Ticks N Tines
Very Active Member
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- 1,661
This is my 6th year of eating archery mule deer tag soup. Many of you guys make this archery thing look so dang easy, but I just can't get it done. I see awesome bucks every year on the Utah Extended hunt. I close into 100 yards of shooter bucks every year, but getting closer seems near impossible. I have had a great time hunting big bucks during the rut with a bow, but I'm not sure how much defeat I can take. 6 years without a buck sucks!
My dilemma is as follows. When I get a rifle or muzzy tag I see half as many bucks (sometimes none at all) and there is always competition. The hunt is shorter and the bucks are out in the morning and evenings and that's about it.
On the Extended hunt I can see several bucks in a day and always find a good buck. I rarely see other hunters and I can hunt for over a month. The deer are out longer in the day as well.
So are my odds of killing a decent buck really better with a rifle or muzzy or not? I would almost rather see a bunch of bucks and get close to some bigguns vs hutning for a week and seeing one or two small bucks.
I'm torn on what I should do in the future. I just really need to get a good buck under my belt. I have passed several small bucks with my bow and also rifle and muzzy in hopes of getting a good one, but it just hasn't happened for me. In the 10 years I have been hunting I have killed a spike buck, and I have worked my butt off.
What the heck am I doing wrong?
My dilemma is as follows. When I get a rifle or muzzy tag I see half as many bucks (sometimes none at all) and there is always competition. The hunt is shorter and the bucks are out in the morning and evenings and that's about it.
On the Extended hunt I can see several bucks in a day and always find a good buck. I rarely see other hunters and I can hunt for over a month. The deer are out longer in the day as well.
So are my odds of killing a decent buck really better with a rifle or muzzy or not? I would almost rather see a bunch of bucks and get close to some bigguns vs hutning for a week and seeing one or two small bucks.
I'm torn on what I should do in the future. I just really need to get a good buck under my belt. I have passed several small bucks with my bow and also rifle and muzzy in hopes of getting a good one, but it just hasn't happened for me. In the 10 years I have been hunting I have killed a spike buck, and I have worked my butt off.
What the heck am I doing wrong?