LAST UPDATED: May 1st, 2015
Eating buck tag soup this year? The reasons we’re unsuccessful during a deer season can be many. Maybe you’ve spread yourself thin over multiple places to hunt or held out for bigger bucks than the places you hunt can hold. Maybe you missed, or worse, hit one that got away. Whatever the reason may be, the great thing about hunting is that as one year ends, another is quickly taking shape. Forget tag soup and make 2015 the greatest season of your life.
Too Much Movement in Stand
So simple I know, but so overlooked too. Mature deer move differently than the rest of the herd. While we watch a pair of does feeding in an open field, a buck is carefully placing his next track and cautiously watching the woods and checking the wind before he joins them. I believe more bucks catch a hunter’s movement each year than most would care to admit and probably more than we will ever know. Its simple – sitting still in stand often leads to more buck sightings and ultimately less tales of the one that got away.
There is good news if you don’t think you can hold it together for long periods of time. Next season, try to get higher in the tree or opt out for better trees with greater cover.
Holding out for Giants
While the thought of waiting on a 160 inch whitetail is appealing to us all, the fact is, it isn’t very practical. Unless of course, you have firsthand knowledge of one’s existence on property you have the ability to hunt. Deer of this caliber are extremely rare on any property, in any county, and in any state of the country. Simply put, whether the buck you’re looking for has 120 or 160 inches growing on his head, it does you no good to be hunting where he doesn’t live.
Veteran hunters spend more time looking for larger quality animals than they typically do hunting them. Utilize in field scouting, shed hunting, glassing fields and the monitoring of trailcameras to let you know what’s there. This is a very important step to planning an entire season. Hunting is all about odds, and your odds significantly increase where deer you want to hunt live. Not only should you hold out for what makes you happy, but also what lives nearby.
Too Many Trailcamera Checks
I get it. Trailcameras are fun to check and can give us firsthand knowledge of what deer are in the area and when they’re visiting. They have led to more than one buck I’ve taken over the last few years’ ultimate demise. My problem is the way many hunters check them. Often going to great lengths in broad daylight to check multiple cameras near where they want to be hunting their very next sit. Or worse, checking cameras where their buddies’ want to spend their next sit.
Checking them is fine. But knowing how and when should be carefully considered before you do. Think outside the box, knowing that entrance and exit from these sites could make or break your next sit and maybe your season. Try checking a camera on the way out of stand or mid-day. Utilize creeks, terrain, and weather to keep human intrusion to a minimum.
Once the season opens, I begin checking cameras after sun down. The practice may seem strange to some, but the deer seem less bothered by a bump in the dark.
Checking trailcameras often is an important step to gaining firsthand knowledge of what the deer are doing. However, throwing caution to the wind and going out of your way to check them can cost you more than one buck.
Second Guess Work
We all have them. It’s how you react to them that separates a successful season from a disappointing one. While it’s important to always be thinking about your next move, don’t rule out gut instinct. Once you begin overthinking a sit and second guessing yourself the hunt becomes nearly unbearable to sit through. As in shooting, a hunter needs to stay calm and pick a spot.
If you find yourself second-guessing your moves, step back and take a break from the woods. A missed sit in the woods can make all the difference in the world. Remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Take the wife out to dinner and recharge your batteries.
Burnout can happen quickly during the deer season. Relax, take a deep breath and a short break to allow your batteries to re-charge.
Poor Shot Placement
It’s bowhunting, and missed opportunities are going to happen. Poor shot placement doesn’t have to. Often, the only cure for this ailment is practice. Make good of this off season and practice like you’re on the hunt. Instead of shooting multiple arrows at a target, try shooting one. You only get one chance when you’re in the deer woods and there is no better way to practice a clean, quick kill. Make each shot count. Teach your mind to do the same.
Confidence is Everything
They say confidence is sexy. In hunting, confidence is everything. Without it, everything else aforementioned is worthless. Confidence in your equipment, your ability, and your guesses is the greatest key to coming home with a better buck than your last. Successful deer hunters know that deserve has got nothing to do with it. Deer hunting, and big buck hunting especially, takes work. That same work will give you the confidence you need to turn tag soup into trophy tenderloin.
Scout more. Shoot more. Hunt more. Confidence will follow.
