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What makes a great deer hunter.

Jeager01

New Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2020
Messages
15
Location
Titus,Alabama
Here we go.
Hunter 1- tags out every year with average to mature bucks.
Hunter 2 - kills 6 does every year only

The question digs into the different views on who is considered a better hunter. This was a topic that was brought up years ago with some friends so I would like to get some more opinions on this. What is a deer hunter by definition to you
 
I think most everybody will find their opinion on this changes over time. Being a certified old guy, I can say my personal thoughts on this have varied over the years. Early, when I was just learning for myself anyone who took a deer was a good deer hunter. A few more seasons in and the success criteria moved to those who tagged out every year. Eventually the needle moved to who could consistently kill the biggest buck. I find my criteria now for a great deer hunter is one who can enjoy his time in the woods, respects the environment, the animal he's pursuing, the regulations and hunts what makes him happy.

EDIT: I have to add, a great deer hunter doesn't necessarily have to "close the deal" every time. Some of the best deer hunters I know let many deer walk by every year. Sometimes all you need to be great hunter is know you could do it if you wanted to.
 
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Hunter A spends lots of time scouting public spring and summer. Shots a couple decent bucks through the season. Logs a lot of hours scouting and sitting.
Hunter B owns some property. Shoots a two nice bucks during the rut. Bags a couple does. Spent his time on some food plots and trimming a few trees. Is he a good hunter?
Hunter C does a little bit of scouting. Only had a little bit of time to hunt through the season. Scores a 2.5yr old buck and a couple does. Is he a good hunter?
Hunter D waits for peak rut. Goes out on public one morning to some spot he always hunts and shoots a gooden. Pretty minimum time invested. Is he a good hunter? Or lucky.
Hunter E spends some time scouting. Shoots a few does, close encounter with a decent buck, but dosent have enough time off to close the deal. Is he a good hunter?
I just don't understand how you qualify this.
My choice is F. A hunter who enjoys there time with friends and family in the woods and brings someone else into the sport is my vote. I'm not a certified old guy yet. Not a super skilled killer either. But I like being out there thinking I am. Lol.
 
Here we go.
Hunter 1- tags out every year with average to mature bucks.
Hunter 2 - kills 6 does every year only
I'd say you may have a bit of bias with that "only" there on the 6 does. I would also say if a hunter is capable of tagging 6 does a year and not also connecting with whatever an "average to mature buck" is the deer herd is severely out of whack.

I've met guys who only want to shoot big bucks. I've met guys who like to shoot lots of deer. The first guy usually shot lots of deer and got over the bloodlust. The 2nd guy usually is quite capable of coming into contact with mature bucks, or at least is better than average.

It's hard to nail down a "good" hunter. A good hunter implies that there's a bad hunter, but how do we know one is good and the other is bad? When we rank people competing in sports we can do so because the playing field is as level as we can make it. There are too many variables in the country with regards to terrain, deer density, herd age structure, season duration and start/end dates, regulations, etc. And hunters themselves are unequal due to age, income, geographic location, occupation, marital status, and other factors that impact their ability to score.

If we go by antler mass, the Wisconsin boys have it in the bag. If we go by body count, the deep south probably comes out on top.

All that said, for me the tells that I'm talking to a good hunter are them demonstrating:

familiarity with the prey's habits and a knowledge of how they "fit" into the ecosystem

The ability to gauge the value of a particular piece of ground. Ie the odds of that piece of dirt producing the game theyre after

Familiarity with their hunting grounds.

A demonstrated level of awareness of how that hunting ground changes throughout the year, and how that change impacts their prey's habits

A willingness to lean into uncertainty and adjust when new info/patterns are emerging and adapt with the changes. Good critical thinking skills, but not prone to castle-in-the-air theories

GOOD "FINISHER" SKILLS. ie they can make kill shots, find game, get it out of the woods, and process it

Comfort and proficiency with their chosen gear

Notice these skills apply to everything from squirrels to ducks to turkeys to does to bucks.
 
