#1741515 - 01/22/10 10:38 PM
Draw hunts luck or skill?
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gator-n-buck
16 Point
Registered: 10/22/08
Posts: 14956
Loc: Knox, TN / Palatka, FL
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I go on draw hunts every year and I find myself trying to figure out what is the best tactic to see a nice one. I know normally you only have a day to scout an area that 300 to 800 hunters are about to invade the next day. With all the presure in the woods at one time is it just the luck of the draw? What do you guys think..
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#1741524 - 01/22/10 10:43 PM
Re: Draw hunts luck or skill?
[Re: gator-n-buck]
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stik
TnDeer Old Timer
16 Point
Registered: 03/12/99
Posts: 18546
Loc: lenoir city,tn
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there are very few quota hunts that limit you to 1 scouting day and i don't hunt those areas. the areas i DO put in for, i have hunted for years and have learned where the others hunt. i hunted both days of the quota hunt this year and never saw another hunter in the woods.
_________________________
experienced hunters know its not just a bushy white tail, its a big middle finger.
nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught
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#1741756 - 01/23/10 08:16 AM
Re: Draw hunts luck or skill?
[Re: stik]
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BigWes50
10 Point
Registered: 03/04/07
Posts: 3207
Loc: Chattanooga, TN
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I'm to the point now that I actually prefer to hunt a wma that's open to statewide regs or open alot because I can hunt the hunters and find the areas the pressured deer go too. When you hunt a draw hunt and all those hunters hit the woods its really hard to find the deer cause all the sign you are looking at is non-pressure sign JMO
_________________________
Just as the deer can suddenly materialize in the woods, "Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect" (Matthew 24:44)
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#1742181 - 01/23/10 02:34 PM
Re: Draw hunts luck or skill?
[Re: BigWes50]
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bowriter
Non-Typical
Registered: 08/31/02
Posts: 40337
Loc: Lebanon,TN USA
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Gator it is 90% luck. But you make your own luck. Luck is nothing more than when preparation meets opportnity. Do the groundwork then it is luck.
When I was serious about hunting, I never gave a thought to puclic or private ground. I hunted the both the same. I didn't care where the road was or how far I needed to walk in. I hunted deer. Deer don't use helicopters to cross a road. They get from point A to point B on foot. That is all I needed to know.
Some of the biggest deer I have ever killed on public ground, were killed within 50 yards of a road. And over the years, I have killed a few.
Don't think yourself out of a great stand location. Just learn about deer movement and then apply that knowledge. That is all any deer hunting is.
_________________________
Constipation has ruined many a good day. Not as many as stupidity, though.
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#1742344 - 01/23/10 04:55 PM
Re: Draw hunts luck or skill?
[Re: Double-D-Team]
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megalomaniac
10 Point
Registered: 10/28/05
Posts: 4887
Loc: Mississippi
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There are a few hunters who can walk blind into an area, scout it, and can tell within an hour of where the best spot to hang a stand is.
I'm not one of them, but I've got a buddy who can do just that.
When I go with him, I get him to pick out a spot for me to hunt as well.
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#1742622 - 01/23/10 08:00 PM
Re: Draw hunts luck or skill?
[Re: megalomaniac]
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Twitch
8 Point
Registered: 11/27/08
Posts: 2232
Loc: Knox
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Ditto on that BW. I have "THINKED" myself out of a few stand locations.
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AIM SMALL (( + )) MISS SMALL
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#1743251 - 01/24/10 09:44 AM
Re: Draw hunts luck or skill?
[Re: Twitch]
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DeerJay3
8 Point
Registered: 11/23/08
Posts: 1051
Loc: Nashville TN
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I like the idea of hunting the hunters...I got a friend who killed 2 120+ bucks at catoosa in back to back years and both were rite by the road..
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"Thats as old as he is GONNA get"
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#1743808 - 01/24/10 03:22 PM
Re: Draw hunts luck or skill?
