When to call it quits??? ... ?? of the Day

Founder · Oct 2, 2015

Question of the Day ... When do you call it quits on a buck? Or the hunt?

This year I was able to turn up a slug....32-33" wide, 205-210" gross, 5x8 with eyeguards. I stud. I showed the day before the archery and saw him, then saw him on day 1 and 2 of the archery, but couldn't get a shot. Didn't see anyone else hunting him.
Stay another 3 days without seeing him again. He must have known I was after him. I returned the day before the rifle hunt and hunted 6 days with no sighting. A couple other people were hunting the buck, but I don't think it was taken during that time. Went back for 4 more days and still didn't see the buck again.
I've hunted or looked now for 14 days without seeing the buck.

Question is....when would you throw in the towel? Would you at all? When do you set for another buck? Or do you at all? What's the longest any of you have hunted for one particular buck?

Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com
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Founder · Oct 2, 2015

I archery hunted a buck last year for about 23 days total. I saw him several times the first 7 days of the hunt, then no more. Hunt another 10 days without seeing him and then another 6 or so later. Didn't see him again until this summer. He simply hid from me very well last year. Hid well from other hunters as well last year too obviously.

Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com
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sageadvice · Oct 2, 2015

I've said it here before but your podcasts that take us along with you on the high country hunts, are some of the very best stuff on the WWW!.

As long as you suspect that this buck is not dead and just doing a great job of hiding out, and, If your body, job, and pocketbook allow, never give up on him!

I say that knowing that there were a few along my journey that i hunted hard and never got but i felt that i needed to bring home a buck to offset expense so most all of my better bucks are second and third choice animals that i took the last day or two of the season.

If you don't need the meat, don't lower your sights down to a run of the mill Buck. my $.02

Joey

"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

nebo · Oct 2, 2015

Interesting question and agree with posters above. I'm also in about the same boat you are. I'm after a good one but not as good as the one you are hunting. Last weekend I final made a move on the one I'm after and I bumped him and that is the last I have seen him I have looked for a week now and no sign what so ever. I will continue to relocate him if I can but at sometime I will take what is offered to me if I so desire. That is a hard one to answer but good luck and I hope he shows up for you.

Elkduds · Oct 2, 2015

"Did we quit when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?" Bluto Blutarski, 1965.

dz · Oct 2, 2015

I hunted a specific buck for three years. I would see him during chucker season in Hells canyon on the Idaho side. He was a slug of a Non typical. He had about 7 buddies with one being a 30 inch 4x4. On opening day the first year I found the buddies but the big one was gone. I was on them at first light, so I decided he had been poached. So I went elsewhere the first year, and when I found him the next year I was shocked. I stayed after him hard the next couple years to never connect. I wouldn't trade those days chasing him. I consider him a great buck that I had the privilege to chase. I would keep after him if it were me.

DZ

sjhgraysage · Oct 3, 2015

When the season ends!

c3 · Oct 3, 2015

depends on your goals. If it's a buck like that it's the end of the season. If it's a meat buck at the end, swap over and bring home the bacon.

I tend to chase the one I found until the bitter end as that's how they usually end up on the front here.

Cheers,
Pete

nontypical · Oct 3, 2015

One sure way to see that buck again is to kill a smaller one.

You should see him on the packout.

Can't see any reason to give up on the buck if you think he's still alive.

mntman · Oct 3, 2015

To me the terrain is a big factor. If it is an area that has lots of openness to it where it would be easy to spot I'd lean towards waiting.
However if its mostly heavy, thick timber, nope not waiting cause the odds of finding him again are slim to none.

Mntman

"Hunting is where you prove yourself"

Gator · Oct 4, 2015

Hunting multi-year bucks is a whole different class of hunter in my books. Those that do this is on a another level then most hunters. So do you want to be on that level is the question you will have to answer.Time to quit is different for all.

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
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littlebighorn · Oct 4, 2015

Founder,
Your physical condition may be factoring into your question, but I suspect that you already have your own answer!

Popeye did the same thing for years with many pursuers. That's what big old bucks do.
My son and I chased a monster for four years running and I think he died of old age and his rack is probably still rotting behind a dead-fall.

Unless someone gets lucky, he will probably be around again next year but he won't be any easier to find!

