Lack of tags change your results when you draw?

[elks96]

So I was reflecting on my results and the lack of drawing a tag. I have taken a couple decent bucks, one could be called a monster,me specially since it was a general season buck.

But does lack of drawing change your hunts when you actually draw? If so in what way?

I can see some who when they draw are just happy getting a buck. Heck even my dad usually kills a buck first day even when it has been 3 years since he drew last.

For myself I have gone so long with out killing a buck that is really does not matter of I do... Atleast when I am lucky enough to draw a 2nd choice tag.

My wife has only hunted a decade or so, had a hand ful of tags and has killed a little piss cutter and 2 4x4 but she has never had enough time off or enough time hunting to really consider a trophy hunt.

So does lack of tags make us less likely trophy hunters? Or is it the opposite? Or a little of both dependent on the person and expectations?

 

[Soj51hopeful]

It depends on how long and how much money i have invested into getting a tag. The meat is always the #1 reason I hunt. But if I get a tag that took me some considerable effort to obtain i will hold out for something good aka trophy hunt. But i usually have a few otc tags to go along with my fall season to fill the freezer.

 

[Founder]

For me, my goal is to hunt one of the best bucks I find scouting, or if unable to scout for a hunt, I'll be looking for what I think is one of the best for the unit I'm in. That challenge of finding a needle in a haystack is what keeps me hooked.
For the past few years I have had archery tags here in Utah for an area that is not very highly sought after. I think they even went under subscribed a couple years ago. Even in that unit, I set out to find what I feel is a slug for the area and that's the one I hunt. I think I'm a trophy hunter regardless where I'm hunting for deer.

I'm sure when I finally hunt elk here in Utah, I'll be picky with what I want there too.

Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com
LIKE MonsterMuleys.com on Facebook!

 

[BrowningRage]

This is a "to each his own" kind of question. There are thousands of hunters out there that want to harvest a buck and put some meat in the freezer every year, or most years. There are thousands out there that won't kill any buck unless it's a mature, trophy animal. Those preferences are definitely compounded by a "lack of tags". Guys who want to kill a deer are likely to pull the trigger sooner. And guys who only want mature bucks are likely to hold out longer for a mature deer.

I, for one, think that each experience is unique. I've had a "no two points" rule for hunting for about a decade. But, a couple years ago I picked up the muzzleloader for the first time. I was hunting with my family (young kids) and when we came across a decent looking two point, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to kill a buck, with a muzzy, with my kids so excited about it. Made a nice Euro anyway, and the meat was amazing.

"Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!" 2 Ne. 28: 24

 

[HalfAce]

My drawing strategy changes as the draw results come out. If I haven't drawn much for tags, I will apply for easier to get tags in some of the states that have the latest application deadlines. But honestly, I apply for a mix of tags, some quality units, some quantity units with lesser quality, and a few Hail Mary units that I have yet to draw.

As far as size of an animal ill shoot, mule deer basically stays the same, I don't set my sights lower if I have a tag that people perceive as lesser in quality. If a mule deer buck doesn't get me excited then I don't want to shoot it, ide rather let it live for next season. But if I have an Antelope or Elk tag that year, ill shoot a lesser of an animal so I can have some really good meat. But if I end up having a lot of tags, ill look for better quality Antelope and Elk as well. If I kill an Elk one year, the next season I will look for a big one since my family and I will take a year and half to eat a bull Elk, haven't found the big one yet...

 

[elkfromabove]

I didn't draw any tags this year, but it will not change my hunting philosophy for next year (or the year after or the year after that). If I have the time to wait for a big one, I'll do it, but if not, it'll be the first legal one that presents a good shot. And I won't eat tag soup if I can help it regardless of the size of the antlers or horns. My tag allows me to harvest a buck or a bull and that's what I intend to do.

 

[Hunt_the_West]

I think the true answer lies somewhere in the middle? Very few guys have the will power to hold out for a true "giant" of a buck and are willing to eat tag soup after years of waiting to draw a tag. I enjoy hunting to much to go that many years with no tag in my pocket so there is only a couple of states/species that I accumulate a lot of points before cashing them in. I like to harvest a good buck/bull as much as anybody, but as I grow older the inches start to matter less and the memories and solitude in those mountains more.

 

[Ruby1]

I think this is a great question. My approach is kind of a mix between some of the posts above. I always try to kill the best buck I can find. It doesn't always work out that way though. I don't believe in the " never pass on the first day what you would shoot on the last" theory. I will give it my all, but sometimes when I know my hunt is going to end in a day or two and the right situation unfolds I can't help but shoot. I'm there to hunt and harvest most of the time.

 

[BillyBoB]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-02-16 AT 09:46AM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Jun-02-16 AT 09:45?AM (MST)

I can only answer for myself and I'm sure many others have different ideas, situations and plans while in the field.

