Frustration..

[Bgoodman30]

I may be the unluckiest hunter alive.. I have been deer hunting for decades but just started buck hunting about 7 years ago.. Since then I have worked my tail off improving habitat, food plots and patterning mature deer. I have killed some nice bucks but have yet to break the 4+ yo mark although I have had an encounter almost every season but no kill... Last year I lost my first buck. This season had a MZ misfire on #1. Finally found one after lockdown. Saw him yesterday morning 330 yards went back into woods. Yesterday afternoon 300+ yards coming over rise right under my stand I hunted that morning and then disappeared. Today opposite side again 325 yards had him broadside but passed due to fear over losing another deer. Gets whiffy and bounds away probably to never be seen again. I don't know how much more of this I can take..

 

[Snake]

I may be the unluckiest hunter alive.. I have been deer hunting for decades but just started buck hunting about 7 years ago.. Since then I have worked my tail off improving habitat, food plots and patterning mature deer. I have killed some nice bucks but have yet to break the 4+ yo mark although I have had an encounter almost every season but no kill... Last year I lost my first buck. This season had a MZ misfire on #1. Finally found one after lockdown. Saw him yesterday morning 330 yards went back into woods. Yesterday afternoon 300+ yards coming over rise right under my stand I hunted that morning and then disappeared. Today opposite side again 325 yards had him broadside but passed due to fear over losing another deer. Gets whiffy and bounds away probably to never be seen again. I don't know how much more of this I can take..

Hang in there it'll happen.

 

[cbhunter]

Your in the thick of things, stay after em

 

[Bgoodman30]

Hang in there it'll happen.

Been telling myself this sit after sit year after year…

 

[Specializedjon]

Try bowling

You get to knock stuff down while drinking beer

 

[30-06 type of guy]

any way you can cut him off? Patience and it'll all work out. Goodluck

 

[backyardtndeer]

Tough sometimes to make it happen, a lot of times it just boils down to a little luck and good timing. The more you go the more you increase your odds. Keep at it, and good luck.

 

[SC Manimal]

Try bowling

You get to knock stuff down while drinking beer

Or golf, you get to drive a quick little cart with your buddies while drinking beer in Happy pants.

 

[DoubleRidge]

Your not the unluckiest hunter alive...you've seen your target buck multiple times...you know he's there and he's alive...stay after him...good luck!

 

[Bgoodman30]

any way you can cut him off? Patience and it'll all work out. Goodluck

I have tried every sit he just happens to show up on the opposite end of me.. He was feeding on white oaks today.. If I would sit in the stand I sat in yesterday he would of winded me..

 

[Bgoodman30]

Tough sometimes to make it happen, a lot of times it just boils down to a little luck and good timing. The more you go the more you increase your odds. Keep at it, and good luck.

Man I have hunted harder this year than ever only thing different is more close calls..

 

[Bgoodman30]

Your not the unluckiest hunter alive...you've seen your target buck multiple times...you know he's there and he's alive...stay after him...good luck!

I am trying to stay positive but its hard when it never goes right.. Thanks!

 

[mike243]

Good thing you don't have to hunt ETn all the time, have seen 2 doe since rifle season started, shot 1 doe so buck only here now. Some folks really don't know how well off they are lol

 

[Bgoodman30]

Good thing you don't have to hunt ETn all the time, have seen 2 doe since rifle season started, shot 1 doe so buck only here now. Some folks really don't know how well off they are lol

oh I know and I worked hard to get it. Hope you find one.

 

[parch]

That's what keeps us going and getting up morning after morning.

 

[Gravey]

If I read correctly you've seen him at two different ends appx 300+ yards apart and you've been on the wrong end. Anyway to get in the middle and see both ends while having the wind in your favor? Good luck!

 

[Bgoodman30]

If I read correctly you've seen him at two different ends appx 300+ yards apart and you've been on the wrong end. Anyway to get in the middle and see both ends while having the wind in your favor? Good luck!

Yeah my shooting house is in the middle and I've sat in it more than anywhere this season and never seen him in it. I decided I needed to get in there with em and I have had 3 encounters but he may have been dead in the box…. That's what so frustrating doesn't matter where sit it's always the wrong spot…

 

[megalomaniac]

I may be the unluckiest hunter alive.. I have been deer hunting for decades but just started buck hunting about 7 years ago.. Since then I have worked my tail off improving habitat, food plots and patterning mature deer. I have killed some nice bucks but have yet to break the 4+ yo mark although I have had an encounter almost every season but no kill... Last year I lost my first buck. This season had a MZ misfire on #1. Finally found one after lockdown. Saw him yesterday morning 330 yards went back into woods. Yesterday afternoon 300+ yards coming over rise right under my stand I hunted that morning and then disappeared. Today opposite side again 325 yards had him broadside but passed due to fear over losing another deer. Gets whiffy and bounds away probably to never be seen again. I don't know how much more of this I can take..

