Late season changes......

[Bottom Hunter]

Are you the kind of hunter that changes his "priorities" on what to shoot as the season progresses?

Will you let a deer walk on the first day, yet kill it on the last day.??

I know hunters that settle for smaller bucks at season's end and I'm not sure that I understand that way of thinking. if you want meat, then shoot a doe, if you want a buck for the wall, will it grow during the season and be bigger at the end of the season....?? of course not. I hear them say things like,"Well, i wanted to take a buck and was waiting for a bigger one, but since a bigger one didn't show, I settled for the smaller one"..

Why do some hunters feel the need to kill bucks that they may indeed pass on early in the season?
Especially, when meat is not a factor?

thanks...

 

[richmanbarbeque]

Why does it matter? Are they less than? Last I checked they purchased a license, they invested hard money to make a choice. I don't skin their deer. I don't pay their taxidermy bill and I sure as heck ain't going to tell them what to do when they are enjoying time in the woods.

 

[infoman jr.]

I agree with you if you're talking about private land where you can pattern and "manage" for a certain class of deer. I doe hunt with my bow until I fill the freezer (usually 2 or 3 will do me), then I buck hunt for the rest of the season. I keep a good survey of the deer on my hunting land, and I will not shoot a buck that I won't mount. Of course that's only my opinion and my way of doing things up here in 1-buck territory. Last season, I ate my buck tag. That makes for a long 5 months of deer season when you kill your does in September!

On a guided hunt (which I've never done) I wouldn't have a problem shooting a buck within their minimum guidelines late in the hunt.

At the end of the day, if someone feels moved, they can pull the trigger. And if they do so within the law, I cannot fault them for that - agree or not.

 

[BSK]

Are you the kind of hunter that changes his "priorities" on what to shoot as the season progresses?

Will you let a deer walk on the first day, yet kill it on the last day.??

Who cares either way? What other hunters choose to shoot and why is none of my concern.

 

[MUP]

I'm the kind of hunter that will shoot what makes me happy, regardless of what point in the season it is. I'll also shoot a deer with a bow that I may not shoot with a gun...b/c I'm on a different level with a bow than I am with a gun.

 

[Redfred16]

If I need venision I shoot does. Bucks are for wall mounting in my opinion. They are a tougher meat anyways. The only time I would see this different is if you see no deer late and want meat and the only thing to walk in front of you is a small buck.

So I agree with the original poster, I don't disagree with people shooting smaller bucks, but don't know why that same hunter lets them walk early or lets does go for the little one.

 

[MUP]

Redfred, I've seen many a season where I may have only seen 3 does and no bucks here in Tn too. It varies across the state for sure, but I've seen the dry times for sure.

 

[102]

Yes, I AM the hunter who changes his goals as the season progresses.
And if you or anyone else say they are not, I will call them a liar.

Let me explain.

It may not happen every year, but it may happen to any one of us on any given year.

If you hunt long enough, it will eventually happen.

For whatever reason, family problems, money problems, healthe problems. You just did not get to hunt that season like you had planned. In fact, it may have been for the past several seasons. Maybe you missed. Maybe you were sick, maybe someone needed you and for whatever reason, you just did not get to put any deer in the freezer. So, it is the last day of the season, and you have killed ZERO to put in the freezer. You are in the stand for the last hour of the last day for the entire year. YOU NEED SOME VENISON and a spike walks by your stand.

As you draw your bow you realize this is the last chance you will get at a DEER all season long.

 

[102]

Also, I pay about 500.00 for ONE buck tag and a license and a doe tag for the SEASON in Illinois. I generally get about 2-3 weeks to hunt a good buck for that year.
I promise you I pass, ON VIDEO, MANY bucks I would not think twice about passing in Tennessee. But in Illinois, I pass.

You let some of those same bucks walk by me the last hunt of the year in Illinois and I will not be eating tag soup that winter.

