fairchaser
Well-Known Member
What do you do with ground shrinkage? We've all been there probably. Celebrate anyway? Be thankful? Learn and keep hunting?
Ground Shrinkage?
- Thread starter fairchaser
- Start date
Any deer is a success. Just depends on your perspective. Infomercials disguised at hunting shows have distorted the reality of the sport. Be appreciative and happy with any deer taken. We owe them that much for taking their life.
Flintlocksforme
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All the above and this tip: Set the bucks head up really nice and sit on the ground trying to look as small as you can. Get someone else to take your picture with a cellphone and you are good
a 16 inch wide rack can be made to appear a foot wider than your shoulders.Flintlocksforme
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Nailed it
Thank God for all he gives us, just the same as I do with every deer that I kill.
Absolutely one thing I have never worried about.
Ridgeline300
Well-Known Member
We definitely should be thankful for any and every deer but I also think it's ok to have a goal in mind and when you mess up and fall short of that goal to give yourself a kick in the butt. I've called myself a freaking idiot on more than one occasion, lol. Don't dwell on it though, just move on and try to learn from it.
No matter what buck or doe I always give thanks to God for the opportunity to get that animal even if I thought he was bigger than he was and some Times ground shrinkage is real after the heat of the moment… done that once already this season lol
Ain't no ground shrinkage when I open the freezer. Too many get caught up on the trophy side to realize the meat is where it's really at, anything above that is a bonus.
Chickenrig
Well-Known Member
Yes sir !!!! Besides ,them there horns are tuff on my teeth
DoubleRidge
Well-Known Member
I agree...nothing wrong with setting goals and trying to kill the most mature or biggest buck you have around the area you hunt.
But if you kill and your goal wasnt met...be thankful for the opportunity to hunt and enjoy the good meat.
Learn from it and move on.
BSK
Well-Known Member
If I truly did make a mistake, I try to learn from it. Especially why I made the mistake. What factors led me to that mistake, so I can prevent them from occurring again.
Bgoodman30
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One time I panicked and kept looking because I was convinced this one came from the neighbors...
Saw 5 on one side and got excited he was the one... Dang trail cameras ha ha..
Saw 5 on one side and got excited he was the one... Dang trail cameras ha ha..
fairchaser
Well-Known Member
BSK
Well-Known Member
Mistaking 5 inches of antler? I don't consider that a concerning mistake.
For me, having a goal of a 3 1/2+ year-old buck scoring 120 or better, and I kill a 2 1/2 scoring 105, THAT is a mistake worth reflecting on.
Omega
Well-Known Member
Kind of sounds to me like you went to bed with a 9 but woke up with a 7. I'm just glad one shows up , even if I don't have a shot.
HenryCohunter
Well-Known Member
My 8 I killed was a mistake… I thought he was a different deer we had seen minutes before.. but when they are on the hoof chasing a doe .. it's shoot or not in seconds.. he wasn't the deer I was after but he is a fine deer and gonna be delicious. I got caught up in the trophiest mentality for a few years because of buddies and just general atmosphere in the hunting community.. but I'm again back to my roots.. I hunt to eat. I try to be a conservationist and a steward of the land. I am still a little picky but if I haven't killed a deer and one walks out… it .. he/she will get put to rest.
themanpcl
Well-Known Member
IMHO, If you pick what you shoot, there is no shrinkage. Before I draw back or click the safety off, I already know that's the deer I want to shoot. However, if you ground check something because you have 2 tags and saw bone...what does it matter anyway?...Especially for those who shoot to be able to brag about the distance they shot the deer.
JN
Well-Known Member
Same here when I see one I usually decide fairly quickly on if that is the one I want to shoot and don't look back. I would say if you are indecisive if it is one you want to shoot you will probably have ground shrinkage or regrets after taking it. For me this has worked and have only one I can think of that I had wished I had shot. It was a huge typical 8 point that I saw on the last day of the season and did not get a good look at him so I did not take the shot. Then when I seen the trail came photo of him I was like man that was a stud and should have taken the shot. I got several pictures of him around the farm after season was over but never saw him again after that season.
That wouldn't bother me, and is well within margin of error.
I could understand on a club or outfitter requiring minimums but still think 6" is a reasonable, acceptable miss. So much of a rack's score estimate on the hoof is how it relates to body size. 114" rack on a small stature deer could look huge. 120" rack on a beefy deer would look small. Unless you've got pictures of the deer next to other deer to gage size, it's impossible to be certain until he's on the ground.
So I wouldn't sweat it. I kill deer here in this area all the time with sub 120" racks, and they are on mature bucks. I'd love to be hunting 140s and 150s but they simply don't exist here. If you put a 140" rack on one of these 130lb deer it would look like a moose! Proportionately the racks fit the bodies, so I accept it for what it is and am happy with what I get.
Never experienced ground shrinkage that I can recall. I've always considered myself very fortunate and blessed to get any deer that walked out in front of me. Where we hunt there isn't very many deer. Just thankful to see them.
I may think about it for a split second, that maybe it wasn't the buck I thought it was, but then a huge wave of thankfulness comes over and takes care of that. They all eat good!
JN
Well-Known Member
I had a deer this year I was after and based on the trail cam photos looked like a decent size deer and had a unique rack with crab claws at the end and a split g3. Well he got hit by a car and died in one of our fields and the ground shrinkage on him was alot. If his rack had not been so unique I would have said it was a different deer. After looking at him I was kind of amazed at how small of body he had on him and it gave him the appearance of being a bigger buck then he was.
Where I hunt. Any deer is a good deer that lives past 1.5. I don't get many days to hunt. But I won't shoot yearlings. We don't have the ability to shoot does during rifle season and one day during ML is all we get. I try to get meat for the table during bow season. But if not. Rifle i what I can and am happy to do so. As long as I'm happy. I don't care what you fellers thank. Lol. Just happy to be able to hunt
I'm extremely thankful, regardless. That doesn't mean it won't make my shoulders slump a little if I gleefully trot up to him and realize he's a tiny bit different than I expected.
We aren't promised a single day. Glad to have my deer.
We aren't promised a single day. Glad to have my deer.
Take it and eat it, just like the rest of em. It's hard not to shoot one smaller than what you think when you hunt the rut in mountain hardwoods. You're not getting to watch them with your binos in the bean field.
Start looking for fat sagging bellies and no necks.
JCDEERMAN
Well-Known Member
Learn from it and move on. When I see a shooter, I know instantly. The ones I have shot where I have hesitated and he's a borderline shooter, I've regretted it every single time. I now only shoot ones that I know in an instant.
