Enjoy the journey man, that's what it is truly about.
I am having a blast! You are right!
Enjoy the journey man, that's what it is truly about.
. A rack on the wall shouldn't be the only measure of success.
Sounds like your doing really well getting on bucks... The next step is getting your set ups correct so that every time you see a big buck, you have a good shot opportunity... Thats a huge part of the learning curve. I can say well over 90% of the big bucks I see come out of bebbing offer me a shot... Main reason is how much I put into being in the exact right tree.
country_gbrony wrote:I can relate to a lot of what your saying and feeling. When you get close and can't seem to seal the deal for numerous reasons you get frustrated. I used to get so pissed at missed opportunities at deer or nice bucks but then I had a friend tell me that at least I got a shot at a nice buck or saw one. I realized that just getting on deer and nice bucks is doing better than most of the hunters. Missing a buck or a blown opportunity teaches you something every time. Every time you screw up you are getting better and sealing the deal happens more and more. Dan said you learn more from failures than successes. So true. You also learn more the more you pass on deer. I can remember shooting the first deer I saw every sit. I never learned much about deer behavior because I killed every deer I saw! I am not a big buck killer although I've killed a couple by shear luck. I think Dan said once that the more you scout, hunt and learn, the "luckier" you get. I have a friend that has hunted public land his whole life and kills big bucks. I asked what his secret is and he said "scout for sign, pass on small bucks and be willing to go home empty-handed." Some years he eats his tags and some years he knocks down a whopper. Best advice I try to follow is to keep hunting fun, no one except ourselves puts pressure on us to kill a nice buck. I find that once i started relaxing about my expectations that I killed more deer. I used to think if I couldn't get out of bed the whole day of hunting was shot. Sleep in some days, wake up late and hunt 9-3. There are no rules except what the state and you impose on yourself. Think about it though. I've killed deer at 10:00. Did I really need to be there before sunrise? I could have easily slipped in at 8 and been there to killed that deer had I not crossed its path on the way to the stand. I talked to a seasoned public land hunter one day who I told that I can kill deer consistently on my private land but I suck on public. He said its because I've learned how the deer use my land therefore its easier. I just needed to spend more time on public in order to learn how the deer use it.
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