I would say the "old timers" were the greats because they were knocking down deer in red flannel without all the gadgets and tactics of today!

By today's standards though, I believe a great hunter must have:
  • Respect for God, family, and the animal.
  • The willingness to go the extra mile (or 3) to make sure the job is done.
  • The humility to be happy for a fellow hunter's success.
  • The ability to be proud of your accomplishments while keeping them completely to yourself.
  • And most importantly... the discipline to not spend all your money on the sport!
How many of us can say we have all 5?
 
While I respect the answers above, nobody is answering the question presented. My view? Hunter 1. I think it’s harder to consistently kill mature bucks than it is to pile up does. No knock on the doe-killer, since that takes a great deal of skill to do, too, but there’s my answer.
But what if the doe killer used a blowgun? Too many variables and not enough info presented, which is why I think we all chose to wax philosophical instead :)
 
Anyone who’s killed more than 100 deer get my attention.

anyone who has a really low ratio of time spent doing anything involving killing deer:killing deer.

People who kill 100+ deer have to be Efficient. People who are efficient don’t have to kill 100+ deer. But they can.

Efficiency either implies preternatural talent for being in weapon range of deer during shooting hours with a weapon and the deer unaware, or the ability to learn, adapt, work and refine all aspects of hunting to the point of maximum effectiveness.

there are no real bars for a hunter to reach to be a great hunter in my eyes. 100 deer is arbitrary. But given limits, and state of hunting in US; it acts as a dividing line between okay and great in my mind. You can be great and have killed ten deer in your life. But you can’t be okay and have killed 100.
 
These conversations always intrigue me. I'm not a very successful hunter and last year I was ready to quit hunting altogether. This is because I was hunting the same spots as people who were shooting deer almost daily around me. I've come to learn that I don't know how to read the sign around me and probably have a lot more deer that I just don't see. So I'll say this, I agree with the others above. A good hunter is someone who learns the animals patterns, learns the habitat, knows how to make an ethical kill and enjoys the time spent in nature.
 
Not necessarily specific to deer, but if u were to research why a teddy bear is called that u would learn of 2 great hunters. Everybody knows the story about the president but what about the guy with over 3,000 bear kills.... eligible for "most interesting man in the world" award
 
A bad hunter puts others at risk by taking shots at movement in the brush and hunting past legal shooting light. Or maybe they sit in someone else's stand or trespass on someone else's property. A good hunter meets his own personal goals "most" of the time as far as animals taken and has fun doing it. They also wouldn't hesitate to help a fellow hunter track their deer or drag it out even if it ruins their own hunt that day.
 
I think most everybody will find their opinion on this changes over time. Being a certified old guy, I can say my personal thoughts on this have varied over the years. Early, when I was just learning for myself anyone who took a deer was a good deer hunter. A few more seasons in and the success criteria moved to those who tagged out every year. Eventually the needle moved to who could consistently kill the biggest buck. I find my criteria now for a great deer hunter is one who can enjoy his time in the woods, respects the environment, the animal he's pursuing, the regulations and hunts what makes him happy.

EDIT: I have to add, a great deer hunter doesn't necessarily have to "close the deal" every time. Some of the best deer hunters I know let many deer walk by every year. Sometimes all you need to be great hunter is know you could do it if you wanted to.
Remember guys, @boyne bowhunter was on the winning team this year...;)
 
Remember guys, @boyne bowhunter was on the winning team this year...;)
:tearsofjoy: :tearsofjoy: :tearsofjoy: :tearsofjoy: Trust me, I don't put myself in that class of a great deer hunter. Serviceable maybe, great . . nope. Even a hard headed dolt like me can't help but learn a thing or two over 45+ years of doing something. I was blessed to end up on a team with some Great Teammates this last year.
 
A good deer hunter is someone who can read sign and reliably figure out where deer are and are not and setup on them. What he/she chooses to raise their crosshairs on is up to them.

(I am primarily a big woods hunter which is not the same as finding the bedding in your back 40)
 
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