I like threads like this.. I’m gonna give you guys the easiest analogy I can as to why I believe more folks don’t kill mature bucks, which goes hand in hand with ”target bucks”, if someone wanted to hunt me when I was 21 they would have had multiple opportunities at any given time, I was in a different bar every other night covering 4 towns, always sleeping somewhere new, putting down tons of miles chasing like a spike horn in the second week of November, my scrape line was huge and far. Now in my mid 40’s, the pattern is simple, my routine is consistent, come home from work, turn the tv on, sit in the recliner in my house…you get the idea.. Big bucks, mature deer, are easier to pattern, they are set in their ways, confident on what has worked for all these years to survive. They leave bigger sign but in a smaller area, are more predictable, and easier to pattern, but overall it’s finding this sign, these deer, that’s the problem, and then finding them in an area where you can put a plan together, without other hunter intrusion, to go after them, one on one, and know when you fail it’s because of something you did and not the neighbor down the road. The reason most don’t get a chance at a mature buck is.. first, they simply aren’t in an area conducive of big bucks, second, if they are… then usually they’re not setting up on the right sign left by said big buck and instead hunting over stuff left by 2.5 year olds, which as a rule usually looks more appealing to us as humans, often times it’s more open, with easier access, lots of visual ok size rubs/scrapes, you get the idea, areas like that present more shot opportunities on deer as a whole, are more fun to hunt with lots of action… which is not always the case if your after the one lone wolf of the herd. You have to be relentless in your search, scouting, to find these mature, target bucks, and do it in an area big enough to hold them 75% of the time, with as little pressure as possible by other hunters, to truly give yourself any chance of hunting, targeting, one specific buck and hoping to kill it. I would be willing to bet less than 1% of the deer killed each season are by people solely going after that one specific buck, or by folks who even knew that particular deer existed before they lay it on the ground. There is no satisfaction quite like dedicating your entire season to one specific target buck and having it come together at the finish line just when you thought it couldn’t be done. It takes tremendous amounts of time, persistence, large acreage, some luck, and an attitude that you just don’t care about anything else other than that animal, would you rather have a 2% chance at your target buck on any given day, or a 50% chance at getting a shot opportunity on something.. anything.. The most dedicated of the bunch make those 2% chance days add up to equal 100% by the end of a long, grinding season, usually by hunting everyday. People will often judge the lifestyle of these folks who do this year after year, missing family time, work, whatever, but usually that’s what it takes and it’s not for most. It’s like anything else in life, you can be envious of the neighbor down the road with a new corvette, and who works 80 hours a week, but then realize he has no life and at what cost actually was that corvette when he/she spends zero time with the family. Attempting to learn anything from folks like this in regards to hunting usually takes a big piece of humble pie first, usually they’re arrogant, eccentric, and overall just unwilling to share much, wouldn’t you be though if year after year your part of the 1% club??? In my travels I’ve often found when in a room full of hunters, successful hunters, and one guy is running his mouth nonstop, and another guy isn’t saying much, but instead asking a whole bunch of questions…. that’s the one I pay attention to, usually he is the real deal or soon to be!
