Being Patient is Tough!

[grassi25]

First thing thursday morning, I see a nice 8 point bounding through some dog fennels. I stop him and get a good look. Man he was probably15 inches wide, with about 8 inch g2's. A real beauty, but you could just tell he was young. So, I take may finger of the trigger.

If this isn't him its his twin.



And Then about 30 min later. I see a big bodied deer cross this lane I am watching about 80 yds away with his head down. If I had a little more time I may have shot that one with out even seing antlers, because its body was so big.

And then a little more than an hour after that, a buck comes out in the lane and my first impression is I know its a buck, just not real big body. So, I look through my scope and immediately see alot of mass on his antlers. He is slowly crossing this lane so I, loudly stop him with a bleat. When he picks his head up, his antlers are behind a tree and I can't get a good look.

And though I had the crosshairs on him with the safety off, I didn't pull and he was gone.

None of these bucks were responding to any calls to bring them back. I have been hearing about the Doe can working right now, but I cant' get it too work, nor Have I ever.

So, I am not 100% sure it was a shooter, but obvioulsy I feel like I blew it by not shooting that buck. But like I tell others he is still out there and maybe I will get another look. He never spooked just slowly walked away.

[swampbuck]

Lack of Patients is the number one reason so many good young bucks get killed every year..

Here in the Southeast we do have good genetics the deer just seldom if ever get the age it takes to make a become a true trophy buck. This is the main reason I choose to hunt trophy clubs only.. I can still take plenty of meat for the freezer in the form of doe's,but the size of the bucks is heavily regulated. The one draw back to this is I don't get excited when I see a decent buck anymore because I know I'm not going to shoot. The number one plus is I get to watch a lot of bucks interact with other deer.

So if you want to build up true Patients put in your head you will only shoot a certain sized deer or the best deer for your area and it get's much easier..

[deerslayer]

Good luck to you, at least you are seeing the deer, I havent seen a deer in a while, let alone bucks of that caliber!

[allhunter]

nice bucks grassi good luck knowing you youll find that buck again

[buckfever]

patience is very tough. been trying to teach it to my hunting partner for years. as far as them answering calls, i've only ever had 1 buck answer any of my calling efforts. busted his butt for it too. ;D he just happened to be in an area that wasn't overloaded with does though. not sure why he picked the spot he did, maybe he lost a fight with the big daddy we haven't been able to find yet, or maybe he just liked being alone. anyway, there's so many does up here you can bleat and grunt and rattle and whatever all you want. there's probably like 10 does to every buck up here because of our hunting rules, but what can you do? just keep on hunting.

[dagr8bilster]

Patience is for Doctors who can charge big fees. Deer are a food source...antler size and shape just make deer more interesting to look and marvel at.

If your hunting prioroties are so focused solely on antler mass then why kill them at all...just focus on putting in enough food plots and mineral licks and trail cameras so you can grow and watch trophy bucks all the time.

[passinthru]

Why not hold off and be sure. Thats what i would have done myself. Self control and deer hunting go hand in hand.

[allhunter]

Nov 5, 2010 19:47:23 GMT -5 dagr8bilster said:

Patience is for Doctors who can charge big fees. Deer are a food source...antler size and shape just make deer more interesting to look and marvel at.

If your hunting prioroties are so focused solely on antler mass then why kill them at all...just focus on putting in enough food plots and mineral licks and trail cameras so you can grow and watch trophy bucks all the time.

I would agree to a point however i do think of hunting almost more as a sport. personally i love wild game however if its between that and a giant steak i might choose the steak. that being said i also was thinking about the same thing the other day. back in the day they shot at anything. then they began to do qdm and would shoot deer outside the ears then it had to be a 130 or better and now some people are passing up 150 deer. not saying everyone does but i just got thinking when is it going to stop? in 10 years is everyone going to be holding out for a 180 inch or better? idk its just something i was thinkin about. however if im completly wrong someone tell me i just got home from a swim meet and am slightly dizzy so if im completly off just tell me lol

[passinthru]

I think your right on there Allhunter. Although i would take the venison over the steak myself. lol

[allhunter]

Nov 7, 2010 4:22:36 GMT -5 passinthru said:

I think your right on there Allhunter. Although i would take the venison over the steak myself. lol

o dont get me wrong i do love my venison but a beef steak is pretty darn good to lol

[bertman]

I need meat so BANG.

[deerslayer]

Antlers look good but taste horrible lol! I hunt for meat, Big antlers are just a plus for me! However we do practice management on our deer property and have really seen a huge improvement in the bucks, as well as the size and health of the does, think it all goes hand in hand!

[grassi25]

I only need two or three deer a year for meat. I do count on and enjoy the meat every year. And since we have a long season and alot of deer I can hold out for a trophy and shoot meat at the end of the season.

Also, I would be sure most people spend more money on hunting then the cost of the food it provides. Your rifle alone would buy beef to last quite some time.

Sorry, if I am pissing people off talking about not shooting bucks.

If I start shooting them all you will just be mad that I am shooting so many bucks.

I think I am gonna start doing that anyway.

[deerslayer]

If you have the ability and the property to be able to know your gonna be able to shoot some does late season, go for it bud, wish i could! Like I said, antlers are a plus for me, however we do practice deer management and I have passed up on so many young bucks the last few years its crazy, but on the flip side over the last few years at least one good mature buck has come off our property. It has helped witht he health of the herd as a whole with food plots and choosing which deer to take! Good Luck to you!

[jstriner]

Wow, I wish I saw that many deer up here. Good luck on getting a big one!

[broadheadbuck]

yeah its hard 2 be patient and wait 4 the right one but when your like me im still young and have only killed 6 deer in my life so watever u get you take it, but i would much rather be shooting some brusiers instead of what i shoot but 4 now ill take what i can get!!

[dagr8bilster]

Nov 8, 2010 14:21:42 GMT -5 grassi25 said:

I only need two or three deer a year for meat. I do count on and enjoy the meat every year. And since we have a long season and alot of deer I can hold out for a trophy and shoot meat at the end of the season.

Also, I would be sure most people spend more money on hunting then the cost of the food it provides. Your rifle alone would buy beef to last quite some time.

Sorry, if I am pissing people off talking about not shooting bucks.

If I start shooting them all you will just be mad that I am shooting so many bucks.

I think I am gonna start doing that anyway.

So in light of loosing your lease are you still gonna practice patience or are you gonna let the lead fly?

[grassi25]

Dec 2, 2010 10:54:35 GMT -5 broadheadbuck said:

yeah its hard 2 be patient and wait 4 the right one but when your like me im still young and have only killed 6 deer in my life so watever u get you take it, but i would much rather be shooting some brusiers instead of what i shoot but 4 now ill take what i can get!!

You shoot what you want bud, being patient is not for everyone. When I finally decided to start being patient I got on a streak of killing a decent buck every season for about 4 years in a row. I keep forgetting I shot that decent 6 pt. this year. I donated the meat, and my freezer is bare. Ofcourse, I have seen several decent bucks this season, and the season isn't over.

And Dag, for your question. Figuratively speaking the safety has been off for about three weeks and no one has seen a buck. We have killed a couple does. But the deer have gone missing for alot of people I know around here.

But right now a nub buck may be the only thing I don't shoot. Unless I am at someone else's property.

[3212]

As a senior rifle hunter in PA I can take a doe in October and go buck hunting after Thanksgiving.I got a doe this year and my personal best buck due to statewide antler restrictions. I like to get the venison early and then relax about the bucks.