of course I know several ranchers that have monster bucks hanging in the rafters of their barns off of their land.
I think though for the average Joe that doesn't have unlimited money and isn't going hang his hope on luck, and doesn't have connections to landowners, that hard work and time are essential and probably the only means of really getting a big buck. You have to be willing to go places people are not willing to go, take more time than most people would spend and you have to have the patience to stick it out and be willing to eat tag soup regularly.
For my buck, I had nailed the area as an area with some fantastic bucks because I had found some very good sheds in there year after year. I don't remember who has this signature but it's something like "you can't kill a big buck unless there is a big buck where you are hunting" You have to know the areas that big bucks like and be willing to go there. They are usually areas that are remote, rugged, isolated, roadless or a combination of all of these.
I think too that you have to see it as a long term commitment, not just 2 days of scouting before the hunt but alot of hours all year long getting to really know the land and the animals (where do they go when it's hot or dry, where do they go when it's stormy, where do they go when they are under heavy pressure, which springs and water holes are reliable in droughts etc, etc)
AND, you have to be able to keep quiet. You only have to tell one person something general like "I saw a huge buck on Fill-In-The-Blank Creek during elk season" and by the next year you could have 30 people hunting in there. And this can be the hardest part, you have to be willing to look like a poor sap who hasn't seen a big buck in 20 years in order to keep your quality areas, quality areas.
Again, I'm not expert, just some thoughts from a poor sap who hasn't seen a big buck in 20 years

 

[chewyman55]

I'm no pro but I see muleywhisperer's option Q as one of the biggest hurdles for guys when they're hunting a prime location. You've got to have the nerves and patience to pass up those "I think he's big enough" bucks until you can find the "holy crap" buck. Obviously most years you'll never find that buck anyway but you've got to give yourself a chance!

 

[Deone]

For me.....
Having big bucks where I hunt.
Spending hundreds of dollars to scout.
Hundred of hours in the field scouting.
Knowing where they may be during hunting season.
And finally...just getting plain a$$ lucky enough to get a shot.
Deone

 

[swbuckmaster]

Location first! You can't kill a good buck if they aren't there to begin with. Do you think randy ulmer would be where he is today hunting general units in utah?

Second is time! You need time to find them and time to hunt them.

Third is money. With time also comes money. Time off work cost money. Gas cost money. Tools to get the job done cost money.

Forth comes ability to shoot precisely with what ever weapon you choose. You can't go arround missing big bucks. You need to be an assassin.

Fifth if your married you need an understanding wife. Nothing is a big buck ##### block like a nagging complaining wife.

who farted?

 

[ForkWest]

SW nailed it 1000%!

Location is far and above the key factor. If it's paying the big bucks for private land or vouchers for prime public or just plain finding a honey hole the hard way, you've got to be where big bucks are.

Big bucks rarely follow your schedule, so time, and I would add flexibility with your time, is huge.

When you're in the right location and spent the time necessary and that buck gives you that 15 second window to make it happen, your shot has to count. In my earlier years, if I'd have understood this better, I'd have many more bucks under my belt. Missing is simply not a part of my equation anymore.

 

[gb22]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-02-13 AT 08:49PM (MST)[p]I have taken 12 to 15 that qualify as big (at least the neighbors are jealous; scores over 175); 3 'make the book'.

I've never hunted on private property and only one came from a LE unit...not that I'm opposed to LEs, it's just that F&G never draws my name.

I've never hired a guide...couldn't afford it and hunting is my 'vice'.

MY "secrets": Learn where bucks live, which is not the same places the does & little guys hang out ; hunt THERE.

GET AS FAR AWAY FROM ROADS & PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE, 'cause that's where the big deer went....or UGLY places no one is willing to go

Spend a LOT of time LOOKING, not so much walking, know how to spot deer (easier said than done)

FIND (probably through scouting) A BIG DEER AND HUNT THAT ANIMAL.....can't shoot him with a filled tag

I'd say dedication (fanaticism maybe. I have slept on the track of a buck more than once), hard work and a little luck.

AND DO NOT MISS
AND DO NOT MISS


Within the shadows, go quietly.

 

[gb22]

It's true that you can't kill a big one where there are no big ones......but (depending on how big BIG IS) there are far more big deer than most are willing to admit, when they are not seeing them.


Within the shadows, go quietly.

 

[BLooDTRaCKeR]

Just move up to B.C. right in the middle of big buck country. Problem solved....

 

[mntman]

May have missed it but here is maybe the most important piece...

You have to pass up the small bucks and be willing to eat tag soup.

Mntman

"Hunting is where you prove yourself"


Let me guess, you drive a 1 ton with oak trees for smoke stacks, 12" lift kit and 40" tires to pull a single place lawn mower trailer?

 

[BCBOY]

I've found the best way to kill a big buck is to hunt where one lives! Many people like to hunt gut piles and chase dead bucks. I, myself, would rather hunt living, breathing bucks. How do you know you are hunting where a big buck lives? By doing a ton of homework! Preseason scouting, post season scouting and shed hunting. Find that one buck that turns your crank and hunt for him and him alone. I hunt exclusively on public land and during general seasons and I don't have a lot of money. Much of my gear is old and well used. I don't buy into the hype of most products on the market. I buy used when I do buy something. I do spend a ton of time at it though. Year round obsession. An understanding wife is a must. But out of all the things that it takes to kill a big buck, hunting where one currently lives is tops on my list!

 

[hubba_3]

I still haven't killed a BIG buck, YET... but when I do (which will be soon ) I'll let you know what I learn ha

 

[marley]

mtnman hit the nail on the head. The day that you decide that you are willing to go home with nothing unless its a big buck is the start of your trophy hunting. I don't glass a buck forever trying to decide if he's big enough or not. If it takes more than 2 seconds for me to decide that......he's not big enough. If you put your binos or spotter on him and you are instantly grabbing for your rifle......you found the one.

 

[31incher]

While I have killed a a couple good bucks and a real giant my biggest problem is passing on the 150s or 160s. I dont have patience on passing on smaller bucks. Im fortunate to have found a couple general season areas that holds some really good ones year after year but like I said I usually cant wait long enough for a chance at the big one. Another I thing I think that has taking the big buck sightings up a level is packing in! Instead of seeing a nice buck here or there. I went from seeing nice bucks everday and giants here and there.

I had a guy that I know give me a couple pointers. He kills 180 inch deer every year. You could almost bet your life on it. He said first thing is location. They gotta be there to kill um. Second was patience. He said he watches them grow all summer. Once season starts he will literally watch the deer for days on end waiting for the absolute right time to make a stalk. Once in the stalk you have to be able to call it off if anything goes bad. He is a firm believer in you only get one chance at these big ones and if you blow it its game over. Youll be lucky to ever see him again.

I would rather hunt in area with less deer and in turn less hunters so I can try to use this strategy to my advantage. You cant follow and pattern bucks if there consistenly getting pushed. Now if I could only lay off the 150s!

 

[deerslayer88]

mntman, you hit it on the dot. This year I passed on 6 spikes, 2 two points, and missed a massive 3 point. My method to hunting for big bucks is optics, it saves a heck of a lot of leg work if you can get a pair of long range binos and a vantage point. I am sure that I passed on more spikes and two points but when your a canyon over its hard to put horns on the little guys, and if your not wanting to harvest a little guy don't. The three point I missed was on the very last night of the hunt. The key is to hold out if you punch the tag on a spike your never legally kill a big buck.