There are a lot of different variables for me to understand, learn, and figure out that lead me to my plans in the field.

Many of the those factors help me decide my game plan. How long I waited for a tag, is actually irrelevant for me.

I usually have some easier hunts during the late season for elk that are my "meat " hunts.
If or when I draw a mule deer tag, it's about the experience, the challenge of finding Mr Big and waiting for the opportunity to take him.
After harvesting a couple young bucks, the game changed for me and I wanted more of a challenge. I know what kind of deer my units can hold if I'm patient enough to to find them and hold out for them. That is what I've done.
I've passed on at least 100 bucks over the last 5 years. Some of those bucks have been close enough I could have poked them with the muzzle of my rifle. They were not big enough and I knew bigger ones were around. The challenge for those young bucks just isn't there.

Those bigger bucks are harder to find and smarter. That's the challenge.
I've gone home on multiple occasions with my tail tucked between my legs but that's how it goes.
It's going to be that one time that I'm successful where everything comes together with a monster that will make it all worth it.
Things I consider:
How far back in am I?
Would the work to get that small buck out be worth it?
How bad do I need the meat?
What potential does this area hold for quality versus quantity?








"Wildlife and its habitat cannot speak. So
we must and we will."
Theadore Roosevelt

 

[elks96]

Interesting answers. I am just trying to figure out how I got to my current position. Not sure if age pushed me into a trophy hunter, or the fact that when I was a kid deer were easy to hunt and elk were hard. Now it is the exact opposite, I can kill and elk every year, but deer seem to be at least 2-3 years apart if not more...

In some ways I believe that tag scarcity (at least having one in my hand) has made me significantly more stingy when I pull the trigger and barring having my little ones with me, I simply am not even interested in shooting anything smaller than my personal top 5. Heading into this fall, I am mixed up. I have enough points in CO to draw all but the very hardest deer tags. So I know soon I will have one heck of a resident hunt on my hands. On the flip side it is the first fall where my kids and wife will all go to WY to archery hunt mule deer.

For me it is really different to be in this position. I do not trophy hunt and never really was much of a trophy hunter, but now with deer I have changed and am not really sure why....

 

[bugleb]

When it comes to elk, I haven't killed many and will probably never draw a tag for a quality hunt. I enjoy eating them, so I will shoot any legal elk.

As for deer, I have killed a lot of them in my 50 years of hunting. A two point is not worth getting my hands bloody. I am at the point where I would not even think about shooting any deer that is not very impressive. Most years I don't shoot anything. I just let them all grow for another year, or at least until they run into a "meat" hunter, which is more likely the case.

 

[sambo3006]

I drew a NR Wasatch late rifle elk tag this year with 12 points. It will probably be many years before I draw another Utah LE elk tag. I plan to arrive early to scout and hunt the full 9 days. I'll be looking for a mature 6 pt but honestly if it gets down to day 8 and I haven't found a great bull I'll probably be looking to punch my tag on the best branch antlered bull I can find that day or the next morning. I'd be very disappointed if I did not kill a bull at all.

NRA Life Member

www.swanspointoutfitters.com

The critters have to win every time. I only have to win once.

 

[sageadvice]

For me, getting fewer hunts in every year as i've gotten older hasn't changed what i'm looking for in a hunt as much as it's changed what i tell myself that i'm willing to shoot.

Having been blessed with a big private family ranch to hunt on as a kid and young adult, we had legal bucks to shoot near every hunt but what fun would it be if i shot the first one that i saw? So i started to get picky at a young age and that progressed to hunting in Nevada with my Uncle for big Muleys on the Private Ranch that he had to hunt. Seeing 20-40 Bucks every hunt, no way that i was going to shoot less than my ideal, at least until the last weekend of those hunts.

Seems lately, i'm a good guy to have along if you want to stay off the trigger. I'll look a buck over and point out how he could be bigger, how we might find a bigger buck to take, and maybe talk a friend out of a buck that he probably should have shot. To me, the fun is in the hunt, not the taking of a deer.

Another thing i notice in how things have changed, i get a tag most years in my home state for a General season type a hunt. I'm out looking for "better" type bucks but there are so few deer and i do love to have a deer in the freezer, i really have to talk myself into shooting a lesser type of buck if i see one. I want a deer but i don't care to kill it if it's not a big one, just the way i feel and sometimes i regret it at the end of the season cause there may have been smaller type bucks passed.

Now when i do draw a good tag. I make the time to devote the whole season, every day, at getting a good buck. I think that good tags are going to be fewer for me so i want to do whatever i have to do to insure the best results possible weather i take a buck or not.



Joey

Keep your slimy Paws Off My, Yours, Our,.. Public Land!!!