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Re: How many yrs did it take you to kill first public land buck?

Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 2:31 pm
by walleyeralph
1year,had private land 2 hunt on when I started. Got sold. started 2 hunt public after that.first time out 2 horicon marsh opening day 1989 seen a small 10 pt.Sunday moved stand seen him again.not in right spot, wednesday seen him again, getting closer.2nd sat shot him.seems like yesterday.Ralph.

Re: How many yrs did it take you to kill first public land buck?

Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 3:03 am
by Rich M
I've got about 40 seasons under my belt and about 80 deer, only 6 branch antlered bucks. Only 4 deer total with archery.

Never shot a deer on public, especially FL public. I should add that I'm deaf - it does make a diff. One unnatural noise and the deer know where you are...

I keep trying but not with the energy and enthusiasm I once had - it just isn't there. A handful of weekend hunts is fun and relaxing, after that it becomes work.

Re: How many yrs did it take you to kill first public land buck?

Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:27 am
by OldMtnMan
My first year my dad was teaching me to still hunt and we snuck in on a small buck. I shot it with a longbow. I was 14. I retired the longbow the next year when I got a Win 94 30-30 for Christmas.

Re: How many yrs did it take you to kill first public land buck?

Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2018 3:34 am
by RDubs44
1 year and counting. Just started the beast this fall.

Re: How many yrs did it take you to kill first public land buck?

Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 1:35 pm
by dewayne
Still chasing my first bow/public land kill. This was the first year I went strictly bow so I guess I’m getting a little closer.

Re: How many yrs did it take you to kill first public land buck?

Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 1:50 pm
by Brian1986
It took me 4 years to kill my first buck. He was a 4pointer. I was 17 yrs old and my dad let me take a couple days off school to go hunting with him. I ended up taking him in the same tree that my dad got his first buck. Hard to believe how fast time has flown by since then.

Re: How many yrs did it take you to kill first public land buck?

Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2019 8:27 am
by Jbhuff0822
I killed a good mature 9 pointer my second year on public land. I was blessed with a great hunt and some luck. This particular year I went on a nonresident hunt to Ohio Public Land. We arrived on Saturday at 2:00 and I was tagged out on 4:45 that evening! I was in the right spot at the right time. Since then I have let a lot of good bucks walk on public and have had several out smart me!

Re: How many yrs did it take you to kill first public land buck?

Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2019 8:31 am
by DaveT1963
First arrow I ever released at any living animal was a fork horn I took my first year with a recurve. I don't think there has been a season yet that I have hunted (few deployments and life made me miss a couple entirely) that I have not killed a deer on public land. That first shot was luck no doubt but it got the confidence rolling early and i just believed I could from that point on.

Re: How many yrs did it take you to kill first public land buck?

Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2019 8:43 am
by Ishi Spirit
☝️

Re: How many yrs did it take you to kill first public land buck?

Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2019 8:47 am
by Tufrthnails
First morning of first sit ever. The gap from #1 to #2 was 2 seasons. I didn't kill another buck until year three.

Re: How many yrs did it take you to kill first public land buck?

Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2019 9:42 am
by Maverick1
I was fortunate. It was a couple of hours.

Re: How many yrs did it take you to kill first public land buck?

Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2019 10:08 am
by Boogieman1
For me it's a bit deceiving. Killed mine the first year on only my 2nd or 3rd trip. Mostly had to do with very lax realistic goal setting and a bit of luck. Made up my mind I was gonna shoot the very first legal buck I saw. Slipped in midday after work and on my way to stand seen a buck walking the ridge line and just looped infront of him hoping he continued his path. Sure enough 5 min later he was in my wheelhouse. A goofy 5pt with 4 on one side and a spike on the other. Still a rewarding hunt none the less despite the fact I never climbed a tree.

That was the only buck I ever took off that property. Spent a lot of time scouting that place in the years to come and realized it just doesn't hold the kind of buck I want. Struggled on different public pieces after that, believe I had about a 4 or 5 year gap b4 the next one.

Re: How many yrs did it take you to kill first public land buck?

Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2019 12:00 pm
by john1984
Started bowhunting in 08. Killed 1st public buck in 2011.

Re: How many yrs did it take you to kill first public land buck?

Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2019 3:52 pm
by Hawthorne
My second year with a .270 in northern Michigan a little 5 point. I was 15 years old in 1991.My first 3 years was all public land. Was on the land my dad grew up hunting.My first beast buck with my bow was year 3. I shot bucks before that on HAP land. It’s private land open to the public. That first beast kill felt like my first public buck. Kinda a born again revelation. Was a nice 8 point

Re: How many yrs did it take you to kill first public land buck?

Posted: Thu Jul 04, 2019 2:46 am
by whi52873
My first year of hunting public land, I hunted a pinch between two main bedding areas. I was hunting the week of Halloween and saw 30+ deer in 3 days. I just happened to pick a good time to be in the woods and I was hooked ever since to public land. In those three days, I shot at three bucks and missed all three. I didn't have an opportunity to shoot a buck the rest of the year.

The year after (second year hunting public), I killed a buck on opening day at 2pm and got the monkey off my back.