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Deer Contest Regrets

oldsouth

oldsouth

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2019
Messages
301
Location
Apex, NC
I got my first saddle at the end of the 2019 hunting season so obviously I didn't get in on the contest. I joined the contest the next year (2020), broke my ankle in October. No deer that year for me. The 2021 season I hoped to contribute, nope. It was a rough season with a lot of missed opportunities and failure to get in the woods as much as I'd hoped to. So now we are into the 2022 season and Deer Contest. With new duties at my daytime job and trying to get my own business up off the ground I decided not to get in the competition this year. Wouldn't you know it, the year I don't enter the contest I find ways to get into the woods more then the two previous years combined and on October 22nd I shot my first buck with a bow and first deer from a saddle. Plenty of doe with the bow but never a buck, Just my luck. Anyone out there regretting not getting in the competition this year?Bow Buck.jpg
 
Congrats on a nice first saddle buck! In reality the contest doesn't mean anything other than building a little camaraderie and providing an opportunity for a little smack talk among friends. You sharing your success here is just as meaningful as it would be in the contest. Congrats again!
 
Congratulations to both of you. I’d rather be in your shoes too. You both got great bucks and feel great about them. I haven’t been able to contribute ANYTHING to my team and I’m feeling like dead weight on their coattails. Luckily for me, the guys at team 9 are some first class dudes.
 
Tjraley2 said:
I was in the contest the last few years without much to show for it. Decided not to weigh a team down this year and sat out. Wish I wouldn’t have.
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You’reva better man than I. If I’m going down, I’m taking the of you with me.

This is the first year in maybe a decade I’ve been skunked. I hunted every other weekend and a few weekdays for 3 months and couldn’t get on them.

Next year, however, has promise. Found a few spots I’d never go if it wasn’t frozen that had slot of positive sign. Just need hip waiders and should be in a secluded spot on public land.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
phatkaw said:
@boyne bowhunter said it right!

The contest is just for fun.
Congratulations on your first archery buck! I'll always remember mine
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The contest IS just for fun...

... But I'm a very competitive person, to a fault. If I joined, I would try too hard, press and stress unnecessarily, and not enjoy myself when I'm out. Because of this, I have never joined the contest...

That said, I should have joined the contest... :tearsofjoy: :tongueclosed:

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HaunSolo said:
Congrats.

Perhaps they will let you give your points to team 3? We need them, badly... :laughing:
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Yeah we do!!! People shooting deer any other way except out of a saddle shouldn’t even be in the contest to allow those that do shoot great deer out of a saddle in the contest!! Lol!!!
 
This is my first time in the contest, and I usually have a few deer on the ground by now. I passed on a decent buck the first evening I was out and since then it's been extremely difficult to even SEE a doe, much less a buck. I've got some great teammates, though. They've been carrying me so far and I have voiced my concerns and they have been great. Hopefully the weather is about to get good here for a while going into our rut time so maybe I can put something good down.

Nice bucks by the way guys!
 
boyne bowhunter said:
Congrats on a nice first saddle buck! In reality the contest doesn't mean anything other than building a little camaraderie and providing an opportunity for a little smack talk among friends. You sharing your success here is just as meaningful as it would be in the contest. Congrats again!
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Wait....it doesn't meant anything?

That's not what I told my wife. My team depended on me! That's why I NEEDED to spend $500 on 4 OneSticks, $300 on camera arm, $200 on ropes/ascender. $1000 on camo clothing, $2000 on a new bow setup, $500 on a backpack, $300 on a new platform, and another $1000 on a cell camera system! Just so I can contributed 5 points to my team!

I took one for the team, those are well earned points. No regrets at all! No damn 'participated' trophy in my household.
 
HuumanCreed said:
Wait....it doesn't meant anything?

That's not what I told my wife. My team depended on me! That's why I NEEDED to spend $500 on 4 OneSticks, $300 on camera arm, $200 on ropes/ascender. $1000 on camo clothing, $2000 on a new bow setup, $500 on a backpack, $300 on a new platform, and another $1000 on a cell camera system! Just so I can contributed 5 points to my team!

I took one for the team, those are well earned points. No regrets at all! No damn 'participated' trophy in my household.
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Exactly…. It is for fun, but it also is a way to encourage yourself to get out into the woods and contribute to the team effort.
 
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