Best of luck

tooele · Oct 4, 2015

Your question is not really when to give up. It is am I being efficient by continuing to hunt the same area. Tough question, with so many people in the area chasing the buck around, including an outfitter at this point the question is what are the chances he is still in the area. You would hate to waste time if he is not in the drainage anymore or has gone nocturnal, when you could be potentially chasing a different respectable buck. Without trail cameras or any recent sitings you are really gambling on this buck. On one hand you can't kill him if you are not hunting him, but just hunting when he is no longer in the area is a complete waste of time. Personally, I would study your maps and start thinking about where he may be or may have gone. Obviously he isn't where he has been, so that is probably a waste of time. In my experience in wyoming those bucks with pressure tend to drop halfway down the canyon into the thick crap, so you may want to drop lower and glass the thick crap. He probably hasn't gone far, but won't be back where he was earlier found. Very frustrating, but probably a better bet than to continue glassing the same area he has obviously vacated.
T

tracker12 · Oct 4, 2015

If I knew he was alive I would mostly stick with him. But with all those days and no sightings he may have been taken.

marburg · Oct 4, 2015

Too much pressure, having to fight with several other people for the chance to take an animal is not my idea of a good time. Hunt somewhere with less pressure, you will have more fun.

Ruby1 · Oct 4, 2015

I think this is what makes chasing these critters so much fun and so damn frustrating at the same time. I found a buck this summer and didn't see him after many days looking for him during the archery season. The afternoon before the rifle opener he stepped out and fed for a few short minutes at four o'clock. He was right in the basin I had been glassing all day and for days. I'm sure he was being nocturnal. I don't know if it was the moon or a big deer being a big deer. My point is, I think you should keep looking because all it takes is that one time when he steps out and you've got him. good luck.

BRW300 · Oct 4, 2015

Everyone is different but here is my two cents. I doubt the outfitter or anyone else took the buck. That buck would have been a deer 90% of hunters would have shot had they run into him last year. So..he obviously knows what to do and where to go when he senses the pressure. Your an experienced hunter that hunted the buck in the area he was in for an extended time. Its pretty slim chances that you will find him this year in that area. I found a buck that I wanted to hunt muzzle this year. He disappeared the day before archery so I know he wasnt killed. When I contemplated what I would give up trying to relocate the buck I just personally decided it wasnt worth it, so I tipped my hat to him and admitted he won this time. I wont become a Captain Ahab for a particular deer. Probably sounds silly but Ive seen it happen to guys. Tons of respect for you with making the best of a tough situation broken neck and all. Get better soon.

cabinfever · Oct 5, 2015

I hunted a buck last year in the high country. I found him in a small isolated basin. With some pressure, the buck escaped over a knife ridge and into an adjoining basin. With pressure, he returned to the original basin I found him in, and I was finally able to take him. Some of those big bucks won't stray more than a few miles from their core area, while others have a very large area that could encompass ten miles or more. Those bucks that remain close to their core areas, simply lay up in a patch of timber and won't move until dark or the hunting pressure subsides. Get some some of your buddies to bird dog for you and see if you can flush him out. I'd keep after him.

heartshot · Oct 5, 2015

We have back up bucks for a reason.

I think you should try for another just for a change of scenery. After a few days you may feel refreshed and ready to return to the original.

manny53 · Oct 5, 2015

when the season ends

Wildman · Oct 5, 2015

Founder,

PM Sent.

Wildman

"Hoss you convinced me what day are we packing up and leaving this Mormon hell hole for California?"- coondog 5/13/15

ICMDEER · Oct 8, 2015

It depends - on lots of factors. If you can get help, that's a bonus. To me the biggest factor is weather. If that country gets a good snow, -like about 6-9" head back and be there the first morning after the snow. And try to take a friend - or two. People you can truly trust. Look hard and cover country in the snow. He'll be lots easier to locate and his nocturnal habits will be significantly reduced after the snow.

We all know you are a tough guy, so I'd try again. Pray for a blast of snow and be there the first time the sun shines after the snowstorm. He's there somewhere!!

Best of luck.

nebo · Oct 11, 2015

I did have an earlier post on this subject. Pay day came today after 21 days of hunt a group of bucks I have been keeping tabs since August. He wasn't the best one of the bunch but he was one of three I would settle for and it happened. I 21 days they out smarted me and made me look like a fool. I was tired and wasn't sure if I would get a shot but I did. He finally slipped up and made a mistake and I was in the right spot at the right time. Lol
It is a hard call but stuck with it but would have settled for a lesser if I had the chance in the last week.