Is it luck or skill?

[fairchaser]

In light of the new world record nontypical killed in Tennessee, I start thinking about the age old question when it comes to killing mature bucks. Is it luck or skill and I would venture it takes both. Certainly a new world record takes a whole lot of luck like winning the power ball twice in a row. But what about consistently putting down 4.5 year old bucks? And if you say mostly skill, then is the skill primarily in stand selection or execution or something else.

 

[RUGER]

Reminds me of the 3P's of killing big bucks.

There are 3 things that get more mature bucks killed than anything.
Pressure
Peterbilts
Poonanny

~stretch circa 1995~

 

[TX300mag]

Kill one-luck
Kill one every year-skill


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[fairchaser]

Kill one-luck
Kill one every year-skill


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Agree but what about highly pressured public land versus private land?

 

[fairchaser]

All of us know hunters who don't seem to be highly skilled and yet seem to be in the right place at the right time and others who are highly skilled but never seem to get one.

 

[huntinkev]

I think it always takes some luck.

 

[Dean Parisian]

I think it takes age, nutrition and genetics. The rest is just shooting.

 

[GreyGoose]

All of us know hunters who don't seem to be highly skilled and yet seem to be in the right place at the right time and others who are highly skilled but never seem to get one.

this would be me if i am lucky enough to tag one

 

[Hardwoodmaterials]

Honestly, I think it has more to do with who has access to land where the deer are not pressured and have the chance to mature. A sorry hunter is a LOT more likely to kill a mature buck on a private managed area than a highly skilled hunter that hunts heavy pressured public land. Of course there is always going to be a certain amount of luck involved with killing a mature deer but skill can up your odds.

 

[7X57]

I remember the early days when I thought it was just luck. Man was I frustrated back then. I then started to do a lot of research and totally changed the way I hunted. I started hunting a lot later in the morning, hunted during the middle of the day during certain periods, and always hunted in light to steady precipitation. I also got away from hunting clubs and started hunting small parcels of private land ranging from 10 acres to 100 acres. Another big factor was I quit hunting in the "pretty" woods and started hunting the thickest stuff I could find and I especially like those areas bordering swamps and creeks. I can now say that I have a crack at a mature buck every year and have taken one every year since I changed the way I hunted. I don't spend any money on food plots or leases. I just hunt small parcels that people are nice enough to allow me to hunt. These are usually gained by knocking on doors in the spring. I always offer to volunteer my time to help them in some way after the season.

 

[dirtyhands]

I remember the early days when I thought it was just luck. Man was I frustrated back then. I then started to do a lot of research and totally changed the way I hunted. I started hunting a lot later in the morning, hunted during the middle of the day during certain periods, and always hunted in light to steady precipitation. I also got away from hunting clubs and started hunting small parcels of private land ranging from 10 acres to 100 acres. Another big factor was I quit hunting in the "pretty" woods and started hunting the thickest stuff I could find and I especially like those areas bordering swamps and creeks. I can now say that I have a crack at a mature buck every year and have taken one every year since I changed the way I hunted. I don't spend any money on food plots or leases. I just hunt small parcels that people are nice enough to allow me to hunt. These are usually gained by knocking on doors in the spring. I always offer to volunteer my time to help them in some way after the season.

This sounds like good advice

 

[fairchaser]

I remember the early days when I thought it was just luck. Man was I frustrated back then. I then started to do a lot of research and totally changed the way I hunted. I started hunting a lot later in the morning, hunted during the middle of the day during certain periods, and always hunted in light to steady precipitation. I also got away from hunting clubs and started hunting small parcels of private land ranging from 10 acres to 100 acres. Another big factor was I quit hunting in the "pretty" woods and started hunting the thickest stuff I could find and I especially like those areas bordering swamps and creeks. I can now say that I have a crack at a mature buck every year and have taken one every year since I changed the way I hunted. I don't spend any money on food plots or leases. I just hunt small parcels that people are nice enough to allow me to hunt. These are usually gained by knocking on doors in the spring. I always offer to volunteer my time to help them in some way after the season.

Well put 7x57. You put yourself in a situation when and where a good buck could move under the right conditions. You don't depend on the buck to make a mistake but kill him in his normal routine. You must be very winsome because I'm surprised you still find people who let you hunt their ground especially after killing mature bucks. But more power to ya. I appreciate your response.

 

[pb10point]

Hunt land that is not pressured and hunt All day during the Rut.

 

[7X57]

Well put 7x57. You put yourself in a situation when and where a good buck could move under the right conditions. You don't depend on the buck to make a mistake but kill him in his normal routine. You must be very winsome because I'm surprised you still find people who let you hunt their ground especially after killing mature bucks. But more power to ya. I appreciate your response.

Thank you fairchaser. I use a website called TN Property Viewer to locate "idea" areas. The site lists the property owner information. I then knock on the door at an appropriate time to ask permission. I always wear my Sunday clothes and never come dressed in a full Scentlok suit. Haha. I get turned down about 95% of the time, but every once in a while someone will grant permission. It makes it all worth it. Again, I don't like taking advantage of anyone, so I always offer help fixing fences or throwing hay. They rarely take me up on it, but it goes a long ways. I would also like to add that I do not do any preseason scouting unless it's on a totally new property. All of my scouting is done as soon as the season closes when the signs of the rut are still visible. This helps me to locate buck bedding areas, travel corridors, etc. Most importantly it has no impact on next year's season. If I scouted heavy two weeks prior to the opener, then it would push any mature bucks into a nocturnal pattern quick. They can't differentiate scouting pressure from hunting pressure.

 

[TX300mag]

Kill one-luck
Kill one every year-skill


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Agree but what about highly pressured public land versus private land?

I know skilled hunters who regularly kill mature bucks on public land, several on this forum.

I agree there are some prime locations (public and private) where it takes neither skill nor luck to kill mature bucks regularly, but I think we're talking about the hunters here.



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[DRSJ35]

I would say both for sure.It takes skill to put yourself in the right place.It takes luck to have a mature buck expose himself.sometimes luck can play a part in both of course.

 

[Deer Assassin]

luck

all luck

 

[MickThompson]

Skill to find spots where they are vulnerable and how to hunt them. Luck to be there when they come by during a rare daylight excursion.


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[megalomaniac]

I think it takes age, nutrition and genetics. The rest is just shooting.

The question is about mature (4.5 and older) bucks... so it just takes age alone save the shooting part

but seriously, the most important factor to killing mature bucks is just letting them reach maturity. Your odds of encountering one are twice as high if you have 2 mature bucks using your property than just 1. And your odds of killing a mature buck are zero if there aren't any there.

 

[AT Hiker]

I have been fortunate to hunt a property for a few hunts that absolutely any novice hunter with the slightest bit of trigger constraint could easily have a shot opportunity at a mature deer. I never killed any off this property in my short few hunts for personal reasons but if I was able to hunt this property consistently I would openly admit that I was "lucky" to have such a great place to hunt.


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