 

[102]

Also, I have killed bucks over the 150 mark. Several over the 120 mark. Yet eavery season I spend countless hours looking to top my best buck. Even though chances are I will never top him.

Sometimes, I just want to shoot a good buck. So I shoot one. Maybe not a P/Y, but still a good buck.

 

[horn master]

To each his own! You shoot what you want and I'll shoot what I want. I paid over $500 for my family to enjoy the outdoors this fall and we are going to get our moneys worth. Antler score and other people judging what you shoot will be the death of hunting!

I have killed 3 public land deer that have scored over 150" a double droptine and numerous 130"'s and none compare to the 7" spike my son killed! This year I am taking my wife and youngest son on their first hunts what have you done to help the future of our great sport?

 

[m411b]

Ha! Funny!

Everyone thinks it's so wrong to shoot a small buck. Almost like TN has a shortage of deer or something. Last I checked the deer population in TN was growing by every minute that passes, and in most places is becoming more of a problem every year!

If this guy shoots a small buck 200 miles from you. That small buck that was shot is in no way shape or form going to stop you from filling your tags. Even if the small buck was shot on the adjacent land to yours. It's still not going to hinder your hunt!

I think it's ridiculous how people think they are so much better of a hunter because they don't shoot a deer smaller than a 130" 8pt. Who cares? To each his own! It's all about making yourself happy and not making the next guy happy, is it not?

Beings that TN is so expensive to hunt. I'm going to shoot whatever walks in front of me, and that in no way shape or form makes the next guy a better hunter or person than me..

I used to think that way until a few years ago. I was on stand and thought to myself how stupid and childish it is to argue about how big of a deer someone shoots. Why should someone go out in the woods to hunt a deer just to make the next guy happy? To me that ruins the entire reason to even be in the woods hunting!

Did you buy my permit? Did you buy my license? Did you buy my gear? Cause if you didn't, and you aren't a State Official. Then you don't have the right to dictate how big of a deer I shoot!

I think that if someone can't handle another hunter shooting a small buck. Then maybe it's time to take up a new hobby!

 

[soshock1]

All this talk about having a buck be a wall mounter before you can shoot it is BS. Some of you guys must have barns to put all your heads in. As MUP said earlier, I shoot what makes me happy. You don't like it, it don't matter to me.

 

[Andy S.]

Are you the kind of hunter that changes his "priorities" on what to shoot as the season progresses?

Will you let a deer walk on the first day, yet kill it on the last day.??

No and No. This is just how I choose to hunt, not how I expect others to hunt. To each his own.

 

[102]

Here is a prime example of me dropping my standards.
I killed this buck on November 30th last year. I got it all on video. It dressed 90 pounds. I hunted all season for a good buck, a P/Y buck and passed several bucks that would have DWARFED this one in score.
I knew that for me the season was winding down as I had hunted hard since September.

I only had a chance at one other buck the rest of the deer season. I missed it at 35 yards.

THe reason I "lowered" my standards for last season was simple. I had a "monkey" on my back with wanting to make my 200th bow kill and did not want to have to wait all summer for this season to get my chance in 2012. I also knew I would mount that kill and did not particularly want a doe on the wall. I already have one.

It is mounted and hangs proudly by my 100th bow kill.

I am as proud of it as I am ANY of the P/Y bucks I have.

Hunt for personal reasons. Afterall, it IS personal.

ENJOY!

102

 

[Winchester]

Good posts 102 I agree! Nothing is written in stone and shouldnt be imo, especially when it comes to self satisfaction! Im not normally one to lower my standards much, as I have let good bucks go late in the season same as early, but that said I have also changed my mind before and decided to not go without!! The great thing about hunting in TN, we have CHOICES!!! Im happy for the happy hunter!

 

[Andy S.]

....I have no problem whatsoever with not killing a buck. -plenty of does in Unit L to fill the freezer.

x2

Fortunately, I have not experienced a season as 102 describes where the sun is setting and I have nothing in the freezer. That situation might change my outlook....

x2

 

[Andy S.]

