What would you tell a Rookie?

ohio mossy oak · Oct 27, 2011

Being that prime time in the deer woods is upon us... And as far as being selective with the deer you choose to harvest ..What would you tell a hunter who has been deer hunting for 4 or 5yrs and hasn't sealed the deal??If you was put in there shoes..

Huckleberry Finn · Oct 27, 2011

Whatever makes you happy. This question is purely subjective, beauty is in the beholder, etc etc.

For me personally, I'm not passing on anything. I get a limited amount of time to hunt, and having never shot a deer with my bow (This is my second bow season), if it's brown, it's down.

jagermeister · Oct 27, 2011

Huck said it perfectly. I voted for the "Brown it's Down" option, but that's all relative. When you're in a treestand and an opportunity presents itself, YOU need to KNOW whether or not that deer gets your heart pumping. If the thought of harvesting that animal gets you excited, then fuggin go for it! Bowhunting is all about enjoying the whitetail woods... Do what YOU feel will amplify that experience.

Buckmaster · Oct 27, 2011

For a first timer, if its brown, its down.

ohio mossy oak · Oct 27, 2011

Thanks Huck!!!..I know its up to the hunter..But I was just wondering what others would do in the same situation..Burning a buck tag on a little guy an then having to pass later lingers in my mind..But so does passing on that little guy an not getting a shot at a single deer the rest of the year....Im pretty much on the same page as you Huck.........

Its a private poll folks so don't be afraid to vote how you really feel

ohio mossy oak · Oct 27, 2011

JBrown said:
Huck said it perfectly. I voted for the "Brown it's Down" option, but that's all relative. When you're in a treestand and an opportunity presents itself, YOU need to KNOW whether or not that deer gets your heart pumping. If the thought of harvesting that animal gets you excited, then fuggin go for it! Bowhunting is all about enjoying the whitetail woods... Do what YOU feel will amplify that experience.

They all get my heart pumping bro!!..

Gern186 · Oct 27, 2011

I think you should shoot anything that gives you an ethical shot that you know you can make.....I personally wouldn't recommend shooting a button buck though, but to each their own.

ohio mossy oak · Oct 27, 2011

Might be hard to tell if its a button or not in the heat of the moment...

Jackalope · Oct 27, 2011

Shoot what makes you happy... And you'll know it when you see it... As for the other things.. . In my buck killing areas I don't shoot does until after my rut vacation. I could have shot dozens of them by now, but they all get a pass until after rut.. You never know which hot doe will pull a big boy by you. Sit as long as you can, all day if possible.. At a minimum don't get out of your stand till noon.. They will chase does all day, but if they do rest, other hunters are likely to bump them up and make them run again.

Schu72 · Oct 27, 2011

The feeling of maybe getting a bigger one never goes away. Break the ice and put a deer on the ground. For me it always seemed easier after the first one, then as you gain experience you can become more selective.

ohio mossy oak · Oct 27, 2011

Jackalope said:
You never know which hot doe will pull a big boy by you. Sit as long as you can, all day if possible.. At a minimum don't get out of your stand till noon.. They will chase does all day, but if they do rest, other hunters are likely to bump them up and make them run again.

I do fear the buck chasing the doe scenario...Sitting all day isnt a problem for me on the days I am able to..I did it last year for 5 days straight..It was mentally taxing some morning when the alarm would go off..But my wife is a great motivator an tells me to get my ass out there or I will be bitching later if i dont...I plan to hunt all day on Sundays an Mondays from here on out..Im limited tues through Sat and can only sit till about 10am..But I reckon im gonna have to do a few of those as well at least for the next few weeks to month..

Jackalope · Oct 27, 2011

ohio mossy oak said:
I do fear the buck chasing the doe scenario...Sitting all day isnt a problem for me on the days I am able to..I did it last year for 5 days straight..It was mentally taxing some morning when the alarm would go off..But my wife is a great motivator an tells me to get my ass out there or I will be bitching late if i dont...I plan to hunt all day on Sundays an Mondayss from here on out..Im limited tues through Sat and can only sit till about 10am..But I reckon im gonna have to do a few of those as well at least for the next few weeks to month..