I'm reading this and thinking that deer is a dead man walking... there aren't many 4.5yos that visible in daylight on multiple occasions... and when they are... well, it's just a matter of time.

So far this year, the 4.5yos we have killed were seen on the 2nd or 3rd time. Either first folks couldn't get a shot on them or chose to pass and sent other hunters after them who were successful. But we have other 4.5yos or older that haven't daylighted once this season. I really.dont think we will kill those.

 

[deerfever]

Hang in there, those deer get 4 plus by being allusive. You are lucky to have laid eyes on him as much as you have. Relax , it will all come together eventually. Good luck!

 

[Bgoodman30]

I'm reading this and thinking that deer is a dead man walking... there aren't many 4.5yos that visible in daylight on multiple occasions... and when they are... well, it's just a matter of time.

So far this year, the 4.5yos we have killed were seen on the 2nd or 3rd time. Either first folks couldn't get a shot on them or chose to pass and sent other hunters after them who were successful. But we have other 4.5yos or older that haven't daylighted once this season. I really.dont think we will kill those.

I agree it's rare never seen it before. I know my window of opportunity is small and after seeing him bound off for no reason today it's probably over but yes I'll keep trying…

 

[Bgoodman30]

Or golf, you get to drive a quick little cart with your buddies while drinking beer in Happy pants.

lol speaking of frustration…

 

[Ski]

Hang in there man. You're on the cusp. I promise once you've got that first one down, you'll know you can do it and the struggle will become much more tolerable.

 

[killingtime 41]

Hang in there man at least opportunity is around you. If I began to explain my season on a yearly basis you'd think I was a madman to still be trying to hunt. Lol

 

[Snake]

Sounds to me like he knows your moves . You'll need to change up some things . I know sitting in a shooting house is comfortable but do you have any trees you can get in between where you have been seeing him just as Gravey mentioned. Those elusive bucks are hard to corner and if you don't get close enough for an encounter soon that window will close .

 

[tree_ghost]

I am trying to stay positive but its hard when it never goes right.. Thanks!

I don't know if this will help you or not but I'm over 60 sets in on one single buck over 2 seasons…

 

[MUP]

That, my good sir, is called hunting. I've had my share of those bad times as well. You just have to keep on keeping on, and it will happen for you.

 

[EastTNHunter]

Not trying to be crass, but that sounds like a good problem to have. All I've seen are dinks and does, with the exception of one nice one that I've seen twice… once with my son in juvenile, and once a few hundred yards away during ml. In my area I rarely see decent bucks after the end of November, and I am also having a hard time finding the time to hunt, so my odds of even getting a buck this season are very low. I won't complain, but will likely shoot another doe or two from the river for some friends who want the meat and still make the most of my time in God's beautiful creation

 

[Flintlocksforme]

If it's going to happen it's going to happen. I second guessed myself for missing opportunities my whole life. When I was in the right spot at the right time, bad decisions were made and big bucks were crippled or missed. Then I caught a once in a lifetime just under a 100 pound blue cat. At that moment my outlook changed forever. Just go as much as you can. If it's meant to be it will happen and you will be surprised at how easy things can work when it does. Be ready at all times.

 

[Deer Assassin]

With the right rifle and good optics steady rest 300-325 is very doable

Use a good bullet … accubond Barnes

Good luck

 

[DMD]

I may be the unluckiest hunter alive.. I have been deer hunting for decades but just started buck hunting about 7 years ago.. Since then I have worked my tail off improving habitat, food plots and patterning mature deer. I have killed some nice bucks but have yet to break the 4+ yo mark although I have had an encounter almost every season but no kill... Last year I lost my first buck. This season had a MZ misfire on #1. Finally found one after lockdown. Saw him yesterday morning 330 yards went back into woods. Yesterday afternoon 300+ yards coming over rise right under my stand I hunted that morning and then disappeared. Today opposite side again 325 yards had him broadside but passed due to fear over losing another deer. Gets whiffy and bounds away probably to never be seen again. I don't know how much more of this I can take..

I feel you...I've been there. This is probably not what you want to hear right now - but, hopefully you will receive it in the spirit it is intended. I wasn't raised in a hunting family - I started on my own about 18 years old. This was in the 80's. I knew NOTHING! We didn't have youtube to watch. All we had were some national magazines that the articles didn't even apply to hunting around here. I honestly didn't even know you had to sight a gun in and hunted with one without sighting it in .. until I missed a huge buck. So embarrassing. I have made so many mistakes - and I still do. BUT, the first 15 years or so of my deer hunting was a comedy of errors. But, I finally got to the place that every missed opportunity and mess up - I'm going to analyze what I did wrong and how to fix it. Sometimes it was an equipment upgrade needed, sometimes it was practice needed, sometimes it was tweeking setups, etc. I found as I analyzed these and made adjustments, my luck changed. NOW, that being said, it's hunting....there are always going to be times we lose and times we win. No matter how experienced or how good we think we are at it. And just when we think we've seen it all, we'll see something we've never seen. Keep your head up.