[Re: DeerJay3]
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pcrc
8 Point
Registered: 10/12/09
Posts: 1120
Loc: Knoxville
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It takes plenty of skill to be able to walk into an unknown area and pick the best place to hunt, but how could it be anything other than luck that you pick a place and somebody else is not there in the morning or busts you out of it?
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#1743838 - 01/24/10 03:36 PM
Re: Draw hunts luck or skill?
[Re: pcrc]
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bowriter
Non-Typical
Registered: 08/31/02
Posts: 40337
Loc: Lebanon,TN USA
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It takes plenty of skill to be able to walk into an unknown area and pick the best place to hunt, but how could it be anything other than luck that you pick a place and somebody else is not there in the morning or busts you out of it?
Because 95% of the hunters walk past the deer. And if you do it right, they walk past you.
_________________________
Constipation has ruined many a good day. Not as many as stupidity, though.
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#1743852 - 01/24/10 03:46 PM
Re: Draw hunts luck or skill?
[Re: bowriter]
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mathews338
10 Point
Registered: 11/05/09
Posts: 4040
Loc: jackson co.
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Gator it is 90% luck. But you make your own luck. Luck is nothing more than when preparation meets opportnity. Do the groundwork then it is luck.
When I was serious about hunting, I never gave a thought to puclic or private ground. I hunted the both the same. I didn't care where the road was or how far I needed to walk in. I hunted deer. Deer don't use helicopters to cross a road. They get from point A to point B on foot. That is all I needed to know.
Some of the biggest deer I have ever killed on public ground, were killed within 50 yards of a road. And over the years, I have killed a few.
Don't think yourself out of a great stand location. Just learn about deer movement and then apply that knowledge. That is all any deer hunting is.
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#1743859 - 01/24/10 03:57 PM
Re: Draw hunts luck or skill?
[Re: bowriter]
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pcrc
8 Point
Registered: 10/12/09
Posts: 1120
Loc: Knoxville
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BW, I was not referencing your post, just giving my personal experience, which to be truthful is not all that much. Having read plenty of posts on this site about hunting in WMA's the most common response is to get deep where the other hunters wont go. Particually when talking about Catoosa. Now your opinion is to hunt closer to the road. That seems to contradict the statements about hunting deep because most hunters stay closer to the road. Please dont take my statement as trying to question you as I have read enough on this site to know you are highly respected and well informed. Just trying to learn as much as I can so I can become a better hunter.
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#1743862 - 01/24/10 04:03 PM
Re: Draw hunts luck or skill?
[Re: mathews338]
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gator-n-buck
16 Point
Registered: 10/22/08
Posts: 14956
Loc: Knox, TN / Palatka, FL
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Gator it is 90% luck. But you make your own luck. Luck is nothing more than when preparation meets opportnity. Do the groundwork then it is luck.
When I was serious about hunting, I never gave a thought to puclic or private ground. I hunted the both the same. I didn't care where the road was or how far I needed to walk in. I hunted deer. Deer don't use helicopters to cross a road. They get from point A to point B on foot. That is all I needed to know.
Some of the biggest deer I have ever killed on public ground, were killed within 50 yards of a road. And over the years, I have killed a few.
Don't think yourself out of a great stand location. Just learn about deer movement and then apply that knowledge. That is all any deer hunting is. good post Gator it is 90% luck. But you make your own luck. Luck is nothing more than when preparation meets opportnity. Do the groundwork then it is luck.
When I was serious about hunting, I never gave a thought to puclic or private ground. I hunted the both the same. I didn't care where the road was or how far I needed to walk in. I hunted deer. Deer don't use helicopters to cross a road. They get from point A to point B on foot. That is all I needed to know.
Some of the biggest deer I have ever killed on public ground, were killed within 50 yards of a road. And over the years, I have killed a few.