The great thing about hunting in TN, we have CHOICES!!! Im happy for the happy hunter!

Yes indeed, me too.

 

[oldmanelrod]

Are you the kind of hunter that changes his "priorities" on what to shoot as the season progresses?

Will you let a deer walk on the first day, yet kill it on the last day.??

I know hunters that settle for smaller bucks at season's end and I'm not sure that I understand that way of thinking. if you want meat, then shoot a doe, if you want a buck for the wall, will it grow during the season and be bigger at the end of the season....?? of course not. I hear them say things like,"Well, i wanted to take a buck and was waiting for a bigger one, but since a bigger one didn't show, I settled for the smaller one"..

Why do some hunters feel the need to kill bucks that they may indeed pass on early in the season?
Especially, when meat is not a factor?

thanks...

Well stated. In the past I would have done just what you wrote about. It has taken a few years and a lot of patience but now I can say that I will let them walk the whole season.

 

[Bottom Hunter]

Some here seem to think this thread is ONLY about buck size.....yet it is not, even though many here want it to be..lol.

There never was a mention of what size deer to kill, i do not care what you kill. It was just about goals and giving up on them to fill a tag. i didn't fire a shot last season, and it didn't bother me at all.


My point was very simple......do you set a goal for the season , to only shoot a certain size deer and not waver until the bitter end...regardless?

Do you settle for a deer that does not qualify under your previous standards just because the season is ending....? If so, why?

Why are your standards higher in October than they are in January?

Do you really NEED to kill a buck every season and/or do you feel obligated or entitled to kill one because you paid for a license?

Again, this is not telling anyone to or not to shoot a spike or a small buck or anything else, it's more just about what type hunter you are, when it comes to goals and what you go in to each season wanting to accomplish and then as time goes by , if you change your mind year in and year out or do you stay the course, even if it means going home empty handed at the end.

No need to take offense and get angry thinking I'm trying to tell you how to hunt or what to kill because I could not care any less what you do.....it's just a question, answer it or not and let's move along.

 

[stik]

my ONLY goal is to have meat in the freezer at the end of the season. i am more likely to pass a deer later in the season than early but until i get the freezer stocked, nothing that gives me a shot gets a pass.

 

[whistlinwingman]

My point was very simple......do you set a goal for the season , to only shoot a certain size deer and not waver until the bitter end...regardless?

Yes, I do set goals.

Do you settle for a deer that does not qualify under your previous standards just because the season is ending....? If so, why?

Absolutely not.

Why are your standards higher in October than they are in January?

Actually, my standards are higher in January (late Dec.) than in October. Mainly, because I see more (lots more) bucks on their feet. Especially in the last hour of daylight. I see several bucks that I passed in bow season and definitely will not shoot them that late in the year.

Do you really NEED to kill a buck every season and/or do you feel obligated or entitled to kill one because you paid for a license?

No. I definitely want to kill a buck every season but definitely do not feel obligated. I have been down the road of shooting one out of obligation and ended questioning why I watched that buck all year, only to shoot him in the last week of the season to "fill a tag".

Once I get a deer for the freezer I am good. I can kill a doe for that. I just really enjoy watching the phases of the season. The pre-rut, rut, post and second ruts all elicit different behavior from bucks. Quite frankly I just like being in the woods and I just hope for an opportunity at a good buck. Last year right after Christmas I watched 5 bucks chase one doe. Two are gonna be studs this year and were every bit as good as the 3.5 y.o 7 point I killed earlier in the season. That made the hunt for me and capped off a great season watching it all unfold. I think we get a little caught up in the numbers in hunting too much. Whether its number of points, number of tags or tags filled, number of inches of antler, the ages of the deer, etc...we really need to forget the numbers so much and enjoy the great sport a little more.

