#2025120 - 08/10/10 08:23 PM
Skill or Luck..?
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MRUTVOL
6 Point
Registered: 12/16/02
Posts: 868
Loc: Goodlettsville,Tennessee,USA
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Ok I do not post much and believe me this is like writing a book for me but I am always seeing post where somebody killed a big buck and all of a sudden they have become an expert on how to kill big bucks even though they have only killed 1 . For the sake of discussion lets just say big buck is 130 or better. I have always wondered just how much of their kill was related to their skill or just plain LUCK. I have deer hunted for 40 years and have had the fortune of killing several big deer in that time and I have access to a great area that produces good deer and I consider myself a pretty skilled hunter,with a gun any way. After looking back over my kills I have come to realize that in at least half that I know of lady LUCK was the key factor for me getting that opportunity at those particular deer. Do not get me wrong ,there are a lot of very skilled hunters that have killed their deer by skill and plan of attack so to speak. I personally think luck plays a factor in most kills to some degree. When I say luck we are talking about mature deer that are hard to see and kill in most cases outside of the rut time. There was a factor that caused that buck to change his routine and caused him to expose himself at a point or time he would not have normally been there for you to see. Most mature bucks will turn nocturnal once hunting pressure is felt by them. I would be curious to hear from some who have stories to tell. I feel more big deer are taken by a high degree of luck than a lot ohunters care to admit.
In my case for example on 2 occasions I was watching 2 large areas ,one made up of river bottom fields with various overgrown fence rows and a large clear cut hollow made up of briars and small saplings. Bare in mind I am watching these from long distances of 300 plus yds. Both times I had been watching these areas intently since daylight and is aproaching mid to late morning with no sign of a big buck. On both occasions I had local bird hunters appear on the scene hunting quail which at first pissed me off  and I almost got up and left. The group in the bottoms busted out a bedded 130 class 8 pointer out of the fencerow that came directly across the field at me and stopped at about 75 yds giving me an easy shot. Lucky Dead Deer #1
The next incident happened in much the same way thanks to the bird dogs with not one but 2 bucks busting out of a briar patch I had been watching all morning. Another 130 class deer. Lucky Dead Deer #2. Fact is if those Bird hunters do not show up on those days I probaly do not see those deer.
Also years ago I was sitting in a stand in a cedar thicket that bordered a large hayfield with a local road that passed by it. On this particular morning shortly after daylight there was a barrage of 4 or 5 shots that came from the direction of the road. It was a road hunter who spotted a big buck chasing a doe in the field of which I had no view of and he cut loose on it. Fortunately for me he missed and the doe came barrling up into the thicket leading the buck right under my stand. A big 9 pointer became Lucky Dead Deer #3. Thanks to the road hunter spooking the deer and being a bad shot, I might not have ever seen that buck
A few years back I was hunting a big buck that would stay in a cedar thicket by day and not venture out. I had never seen him just his sign. I had hunted hard during bow,muzzle and the first week of gun with no sightings. I was visiting my parents on Thanksgiving and had a couple of hours to kill so thought I would make a quick trip down to the farm sight and take a quick look in the thicket for a future hunt. I was just scouting so to speak. Heck I had my bluejeans on with white tennis shoes and just wearing a plaid shirt. I was not going to even take a gun but my dad told me I should just in case so I borrowed my sons 243 and grabbed his orange vest and hat and started walking up a logging road when all of a sudden this doe and small buck came flying over a small ridge in front of me and passed close enough to hit with a stick. I looked up and here comes a hoss 11 pointer that was chasing them and he stops within 10 yds of me,so close I could not see him through the scope so I just pointed the gun at him and looked down the side of the barrel and dropped him in his tracks! Lucky Dead Deer #4 . If I had just stayed at my dads the rest of the day I do not see that buck.
One of my biggest recent kills came a couple years back when I knew there was a big buck working the area but had avoided my detection. I just knew he would be appearing on the west side of the ridge where most all the sign was. I sit there for 3 hours with no results. I was on the ground and I was getting a little stiff and bored so I thought I would go over on the east side and check things out figuring my best chances had slipped by that morning. I crossed the fence and had been stanging there about 10 minutes when 2 doe came slowly walking by at about 10 yards. The winds were right for me so I just hope they would pass on. I leaned out from behind the tree I was standing by and here was coming a 150 class 10 pointer just meandering along following the path of the does. Lucky Dead Deer #5 . A deer that if I had sit at my original spot another 10 minutes I would have never knew was there.