Don't think yourself out of a great stand location. Just learn about deer movement and then apply that knowledge. That is all any deer hunting is. good post
Very good post and Thanks BW
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#1744083 - 01/24/10 06:13 PM
Re: Draw hunts luck or skill?
[Re: gator-n-buck]
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bowriter
Non-Typical
Registered: 08/31/02
Posts: 40337
Loc: Lebanon,TN USA
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Pcrc- No problem, never even thought about it.
_________________________
Constipation has ruined many a good day. Not as many as stupidity, though.
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#1744259 - 01/24/10 07:42 PM
Re: Draw hunts luck or skill?
[Re: bowriter]
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bsl
10 Point
Registered: 12/23/07
Posts: 3506
Loc: knox,tn.
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Luck if you have never hunted the place.skill if you have hunted it for years and learned how to kill deer on the wma.I also believe hunting is 90 -95 % luck but hunters make a lot of thier luck.
i get called lucky by some of the guys i hunt around but these are the same guys who walk into the woods and hope a deer walks by them.They don't see how much I scout and learn from when I do and don't see deer.They just see that I kill way more deer than them so i must be lucky.
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#1744671 - 01/25/10 03:25 AM
Re: Draw hunts luck or skill?
[Re: bsl]
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bowriter
Non-Typical
Registered: 08/31/02
Posts: 40337
Loc: Lebanon,TN USA
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As I said, luck is when preperation meets opportunity.
_________________________
Constipation has ruined many a good day. Not as many as stupidity, though.
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#1744810 - 01/25/10 08:21 AM
Re: Draw hunts luck or skill?
[Re: bowriter]
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TN RDG RNR
12 Point
Registered: 06/28/07
Posts: 6106
Loc: Rhea County
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There are some over looked spots close to the road that don't see that much pressure and are excellent spots to kill trophy bucks but, if the area allows it and you are able its my experience the quality of hunting increases the further from a drivable road you can get.
Luck or skill? Luck that a deer traveled within range that particular day of a stand location you skillfully chose. LOL I believe luck plays a bigger part than most of us want to admit.
_________________________
WARNING: The above post may contain sarcasm and/or sophisticated satire. I will not be held liable for any psychological damage sustained.
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#1744825 - 01/25/10 08:31 AM
Re: Draw hunts luck or skill?
[Re: TN RDG RNR]
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Diehard Hunter
12 Point
Registered: 08/01/08
Posts: 5371
Loc: East Tennessee
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Deer hunting is a sport which requires skill to be consistently successful no matter where you are hunting. I have found that to be consistently successful on draw hunts I need to focus on one area and put the time in. I put in for Oak Ridge above all other WMAs because I know it and know where the deer move and where others tend to hunt. If Oak Ridge where taken out of the management system tomorrow, I would have to start again on a new area and put in the work to be consistently successful. I have walked into areas I did not know very well and killed deer. That was pure luck and I would not expect to do it on a regular basis.
_________________________
One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds. Aldo Leopold
Don't argue with an idiot He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
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#1745085 - 01/25/10 11:09 AM
Re: Draw hunts luck or skill?
[Re: Diehard Hunter]
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Winchester
Non-Typical
Registered: 12/05/03
Posts: 25339
Loc: TN
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Homework is key here. When you only have a very limited time to scout an area you have never been to, and then a limited time to hunt, you had better have done your homework with maps, area sizes, road and access areas, terrain features, etc. All this must be done prior to setting foot in the woods to maximize your small amount of time in key areas. When going to anew area on a limited schedule there is a ton of things you can do from home to cut down on wasted time and put your efforts in the right places immediately upon arrival.
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#1745238 - 01/25/10 01:14 PM
Re: Draw hunts luck or skill?
[Re: Winchester]
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bowriter
Non-Typical
Registered: 08/31/02
Posts: 40337
Loc: Lebanon,TN USA
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As I said...:)
_________________________
Constipation has ruined many a good day. Not as many as stupidity, though.
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