 

[whistlinwingman]

my ONLY goal is to have meat in the freezer at the end of the season. i am more likely to pass a deer later in the season than early but until i get the freezer stocked, nothing that gives me a shot gets a pass.

Nothing wrong with that at all. Once its filled you can sit back and really enjoy it then.

 

[BSK]

Do you really NEED to kill a buck every season and/or do you feel obligated or entitled to kill one because you paid for a license?

Do I NEED to kill a buck every year? No, but I sure WANT to! However, that doesn't always work out. I've killed one total buck in the last three years.

Does that bother me? Yup!

 

[TN RDG RNR]

Ive unfortunatley went entire seasons without filling a tag. Wouldnt say my "priorities" ever change, I still want to kill a B&C buck more than I want to kill a unicorn, no matter the date. Maybe its just that my trigger finger gets to..... "itching"...... a little more than I can stand. For me, no deer is absolutely safe at any point in the season but, especially between Christmas and MLK.

Thats whats awesome about Tennessee bag limits, we can have cake and eat it too.

 

[horn master]

If I had the luxury of hunting private land I would probably think different. I hunt only public land without the use of any cameras or controlling who hunts where. My goals for public land are 4 on one side or big sixes, and fill my 3 buck tags every year.

 

[m411b]

Some here seem to think this thread is ONLY about buck size.....yet it is not, even though many here want it to be..lol.

There never was a mention of what size deer to kill, i do not care what you kill. It was just about goals and giving up on them to fill a tag. i didn't fire a shot last season, and it didn't bother me at all.


My point was very simple......do you set a goal for the season , to only shoot a certain size deer and not waver until the bitter end...regardless?

Do you settle for a deer that does not qualify under your previous standards just because the season is ending....? If so, why?

Why are your standards higher in October than they are in January?

Do you really NEED to kill a buck every season and/or do you feel obligated or entitled to kill one because you paid for a license?

Again, this is not telling anyone to or not to shoot a spike or a small buck or anything else, it's more just about what type hunter you are, when it comes to goals and what you go in to each season wanting to accomplish and then as time goes by , if you change your mind year in and year out or do you stay the course, even if it means going home empty handed at the end.

No need to take offense and get angry thinking I'm trying to tell you how to hunt or what to kill because I could not care any less what you do.....it's just a question, answer it or not and let's move along.

Gotcha! My post before was kinda harsh on the size thing. Didn't mean to derail. :grin:

As for dropping standards towards the end of the season; Normally I'll set a goal at the beginning, and I'll pass on numerous deer to get to that goal. But if it's coming down to the wire and there are only a few days left. Then yes, I will lower my standards and go for the biggest that's in front of me. Or kill a few does in lieu of accomplishing the original goal.

Then go back to the house and kick myself in the azz for not taking the best I saw that year!

The main reason for dropping standards for me is the meat, and the fact that I still have tags to fill. When you grind it all up except for the back straps and lions. It all tastes the same, and it's good too! Not to mention better for you then beef.

 

[papaw]

My priorities have not changed on deer hunting since the first day I hunted 37 years ago. I have a successful hunt each and every time I go into the woods. Killing a deer,whether it has horns or not , is just iceing on the cake. Been that way since day one. The only thing that has changed is I no longer hunt with a firearm , bow only.

 

[Good time Charlie]

I have killed one Buck in 4 years ,could I have killed a "Lesser buck" then the one I was hunting .I will let you decide.
Killing is not what it is called ..Last I seen it was hunting.
And Hunting is what I love ...and if things work out this year ...I will show you why.


But to each his own you buy your license ..you need to decide before season what you want ,and will be stisfied with.
But the people that want to moan about the size and limits on Bucks, are the ones dragging them 1.5 year old bucks out.

 

[ROUGH COUNTRY HUNTER]

102,i know several people,and some of them are tndeer members that really stick to their standards,yes,every hunter has their owm choice of what to kill,thats what makes tennessee such a good state in my opinion