These are just a few, I can think of a couple more that were a result of destiny rather than skill such as the big wide (24inch 8 pointer I had seen the first day of muzzleloader but was unable to get a shot off. I hunted that deer hard all year every free moment and never even got a glimps of him again until on a Friday the last weekend of the season which was the first year of the extended season I took off work early and made the 2 hour drive down there. It was less than ideal deer weather 70 degrees ,strong south winds and light rains.I got there kind of early for an afternoon hunt about 1:00 . Heck I was wearing short sleeves and was sweating like a pig walking up the big hill to get to the view I wanted. I get up there sit down on the ground and am trying to get my wind back and I look over on the far pastured hill and there is that big boy just slowy grazing up the hill. It was about 400 yds and less than ideal conditions for that shot but I told myself he was not walking out of there without me trying. Lucky Dead Deer #6 . Again I was there at a time I would not have normally been there and thanks to the extended season that deer would have been home free the season before due to it being closed and I would not have probably seen that deer again. I would like to think that my hunting skills resulted in those kills but other than my shooting ability there were other circumstances that cause those opportunities to present themselves whether it was by me or somebody else or just fate but I think Luck plays a big factor in the killing of a big buck...more than some of us will admit!Thats why on my hunting shirt I have "Ole Lucky" printed on it. As the old saying goes I would rather be lucky than good any day!
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#2025145 - 08/10/10 08:32 PM
Re: Skill or Luck..?
[Re: MRUTVOL]
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RAFI
10 Point
Registered: 12/20/09
Posts: 2552
Loc: Tn
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I believe luck is 90% of hunting but hunters make 90% of thier luck by knowing how to scout ..
Edited by RAFI (08/10/10 08:46 PM)
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#2025244 - 08/10/10 09:17 PM
Re: Skill or Luck..?
[Re: MRUTVOL]
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RAFI
10 Point
Registered: 12/20/09
Posts: 2552
Loc: Tn
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I believe luck is 90% of hunting but hunters make 90% of thier luck by knowing how to scout .. That is also true. I scout from afar with spotting scope and binocs. I never set foot in the woods from now until season. I do not want that deer to even think that I am hunting him. Many a poorly planned scouting trip has blowed your best chances. Of course hunting the same property for 30 years helps to know where and when! 
yep.I love my dad but he loves to scout and will find a good spot and keep checking it and telling me how many deer he jumped walking in .lol he doesn't think it matter about spooking deer.it drove me crazy until i started hunting different areas so I didn't have to worry about.
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#2025433 - 08/11/10 01:13 AM
Re: Skill or Luck..?
[Re: MRUTVOL]
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stik
TnDeer Old Timer
16 Point
Registered: 03/12/99
Posts: 18427
Loc: lenoir city,tn
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I never set foot in the woods from now until season. I do not want that deer to even think that I am hunting him.
we are in and out of our property year 'round. i WANT the deer to know i have been there in nonthreatening activities so they won't think much about it when they see or smell me during season.
_________________________
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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#2025452 - 08/11/10 05:49 AM
Re: Skill or Luck..?
[Re: stik]
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Setterman
8 Point
Registered: 12/31/09
Posts: 1783
Loc: Knoxville, TN
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Luck is when opportunity and skill collide.
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#2025471 - 08/11/10 06:13 AM
Re: Skill or Luck..?
[Re: Setterman]
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MUP
Non-Typical
Registered: 08/01/07
Posts: 36218
Loc: Just North of Chatt-town
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Luck is when opportunity and skill collide.
I like that. 
_________________________
MUP
Amateurs: Built the Ark
Professionals: Built the Titanic
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#2025643 - 08/11/10 08:15 AM
Re: Skill or Luck..?
[Re: MUP]
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AlabamaSwamper
12 Point
Registered: 06/03/04
Posts: 5024
Loc: Southern Wayne CO and NW Alaba...
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Mine is more so luck but I do put a lot of time figuring them out. I probably do more thinking than I do scouting these days.
I've only shot one fully mature 5.5y/o in TN but I almost want to think I just simply beat him at his own game. The handful of 3.5y/o bucks I've shot were mostly just being right place at the right time. Nothing special. Almost all luck.
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#2025659 - 08/11/10 08:30 AM
Re: Skill or Luck..?
[Re: AlabamaSwamper]
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WRbowhunter
8 Point
Registered: 02/22/10
Posts: 1464
Loc: collierville,tn
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Number one rule of hunting is hunt where there are deer. Same holds true for big buck hunting.The more big bucks the better your chances. An average to below average hunter can kill a big buck if there are plenty roaming around. But when there are only a few then this is where the skill or Luck comes in. First one I killed was luck. I coughed then tried to cover it up with a grunt call. Big buck came running for a fight. 2nd one I left the area alone until the right moment, used the right wind, sat on a trail in the right tree and the buck stepped out as planned. This one was more skill then luck but luck always plays a role.
_________________________
"Vegetarians are cool. All I eat are vegetarians"-Ted Nugent
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#2025718 - 08/11/10 08:49 AM
Re: Skill or Luck..?
[Re: WRbowhunter]
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turkeyhunter
6 Point
Registered: 08/23/04
Posts: 829
Loc: collinwood tn
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I call it discipline more than skill. Or I guess you could even call it hard work. The only thing skilled about hunting is haveing the discipline to control scent, discipline not to enter areas when the wind is wrong, work hard in hanging stands, cutting shooting lanes, etc.. just alot of work involved to be a "skilled" hunter. I think time is the most important factor in hunting. Money would be my next important factor. I dont have much of either of those.lol The biggest buck I ever killed was luck I guess. But I did have the knowledge to sit still even after hearing a shot near by to make a long story short.
Edited by turkeyhunter (08/11/10 12:16 PM)
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it's faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, and more money.
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