Are you lucky? or good?

[dan]

I was looking thru some old posts and saw where someone mentioned that they were believeing that big buck hunting might just be completly luck... There is an old saying "I would rather be lucky, than good"
Well, luck might have something to do with it. But skilled hunters create there own luck.
Sitting in the best spot, at the best time often fails... But when you do it often enough you eventually succeed...
So lets discuss what the ingrediants are to create luck.
Hunting where there are good bucks located.
Hunting on propertys that have more shooter bucks per acre will up your odds on shooting
one. Picking the right property has to be near the top of my list.

Scouting and knowing the property well.
Figuring out the bedding, feeding, and travel patterns

Hunting where the big bucks move during daylight

Being efficiant with your equipment.

Having confidance
What has worked for me is to really believe in what Im doing. Unfortunatly, I believe that confidance comes after success, but once you know what your doing works and if you spend enough time at it you will be successful, I believe that attitude is a major key in the success.
When you believe in yourself, your willing to walk a mile through muck day after day... Your willing to go that extra effort. Your mind is spinning about what your next move should be...
When you lack confidance and you have the attitude that your just sitting in the tree, you don't concentrate, you leave early, you don't feel like wading thru muck, etc...

Anybody care to add to the list, or comment on mine?

[magicman54494]

I started out on the lucky end and am moving towards the good end. My best technique in the old days was to be out there every poss. minute in hopes of crossing paths with a good buck. I started to spend more time near bedding because thats where my success came from. I never really targeted a specific bed (except for two bucks that I actually could watch exiting their bedding - both are on my wall ) Many years afield have inched me closer to understanding trophy deer. Meeting Dan has filled in a few gaps that I think will be key to greater success in the future. I'm hoping someday to be able to say I'm good! There's nothing wrong with a guy getting lucky once in a while eithor.

[Buckfever]

I wish I was lucky. Seems I have to scratch and claw for every opportunity. Not sure I'm any good either though.

[UPbowhunter]

I hunt all year long. I only get to kill in season. I'm allways talkin hunting, scouting, shedin, reading maps and looking at diferent angles to my spots. Tomorow my son and I will be scouting a peice that is public but canoe access only. Last night I found the wearabouts of another little known public peice, while driveing around with the family looking for deer, so that is next weekends area to check out. Today I put a couple of mineral sites out with cameras on a private peice I can hunt. I also shoot my bow 3 times a week, so Im ready when it counts. I'm definately [glow=red]not[/glow] [glow=red]GOOD[/glow], but I'm far from being [glow=red]LUCKY[/glow] either.

[ttsbuck]

I think what Dan said about confidence is more important than most realize. For instance a person may not have the same hunting ability as someone else. Yet if you have confidence in how you are hunting you are more likely to put in the effort to succeed even if you make some mistakes. Think about times when you didn't have much confidence in a stand you were going to hunt. Did you cheat the wind, entrance route, or make noise, things you would have been more careful of if you were confident in the stand. I guess what I am saying is confidence alone will make you a better hunter. Hope it make sense. And I disagree with UPbowhunter all the effort he puts in makes him good not lucky.

[Edcyclopedia]

neither, just really handsome

[dan]

I think what Dan said about confidence is more important than most realize. For instance a person may not have the same hunting ability as someone else. Yet if you have confidence in how you are hunting you are more likely to put in the effort to succeed even if you make some mistakes.

When I 1st started killing big bucks I was not as skilled at it as I am now... Face it, we learn more with experiance and time spent. But when I was young I believe a lot of my success was from sheer determination and stubborness. I would sinply never give up. I can remember hunting every day except mayby 3 in the season of 1990 only to finally arrow my buck the last evening of the year.... Now I miss 3 days in the 1st week.
Gun season would be spent hunting mostly alone from sunrise to sunset every day except Thanksgiving afternoon...
I would simply sneak into every buck bedding area I knew until a monster worthy of shooting would be in one...
There was no "off season" I was always thinking about the next deer. Scouting, listening for leads.
Now that I am older, weaker, and have a little more to my life than just deer hunting, I don't reley on attitude and sheer determination. I fall back on what I learned in those years of working so hard to kill a deer.
Now I hunt smart, rather than hard.
Not that I don't hunt harder than most. More that I better utilize what time I do have...

[Dewey]

I always tell people that the more you put into something the luckier you will become and I am a firm believer in making your own luck.

In my younger years I pretty much sat in a tree if it looked like a good one for my stand regardless if there was deer sign or not. Back then if I shot a deer I considered it pure luck. Over the years I refined my tactics and started paying more attention to everything around me and after a few years everything started making sense and my success seeing bigger bucks skyrocketed. I guess that I could say that I finally turned the corner of just being lucky but I resist saying that I am good because I have a long way to go yet. When I can kill a mature buck every year on public land then I deserve to be called a good hunter. My confidence is getting better every year and I think that has alot to do with the increased scouting I have been doing the last three years. Being confident in your hunting spots before the season even starts is huge and that is what separates the lucky hunters from good hunters.

[virginiashadow]

I am neither when it comes to big buck hunting. But as a deer hunter I have moved from lucky (more like stubborn) to getting better. My hunts are much more productive than days past, even in an area that is producing 30%-40% less deer killed than just 6-7 years ago. So even though alot less deer are killed where I hunt, it hasn't seemed to effect my hunting at all.

[G3s]

I am getting better, it has been a long road to get to where I am now...but I sure wouldnt mind a little luck thrown in there

[Spysar]

Dan, or anyone else, do you think you would be as good or as lucky as you are today, if you were born in say, North Carolina? Does being good or lucky equal big bucks?

[goldtip5575]

If your hunting public you have to be lucky that no one else finds your spots.If your hunting private you have to be lucky enough to afford your own property,lease,or lucky that someone will grant you permission to hunt.In WI its almost becomeing lucky enough just to have a decent spot to go.Then if have a decent spot you have to be lucky that the nieghbers want to practice QDM and dont stack up every doe if your in CWD zones.

[dan]

Dan, or anyone else, do you think you would be as good or as lucky as you are today, if you were born in say, North Carolina? Does being good or lucky equal big bucks?

I think if a guy were born in North Carolina and he was good or lucky, he would shoot better than average bucks for that area... And would be recognized locally for that achievment.
It definatly would not be a big deal to guys in the midwest however where the biggest bucks in the country come from...
Some of our best deer hunters probably come from those areas, and you will likely never hear about them.

[Spysar]

To bad in today's hunting world, bigger is better, and killing the biggest buck in your area dosen't cut it. Big bucks define how good a hunter is.....

Not my opinion, but a lot of hunters perception of how it is...

[Buckfever]

If your hunting public you have to be lucky that no one else finds your spots..

I've actually been surprised as to how easy it's been to find neglected spots on public land. I've been also equally surprised by how much effort is put into "finding others" spots. Especially if you're consistent, to the point that they'll know your truck and license number and which zone you're hunting etc...it kinda baffles me. My first 2 spots were immediately stolen,
just because I was careless with a few comments. It actually became a joke amongst the group of regulars at one of the parks.

So I think it's an excellent point, you really need to be secretive about where you're hunting and take full measure to not reveal it. While it's kind of sad, you just have to accept it and make it part of how you conduct your hunting operations.