SagebrushSlayer
Active member
Finally getting a success story on HT! I still need to do a better job of taking pics of the phases of how my hunts unfold. Onto the story:
I decided 3 years ago to make a commitment to not shoot the first legal deer I had a shot at. This opened up a lot of experience and I learned a bunch about mule deer hunting. Each year I got closer to taking a mature animal, but never closed the deal on having it all come together. Up until 3 years ago I would shoot a buck to fill my tag and my freezer. Not that I didn't try shooting at big deer, I just had such bad big buck fever from 13-23 years old. I missed the 3 mature deer I had opportunities at during those years. I hear from a bunch of friends of how they shoot for meat and that I can't eat antlers. I agree but also told them that a mature deer will produce even more meat than a 1-2 year old buck and I might become better at understanding mule deer while becoming a better hunter.
Over the 3 years the number of bucks I see hunting have increased, the size of bucks have increased, unusual but the number of hunters have increased in one area, and passing up smaller bucks has provided the opportunities at the more mature bucks I've chosen to pursue. I also changed hunting from just weekends to taking 5-10 days to commit to hunting. This helped with not having the pressure to find, kill, and pack out an animal in 2 days and then go back to work for another week before doing it again. Hunting became A LOT more enjoyable and successful in pursuing what I was hoping for.
This years hunt didn't kick off until the second week of the October for me. I showed up to hunt with one of my friends and his wife. I brought along my dad so he could also hunt deer with us or at his leisure. We camped in one area complete with ATV hunters, road hunters, horse hunters, and the hiking hunters. Camping in this area provided a lot info for what we did or didn't see hanging in the different camps.
It took until the 3rd day, but first thing in the morning that day proved to be when I would accomplish my goal. I'm grateful and thankful to be able to still hunt with good friends and family on public land, on our own. I know that I still have a lot to learn about mule deer hunting, but I'm happy to pass on the younger bucks for kids, newer hunters, and those that are just as happy to shoot any buck. I hope you all enjoy your hunts this year and everyone continues to pursue their hunting goals.
I decided 3 years ago to make a commitment to not shoot the first legal deer I had a shot at. This opened up a lot of experience and I learned a bunch about mule deer hunting. Each year I got closer to taking a mature animal, but never closed the deal on having it all come together. Up until 3 years ago I would shoot a buck to fill my tag and my freezer. Not that I didn't try shooting at big deer, I just had such bad big buck fever from 13-23 years old. I missed the 3 mature deer I had opportunities at during those years. I hear from a bunch of friends of how they shoot for meat and that I can't eat antlers. I agree but also told them that a mature deer will produce even more meat than a 1-2 year old buck and I might become better at understanding mule deer while becoming a better hunter.
Over the 3 years the number of bucks I see hunting have increased, the size of bucks have increased, unusual but the number of hunters have increased in one area, and passing up smaller bucks has provided the opportunities at the more mature bucks I've chosen to pursue. I also changed hunting from just weekends to taking 5-10 days to commit to hunting. This helped with not having the pressure to find, kill, and pack out an animal in 2 days and then go back to work for another week before doing it again. Hunting became A LOT more enjoyable and successful in pursuing what I was hoping for.
This years hunt didn't kick off until the second week of the October for me. I showed up to hunt with one of my friends and his wife. I brought along my dad so he could also hunt deer with us or at his leisure. We camped in one area complete with ATV hunters, road hunters, horse hunters, and the hiking hunters. Camping in this area provided a lot info for what we did or didn't see hanging in the different camps.
It took until the 3rd day, but first thing in the morning that day proved to be when I would accomplish my goal. I'm grateful and thankful to be able to still hunt with good friends and family on public land, on our own. I know that I still have a lot to learn about mule deer hunting, but I'm happy to pass on the younger bucks for kids, newer hunters, and those that are just as happy to shoot any buck. I hope you all enjoy your hunts this year and everyone continues to pursue their hunting goals.