No problem. Hunt every hour you can. This time of year it only takes a moment.

hickslawns · Oct 27, 2011

Schu72 said:
The feeling of maybe getting a bigger one never goes away. Break the ice and put a deer on the ground. For me it always seemed easier after the first one, then as you gain experience you can become more selective.

Well said. I arrowed my first archery buck last year. Prior to that I never felt the need to further my ego by shooting any smaller bucks. I was able to pass on them. HOWEVER, in all fairness, I had already had a pretty dang nice buck on the wall from a shotgun season in the past. For this reason, I held out. The first deer I killed with my bow was tough. Seemed like it got easier after that, but not "easy". This year I have seen tons of deer but have had a heck of a time getting a shot at our local does.

Good luck with your decision. I did not vote yet.

Gern186 · Oct 27, 2011

ohio mossy oak said:
Might be hard to tell if its a button or not in the heat of the moment...

No, it's not hard to tell.

Gern186 · Oct 27, 2011

Jackalope said:
Shoot what makes you happy... And you'll know it when you see it... As for the other things.. . In my buck killing areas I don't shoot does until after my rut vacation. I could have shot dozens of them by now, but they all get a pass until after rut.. You never know which hot doe will pull a big boy by you. Sit as long as you can, all day if possible.. At a minimum don't get out of your stand till noon.. They will chase does all day, but if they do rest, other hunters are likely to bump them up and make them run again.

So you will shoot a doe after it has been potentially bred by a big buck? If there are that many does like you say, then taking one or 2 of them out of the herd before the rut won't hurt your chances of killing a big buck later.....and then the does that get bred will have yearlings with potentially good genetics.

saddlepants · Oct 27, 2011

It depends on wht your looking for. Meat or Bone?? My first deer was a doe. My first shot and miss was a younger but not trophy buck....thats what fueled the fire and the confidence.

saddlepants · Oct 27, 2011

Schu72 said:
The feeling of maybe getting a bigger one never goes away. Break the ice and put a deer on the ground. For me it always seemed easier after the first one, then as you gain experience you can become more selective.

Exactly!

ohio mossy oak · Oct 27, 2011

saddlepants said:
It depends on wht your looking for. Meat or Bone?? My first deer was a doe. My first shot and miss was a younger but not trophy buck....thats what fueled the fire and the confidence.

Im looking for deer..lol I missed a doe clean last year on a 20yrd shot by a branch deflection an grazed a doe way low the year before .I knew it was a 30yrd shot an knew they was using the trail at sundown..It all came together perfect until my brain turned to mush an I used my 20 pin an possibly punched the trigger as well..I was using a bit of a slower set up.A 375 arrow going 238fps so the arrow drop got must have got me..There was blood on 1 vane an 1/3 of the arrows diameter for the length of the arrow..I backed out for a few hours an an came back..At the spot of impact there was white belly hair an very little if any blood lasted for 20 ft...I did a grid search for about 4 acres in the dark...Went back out the next AM an an grid search again..Im hoping it just made here sore for a few days..After that I focused VERY HARD on the accuracy an tuning aspect of my bows an myself an learning the most i could about my arrows flight an trajectory ..

Sorry to be long winded..But that tends to happen with me

Carpn · Oct 27, 2011

Just shoot a Damn deer...If you have a doe come by check her backtrail and then wack her...Then get out another arrow and wait in case a buck is following..

Jackalope · Oct 27, 2011

Gern186 said:
So you will shoot a doe after it has been potentially bred by a big buck? If there are that many does like you say, then taking one or 2 of them out of the herd before the rut won't hurt your chances of killing a big buck later.....and then the does that get bred will have yearlings with potentially good genetics.

As long at there is the potential of her dragging a buck by my stand she will get a free pass. After that she has outlived her usefulness and I give two shits what's in her belly... I'm sure she's not the only piece of ass he got.. And besides..yearlings migrate remember..

What would you tell a Rookie?

What would you tell a rookie about being selective whith te deer they shoot?

If its brown its down get the first confirmed kill(no spotted fawns)

Nothing under 125 inches

NO DOES,Never shoot a doe during prime time

Stay home an eat cheetos..Your never gonna kill a deer anyways

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